Title: Troubleshooting Audio Issues on Ubuntu Server 24.04.2: PulseAudio Keeps Resetting or Restarting
Introduction
Ubuntu Server 24.04.2 comes with PulseAudio as the default sound server. However, some users have reported issues with audio on this version, such as PulseAudio resetting or restarting frequently, causing the audio to stop working. This article provides a solution to these problems.
Prerequisites
Before diving into the solution, ensure that your system meets the following prerequisites:
- Ubuntu Server 24.04.2 installed and up-to-date
- PulseAudio is the default sound server
Solution
Identify the Problem
The first step is to determine if the issue is indeed related to PulseAudio. To do this, run the following command:
pulseaudio -v
If the output shows that PulseAudio is running, but you're still experiencing audio issues, proceed with the following steps.
Disable Autospawn
PulseAudio may be resetting or restarting due to autospawn. To disable autospawn, open the /etc/pulse/default.pa file with a text editor (e.g., nano):
sudo nano /etc/pulse/default.pa
Find the line that starts with autospawn = yes, and change it to autospawn = no. Save and close the file.
Configure PulseAudio
Next, create a new configuration file for PulseAudio:
sudo nano /etc/pulse/default.pa.d/01-no-autospawn.conf
Add the following lines to the file:
.ifexists module-suspend-on-idle.so
load-module module-suspend-on-idle
.endif
.ifexists module-hal-storage.so
load-module module-hal-storage
.endif
.ifexists module-hal-device-info.so
load-module module-hal-device-info
.endif
.ifexists module-introduce-latency.so
load-module module-introduce-latency latency_msec=10
.endif
.ifexists module-native-protocol-tcp.so
load-module module-native-protocol-tcp auth-ip-acl=127.0.0.1;
.endif
Save and close the file.
Restart PulseAudio
Finally, restart PulseAudio to apply the changes:
sudo systemctl restart pulseaudio
Test the Solution
Play an audio file to verify if the issue has been resolved. If the audio still doesn't work, consider checking the PulseAudio logs for more information:
journalctl -u pulseaudio -f
Summary
In this article, we discussed troubleshooting audio issues on Ubuntu Server 24.04.2 by disabling autospawn and configuring PulseAudio. By following these steps, you should be able to resolve audio issues caused by PulseAudio resetting or restarting.