Can't Screen Grab or Share Screen after switching to PulseAudio on Kubuntu 26.04

[Natsukian]

Hi there,

So I've upgraded from Kubuntu 25 to Kubuntu 26 a month ago.
But when it booted up I noticed it couldn't send 5.1 sound though the Toslink port on my motherboard.
While digging, I found that PulseAudio had been replaced by Pipewire, and that Pipewire didn't support such profile through integrated motherboard ports, only through GPU outputs (like HDMI).
Anyway, I changed it back to PulseAudio cause it worked fine for me and I do enjoy my surround sound. (While changing it I also noticed that PulseAudio now automatically up mixes stereo stream to 5.1 if selected as an output profile, it's excellent !)
But now, if I try to record my screen with OBS or just share it on Discord, I get an error :

Failed to connect PipeWire context

It's kind of becoming annoying, especially since I don't care about recording the sound, and even if I did, how can I get it to work while still using PulseAudio ?

Here are my specs :

System:
Host: MUTHER Kernel: 7.0.0-22-generic arch: x86_64 bits: 64
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.6.4 Distro: Kubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon)
Machine:
Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING v: Rev 1.xx
serial: <superuser required> Firmware: UEFI vendor: American Megatrends
v: 3103 date: 06/17/2020
CPU:
Info: 8-core model: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X bits: 64 type: MT MCP cache:L2: 4 MiB
Speed (MHz):avg: 3811 min/max: 2200/4549 cores:1: 3811 2: 3811 3: 3811
4: 3811 5: 3811 6: 3811 7: 3811 8: 3811 9: 3811 10: 3811 11: 3811 12: 3811
13: 3811 14: 3811 15: 3811 16: 3811
Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA GP106 [GeForce GTX 1060 6GB] driver: nvidia v: 580.159.03
Device-2: Logitech Webcam C300 driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo type: USB
Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.22 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.10
compositor: kwin_wayland driver:X:loaded: nvidia
unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa gpu: nvidia,nvidia-nvswitch
resolution:1: 1024x768~60Hz 2: 1680x1050~60Hz 3: 1920x1080~60Hz
API: EGL v: 1.5 drivers: nvidia,swrast
platforms: gbm,wayland,x11,surfaceless,device
API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: nvidia mesa v: 580.159.03
renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB/PCIe/SSE2
API: Vulkan v: 1.4.341 drivers: nvidia,llvmpipe surfaces: N/A
Info:Tools:api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: nvidia-settings,nvidia-smi
wl: wayland-info x11: xdriinfo, xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
Device-1: NVIDIA GP106 High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Starship/Matisse HD Audio
driver: snd_hda_intel
Device-3: Logitech Webcam C300 driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo type: USB
API: ALSA v: k7.0.0-22-generic status: kernel-api
Server-1: PulseAudio v: 17.0 status: active

I've been looking around for a couple of hours, but can't seem to find anyone with a similar issue...
I'm not really new to Kubuntu, but I kinda feel like it's an easy problem, and I'm just not looking at it the right way.

Thanks in advance !

Natsukian

[claydoh]

upgraded from Kubuntu 25 to Kubuntu 26

25.10, or 25.04 to 26.04?

Ubuntu moved to a full PipeWire setup well before 24.04, so you were already using it, so the problem may be elsewhere.


PipeWire handles both audio and video, so the error is relevant. OBS wants pipewire.

A first thought might be that it is an X11 vs Wayland thing, but it shouldn't be today.
I have no problems screensharing in Discord, at least using my web browser.
In OBS, it may be worth trying the Flatpak version or a current release via PPA. In my light experience, sometimes one works better than the other, or vice versa, depending on the version. I doubt this will cure the error, as iirc it still connects to the system's audio as opposed to using internal libraries.


Check that you have libasound2-plugins installed; it is not a default package, but iirc does provide A52 support, which may be what you need.

If you haven't already, also check that the "pro" option is selected for the device, to see if that reveals a bunch of new device listings, which may offer the output type you need.




Another thing to peek at is alsamixer in the terminal, which can allow you to enable some outputs, if they are hidden or disabled for some reason. This one is less likely to be helpful, but it is available.

Undoing the "downgrade" to Pulseaudio, I can't say. I have only gone the other way, switching to full-pipewire on my installs prior to 24.04.