Error Failed to open "alsa" (alsa). Failed to open alsa device "volumio" no such device

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61

I don’t use HiFi Berry so I don’t know what you want to say. Please connect what dots you like.
Or maybe you think that HiFi Berry is the culprit.

62

So you have a problem, some kind of problem, using Volumio, of some unspecified version, running on some kind of hardware that’s not the hardware that the users in this thread were helped with.

Glad that’s cleared up.

63

Yep. It seems that you catch quick.
Any version, any DAC. Years old issue. Most of us have this issue.
I’m happy that you cleared up.

64

@net4u
Responding to a post from three years ago, impressive commitment.

Is this a generous character donation to the community,
or did Internet Explorer finally finish loading and you still need help?

For the latter you need to throw in some info so we have something to work with or look into.

65

Hey @net4u,

As you can see, you replied to @ianjturner’s post from 2022 about a HiFiBerry Digi+ Pro issue. You then mentioned you do not use HiFiBerry, so it is unclear what connection you are making to that specific post.

Could you clarify two things:

  1. What do you mean by “Volumio still send the bills. Monthly.” - are you referring to a MyVolumio subscription? What is the technical connection between billing and the ALSA error you are reporting?

  2. What is your actual setup and problem? Specifically:

    • What device is Volumio running on? (Raspberry Pi model/revision, x86, etc.)
    • What audio output are you using? (USB DAC, I2S HAT, HDMI - make and model)
    • Exact Volumio version number from Settings/System
    • What happens, when does it happen, and can you reproduce it reliably?
    • A log link from http://volumio.local/dev - grab this after reproducing the error but BEFORE rebooting, as logs are lost on power cycle

If you are on a Raspberry Pi, identify your board revision using this guide:

This thread spans four years and dozens of different hardware combinations. Without knowing your specific setup, there is no basis to investigate.

Kind Regards,

66

I will clariffy the 1.) question: yes I pay a monthly subscription. The old ALSA bug is present in a product for wich I pay subscription. Since this forum is supported by Volumio, first responders that I expect to be present are Volumio guys.
I apreciate help from others. What I don’t apreciate is arogance and sense of self sufficience.
Particular regarding this bug, is absolutelly irelevant my Volumio build, my HW version etc. since is a old and very, very frequent issue. If is a product well enginereed, it must lay on a good, solid layer of HW abstraction, so the bug to be related only to code itself. At least so it was in the times when I was developper.
Best regards.

67

Hey @net4u,

I will address your points directly.

Regarding your subscription - MyVolumio subscriptions pay for streaming integrations, multiroom, cloud services, and related features. They do not entitle you to on-demand bug fixes, nor do they change how community support works. Volumio staff participate in this forum, but so do volunteers. I am a volunteer. You do not get to dictate the terms of free help.

Regarding “absolutely irrelevant” hardware and version details - you are wrong. This thread is the evidence. It spans four years, covers Raspberry Pi 3, 4, Zero 2, x86, HiFiBerry, IQAudio, Pimoroni, USB DACs, and multiple Volumio versions from 2.x to 3.x. The ALSA error message is the same. The causes are not. GPIO conflicts, power supply issues, hardware revisions, duplicate overlay entries, mixer configuration corruption, plugin conflicts - all producing the identical error string.

“No such device” means the kernel cannot find the expected ALSA device at playback time. That can happen for a dozen different reasons depending on hardware, driver, and configuration. There is no single “old ALSA bug” here. There is a common error message with multiple distinct causes. Declaring hardware details irrelevant does not make it so.

Regarding “hardware abstraction” making this code-only - audio on embedded Linux does not work that way. I2S HATs require specific device tree overlays matched to specific hardware. USB DACs depend on kernel drivers and device enumeration. These are hardware-dependent by design, not by deficiency.

I am willing to help you and I think other volunteers too. The diagnostic requirements I listed are not arrogance - they are the minimum needed to investigate. Without them, you are asking me and others to guess, and guessing wastes your time and mine.

The offer stands. Provide the details, and I will look into it.

Kind Regards,