Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Talk about your MIDI interfaces, microphones, keyboards...

Moderators: MattKingUSA, khz

User avatar
cjoke
Established Member
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jul 25, 2019 8:03 pm
Location: Norway
Has thanked: 3 times
Contact:

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by cjoke »

msil wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 12:45 am
Bugeyed Earl wrote: Sat May 02, 2020 3:23 am Thanks for the suggestion, but there was one additional slider that moved off screen when I resized the window. Normally, I can see it.

One other point that I forgot to make about my troubleshooting - I've tried various kernels from 5.3.1 to 5.5.7, Ubuntu Studio, a couple of versions of Debian with updated kernels, and on 3 distinct computers with different architectures. The behavior seems identical on all, so that's why I suspect the interface is the issue.
For what it's worth, I also ran into your same issue and discovered that it was only happening on an older machine of mine (Core 2 Duo). I tested kernels from 5.4 to 5.7, alsamixer would not display the interface properly, and I would always see the following in the logs:

Code: Select all

Scarlett Gen 2 USB response result cmd 0 was -110
It was working fine with another machine of mine (i5 3rd gen) so I dd'd the OS from the working machine to the non-working one to rule out any differences in software and encountered the same issue. I have the same interface working fine on two different machines (Arch Linux and Ubuntu), both with newer CPUs (i5 3rd gen and i5 8th gen).

Maybe try your setup on a different machine to confirm this may be the case? Good luck!
I have a laptop where a xhci controller grabs the card (mixer works) and a PC where ehci controller grab the card (mixer dont work)

I installed ubuntu 20.04 and kernel Linux Innerpeace 5.4.0-31-lowlatency #35-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT Thu May 7 22:51:24 UTC 2020 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux with the same usbstick on both laptop and PC.

on PC usbdevice is connected to a HW usb3 input but invoke ehci usb2 controller instead, so my guess is that udev is kinda mess things up. I have tried to get help on ubuntuforum howto force xhci controller grab the device instead of letting the ehci controller get the job. I dont know it this helps , but I thought its worth trying :)

Heres link . https://askubuntu.com/questions/1243555 ... -want-xhci
Love, people, music, beer and lot of other stuff.
Bugeyed Earl
Established Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 22, 2020 3:53 pm

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by Bugeyed Earl »

cjoke wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 6:15 pm I have a laptop where a xhci controller grabs the card (mixer works) and a PC where ehci controller grab the card (mixer dont work)

I installed ubuntu 20.04 and kernel Linux Innerpeace 5.4.0-31-lowlatency #35-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT Thu May 7 22:51:24 UTC 2020 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux with the same usbstick on both laptop and PC.

on PC usbdevice is connected to a HW usb3 input but invoke ehci usb2 controller instead, so my guess is that udev is kinda mess things up. I have tried to get help on ubuntuforum howto force xhci controller grab the device instead of letting the ehci controller get the job. I dont know it this helps , but I thought its worth trying :)

Heres link . https://askubuntu.com/questions/1243555 ... -want-xhci
That's a question I haven't considered, I assumed this interface was supported on USB 2 controllers in Linux. I know it works fine with that controller in Windows 10. Maybe my main computers belong in a museum (I don't have USB 3,) but I can't be the only one running older equipment.

I could get a cheap USB 3 PCI-E controller card for my desktop system, but I really want to make this thing work with my laptop (an old Thinkpad T410i) also.
Bugeyed Earl
Established Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 22, 2020 3:53 pm

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by Bugeyed Earl »

msil wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 12:45 am For what it's worth, I also ran into your same issue and discovered that it was only happening on an older machine of mine (Core 2 Duo). I tested kernels from 5.4 to 5.7, alsamixer would not display the interface properly, and I would always see the following in the logs:

Code: Select all

Scarlett Gen 2 USB response result cmd 0 was -110
It was working fine with another machine of mine (i5 3rd gen) so I dd'd the OS from the working machine to the non-working one to rule out any differences in software and encountered the same issue. I have the same interface working fine on two different machines (Arch Linux and Ubuntu), both with newer CPUs (i5 3rd gen and i5 8th gen).

Maybe try your setup on a different machine to confirm this may be the case? Good luck!
I think we have a solution! I used my company's laptop (Core i7 8th gen) with a live boot Ubuntu Studio, and was successful for the first time:
alsamixer_01.png
alsamixer_01.png (37.87 KiB) Viewed 17394 times


My personal laptop is running a Core i3 1st gen, so it might be time to go shopping again...

Thanks again for the advice!
User avatar
cjoke
Established Member
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jul 25, 2019 8:03 pm
Location: Norway
Has thanked: 3 times
Contact:

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by cjoke »

Yea, I can confirm, I do hope it is not the cpu that cause this , since then I have to buy a new one, and that is not an option for me since I am poor.

On my PC : intel i7 950 (1th gen) DONT WORK!
lscpu | grep -i "model name"
Model name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 950 @ 3.07GHz

On laptop : intel i7-4600u (4th gen) where mixer driver WORKS!
lscpu | grep -i "model name"
Model name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz

I also did read from intel website about my 1th gen cpu, there is a bug towards ochi (usb1) and that is not fixed. maby it is something interferrence with sysfs and udev. I dunno, my knowledge is not that strong so I have given up this. I use laptop on livegigs, and can configure mixer from laptop if needed, and at my home studio I can boot windows and tweeks things from there.
Love, people, music, beer and lot of other stuff.
User avatar
cjoke
Established Member
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jul 25, 2019 8:03 pm
Location: Norway
Has thanked: 3 times
Contact:

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by cjoke »

Ok, here we go,

I have an Intel® Core™ i7-950 Processor 1st gen as I understand.

I got error message from dmesg with the internal usb inputs on mainboard :
user@host: lspci -nn
(02:00.0 USB controller [0c03]: NEC Corporation uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller [1033:0194] (rev 03))

errormessage in dmesg :

Code: Select all

Scarlett Gen 2 USB response result cmd 0 was -110 
The "big" change

Scarlett mixerdriver in snd-usb-audio does now recognize my scarlett 18i20 2 gen internal mixer out of the box after plugged in a "new" pci usb card and connected the audiocard to the new device.

With the new cheap pci usb card :
user@host: lspci -nn
06:00.0 USB controller [0c03]: Renesas Technology Corp. uPD720202 USB 3.0 Host Controller [1912:0015] (rev 02)

see the difference in the name of the chipset.

I havent looked further into this matter Im just happy to get it work without buying and upgrade for my computer with money I dont have.

Hope this will help others with the same problem.

I had a laptop where the mixerdriver did work and it used the xhci controller,
Since the mixerdriver worked on laptop with the xhci controller I tried to tweek udev on PC to load xhci controller aswell but with no luck mainboard it loaded ehci.

conclution : in my case mixerdriver works like a charm with the new usb-pci card and xhci-hcd driver .

Bus 11.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/2p, 480M
ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
ID 1235:8201 Focusrite-Novation
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 1, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
ID 1235:8201 Focusrite-Novation
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 2, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
ID 1235:8201 Focusrite-Novation
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 3, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
ID 1235:8201 Focusrite-Novation
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 4, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
ID 1235:8201 Focusrite-Novation
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 5, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=, 480M
ID 1235:8201 Focusrite-Novation
Love, people, music, beer and lot of other stuff.
geoffrey
Established Member
Posts: 252
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:08 am
Has thanked: 33 times
Been thanked: 169 times

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by geoffrey »

cjoke! That's it! With your hint I can reproduce the problem now!

I first thought the issue was with older Scarlett hardware versions, but your testing showed that wasn't the case. So I thought the issue was with older PCs, but also no (kind of). The problem seems to be related to the type of USB host controller; whether it is using EHCI or xHCI.

I found an old laptop that has both USB 2 and 3 ports. The driver works when the Scarlett is plugged in to the USB 3 port which uses xHCI, but not when it's plugged in to the USB 2 port which uses EHCI:

Plugged in to the USB 2 port, the kernel outputs this message:

Code: Select all

Jun 15 21:38:17 kernel: usb 2-1.2: new high-speed USB device number 4 using ehci-pci
and the driver fails.

Plugged in to the USB 3 port, the kernel outputs this message:

Code: Select all

Jun 15 21:50:36 kernel: usb 3-1: new high-speed USB device number 8 using xhci_hcd
and the driver succeeds.

I don't know much about USB, but I wouldn't think that the Scarlett should be able to tell what sort of USB host controller it is plugged in to. Nevermind, I'm going to stare at usbmon output for a long time to see if I can figure this out. The official Focusrite drivers don't have this problem, so it must be possible to make it work!
User avatar
cjoke
Established Member
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jul 25, 2019 8:03 pm
Location: Norway
Has thanked: 3 times
Contact:

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by cjoke »

Thats awesome! :)

Im my case on both usb3 inputs on PCmainboard, usbcontroller loaded ehci driver. And I tried all combinations in bios , enable, disable, all configurations.

Here is my current status
cjoke@Innerpeace:~$ lsusb -t
/: Bus 12.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/2p, 5000M
/: Bus 11.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/2p, 480M
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 1, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 2, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 3, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 4, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 5, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=, 480M
/: Bus 10.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/2p, 5000M
|__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Mass Storage, Driver=uas, 5000M
/: Bus 09.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/2p, 480M
/: Bus 08.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
|__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 1, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
/: Bus 07.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
|__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Wireless, Driver=btusb, 12M
|__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 1, Class=Wireless, Driver=btusb, 12M
|__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 2, Class=Application Specific Interface, Driver=, 12M
/: Bus 06.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/: Bus 05.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/: Bus 04.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/: Bus 03.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/: Bus 02.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=ehci-pci/6p, 480M
|__ Port 5: Dev 3, If 0, Class=Hub, Driver=hub/4p, 480M
|__ Port 2: Dev 5, If 0, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
|__ Port 2: Dev 5, If 1, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
|__ Port 2: Dev 5, If 2, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
/: Bus 01.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=ehci-pci/6p, 480M
|__ Port 3: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Video, Driver=uvcvideo, 480M
|__ Port 3: Dev 2, If 1, Class=Video, Driver=uvcvideo, 480M
|__ Port 3: Dev 2, If 2, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
|__ Port 3: Dev 2, If 3, Class=Audio, Driver=snd-usb-audio, 480M
uvcvideo is now connected to the usb3 input on PCmainboard the same input as the scarlett where connected before I got the new usb-pci card, and it also loads ehci-pci controller and its put the device on the same Bus (Bus 1) as scarlett aswell.

cjoke@Innerpeace:~$ lspci -nn | grep USB
00:1a.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 [8086:3a37]
00:1a.1 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 [8086:3a38]
00:1a.2 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6 [8086:3a39]
00:1a.7 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 [8086:3a3c]
00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 [8086:3a34]
00:1d.1 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 [8086:3a35]
00:1d.2 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 [8086:3a36]
00:1d.7 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801JI (ICH10 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 [8086:3a3a]
02:00.0 USB controller [0c03]: NEC Corporation uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller [1033:0194] (rev 03)
06:00.0 USB controller [0c03]: Renesas Technology Corp. uPD720202 USB 3.0 Host Controller [1912:0015] (rev 02)

Further :

Shooting from the "hip" - My wild guess "with high developed wimen's intuition" is that the integrated USB3 inputs on PCmainboard NEC Corporation uPD720200 is backwards compilant usb3 and usb2. When a usb2 device is connected it loads the ehci controller.

I tried to blacklist ehci in modprobe.d dir, aswell I tried some udev rules to force xhci-hcd driver to load, I even played with setpci
from this little how to force echi instead of xhci https://www.systutorials.com/how-to-for ... in-linux/

AND

On the new usb-pci card I got Renesas Technology Corp. uPD720202 its usb3 only? where the only option it has is to load the backwards compilant xhci-hcd controller/driver?


You tell me , im guessing.

nb! I also tried to read this, but I got dizzy, I guess you @geoffrey find this more readable than me;)
https://www.beyondlogic.org/usbnutshell/usb5.shtml

Cheers :)
Love, people, music, beer and lot of other stuff.
yatli
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2020 10:11 am

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by yatli »

Hi!

Just registered here to say THANK YOU.
Also, I'm wondering if you could add one line to mention that the driver is already in the kernel tree (as of 5.4-rc6)?
Took me a while to merge the archlinux kernel source history with the `scarlett-gen2` repo, and found out there's no difference at all (even better isn't it :D)
So on the newer systems, all you have to do is to enable it with a modprobe option.

btw mine is a 18i8 Gen 2, works perfectly.

Best,
Yatao
Last edited by yatli on Fri Dec 11, 2020 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
klausnje
Established Member
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2020 10:55 pm

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by klausnje »

Could you elaborate a little further on your post?

I am running windows 10 and Ubuntu 18.4 on an older machine that does not support xhci usb.
The Focusrite Control software detects the 18i8 abd works under Windows but the alsamixer does not under Ubuntu.
I could use Windows but was curious if there is fix or work around under Ubuntu.
In addition, the alsamixer was hit or miss on a newer test machine with xhci usb ports until I added this to my scarlett.conf under modprobe.d folder.
options snd_usb_audio index=0,1
options snd_hda_intel index=2,3
(Thanks to the moderator on archlinux.org.)

Does 5.4-rc6 fix the alsamixer issue of older ehci only USB ports not working?
Thanks
Joe
yatli
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2020 10:11 am

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by yatli »

klausnje wrote: Wed Dec 09, 2020 2:23 pm Could you elaborate a little further on your post?

I am running windows 10 and Ubuntu 18.4 on an older machine that does not support xhci usb.
The Focusrite Control software detects the 18i8 abd works under Windows but the alsamixer does not under Ubuntu.
I could use Windows but was curious if there is fix or work around under Ubuntu.
In addition, the alsamixer was hit or miss on a newer test machine with xhci usb ports until I added this to my scarlett.conf under modprobe.d folder.
options snd_usb_audio index=0,1
options snd_hda_intel index=2,3
(Thanks to the moderator on archlinux.org.)

Does 5.4-rc6 fix the alsamixer issue of older ehci only USB ports not working?
Thanks
Joe
Do `uname -a` -- if you have a kernel version higher than 5.8.8, the latest driver is already baked in.
You must specify device setup options in your `scarlett.conf`, otherwise the driver will not configure the device:
```
options snd_usb_audio device_setup=1,1,1,1
```

You can find out whether the driver kicked in with: `dmesg | grep "Focusrite"` -- if it tells you to give options, then update your config file. Otherwise it's properly set up in place.
Musicmaker
Established Member
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 2:34 pm
Been thanked: 5 times

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by Musicmaker »

The MB
a. intel USB 2.0 Q67 chipset with Intel USB 2.0
b. Renesas NEC uPD720200 controller on board.
c. Ubuntu 20.04 low latency kernel.
d. Linux H3U1 5.8.0-43-lowlatency #49-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT Fri Feb 5 04:42:29 UTC 2021 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux[/i]

An 18i20 Gen 1 works ONLY on the 2.0 ports. @ 4msec (3 frames @ 64,
Zero XRUNS) with the related settings made for priorities , it works even trough a USB 2.0 Hub.
Using the FR provided USB cable (other cables give problems)
On USB 3,0 port, no mattery legacy or EHCI hand offs in BIOS, alsamixr is ok, but JACK errors out and won't start.

An 18i20 Gen2 works ONLY on the USB 3.0 ports
No matterr EHCI hands off enabled or disabled or legacy USB enabled or disabled.
Using the suplied red USB cable

[1] Plugin in to USB 3.0 port on 2.0 hub or in any of the USB 2.0 port on PC (not working)

lsusb shows "Novation Focusrite".
I have the settings in scarlett.conf but it still shows Focusrite Scarlett Gen 2 Mixer Driver disabled; use options snd_usb_audio device_setup=1 to enable and report any issues to g@b4.vu
Alsamixer shows USB device with vendor:product ID as pictured below

when connection via hub to USB 3
[ 1823.596742] usb 3-1.1.4: new high-speed USB device number 26 using xhci_hcd
[ 1823.680584] usb 3-1.1.4: New USB device found, idVendor=1235, idProduct=8201, bcdDevice= 6.75
[ 1823.680587] usb 3-1.1.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=3, SerialNumber=2
[ 1823.680589] usb 3-1.1.4: Product: Scarlett 18i20 USB
[ 1823.680591] usb 3-1.1.4: Manufacturer: Focusrite
[ 1823.680592] usb 3-1.1.4: SerialNumber: 03001954
[ 1823.919050] usb 3-1.1.4: Focusrite Scarlett Gen 2 Mixer Driver disabled; use options snd_usb_audio device_setup=1 to enable and report any issues to g@b4.vu
[ 4325.956588] usb 3-1.1.4: USB disconnect, device number 26

[2] Plug in to USB 3.0 port on PC (working)

Shows up in lsusb as "Focusrite-Novation Scarlett 18i20" (kind of weird, same vendor:product ID as above !)
Must boot up the PC with the Gen 2 powered on.
if powered on after boot or with the Gen1 powered on alsamixer shows "Scarlett 18i20" but with only one control

[ 4331.726633] usb 3-1.1.1: new full-speed USB device number 31 using xhci_hcd
[ 4332.946601] usb 3-2: new high-speed USB device number 32 using xhci_hcd
[ 4333.078482] usb 3-2: New USB device found, idVendor=1235, idProduct=8201, bcdDevice= 6.75
[ 4333.078485] usb 3-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=3, SerialNumber=2
[ 4333.078487] usb 3-2: Product: Scarlett 18i20 USB
[ 4333.078489] usb 3-2: Manufacturer: Focusrite
[ 4333.078490] usb 3-2: SerialNumber: 03001954

[3] using both Gen 1 (on USB 2.0) and Gen 2 (on USB 3.0)

Must boot the PC with the Gen 1 off,
Must let it boot with the Gen 2 powered on
After boot, power on the Gen 1 and both can be, alternating, started and stopped with JACK

[4] Conclusions
a. Gen 1 only works on the Intel USB 2.0 ports.
b. Gen 2 only works on the renesas NEC USB 3,0 ports
c. Must only have the Gen 2 powered on at boot and the Gen 1 powered off.

[5] Other points:

a. When they are working, the only issues I have is to get sound under JACK is to toggle SYNC in alsamixer. (both with Gen1 and Gen2)
b. I have some notebooks with USB 2.0 and 3.0 port and will verify this on those. Hope this helps or gives any hint.
c. I am also trying to support kernel development but above version of thhe Ubuntu 20.04 kernel can't be compiled due it errors out on missing NVIDIA
sources.
Attachments
Screenshot from 2021-02-16 16-32-11.png
Screenshot from 2021-02-16 16-32-11.png (10.78 KiB) Viewed 17285 times
Screenshot from 2021-02-16 12-39-31.png
Screenshot from 2021-02-16 12-39-31.png (10.51 KiB) Viewed 17287 times
geoffrey
Established Member
Posts: 252
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:08 am
Has thanked: 33 times
Been thanked: 169 times

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by geoffrey »

Hi!

It's been a while, but I finally got time and access to hardware to find and fix the long-outstanding USB 2 (EHCI) bug.

Anyone who has a 6i6, 18i8, or 18i20 2nd Gen device either working or not working, please could you help me test:
https://github.com/geoffreybennett/scar ... /v5.12.5s1 (source, binary RPMs, and debs available there)
  • If it was working before, it should still be working (I changed the initialisation sequence so it should be compatible with Gen 2 and Gen 3).
  • If it failed before with the -110 error and it was using the ehci-pci host driver, then it should now work.
  • If it was failing before with some other problem, please let me know.
If this test succeeds for everyone then I think it would be appropriate to enable the driver by default (no need to hide it beind the device_setup=1 option).

Thanks,
Geoffrey.
fudini
Established Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu May 27, 2021 3:24 pm

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by fudini »

Hi,

I've had my Scarlet 6i6 gen2 working fine in Ubuntu 20.04 until one day I booted up with no sound.

I looked in the updates history logs and there was this suspicion entry:

Code: Select all

Start-Date: 2021-03-25  06:13:45
Commandline: /usr/bin/unattended-upgrade
Install: linux-image-5.8.0-48-generic:amd64 (5.8.0-48.54~20.04.1, automatic), linux-headers-5.8.0-48-generic:amd64 (5.8.0-48.54~20.04.1, automatic), linux-hwe-5.8-headers-5.8.0-48:amd64 (5.8.0-48.54~20.04.1, automatic), linux-modules-extra-5.8.0-48-generic:amd64 (5.8.0-48.54~20.04.1, automatic), linux-modules-5.8.0-48-generic:amd64 (5.8.0-48.54~20.04.1, automatic)
Upgrade: linux-headers-generic-hwe-20.04:amd64 (5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31, 5.8.0.48.54~20.04.32), linux-image-generic-hwe-20.04:amd64 (5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31, 5.8.0.48.54~20.04.32), linux-generic-hwe-20.04:amd64 (5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31, 5.8.0.48.54~20.04.32)
End-Date: 2021-03-25  06:14:16
There are no obvious errors in my logs when initializing the device, it shows:

Code: Select all

usb 3-2: Focusrite Scarlett Gen 2 Mixer Driver enabled pid=0x8203
I here I was going to write a sad story and ask for help, but before doing that that I decided to try something else.

1. I swapped the kernel for the one that @geoffrey posted above - not sure this was needed, but I'm sure I'm keeping it (until another unattended upgrade) :)
2. I edited the /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf and changed:

Code: Select all

options snd-usb-audio index=-2
to:

Code: Select all

options snd-usb-audio index=0
3. In alsamixer I could no longer see the volume bars, instead I only had an option to change the source of the clock which I changed to "Internal"
4. I HAVE MY SOUND BACK

I hope it helps someone.

Thanks,
Daniel
geoffrey
Established Member
Posts: 252
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:08 am
Has thanked: 33 times
Been thanked: 169 times

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by geoffrey »

fudini wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 6:12 pm Hi,

I've had my Scarlet 6i6 gen2 working fine in Ubuntu 20.04 until one day I booted up with no sound.

I looked in the updates history logs and there was this suspicion entry:

Code: Select all

Start-Date: 2021-03-25  06:13:45
Commandline: /usr/bin/unattended-upgrade
Install: linux-image-5.8.0-48-generic:amd64 (5.8.0-48.54~20.04.1, automatic), linux-headers-5.8.0-48-generic:amd64 (5.8.0-48.54~20.04.1, automatic), linux-hwe-5.8-headers-5.8.0-48:amd64 (5.8.0-48.54~20.04.1, automatic), linux-modules-extra-5.8.0-48-generic:amd64 (5.8.0-48.54~20.04.1, automatic), linux-modules-5.8.0-48-generic:amd64 (5.8.0-48.54~20.04.1, automatic)
Upgrade: linux-headers-generic-hwe-20.04:amd64 (5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31, 5.8.0.48.54~20.04.32), linux-image-generic-hwe-20.04:amd64 (5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31, 5.8.0.48.54~20.04.32), linux-generic-hwe-20.04:amd64 (5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31, 5.8.0.48.54~20.04.32)
End-Date: 2021-03-25  06:14:16
There are no obvious errors in my logs when initializing the device, it shows:

Code: Select all

usb 3-2: Focusrite Scarlett Gen 2 Mixer Driver enabled pid=0x8203
I here I was going to write a sad story and ask for help, but before doing that that I decided to try something else.

1. I swapped the kernel for the one that @geoffrey posted above - not sure this was needed, but I'm sure I'm keeping it (until another unattended upgrade) :)
2. I edited the /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf and changed:

Code: Select all

options snd-usb-audio index=-2
to:

Code: Select all

options snd-usb-audio index=0
3. In alsamixer I could no longer see the volume bars, instead I only had an option to change the source of the clock which I changed to "Internal"
4. I HAVE MY SOUND BACK

I hope it helps someone.

Thanks,
Daniel
Hi Fudini,

Would you mind trying something please and replying with the results...

1. With that 5.12.5s1 kernel (or even better the later one 5.12.5s3 at https://github.com/geoffreybennett/scar ... 2/releases), please run this command:

Code: Select all

dmesg|grep -A 5 -B 5 -i scarlett
I expect you will see somewhere in there: "Mixer Driver disabled".

2. Create a file /etc/modprobe.d/scarlett.conf containing:

Code: Select all

options snd_usb_audio vid=0x1235 pid=0x8203 device_setup=1
3. Reboot and check dmesg again:

Code: Select all

dmesg|grep -A 5 -B 5 -i scarlett
It should say "driver enabled" and the volume bars and all the other routing options should be there too.

Thanks in advance for your help. We really need this feedback in order to get the driver enabled in the mainline kernel by default.

Regards,
Geoffrey.
fudini
Established Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu May 27, 2021 3:24 pm

Re: Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and 18i8 2nd Gen mixer driver

Post by fudini »

@geoffrey Yes, it said "Mixer Driver disabled" indeed.

I used 5.12.5s3 kernel, added an entry to scarlett.conf and everything seems to be working - I have sound and bars in the mixer.
Post Reply