Solution to my non-working volume keys

cloverskull · 2016-04-03 14:00:28

Hey guys,

While setting up my new BL laptop I ran into a few snags. I'm trying to document what worked for me along the way. Hope this helps someone else!

Ok, first off, my laptop is a Razer Blade and it doesn't have typical multimedia keys. I have to use the Fn key with F1/F2/F3/etc. I am using sid, but I had this same problem with Jessie. Just something to keep in mind!

First off, for me, mute was working (fn + f1). My volume down and volume up keys were not.

You'll notice in the default BL ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml there is an entry for XF86AudioMute but nothing for XF86AudioRaiseVolume or XF86AudioLowerVolume. Let's add those now. Open up rc.xml and just below the entry to XF86AudioMute, we'll add two more entries. I'll paste the contents that worked for me here, including the XF86AudioMute portion just for some added clarity.

    <keybind key="XF86AudioMute">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>amixer set -D pulse Master toggle</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="XF86AudioRaiseVolume">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>amixer -q sset Master 2%+ unmute</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="XF86AudioLowerVolume">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>amixer -q sset Master 2%- unmute</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>

You'll notice we're changing the volume with amixer. If you try running either of the commands associated with raising or lowering the volume in a terminal window, you should see a change in system volume. If not, investigate that problem before moving on.

After setting up your rc.xml file, run

openbox --reconfigure

and double check for any errors or issues you need to fix now.

Ok, great, does it change the volume? It didn't for me. I noodled around with 'xev' and all kinds of troubleshooting, however, the final fix was simple:

sudo apt-get install acpid
sudo systemctl enable acpid

Follow that up with a reboot and (if you're lucky) your keys will work.

nikkop · 2016-08-02 16:38:44

Thanks a thousand times for sharing this! This helped me out as I had the exact same issues as you described.
I'm using an ASUS UX32L and it now works perfectly.

May I ask if you had similar issue with brightness up/down? It doesn't work for me and I have tried adding XF86MonBrightnessUp/XF86MonBrightnessDown with xbacklight +10/xbacklight -10 but no success so far

Last edited by nikkop (2016-08-02 19:12:29)

cloverskull · 2016-08-02 19:40:34

You're welcome!

I'm not sure about the brightness - I think those worked "out of the box" for me but I no longer have that laptop

johnraff · 2016-08-03 01:34:49

Please see here for the "official" solution to volume issues:
https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic.php?id=2266
That should make editing of rc.xml unnecessary and fix the "sticky mute" issue and other annoyances people have been reporting.

pvsage · 2016-08-03 06:59:10

^ Unless, of course, someone is using an old-skool keyboard that doesn't have volume keys. I'd be happy to repost the snippet from my rc.xml to work around this, as I'm sure I'm not the only user with a 104 keyboard...unless someone knows of an easier workaround?

johnraff · 2016-08-04 02:45:21

pvsage wrote:

...unless someone knows of an easier workaround?

You can change volumeicon's key bindings to taste, via the GUI (click the key name) or in ~/config/volumeicon/volumeicon.

pvsage · 2016-08-04 12:31:26

^ That's just too coool. Finally trying BL again for the first time since before the first update images; looking really good.

#1 2016-04-03 14:00:28

Solution to my non-working volume keys

#2 2016-08-02 16:38:44

Re: Solution to my non-working volume keys

#3 2016-08-02 19:40:34

Re: Solution to my non-working volume keys

#4 2016-08-03 01:34:49

Re: Solution to my non-working volume keys

#5 2016-08-03 06:59:10

Re: Solution to my non-working volume keys

#6 2016-08-04 02:45:21

Re: Solution to my non-working volume keys

#7 2016-08-04 12:31:26

Re: Solution to my non-working volume keys

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