ivar0 wrote: 2025-02-05 23:20
Tried "Junior" which I assume is "Trixie", could not install (got recurring errors about hard drive partitioning problems), booted "live" image instead. No sound.
FYI also tried Kubuntu just for fun - it did manage to live boot with sound but failed to install in the end of the installation when I tried doing that, and the installation took absolutely forever (like 30+ mins).
I am thankful for the help thus far, but the experimenting back and forth takes so much time I'll just leave it at that and if need be use bluetooth headset/buds because those worked at the very least. I assume if newer drivers are implemented in the stable release that those may at some point arrive on a standard Debian install, eventually.
I understand how frustrating it is. Here are a few ideas just in case you decide to have another go later on, or for others with the same Chromebook.
Yes, support for newer Chromebooks works its way into Debian eventually. As I said before, it's not only drivers but also configuration of the hardware.
It's interesting that sound works in Ubuntu. Perhaps Ubuntu is using some Google code that Debian would not allow? (More on that in a bit.)
I found a script which is intended to enable audio support in Linux, and have been looking through it.
https://github.com/WeirdTreeThing/chrom ... /tree/main
It does a number of things:
-install Pipewire
-Install wireplumber config for dmic if wireplumber is installed on the system
-install firmware and sound configuration files from latest sources
-check hardware
-suggest appropriate driver
-apply some configuration hacks
-install a custom kernel for Debian
Some interesting points there.
Debian KDE uses Pulseaudio, which may not work with Chromebooks.
https://www.quantulum.co.uk/blog/debian ... hromebook/
The new Intel AVS driver available in newer kernels may support Chromebooks better than the SOF driver, but on some hardware it can be too loud.
Kernel level support in newer Chromebooks may require a patched kernel with special Google modules. (Is this why Ubuntu works?) But these patches become obsolete as support is added to Linux kernels. And any update to the Debian kernel would replace the patched kernel, losing sound again, so you would have to uninstall the Debian kernel package to prevent this.
It is recommended to use the official linux package for most Chrome OS devices with the exception being newer devices which might need patched kernel support.
If your devices requires a patched kernel, it is advised to review the list of patches and decide if the patch list is getting decidedly small enough that you no longer require a patched kernel and instead you can use the official linux package instead.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Chrome_OS_devices
One option for anybody with time to experiment would be to try the steps above with the latest kernel from Debian - Pipewire, AVS driver (with caution), latest firmware etc.
Of course, you could run the script and see if it works for you. It seems OK, but obviously that would be at your own risk.
The final option would be to wait for support to arrive in a future release, which may take some time, but at least you have other sound option in the meantime.
Edit - correction: re-reading the script, it actually says "Install wireplumber config for dmic if wireplumber is installed on the system", which does not mean it will install pipewire.
