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I'm trying to find a codec on internet to make my microphone work on my Dell XPS 13. Since I've installed ubuntu 20.04, my microphone stop working, whether I try the built-in microphone or an external micrphone (headset). I've seen on forums that some codecs can be "added" to system to make microphones work back (these issues often occurs on Dell computers having ubuntu installed). You can find a list of codec on this website for example : https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/sound/hd-audio/models.html

After finding the right codec, you simply add : options snd-hda-intel model=<codec_name> to the file /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

I've tried with a codec that was named dell-headset-multi which sounded like what I needed and that fixed my headset microphone.

However, I can't find the codec for my built-in microphone which should be ALC289...

Do you know some other websites listing audio codecs, or have any other clue on this ?

kambentester
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    This is a driver problem, not codec. Try solutions on [link1](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1363028/ubuntu-20-04-dell-xps-laptop-audio-not-working) and [link2](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1344112/dell-xps-17-9700-internal-microphone-issue). – harrymc Jan 16 '22 at 11:04
  • This is one of the problems of Linux. Some devices are largely unsupported because the primary intended platform is Windows and the manufacturer simply never cares to release a driver for Linux. The open source community can only do so much when devices need custom setup to workaround laptop implementations. A link at https://www.reddit.com/r/ZephyrusG14/comments/lb9n8z/does_anyone_know_the_audio_codec_driver_model/ suggests there are *lots* of workarounds for ALC chips. – Mokubai Jan 16 '22 at 11:23
  • Have you tried reaching out to [Realtek](https://www.realtek.com/en/cu-1-en)? – JW0914 Jan 16 '22 at 12:38
  • If you need to merge this unregistered account (https://superuser.com/users/1659671/kambentester) with your actual account (https://superuser.com/users/1659687/kamil-benzakri) then please use the [Contact form](https://superuser.com/contact) and select "I need to merge accounts". You will then have the ability to edit, comment on and accept answers to your question. – Mokubai Jan 16 '22 at 15:36

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It can't be found on the internet, because the "codec" in question isn't something you download – it is a piece of hardware that's already in your computer.

In the HD Audio (HDA) standard, a codec is the physical chip that converts digital audio to analog output signal and vice versa – "ALC289" is the model number for a specific chip made by Realtek. Despite the collision in terminology, it has absolutely nothing to do with the downloadable audio format codecs that you get from websites.

What you've seen in forums doesn't "add" a codec; it makes the Linux HDA driver recognize the hardware as if it were the specified codec chip model that it already knows. (This is probably used in case the computer has a newer chip that's not yet recognized automatically but happens to be compatible with a similar older model. For example, within Linux (which should support your model starting with kernel 4.13), the ALC289 and ALC285 appear to be handled identically to ALC215, which itself is a variant of ALC269.)

There are quite a few different revisions of "Dell XPS 13", each requiring slightly different drivers and configuration; what applies to a 1-year-old XPS 13 might not apply to a 5-year-old one. I would suggest checking whether the Arch Linux Wiki has anything related to your specific revision – for example, XPS 13 (9350).

u1686_grawity
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