I have finally pulled the trigger and installed QubesOS (Latest version/Download) on my DELL Vostro 7590 Laptop.
Apart from Qubes being amazing for what I think an OS should be, I do have some sound issues:
The sound just seems off and it sometimes / randomly starts to sound like an old ATARI, e.g. when playing a video or a Telegram Notification comes up. This then persists, and only goes away when I open the PulseAudio Volume Control from the System Settings. It then gets better but still sounds crackling when there is talking, or when a violin is playing in a video, there is just this off sound to it.
According to DELLs own specification, it is a Realtek ALC3254 controller. Pulse says it’s a Cannon Lake PCH cAVS HDMI.
Aside from this install being my daily driver, I am planning on using QubesOS for video creation purposes. So having both graphics and sound working would be a good thing.
Please may I ask for help and advise how to improve the sound? Is it a settings thing? Is it a compatibility issue?
I am new to Qubes so please excuse my potentially silly questions.
I had this issue a long time ago, and it was linked to the amount of RAM assigned to the VM or the audio process in some way. I don’t remember all the details, but try to increase it. The sound might be cracking because the process doesn’t have enough power to handle it.
I have increased the RAM on all VMs that I am planning on using sound and it appears to work much better. But I HAVE TO HAVE Pulse Volume Control running. Once it is running, it seems okay.
If your Telegram notifications aren’t making any sound, it can be annoying, especially when you’re missing important messages. There are a few things you can try to get those sounds back.
The first thing you might want to check is your phone’s notification settings. On iOS, head over to Settings > Notifications > Telegram, and make sure everything is toggled on, especially sounds. You’d be surprised how often that little sound toggle gets turned off without you realizing it. If you’re on Android, it’s pretty similar—just go into your phone’s settings, find Telegram under the apps section, and check the notification options there. Sometimes, Android’s “Do Not Disturb” or similar modes can mess with notification sounds, so you might want to check if that’s turned on too.
Inside the Telegram app itself, there’s also a setting for notifications. You can check this by going into Settings > Notifications and Sounds. Make sure you’ve got sounds enabled for private chats, groups, and channels—sometimes people accidentally turn off sound for just one type of chat, and it ends up confusing things. You might also want to check if you’ve muted any specific chats or groups. In any chat, tap on the chat name, and you’ll see if it’s muted or not.
Another thing that can affect Telegram sounds is if you’re using custom notification sounds. If you’ve set custom tones for different chats, make sure those sounds are still on your phone and haven’t been deleted or moved. Sometimes, after updates or phone resets, custom tones disappear or stop working.