Firefox No Sound On Ubuntu 18.04? Here’s How To Fix It

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Running into audio problems with Firefox on Ubuntu 18.04 can be frustrating—especially when everything else on your system is functioning normally. You open a YouTube video, hit play, and… nothing. No sound. While this problem may seem minor at first, audio issues can quickly hinder productivity and user experience. Fortunately, there are several reliable ways to fix Firefox sound problems on Ubuntu 18.04, and this article will guide you step-by-step through the most effective solutions.

Understanding the Problem

The root cause of Firefox having no sound on Ubuntu 18.04 often lies in how the system manages audio. Ubuntu uses PulseAudio as its default sound system, and Firefox is generally well-integrated with it. However, if there’s a misconfiguration, outdated settings, or interference from other applications, you could end up with silence where there should be audio.

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Before diving into complex solutions, it’s essential to confirm whether the problem is isolated to Firefox or affects the entire system. Try playing audio through another browser (like Chromium) or a music player. If you hear sound there, then the issue is almost certainly tied to Firefox or its interaction with PulseAudio.

1. Check Firefox’s Volume in PulseAudio

Sometimes the solution is surprisingly simple: Firefox may be muted in the PulseAudio volume control settings.

  1. Open a Terminal and install PulseAudio Volume Control if you don’t already have it:
    2. sudo apt install pavucontrol
  2. Launch it by typing:
    3. pavucontrol
  3. Navigate to the Playback tab while Firefox is playing audio (e.g., YouTube).
  4. Look for a Firefox stream and check that it isn’t muted and its volume isn’t turned all the way down.
  5. Also, make sure it’s playing through the correct output device (your speaker or headphone jack).

If no Firefox stream appears in the Playback tab, it likely means Firefox isn’t outputting any audio at all, possibly due to system-level issues or corrupt user configurations.

2. Restart PulseAudio

PulseAudio sometimes bugs out. Restarting it can often fix various volume-related anomalies:

pulseaudio -k

This command kills the PulseAudio process, which will auto-respawn and restore audio connections.

After restarting, try refreshing your Firefox tab and check again for sound.

3. Ensure Alsa and PulseAudio Are Properly Installed

A broken or missing audio package can stop Firefox from producing sound. Run the following commands to ensure both ALSA and PulseAudio packages are installed and not corrupted:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --reinstall alsa-base pulseaudio

Then reboot your system:

sudo reboot

Once you reboot, test sound in Firefox again using a known working audio source.

4. Check Firefox’s Configuration and Preferences

Corrupted Firefox profiles or settings may sporadically cause audio issues. Here’s what to check:

  • In the Firefox address bar, type: about:config
  • Search for: media.volume_scale
  • Ensure its value is not set to 0. If it is, right-click and select “Reset” or set the value to 1.

Also, ensure no add-ons related to audio are disabled or malfunctioning. Try running Firefox in Safe Mode:

firefox --safe-mode

If sound works in Safe Mode, a third-party extension or plugin is likely interfering with audio output.

5. Check Output Devices and System Settings

It’s surprisingly common to have the wrong audio output device selected—especially if you’ve recently connected to HDMI or Bluetooth devices. Do the following:

  1. Go to Settings > Sound.
  2. Review the “Output Device” dropdown — try switching between devices if needed.
  3. Ensure the output volume is adequate and not muted.
  4. Try unplugging/replugging headphones or speakers to refresh detection.

6. Remove and Recreate Firefox Profile

If corruption within your Firefox profile is suspected and resetting preferences didn’t help, creating a new profile can offer a clean slate:

  1. Backup your profile with: 
    cp -r ~/.mozilla ~/.mozilla_backup
  2. Then delete the existing configuration: 
    rm -r ~/.mozilla
  3. Restart Firefox. It will create a new default profile.

If sound works in the fresh profile, you can slowly migrate settings and bookmarks back from the backup.

7. Try a Different Firefox Build (Snap vs. Standard)

Ubuntu 18.04 often installs Firefox as a Snap package by default. However, Snap packages have sandboxing restrictions that sometimes cause audio issues. Switching to the non-Snap version may help:

  1. First, remove the Snap version: 
    sudo snap remove firefox
  2. Then, install the official Mozilla PPA version: 
    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install firefox

Launching this new version could resolve audio and media permission issues inherent to Snap’s stricter security model.

8. System Updates and Kernel Mismatches

If you only recently lost Firefox audio after a major update, it might be due to kernel or package mismatches. Always ensure your system has the latest stable updates:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

A particular kernel value may introduce incompatibilities. You can try booting into a previous kernel version from the GRUB boot menu to check if that resolves the issue.

9. Inspect System Logs for Audio Errors

Still not working? It’s time to dig deeper. Inspect logs to search for sound errors. Open your Terminal and type:

journalctl | grep pulse

Look through the output for obvious error messages or failures indicating PulseAudio couldn’t start or connect properly.

10. Use ALSA Directly As a Last Resort

In rare cases, PulseAudio might not work no matter what—at least not with Firefox. As a fallback, disable PulseAudio temporarily and force Firefox to use ALSA:

  1. Locate your PulseAudio client configuration:
    2. nano ~/.pulse/client.conf
  2. Add this line: 
    autospawn = no
  3. Kill PulseAudio: 
    pulseaudio -k
  4. Now try launching Firefox and playing audio. Note that this disables the system’s more advanced audio features, so use this method for testing only.

Conclusion

Firefox not playing sound on Ubuntu 18.04 is typically a sign of a misconfiguration, muted stream, or broken interaction with PulseAudio. By systematically working through the above steps—from checking volume controls to reinstalling components or switching browser builds—you can usually restore sound functionality.

If none of the solutions resolve your issue, consider launching Firefox from the terminal and checking real-time error messages. Often, these outputs give a clearer indication of what’s going wrong.

Ubuntu 18.04 is a solid distro, but like all things Linux, sometimes hands-on troubleshooting is needed. With patience and the right knowledge, audio silence in Firefox can become a thing of the past.

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