Issues I have using Solus (Brightness and Audio)

RandomMan25XX

I've recently switched from Zorin OS to Solus as I was having different issues with that and I wanted to try a distro I haven't used before, but anyway, I am wondering why there seems to be a lack of brightness control, I don't quite enjoy having my eyes assaulted by a bright screen and have temporarily resorted to using a script I've found that seems to work but can only adjust the brightness in 10% increments but would really prefer something better, I've also been having issues with the audio being a bit choppy, occasionally clipping or otherwise being jumpy regardless of the source, any help with either issue would be greatly appreciated

CorvusRuber

Solus comes in Gnome, KDE, Budgie and Mate editions right now. Which one are you using ?
Because, for example, KDE has a screen brightness control right in the power settings section of the system settings app.

RandomMan25XX

CorvusRuber I'm using Budgie

pomon

Install sudo eopkg it budgie-brightness-controller-applet and add in budgie-settings.

RandomMan25XX

pomon ~~I have that already and whatever was supposed to show up didn't wherever it was supposed to show up~~
So I'm not that smart it seems, but the issue regarding audio is still persistent, and I'm not sure if it's specific to bluetooth or if it happens with wired audio as well

nolan

RandomMan25XX I have no function keys capable of adjusting brightness

this should work:

pomon sudo eopkg it budgie-brightness-controller-applet

install it, logout and login or reboot, open budgie desktop settings, go to panel, click "add applet" search for budgie brightness, select it and then click on "add". At this point should be good to go, click the icon of the applet on the desktop panel to start to use it.

BuzzPCSOS

RandomMan25XX You don't mention what computer you are using, it may need third-party drivers for your hardware to be installed. Click on the start button and type Hardware Drivers and run the utility that is shown.
You also don't mention what your audio source is - are we talking mp3, wav, or ogg sound files or are you having trouble with audio on movies mp4, avi or mkv? An universal video driver can be sub-optimal if a third party driver is available.
Finally you don't mention what software you are using for playback. I find that especially on slower hardware the choice of program can make a big difference.
Currently I am using a Dell Latitude 7280 and use VLC to play both sound and movie files. Playback is perfect wether streaming or playing direct from a disk.
Related point, I have never needed a brightness control as my keyboard function keys allow direct access to brightness settings. If you are running a laptop there are usually keys that have this function but few people ever look for them.
Edit. I just noticed mention that your issue may be with bluetooth. Before blaming audio drivers it could be worth trying out audio performance from a wired connection. Bluetooth performance and support varies greatly from one operating system to the next. To be honest I have never had any issues with Solus when using bluetooth to the point that I will often check out a previously unknown computer by booting into Solus Live and testing bluetooth from there.
Good luck.

RandomMan25XX

BuzzPCSOS I'm using an HP All-in-One - 22-df0023w, as for where the issue occurs regarding audio, it happens for any and all sources of audio, whether that be watching videos in the browser (both chrome and firefox), playing music through Rhythmbox, or watching any video content through VLC, having tested a bit more extensively I can say the issues are far more prevalent when connected over bluetooth rather than wired
As for drivers, nothing can be found
(I have no function keys capable of adjusting brightness on my keyboard, only the usual media controls and what not)

RandomMan25XX

nolan I'm past that point because I already sorted that out, my final issue regards my audio clipping and jumping regardless of the source (browser, vlc, rhythmbox, and etc.) which seems to be more of a problem over Bluetooth than it does when wired instead

Axios

RandomMan25XX If you play local content (dvd or file off hd) to just the computer speakers
does it have issues?

RandomMan25XX

Axios Not that I can tell

Axios

RandomMan25XX If you play content from net to computer speakers it works ok?

I noticed that unit uses realtek which is usually supported real well by everybody nowdays.
curious you would have problems.
(jump or just drop for a period of time before coming back) is different issue than sounding crappy.
what realtek card do you have?
You had this problem with windows to?

ReillyBrogan

Solus uses Pipewire by default (which most distros have also switched to). I'm not aware of any outstanding issues that affect Solus specifically on this, but there's a decent guide on clipping troubleshooting available here that might help.

RandomMan25XX

ReillyBrogan It's not really clipping as much as it does kinda jump or just drop for a period of time before coming back, and from further extensive testing it seems to be an issue exclusive to bluetooth audio, something of which I've only experienced with Solus and nothing else
(To add on to this, anything that could possibly cause interference usually didn't with other distros I've used as well as Windows 11 when I was still using that before it decided it didn't want to work anymore for whatever reason)

BuzzPCSOS

RandomMan25XX At the risk of telling you to suck eggs, wiring and cables, including caddy drives, usb cables, and other electrical inter-connectors will shield bluetooth quite efficiently so a minor change on your installation can make all the difference. Depending on where the bluetooth device is on your PC a change in it's orientation can make the PC shield its own bluetooth connection.

RandomMan25XX

Axios Realtek RTL8821CE
And no, I didn't have this problem in windows or any other Linux distro I've previously used

RandomMan25XX

BuzzPCSOS As I have stated, things were perfectly functional under other Linux distros I've used, as well as Windows 11 (which is what the computer originally came with), every solution I've tried so far that might help hasn't, and finding a way to modify Bluetooth settings has lead nowhere as I have no idea what to change in hopes of changing the channel it operates on or any other possible solutions I could think of

Axios

RandomMan25XX I was just checking early post sounded like you did was just clarifying
Last bluetooth issue I got into on forums I about went on 6 month drunk afterwards with it not being
resolved (Until dev changed some stuff)
I was just seeing if it could have been something simple. (Thats about as far as I go with bluetooth anymore to
problamatic and hard to fix in forums)
Sorry I could not be of more help.

(Note: Only bluetooth stuff that seems to work across the board with linux and windows are the intel boards
for some reason)
Just info

nolan

I'm guessing by now, but could it be power-saving? I have seen something like your device (wifi adapter) is in power-save mode, so without sufficient power it gets into sleep-mode or something like that. Can some one verify that is the case here?

For reference: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/269661/how-to-turn-off-wireless-power-management-permanently
[I'm no telling to do it, at this moment. it may or may not be the case here]

RandomMan25XX

I've admittedly caved and switched distros again for more than just the bluetooth issue, but also gcdemu not working and the inability to use devkitpro for compiling homebrew code among other things, not sure how to close this thread