Intel SST audio device driver behaviour on mute-unmute

[RamashankarAgrahari]

Hi,

I am facing an issue on windows OS with Intel SST audio device with both Intel SST driver and Realtek SST driver.

I am capturing the system speaker sound through loopback speaker using Windows WASAPI framework.

On systems, NOT having Intel SST audio device/driver, actual sound data can be captured when system is put on mute. But, this is not the case with SST device/driver. Here, if system is put on mute, this driver doesn't provide actual sound data to audio capture framework. Actual sound is provided only when system is unmute.

It seems that audio data is now muted at some lower level, well before supplying the data to these audio capture frameworks, whereas it was not the case with earlier audio device/drivers. 

So is this understanding correct? Is it the limitation or some architectural change in Intel SST?

If so, how can I get the actual sound now when system is put on mute? Is there any sdk/api provided by intel for this?

System details where issue is occuring:

OS: Windows11 23H2

Audio device: Intel® Smart Sound Technology for MIPI SoundWire® Audio
Driver version: 10.29.0.10273

Thanks.

[DhannielM_Intel]

Hi RamashankarAgrahari,

Thank you for posting in the community, to further investigate this situation I would like to ask some questions on this issue. 

1. Could you share if you are using laptop or a desktop system for this project?

2. If you are using a laptop can you share the exact model of your laptop? But if you are using a desktop please share the exact model of it.

3. Could you confirm if I got your issue correct, you are trying to capture an actual sound data while the system is you are using is muted, is this correct?

4. Also, are you having an error message on your device manager?

This will help us evaluate the situation properly, and I am looking forward hearing from you.

Best regards,

Dhanniel M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RamashankarAgrahari]

Hi Dhanniel,

Thanks for the acknowledgement. Here are the answers to your queries: 

1. Laptop

2. Dell XPS  (12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1240P 1.70 GHz, Display Adapter: Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics, RAM: 16 GB, OS: Win11 23H2)

3. Yes. You understood it correctly.

4. No, there is no error message in device manager.

Just to re-clarify: I am using WASAPI to capture system audio. On pc having other than SST audio device/driver, it can give you actual sound on system mute also. 

Thanks

[DhannielM_Intel]

Hi RamashankarAgrahari,

Since the device you are using is laptop, it is advisable to contact DELL for the driver assistance on the Intel SST. As they can provide the necessary support to this particular situation especially regarding to SST. You can contact DELL Support through this link.

Best regards,

Dhanniel M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RamashankarAgrahari]

Hi Dhanniel,

Thanks for you reply. Though I will initiate a parallel communication with DELL support too, but I think it  is more relevant to the SST driver because this issue is not a DELL laptop specific, but on other laptops (like HP,  Lenovo) too which has Intel SST audio device.

So I expect some resolution or concrete information from Intel side on this issue.

Thanks