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USB-C AUDIO on the ASUS ROG Strix B550-i Gaming

Sihastru
Level 7
Hello!

The USB-C AUDIO port on my ASUS ROG Strix B550-i Gaming seems to not work anymore after I updated the BIOS to 1803. It worked mostly fine with 1801 and lower, with the included adapter USB-C to 4 pole audio jack, I was using it to connect my headphones + mic without needing to disconnect my speakers. I say mostly because the jack sensing thing was finicky on the USB-C, and sometimes required a reboot.

Can anyone with this motherboard confirm that they still have audio through the dedicated USB-C AUDIO port on this version of the BIOS? Eventually I will downgrade the BIOS to 1801 or even lower (160x, I have all of them, even if ASUS pulled all but 1401) to diagnose this issue, but for now I would like to avoid it.

Of course I already tried a fresh OS install (NVMe SSD upgrade), with fresh drivers (the ones on the download page and the update available through Armory Crate), and even the experimental Realtek audio drivers available in the ASUS forums (UAD - ASUS ROG SS3-DTS MB). None seem to work.

Full system specs in the profile section on the left.

Thanks!
There are more things in heaven and earth then are dreamt of in your philosophy.
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17 REPLIES 17

MoKiChU
Level 40
Hi,

As you determined by your tests, this is not linked to the audio drivers used but rather to the BIOS & AGESA used.

Please open a ticket with ASUS Support and/or AMD Support.

Sihastru
Level 7
Thank you for responding.

Could also be hardware failure on my particular motherboard, the adapter cable or something else and the timing could be just a coincidence. This is why I'm asking for someone who has this motherboard to either replicate or disprove my theory that it could be related to the new BIOS version.

The USB-C AUDIO implementation seems to be an ASUS exclusive custom design at the moment, so talking to AMD would be an exercise in futility.

If anyone with the same motherboard could chip in, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
There are more things in heaven and earth then are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Sihastru wrote:
Thank you for responding.

Could also be hardware failure on my particular motherboard, the adapter cable or something else and the timing could be just a coincidence. This is why I'm asking for someone who has this motherboard to either replicate or disprove my theory that it could be related to the new BIOS version.

The USB-C AUDIO implementation seems to be an ASUS exclusive custom design at the moment, so talking to AMD would be an exercise in futility.

If anyone with the same motherboard could chip in, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.



Hi, I have this ROG B550-I mb and get the same issue since I upgraded the BIOS to 1803 version. The USB-c audio is a USB2.0 port. There are many articles related to B550 chipset USB2.0 malfunction. You can try below steps to make the USB-c audio works.

1. turn of your computer and unplug the power supply or switch off the power supply if there is a switch on it.
2. click the power button several times.
3. turn on your computer
4. If your headphone doesn't work, unplug from the USB-c adapter and plug it. Your headphone should work.

I wish this trick can help.

Sihastru
Level 7
Hi, kklin,

I followed your steps and it worked. Thank you. While it's not a great user experience, and it's a very roundabout way of dealing with this issue, it's still something.

As for the AMD USB issues, I don't think this is necessarily related to that, as the USB-C AUDIO doesn't actually use the USB protocol, there's a chip on the motherboard that will internally (and "physically") switch the connection from USB to the sound card. And the USB-C AUDIO port functions as USB for me without any issues, I tested it briefly with a few devices, it's just that when it has to switch to AUDIO, it doesn't do it.

Thanks again!
There are more things in heaven and earth then are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Sihastru
Level 7
Just a quick follow up. After shutting down and powering up again, the audio through the USB-C AUDIO port ceases to function. Which makes the procedure to make it work again tedious and very annoying.

We need an official fix for this.
There are more things in heaven and earth then are dreamt of in your philosophy.

PapperCat
Level 7
I had the same problem.
I asked the dev RD of ASUS MB, They told me a solution.

1.
87983
Double click the USBC Headset

2.
87984
Switch to "Spatial Sound" page, choose "Windows Sonic"

3.
My USBC Headset works perfectly now.

(If there is an error message "Not enough USB controller resources"
after you plug in your USBC Headset, this method works too.)

Sihastru
Level 7
In my case, the headset doesn't show up in the audio devices list, because it's not detected in the first place.

I don't use a USB-C headphone/headset, I use an analog one (audio jack, 3-pole and 4-pole) connected with the included USB-C to audio jack cable (4-pole, stereo + mic). Some ASUS motherboards have dedicated USB-C AUDIO ports.

There isn't a USB-C DAC, it's just the physical USB-C connection used as analog audio using a switch chip. When you connect a USB-C device, it will work as a USB 2.0 port, and when you connect the included adapter + headphones it should switch to analog audio, but it doesn't.
There are more things in heaven and earth then are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Sihastru
Level 7
Small update. At first glance, it looks like BIOS version 2003 BETA fixed this issue. Hopefully it stays fixed.
There are more things in heaven and earth then are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Sihastru wrote:
Small update. At first glance, it looks like BIOS version 2003 BETA fixed this issue. Hopefully it stays fixed.



HI, Sihastru

It's happy to know the problem is solved.
I upgrade the BIOS to version 2003 beta but still have the same issue.
However, the same solving procedures works fine again.

Can I know which version of AUDIO DRIVER you have on your system?

Thank you!!