Answers

Q The sound of silence

I have installed the latest version of Linux Mint on my HP Spectre laptop. I keep it updated with software updates. My only issue is that when I plug in the wired headphone in the jack, the sound does not work. Can you please help me identify the problem and a possible fix?

Sajal Sachdev

A When you say the sound does not work, do you mean it stops altogether or it continues to play through the speakers? If it continues to play through the speakers, ignoring the connected headphones, check your mixer settings. As Linux Mint uses PulseAudio, try pavucontrol I find this more useful than most desktop mixers for viewing and controlling audio outputs. Your system should detect your headphones being plugged in and automatically switch outputs, but I have seen systems where this does not happen and manual intervention is needed.

If, on the other hand, nothing at all is played when you plug in the headphones, you could be looking at a hardware issue. I assume that you’ve tested that the headphones themselves work by plugging them into another device, so check the laptop too. If it is dual boot, does connecting