Focusrite Scarlett Solo (2nd gen) reliability issues

[Isaac_4]

Hello all, I'd like to say that I've been using Linux Mint Cinnamon for nearly a few weeks now and I'm very glad to get away from Windows 10 (until it matures at least...), but it's proved a bit rocky with me and troublesome for me and my audio interface device.

I have a Focusrite Scarlett Solo and while it is "supported" out of the box, the OS seems to ignore it completely if I accidentally unplug it from the USB port. Plugging it back in will show the green power light turn back on, but Linux will fail to recognize it, or use the device. It will not even recognize my XLR mic when it's powered on with 48v.

Strangely enough, if I reboot my machine into Windows 10 (oh god...), unplug the device once I reached the desktop, then plug it back in, Windows 10 will recognize it. Then after I reboot my machine a second time and boot back into Linux Mint Cinnamon, only then will Linux recognize it.

Can anyone explain to me what's going on here? Is Linux sharing a temporary driver with Windows during the boot sequence that only Windows can set up or what? This makes no sense that I cannot unplug it even once before Linux fails to recognize the device until Windows 10 sees it...

If this is common with this device, then I'm willing to get a different product form another company where this is not an issue...

[jimallyn]

Is Linux sharing a temporary driver with Windows

No. Absolutely no. I don't know what the problem is, but it is not that.

There may be some magic incantation you have to chant to get the system to rescan for devices that have been disconnected and reconnected, and almost certainly somebody will know what it is.

[MrEen]

Hi Isaac_4, and welcome to the forum.

Have you tried PulseAudio Volume Control (pavucontrol?) It has a lot more configuration options than the standard sound settings do. Once pavucontrol is running, go to the Configuration tab and you'll probably find your device underneath the Built-in options. Same for the Input Devices tab.

[Isaac_4]

Is Linux sharing a temporary driver with Windows

No. Absolutely no. I don't know what the problem is, but it is not that.

There may be some magic incantation you have to chant to get the system to rescan for devices that have been disconnected and reconnected, and almost certainly somebody will know what it is.

Curses, I was hoping for that because it'd make it that much easier. Ah well, such is life.

Hi Isaac_4, and welcome to the forum.

Have you tried PulseAudio Volume Control (pavucontrol?) It has a lot more configuration options than the standard sound settings do. Once pavucontrol is running, go to the Configuration tab and you'll probably find your device underneath the Built-in options. Same for the Input Devices tab.

Thanks MrEen for the welcome.

I've tried looking at the pulse audio control panel, and if I disconnect it and reconnect it, it registers, hell, when I begin playing audio, the peak meter responds.

Unfortunately, I hear nothing. Even when I power on the XLR mic I got with the 48v power, it doesn't hear me. My interface's indicators do not light up at all. Audacity no longer hears me speaking into the mic either. They worked before I unplugged them but they will not work until I get Windows 10 to "fix it" for Linux... :\

Quite frustrating...

(Worst case scenario, I need to buy a different audio interface from a different company. I'm open to that.)

[jimallyn]

You mean just rebooting Mint won't do it? You have to go to Windows before rebooting into Mint? Man, that's an odd one.

[Isaac_4]

It gets even worse. I have to unplug my device once Windows reaches the desktop, JUST for Windows 10 to recognize it (it will not recognize it unless I unplug it.), only then, can I plug it back in and Windows 10 will begin to recognize it and begin using it again... :\

Then of course, I need to reboot to get out of Windows and get back to Linux Mint. How fun...

My favorite part about this is that even my crappy Dell AC511 soundbar works when I plug it in and unplug it to my USB slots while in Linux Mint. I can do that all day and it'll work every time... :\

[MrEen]

Check for mute. On pavucontrols Input Devices tab to the right of the device name there are 3 buttons (the last has a checkbox inside.) The first toggles mute/unmute.

Also, alsamixer might come in handy (just type that in the terminal.) When it opens, press F6 and choose the Focusrite. The resulting window has columns that show levels and a "MM" underneath the column means that item is muted. Use left/right arrow buttons to move among columns and up/down arrows to change levels and m to mute/unmute.

When you have everything working right, type alsactl store in the terminal to save the settings. When things go downhill, type alsactl restore in the terminal to hopefully get everything back.

[Isaac_4]

Oh man, I'm going to have to make a video showing off the issues because neither of you are going to believe me.

I did everything you said and nothing was muted. (I even toggled the mute buttons a few times just to make sure.) Still no sound. So I booted back into Windows 10 and did my thing and got it working again, after unplugging it after reaching the Desktop on Windows 10. So I rebooted and came back to Linux with a working audio device.

I tried to do the "alsactl store" command, but I got an error, so I ran as root on the desktop, opened the terminal and did the same thing and got no error that time.

I did the deadly sin of unplugging my device and plugging it back in, no audio. So I did "alsactl restore" in the elevated terminal and got the error:

Code: Select all

root@isaac-Linux:/home/isaac/Desktop# alsactl restore
alsactl: set_control:1461: Cannot write control '2:0:0:USB Internal Validity:0' : Operation not permitted

To no avail and now I have to boot back into Windows 10 to get it working again while my crappy Dell soundbar is laughing it's ass off... How fun...!

So, is it safe to assume that this could be an internal incompatibility between this particular model from Focusrite and Linux at this point?

[MrEen]

It is possible, but I hate giving in. I'm going to try to find something that'll help.

[Isaac_4]

It is possible, but I hate giving in. I'm going to try to find something that'll help.

Thanks mate, you're about to save me nearly $100 if you happen to help me circumvent this whole BS of booting into Windows 10.

[MrEen]

Not having luck at the moment and I have to hit the sack.

This site might help where I've already started a search for you to look through: https://linuxmusicians.com/search.php?s ... rlett+solo

I probably won't be back for 18 hours or so, but I'll resume trying then.

One quick addition. Instead of booting into Windows, see if doing a full shutdown/power up resolves that part of the issue.

[Isaac_4]

Thanks for your help MrEen.

I took a look at the posts and it seems the only models people are using with Linux are the higher-tier ones. Such as the 2i2, 2i4, 2i6, and so on. I think we may be moving into "uncharted territory" with this. I guess we're on our own with this issue with no documentation about other people with the same model having the exact same issues... :\

I did a cold shutdown after disconnecting it and reconnecting it. Booted back into Linux Mint, nothing. However, I see something that is bizarre, and I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the issue, but I find it mockingly hilarious that it thinks the device's "input" is it's "output". Of course, there's no option there, but when I switch to the digital output and then back to this, it then says "Analog Stereo Output" instead of "Analog Stereo Input". (When the device is working properly and is able to create sound, the "Analog Stereo Output" is NEVER labeled as "Analog Stereo Input".)

--- Nothing changes though, I still have no audio and it seems that it'll remain this way until I go back to Windows 10 and then return.

Until someone is willing to prove me wrong, I genuinely believe that the Focusrite Scarlett Solo (2nd generation) is incompatible with Linux on a certain level. I'll eat my words if someone else can prove that it can be reconnected with full functionalities restored, but until then, it seems it's an internal conflict with the device and Linux... Shame... :\

[jimallyn]

Some good information for you here:

https://linuxmusicians.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15810

In the 4th page of that thread, user SwJ58 reports:

"Shutdown linux. Power on again. Doesn't work anymore until I boot windows and unplug/replug again.
I guess the driver initializes the interface or something. Any input on that is useful. I'm out of ideas at this point."

A little later he reports:

"Everything works now. It was a firmware issue.
Used this software: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9b2A6 ... pMbHc/view

Found it in the comment section of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dghj7jKqKxQ

Sadly I couldn't find any official source.

I'm still a little confused. The installed firmware was 11xxx.
The linked .exe is installing the firmware 10xxx. So I guess it's a downgrade.

Long story short. It works with unplug/replug/restart/coldboot/os reinstall.
Thank you for everything and have a nice day!"

Sounds to me like that's your solution!

[Isaac_4]

Some good information for you here:

https://linuxmusicians.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15810

In the 4th page of that thread, user SwJ58 reports:

"Shutdown linux. Power on again. Doesn't work anymore until I boot windows and unplug/replug again.
I guess the driver initializes the interface or something. Any input on that is useful. I'm out of ideas at this point."

A little later he reports:

"Everything works now. It was a firmware issue.
Used this software: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9b2A6 ... pMbHc/view
Found it in the comment section of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dghj7jKqKxQ

Sadly I couldn't find any official source.

I'm still a little confused. The installed firmware was 11xxx.
The linked .exe is installing the firmware 10xxx. So I guess it's a downgrade.

Long story short. It works with unplug/replug/restart/coldboot/os reinstall.
Thank you for everything and have a nice day!"

Sounds to me like that's your solution!

No... way... Alright mate, I'm going to try this out and I'll get back to you with the results!

[Isaac_4]

Update: Damn Youtube, thanks for not loading all the comments when I needed them, I revisited the link you sent me and finally the comments loaded...

I got the firmware installed and it works fine now. I stand by what I said about them not being customer friendly, as that firmware updater is nowhere on their website. In fact, I'll host it on here for those who need it for theirs to work on Linux too. (As long as that's not going to violate the TOS...)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bcxqQy ... sp=sharing

Thanks for the help that I got from both of you. It's a real damn shame that the manufacturer is not able to provide a simple file such as this for their customers... (Search their website for it, I doubt you'll find it.)

[jimallyn]

No, you won't find it there. Their official position on Linux is:

None of our products are supported for use on Linux.

Source:
https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/ ... ith-Linux-

Most of their stuff is Class-Compliant, which means that it should work on Linux. It is highly unlikely that I will ever buy a Focusrite product. I don't like their attitude.

[Isaac_4]

May I ask if I should "jump ship" and get a different product instead? I've heard a couple reviews of people who had Focusrite products and intentionally left them in favor for another and liked the newer product better.

Should I do the same? I'm just wondering because there could be another situation that's almost as painful as this one that may arise in the future.

[jimallyn]

May I ask if I should "jump ship" and get a different product instead?

I wouldn't. You've already got that interface, and you now have it working on Linux. I would just keep using it.

[Isaac_4]

Fair enough.

Thanks for the help mate, and thanks for helping me realize what Focusrite is really like as a company...

[jimallyn]

Unfortunately, there are a lot of companies like that. Their products should all work with Linux, being Class Compliant. You'd think they would at least keep a computer around with several recent Linux distros on it so they could try their products out on them. They might still offer no support on Linux, but at least they could say, "Our products have been found to work with X, Y, and Z Linux distros."