Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS, Dummy output, no sound

I connected my PC to my TV via HDMI and had to set the default video and audio outputs to the TV, everything worked fine, but after I disconnected, the video playback speed was at 0.5x and the audio was not working. I don't really remeber how I fixed the video playback speed, just that it was pretty simple, but the audio never worked again.

I've tried the answers provided in these questions:

  • Sound card shown as Dummy Output in Ubuntu 18.04
  • Sound going to dummy output on 18.04
  • No sound in Ubuntu 18.04 HP notebook
  • No sound in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS after upgrade from 16.04 LTS
  • "Dummy Output" No sound in Ubuntu 16.04

But none was able to get my audio back working.

Audio via bluetooth devices works fine. Please help, I'm new to Ubuntu, and Linux in general, and this is starting to get really annoying.


Similar instance of problem here on a v18.04 box; alsa output works, but pulse is just Dummy Ouput.

This seems to bring back pulseaudio without rebooting. First close any programs using pulseaudio, then as a regular user run:

pulseaudio --kill; sleep 2s; sudo alsa force-reload ; pulseaudio --start

Then play a sound file.


I have a similar problem on a Dell XPS-13-9350 running Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS. I've updated to the most recent released Linux kernel.

After a reboot, the system does not detect my sound card, and shows "Dummy Output" as the sound output, and I have no sound of any kind. But, then in a terminal window I run:

pactl load-module module-detect

Settings → Sound then shows "Built-in Audio Analog Stereo" as the sound output and all sound works fine until I reboot again. I have to run the pactl command every time after a reboot.


Add this follow lines to /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

options snd-hda-intel model=generic
options snd-hda-intel dmic_detect=0

Then reboot the system