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XPS 9530 Firmware bug prevents releasing audio fix for Linux devices
Hi,
As you may be familiar, when running Linux on XPS 9530 series, audio is horrible. This is because only two tweeters (top firing speakers) work, while woofers (down firing speakers) which provide the most volume, and bass do not. Me and fellow XPS users have worked hard to add support for this, (see github thread, and discord server), and managed to make it work!
Background info:
Bottom speakers are connected via active amplifier by Cirrus Logic, which requires to be properly initialized, and loaded firmware. There are multiple patches to Linux kernel required for this (quirk was added, missing properties patch is ready but not published yet, see below) , as well as addition of Cirrus amp firmware (PR pending).
With all of these changes applied, all 4 speakers are finally working on Linux, sound is significantly louder, and there is finally some bass.
Problem:
Communication with Cirrus amp is happening over SPI, and is meant to be at 4Mhz. However, in present state, the process of firmware loading to amplifier takes ~3 minutes. During first boot during this 3 minutes, sound is extremely buggy. Even worse, upon wake up, system is completely unavailable for the same 3 minutes. It appears reason is, SPI speed is capped at 3051Hz, due to the bug in Dell Firmware (UEFI): one of registers incorrectly sets required clock divider parameters to 0x7FFF0003; This value is picked by `intel-lpss.c` driver, which enables divider with ratio of 1/32767. As source clock is 100Mhz, diving it by 32767 results in unusable rate of 3051Hz, and bug described above.
Due to this issue, we are unable to propose sound fixing patch upstream. Solution for this is to either:
a) Create bypass in `intel-lpss.c` driver. I got in contact with Intel developer (Andy Shevchenko) and was pointed out that this is indeed a firmware bug, and normally shall be solved in firmware. Me and fellow XPS users have locally tested patch which conditionally disables clock divider in intel lpss driver, and it fixed slow firmware loading, everything works flawlessly.
b) Dell to release UEFI BIOS update, with corrected value: 0x7FFF0003 shall become 0. As also confirmed by Andy Shevchenko, Intel Lpss is currently not using clock divider for SPI mode, and thus Dell's firmware should absolutely not attempt to enable this divider. I have tested a patch that forcefully sets 0x7FFF0003 to 0, and it also works perfectly, SPI is able to operate at requested speed of 4Mhz, and with above mentioned patches all 4 speakers perfectly work on this machine.
There are more bugs in Dell firmware, eg. ACPI tables are missing SPI's chip select pins definitions for right amplifier, as well as device specific properties. All these however can be set with a simpler kernel patch (linked above), and are awaiting to be upstreamed once SPI speed issue is resolved.
It seems that on Windows, custom Realtek driver handles both the missing _DSD properties, as well as wrongly configured intel's lpss clock divider.
On behalf of all Linux users and fans of Dell XPS 9530 series, I thus kindly request Dell to look into this issue, and correct this firmware bug. I also ask all fellow XPS 9530 users to like this post, as indication for Dell moderators of how many people are affected by this issue.
This is an amazing machine, and even though Dell officially does not support Linux on it, a lot of use it as one of the best devices in the industry. We have already done enormous work to get sound fix by means of community, however it seems for particular issue, there is really required an input from Dell's officials.
Thank you in advance,
Kind Regards,
Alex Vinarskis (and others rest of XPS 9530 users)
UPDATE: As it seems Dell does not consider this an issue to be fixed, appropriate change was submitted to Linux kernel (patch1, patch2) which shall ignore BIOS's set parameters for SPI clock speed. This change is expected to arrive in kernel 6.9. If/When that takes place, it can potentially be backported to stable kernel (6.7.X). Since this is still months out, current solution is to manually apply required patches, as per this guide. With these changes, SPI and thus sound system works as expected.
dnamurphy
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December 15th, 2023 21:20
@DELL-Nat M - I am a little surprised to hear that Dell consider this an enhancement (suggesting it is a feature request) rather than clearly identified bugs in the firmware.
I have only just purchased (via my research group) an XPS 9530, and using Linux is a must. It now very nicely dual-boots with Windows and Linux, but the sound is the key thing marring an otherwise good user experience.
Please do ask the team to reconsider fixing these bugs - as mentioned above, this issue affects all platforms as it originates in firmware.
Przemyslawc
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December 16th, 2023 18:09
Hello
Thank you for your work and investigation! I'm really appretiate.
I'm Linux user for many years and use it for work as an software engineer. I bought Dell XPS 9530 because it's awesome on every aspect.
I trusted Dell buing it because I use these laptops for many years and never had such problems.
Dear DELL,
Please don't waste the effort invested to investigate the issue and solution proposal. This problem affected a lot of users and they loudly not recommend buing this model. Most of these users probably never buy Dell again.
I really hope the the fix became soon and looking almost every day on thread to see for any news!
Thank you
operable9806
1 Message
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December 17th, 2023 20:28
I recently made the switch from a 16" MacBook Pro to a Dell XPS 9530 running Fedora Linux 38 full time and have had a great experience so far. The speaker issue is really the only thing holding this back from being perfect (for me). Battery life using the default gnome power profiles nets me roughly 8.5/9 hours of use with power saver mode and lowered screen brightness. I am very excited to see others have purchased this laptop to use primarily with Linux, even though it isn't officially supported by Dell.
For the folks at Dell, please take this post seriously!!
Cdfghglz
3 Posts
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December 21st, 2023 05:18
Hi
I'm a linux XPS user since 2012. My last upgrade from the 9500 to 9530 was extremely smooth, but the sound makes the experience really bitter.
Please resolve the issue Dell
aclinical
1 Message
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December 22nd, 2023 05:25
It would be really great if you could fix this issue. The XPS 15 is used by many software developers who tend to run linux. It would be great if you could fix this issue, which has been identified as a firmware issue so it should pertain to all operating systems.
usna78
1 Message
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December 25th, 2023 18:55
Dell, please fix this problem as soon as possible
dmancilla
1 Message
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December 27th, 2023 00:43
Hoping this problem gets the attention it deserves! thanks to @alexVinarskis for all the effort
fivento
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January 6th, 2024 16:13
Please fix this one and provide a firmware update, unacceptable to have bought a machine with such a horrible sound...
teoverton
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January 6th, 2024 16:26
I hope Dell will take this seriously. I have successfully recommended dell xps's to hundreds of clients. Iust upgraded from an xps13 to a 9530. Appalled that they haven't fixed this simple and glaring firmware bug. I'm considering sending my new XPS 15 back if firmware isn't fixed and never recommending Dell to my clients again.they don't "support" Linux on this machine, but buggy firmware is not acceptable for those of us who do.
JustBenDev
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January 16th, 2024 09:04
@DELL-Nat M It's truly baffling that Dell, a multi-billion dollar company, would refuse to address a firmware bug, especially when the majority of the work has already been completed.
Using the lack of official Linux support as an excuse is not only ridiculous but also a disservice to customers who rely on diverse operating systems.
Such a stance reflects poorly on the company's commitment to user satisfaction and undermines the trust of Dell customers.
From persistent vertical lines on the screen to recurring trackpad malfunctions spanning multiple years, the business line of Dell products is increasingly plagued by significant quality control issues.
It's high time for Dell to prioritize fixing critical issues and provide comprehensive support.
f3rdy
2 Posts
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January 18th, 2024 11:47
User story:
As a Business Customer
I want to have proper Linux support for my newly bought 9530
so that the large invest cost the i9 9530 has had pays out in the end because I can actually use it.
Acceptance Criteria:
- Firmware bug that hinders sound and microphone from proper working is fixed.
Business Impact:
- If not solved, the computer will be returned.
f3rdy
2 Posts
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January 18th, 2024 12:06
@DELL-Nat M Okay. I'm returning the computer right away.
adamprg
1 Message
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January 19th, 2024 23:49
I comfortably thought this one would be my perfect upgrade, I'm glad I did a little research before posting my order... I've been on XPS with Linux since 2013, seeing the "solution" Dell have posted, it seems it is time for me to move on.
Well done to the people who mapped the issue and worked towards the actual solution, really appreciate your work!
jablo
1 Message
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January 24th, 2024 13:39
@DELL-Nat M Please, Dell, the response "it's not considered an issue, as the XPS 9530 doesn't officially support Linux OS according to Dell's testing and recommendations." simply is not an acceptable answer. You have been handed the solution, it is a simple fix; given the rate of other firmware releases for the various XPS PCs I have owned over time, this really should be a non-issue. Include it. Done.
I am - as others have stated in this thread - looking to upgrade to a new laptop in the near future. I would love to continue on Dell, but will buy hardware that works if needed.
Please fix.
(edited)
insertusernamehere
1 Message
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January 27th, 2024 15:15
Wonderful work figuring this out! Would be great if Dell could sort this out, seems like an easy fix, which will make this dell laptop finally give a fluid support for Ubuntu.
As a developer, dual booting between linux & windows is important to me. For me this is a deal breaker for future dell laptops if such a small fix, which is already fully figured out by community work, is totally turned down. Could be an easy win for Dell to have someone have a look at this and please a whole bunch of potentially lost clients.
Besides this, it's clearly also a bug for windows, so seems to me like an important thing to fix either way.