Public Beta Test: Audio Without Compromise - Refining the Future of Volumio on Bookworm

Volumio Development Volumio Beta Testing
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Full Changelog

v4.066 – November 04, 2025

Release Type: Release Candidate

This Release Candidate introduces a new onboarding experience and resolves a multistrap regression on Raspberry Pi.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

  • New onboarding experience

Raspberry Pi:

  • Fixed multistrap regression

v4.065 – November 04, 2025

Build failed

v4.064 – November 03, 2025

Release Type: Release Candidate

This Release Candidate delivers theme updates for display rotation support, removes legacy ARM code, and locks pre-release updates to critical fixes only.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

Raspberry Pi:

  • Fully decoupled from legacy ARMv6 code

v4.063 – October 28, 2025

Build failed

v4.062 – October 09, 2025

Release Type: Release Candidate

This Release Candidate finalizes the Single Mode Network (SMN) implementation and includes input and kernel updates across platforms.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

  • Enabled SMN (Single Mode Network) for simplified network configuration
  • Add support for a Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5

Raspberry Pi:

  • Kernel rebuild for version 6.12.47 (corrected gcc)

x86/AMD64:

  • Added on-screen touch keyboard support

v4.060 – October 04, 2025

Release Type: Release Candidate

This Release Candidate introduces kernel updates and hardware-level enhancements for brightness control on x86 systems.

Breaking Changes:
None.

Raspberry Pi:

  • Kernel downgraded to version 6.12.47

x86/AMD64:

  • Added support for hardware backlight brightness control

v4.030 – October 04, 2025

Release Type: Release Candidate

This Release Candidate introduces Pi kernel update.

Breaking Changes:
None.

Raspberry Pi:

  • Kernel bumped to version 6.12.50

v4.029 – October 02, 2025

Release Type: Release Candidate Update

This update revises core network behavior, improves timekeeping accuracy, and includes platform-specific refinements.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

  • Revised network mode handling
  • Improved timekeeping with watchdog integration
  • Relaxed MPD early start conditions for smoother boot sequences

Raspberry Pi:

  • Added support for Raspberry Pi 500+ and CM5 16GB Lite revision identifiers

x86/AMD64:

  • Corrected screen rotation configuration path

v4.024/4.025 – September 24, 2025

Release Type: Official Release Candidate

This marks the first official Release Candidate for Volumio 4, focused on finalizing core network behavior and ensuring reliable initial startup.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

  • Introduced single network mode for simplified interface handling

v4.023 – September 20, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This release improves device handling across all platforms and adds boot-time display configuration support for x86 systems.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

  • Fixed handling of multi-device audio cards
  • Resolved crash when browsing an empty list

x86/AMD64:

  • Added support for boot_screen_rotation.cfg to enable boot-time screen orientation control

v4.022 – August 30, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This update introduces a new MPD release with multiple decoder fixes and enhancements, alongside a Bluetooth stack upgrade and platform-specific stability adjustments.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

MPD upgraded to 0.24-6:

  • Fixed disappearing playlist files
  • decoder/ffmpeg: Added support for .aif files
  • decoder/mpg123:
  • Added full_scan option
  • Enabled seeking on remote files
  • Worked around ID3 tag corruption bug in libmpg123
  • decoder/sidplay: Added support for PSID files

Bluetooth:

  • Upgraded BlueZ to version 5.83

x86/AMD64:

  • Added support for systems requiring longer USB initialization time

v4.021 – August 02, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This release introduces an update to the TIDAL Connect plugin for all supported platforms.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

  • Updated TIDAL Connect plugin

v4.020 – July 26, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This release improves multiroom subsystems.

Breaking Changes:
None

All Platforms:

ALSA:

  • Fix: Capture path does not match binary

v4.019 - July 25, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

Breaking Changes:

Raspberry Pi:

  • Fix: a clean-up mechanism that explicitly removes these +rpt-rpi-* folders before depmod and initramfs stages

v4.018 – July 25, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This release improves CD-ROM playback reliability, upgrades MPD, and resolves multiple regressions and service-level issues across the backend and multiroom subsystems.

Breaking Changes:
None

All Platforms:

CD-ROM:

  • Fix: Ensure CD speed is correctly set before playback begins
  • Switched to cdspeedctl for reliable and quiet CD playback in Volumio 4

Upgrade:

  • MPD upgraded to version 0.24.5-2 for Volumio 4

Regressions and Fixes:

  • alsa capture: Null dir response
  • triggerhappy: Switched to service-only mode with explicit rebind
  • smb: Race condition regression identified
  • multiroom:
    • Fixed use of undefined service variable
    • Updated volumio-alsa-plugin to 2.0.0 (Debian-style ALSA libraries)
    • Deleted obsolete segment files

UPnP:

  • Fixed UPnP device description template issues and resolved XML structure placeholders

Backend:

  • Applied workaround for libxmljs breaking changes affecting the WebRadio plugin
  • Attempted SMB version downgrade for potential performance improvements

v4.017 – July 19, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This update includes Bluetooth HID handling and CD-ROM plugin improvements, with ongoing work on SMB performance tuning and HDA NVidia sound card support.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

Bluetooth:

  • Fixed premature Bluetooth interface bring-up issue
  • Ensured proper handling of interface initialization by BlueZ

CD-ROM Plugin:

  • Added delay and retry mechanism for accurate CD speed control
  • Replaced outdated methods with more reliable tools for speed adjustment

Pending Merge:

  • All platforms: Attempting SMB version downgrade for performance improvements (merged)
  • x86/AMD64: [HDA Sound] Added support for HDA NVidia sound card (merged)

v4.016 – July 12, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This update includes kernel upgrades across platforms and resolves a key Samba service initialization issue.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:
- Fixed SMB service initialization sequencing issue

Raspberry Pi:
- Kernel updated to 6.12.34

x86/AMD64:
- Kernel updated to 6.12.35
- Realtek ALC897: unmuted all IEC958 controls for full SPDIF output

v4.015 – July 5, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This release delivers multiple service-level improvements for audio stack reliability, Volumio backend stability, and boot performance, with platform-specific enhancements.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

Audio Stack Reliability
- Added alsa-restore.service override to ensure runtime directory exists and ALSA card initialization completes before restoring state
- Introduced wait-for-cards to pause restore process until sound devices are available

Volumio Service Stability
- Added volumio.service override to require alsa-restore.service, preventing early backend start before audio stack readiness

Boot Performance and Order Fixes (Samba)
- winbind.service now waits for smbd.service and network-online.target
- nmbd.service now waits for winbind.service
- Prevents boot stalls and accelerates network service availability

Raspberry Pi:
- Firmware aligned with upstream Raspbian Bookworm

x86/AMD64:
- Kernel updated to 6.12.35
- Realtek ALC897: unmuted all IEC958 controls for proper SPDIF output

v4.014 – June 28, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This release focuses on Web Radio functionality and system-level package corrections to improve compatibility with Bookworm-based systems.

Breaking Changes:
Removal of libraspberrypi0 from multistrap package list
- This legacy VideoCore IV library conflicts with libdtovl0, now required on Bookworm
- libraspberrypi0 is deprecated in Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm
- Also resolves breakage caused by its Replaces/Breaks relationship with raspi-utils overlay tools

All Platforms:
Fix for WebStation search
[TBC] Early-stage fix for TIDAL Connect (pending validation)

v4.013 – June 21, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This update introduces early-stage fixes for core backend prototype implementations related to third-party service integration. These changes are experimental and may require further refinement based on real-world testing. Proceed with caution.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:
Prototype fix pass for backend handling of:

  • WebStation search → Missed PR - invalid log entry
  • TIDAL Connect Plugin
  • Qobuz Connect Plugin
These components are in early fix stage and subject to further revision.

v4.012 – June 14, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This update includes a major MPD upgrade aimed at resolving persistent playback and metadata issues. The release is provisional and subject to follow-up revisions based on upstream finalization.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:
MPD updated to v0.24.5 (pre-release)

  • Expected to fix missing metadata, incorrect track duration, and various playback quirks
  • Final version pending upstream release; a revision update is anticipated

v4.011 – June 07, 2025

Release Type: Beta Update

This update includes targeted enhancements for peripheral support and device-specific improvements to input and audio handling.

Breaking Changes:
None.

All Platforms:

  • Udev rules update for WiFi and Bluetooth USB devices

Raspberry Pi:

  • ALSA restore improvements

x86/AMD64:

  • On-screen keyboard

v4.010 – June 02, 2025

Release Type: Public Beta Launch

This marks the beginning of the Volumio Bookworm Public Beta.
It includes foundational updates, stability improvements, and sets the baseline for the next phase of testing.

Breaking Changes:

  • New Beta track begins here.
    Builds prior to v4.010 are considered Alpha and are no longer supported.

  • Partition layout introduced in Alpha v4.004 is now standard.
    Devices not already reflashed must do so to install this or future Beta builds.

All Platforms:

  • Bookworm platform stabilized for Beta entry
  • Known issues are tracked separately (see Known Issues post)

Kind Regards,

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