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Microphone Broken in latest update (109.0)

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  • Last reply by gnac

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I recently updated my system (OpenSuse15.4) which included a Firefox update to version 109.0.

I regularly use my mic for google voice, however even though I can select my microphone in Google voice, It never shows any input.

I tested my mic in other apps and it works fine. When I pull up my systems pulse audio volume control (pavucontrol), it does not show firefox in the recording tab like it used to when using Google Voice.

To test to see if it was a Google Voice error, I also tried testing my mic at https://mictests.com/, and zoom.com, but after selecting my desired input device, mictests.com was also unable to record anything, and again, pavucontrol did not show anything being recorded.

I have attached an image of pavucontrol that shows audacity recording audio. Normally, I would also see Firefox in this window when using the mic.

I recently updated my system (OpenSuse15.4) which included a Firefox update to version 109.0. I regularly use my mic for google voice, however even though I can select my microphone in Google voice, It never shows any input. I tested my mic in other apps and it works fine. When I pull up my systems pulse audio volume control (pavucontrol), it does not show firefox in the recording tab like it used to when using Google Voice. To test to see if it was a Google Voice error, I also tried testing my mic at https://mictests.com/, and zoom.com, but after selecting my desired input device, mictests.com was also unable to record anything, and again, pavucontrol did not show anything being recorded. I have attached an image of pavucontrol that shows audacity recording audio. Normally, I would also see Firefox in this window when using the mic.
Attached screenshots

Chosen solution

Good old fashion investigation! LOVE IT! I would just run both versions and not update 108. Also, don't forget to try Waterfox for S&Gs.  ;-) Issue resolved?

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All Replies (16)

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You can try Firefox from the official Mozilla server if you currently use a version from the repositories of your Linux distribution to see if it behaves differently.

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I'm using a repo that pulls the latest, in this case the same 109.0 thats available at that link.

Thanks though.

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cor-el said

You can try Firefox from the official Mozilla server

For kicks and giggles I downloaded the official version and ran the same test. Still no mic on the downloaded version.

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Did you check the settings in "Tools -> Page Info -> Permissions" ?

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cor-el said

Did you check the settings in "Tools -> Page Info -> Permissions" ?

Microphone permissions are set to "allow" on google voice, and Always ask for other pages.

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What are your settings in Google Voice. see screenshots



Operating System: openSUSE Tumbleweed 20230119 KDE Plasma Version: 5.26.5 KDE Frameworks Version: 5.102.0 Qt Version: 5.15.8 Kernel Version: 6.1.7-1-default (64-bit) Graphics Platform: X11 Processors: 8 × Intel® Xeon® CPU E3-1535M v6 @ 3.10GHz Memory: 62.2 GiB of RAM Graphics Processor: Mesa Intel® HD Graphics P630 Manufacturer: HP Product Name: HP ZBook 17 G4

Modified by jonzn4SUSE

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Google Voice has microphone permissions.

When I select the devices in Google Voice (or any web conferencing app, eg zoom), I see the selected device, but I no longer get the volume indicator like in your image.

You can see the mic device in both the kde audio section and in pavucontrol. The Second KDE volume image is shows input speaking into the microphone.

In the Input devices tab of PavuControl, you can see that I am speaking into the mic.

Likewise, in the Recording tab of PavuControl, you can see where an app (in the attached image I am using the standalone discord app) is recording. I would expect Firefox to appear in this tab when it is trying to record, eg when the Audio Settings widget is open in Google Voice, but it never does.

Modified by gnac

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Here are some images of google voice working in another browser. This is how Firefox behaved prior to the latest update to v109.0.

To be clear, its not just google voice that is broken in Firefox, but any website that tries to use the mic, eg https://www.onlinemictest.com/.

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gnac said

cor-el said

You can try Firefox from the official Mozilla server

For kicks and giggles I downloaded the official version and ran the same test. Still no mic on the downloaded version.

Same issue with Mozilla version tells me that it maybe something in the environment because your setup is clearly not normal. Did you try to get down to basics and remove FLOW 8 Multichannel and see what happens with only your computers internal mic.

Modified by jonzn4SUSE

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Anybody? Any way to file a bug?

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gnac said

because your setup is clearly not normal.

How is it not normal?

If I remove the Flow device, I won't have a sound card to test with.

It works on Chrome, and Falcon, and all of my other apps. It worked on Firefox prior to v109, but now it doesn't work. To me, that points to Mozilla, not my environment.

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https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/home No Flow, no sound... gotcha. I think it's a good idea to run multiple version of Firefox and even Waterfox for testing and your data is not in just one browser. Download the 108 and test again. https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/108.0.2/linux-x86_64/

Modified by jonzn4SUSE

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I downloaded V108.2 and it gives similar results. In the first image you can see that Skype is recording input in pavucontrol, while firefox is not showing up. You can also see the Google Voice nothing is showing up in the elipses next to the microphone. This should show a live rendering of mic input.

For completeness, I killed skype to ensure that it wasn't somehow blocking Firefox's access to the mic and re-ran the test. The second image also shows that firefox is not attempting to record anything through the sound system.

The third image shows online mic test. When it works, you should see firefox recording in the pavucontrol tab, and an oscilloscope of the recorded sound.

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Ok, so maybe my setup is not entirely normal after all.

I scrounged up a different USB audio interface I have, and lo and behold its microphone input worked with Firefox.

So, I went back to the Flow and it still didn't work. However, the Flow has two modes, a combined stereo input mode, and a multi input mode. The latter allows you to control the volume of each of its inputs separately, within the operating system.

I verified that all of the inputs were up, and that I was getting input on the desired mic channel, however Firefox still didn't register itself as a recording application and I couldn't get any input.

Then, I switched to the stereo input mode and, after restarting Firefox, I was able to get the mic to input again.

I normally run in multi-channel mode so I'm not sure what's changed, and I'm not sure why the mic input still works in every other browser and application I have installed, but I at least have a workaround to continue to use Firefox for voice conference applications.

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Seçilmiş Həll

Good old fashion investigation! LOVE IT! I would just run both versions and not update 108. Also, don't forget to try Waterfox for S&Gs.  ;-) Issue resolved?

Modified by jonzn4SUSE

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I suppose its resolved as far as I have a working system now, but it would be nice if it would work in both modes (cough cough like the other browsers cough cough ;-)