*System/Hardware Details:* Parameter Value *Laptop Model* *ASUS VivoBook X509UA* *CPU Generation* Intel Core i3-7020U (Kaby Lake / Sunrise Point-LP) *Audio Codec* Realtek ALC3251 (Variant of ALC256) *Subsystem ID (SSID)* *1043:1961* (ASUSTeK Computer Inc.) *PCI Device ID* Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio [8086:9d71] *Working Kernel Version* *Linux Kernel 6.8.0-31* and previous versions. *Broken Kernel Version* *Starts AFTER 6.8.0-31* (e.g., 6.8.0-32, 6.8.0-35, etc.).

Description of the Issue

The internal microphone on the ASUS X509UA is *no longer functional* on Linux kernels newer than version 6.8.0-31. The input device is detected by ALSA/PulseAudio, but the capture level remains at zero (no sound is recorded).

The issue is a *clear regression*, as the microphone worked correctly on kernel 6.8.0-31 and all previous versions (e.g., in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS). It also works correctly under Chrome OS Flex, which uses a custom-patched kernel.

Diagnostic Steps Performed

All standard user-level and common developer workarounds have failed on the affected kernel versions:

1.

*ALSA Mixer Levels:* Confirmed that the "Capture," "Mic," and "Internal Mic Boost" levels are correctly set (not muted—"OO" instead of "MM") and boosted (to 80-100%). 2.

*hdajackretask (Pin Remapping):* All available pins, including 0x19, 0x1b, and "Not Connected" pins (0x12, 0x13, 0x18, 0x1a), were tested with the *"Internal mic"* function. None of these overrides corrected the issue. 3.

*hda-verb Commands:* Standard GPIO-based *quirks* commonly used to fix Realtek mic issues (e.g., hda-verb 0x01/0x02/0x04) were executed and failed to activate the microphone. 4.

*ALSA Model Quirk Options:* The following common and targeted model= options were added to /etc/modprobe.d/test-audio.conf (one at a time, followed by sudo alsa force-reload) and did not resolve the issue: -

options snd-hda-intel model=alc256-asus-mic1 -

options snd-hda-intel model=laptop-amic -

options snd-hda-intel model=dell-headset-multi (This caused the microphone to disappear entirely.) 5.

*Old Configuration Files:* Reverting to or applying the exact configuration files (hda.conf) that *worked* on the pre-6.8 kernels failed to activate the microphone on the post-6.8.0-31 kernels, suggesting a deeper structural change in the driver code.

Request

The failure of all standard workarounds indicates that the regression is due to a *missing or incorrect pin-mapping configuration* for the *1043:1961 SSID* within the snd-hda-intel driver, likely introduced in a patch after *6.8.0-31*.

A patch is needed to re-introduce the correct microphone *quirk* for the *ASUS X509UA (1043:1961)* to restore functionality on the latest Linux kernel series.