No sound – checklist
No sound – checklist
Here’s a short checklist if you’re using a HiFiBerry sound card, but you’re not getting any sound output.
Sound card configured correctly?
Check out output of the command
aplay -l
It should list the HiFiBerry sound card – and only the HiFiBerry sound card. In many distributions, the onboard sound is still enabled and often the sound card with id 0. Without further configuration this results in all sound output to the onboard sound instead of the HiFIBerry sound card. Therefore, we usually recommend to disable it.
If your card isn’t listed, you might have to configure it.
Make sure, the right sound card is configured. If it says “hifiberry-dac”, this is wrong in many cases. Only a few of our sound cards (DAC+ Light, DAC+ Zero, DAC+ DSP, MiniAmp) work with this driver. Make sure, the correct driver is used!
GPIO conflict?
If you have anything else connected to the GPIOs, remove it first and try again. Do not connect the HiFiBerry sound card by cables, but plug it directly onto the Pi – it is designed to work this way. We can’t guarantee interoperability with other cards. Have a look at the GPIO usage of HiFiBerry sound cards.
Poor power supply?
If the card isn’t detected, there might be a problem with your power supply. Especially some “audiophile” power supplies often create problems. You don’t need these! Get a good-quality standard power supply. Amplifiers running at 12V or higher voltages need a power supply that can power the Pi and the amplifier. The power supply should be able to provide a current of at least 3.5A.
Application working correctly?
Sometimes, player applications are configured incorrectly and won’t play anything. To make sure, this isn’t a problem with your player application, have a look on some tips how to play test tones.
Hardware problem?
Still not working? There might be a hardware problem. While these are rare, they happen from time to time. Try another Raspberry Pi. If you have more than one HiFiBerry sound card, test if the same problem happens with multiple cards.