Steam flatpak is causing system-wide audio crackling

Framework Laptop 13 Linux
1

Which Linux distro are you using? Which release version?
I am using Fedora 41 Workstation!

Which kernel are you using?
6.11.4-301

Which BIOS version are you using?
v3.05

Which Framework Laptop 13 model are you using?
AMD Ryzen™ 7040 Series

Greetings! This is my first serious post about Linux on the Framework. This particular bug is an audio crackling issue with the Steam flatpak. Steam itself isn’t having crackling audio - it affects all running programs. Audio streaming like Tidal, Pandora, etc. seem to be all affected.

The obvious workaround is to just install Steam through Fedora’s main repo via dnf. I just tested it and everything works fine now. I don’t have a solution for the Steam flatpak issue, unfortunately.

2
  • Are Tidal and Pandora though a web browser or from other Flatpaks?
  • Is this though the speakers, headphones, bluetooth or all of the above?
  • Is this only happening when you have Steam (flatpak) open or even when it is closed?
3

Hi!

Tidal is through a flatpak and Pandora is through pianobar from Fedora’s main repo. It only happened when the Steam flatpak client was opened.

I can install the flatpak again and test the different audio outputs. I didn’t stop to think to test speakers, headphones, and bluetooth

4

Sounds like a plan! Let us know when you can!

5

I have the same issue (FW 16 AMD Ryzen 7040 Series, latest Ubuntu LTS, Bios 3.05, kernel: 6.8.0-55-generic). It started with a steam game.
I mainly have the crackling issue when doing Teams calls. Don’t really use any other audio apps at this moment.

Uninstalled Steam but the issue is still there, I have the impression it’s a little less but certainly still happening.
Any extra suggestions?

Maybe I’ll have to reinstall Ubuntu

6

Howdy there, could I trouble you for a moment to ask what audio device you’re using for output? Is this with the internal speakers, a pair of headphones over a 3.5mm jack, bluetooth, or just any audio device in general?

I just ask because bluetooth audio is a bit of a labyrinth of codecs with licensing costs. To make a long story short, the general experience with bluetooth audio on Linux and Android will limit you to 2 channels of audio. When you join an audio call with a bluetooth headset, one of those audio channels is taken by the microphone input, so your output is also forced into mono audio.

Your install method for Steam may have an impact as well. Generally, Valve’s recommendation for Ubuntu users is to use their deb installer package from their website. It’s worth noting that neither the Snap nor the Flatpak versions of Steam are officially supported by Valve.

I’ll be looking into this a bit more because it almost sounds like an issue with the Audio sampling rate. Crackling audio is often characteristic of errors when resampling 44.1 KHz to 48 KHz and vice-versa.

1 Like
7

Hi Jesse,
Thanks for your reply.

The audio device is the speakers of the FW16 itself. I don’t have the crackling using a headset, just had an hour of MS Teams with my headset and no issues.

Just to clarify, the crackling is not constant. It happens every few minutes during a teams call.
I use Google Chrome to do the call.

As far as I can remember I used the steam .deb file. Certainly not the flatpak using the ‘app centre’.

The sampling rate: can it be adjusted somewhere? Not in the sound settings of ubuntu.
My configuration of sound is set to “analog stereo output”. Analog surround 2.1 and 4.0 is also selectable.

Thanks for your further advice.