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How do I make sound come out of my USB headset?

USB headsets are treated as a separate sound card, and audio will not be sent to them by default. You can either send all audio output to the USB headset or send the output from a specific application to it.

Send all audio output to USB headset

  • Open the System menu (top right of screen) and click the Settings icon (looks like a crossed spanner and screwdriver) then click Sound.
  • In the output tab, select the USB headset.settings_sound_output.png
  • If the USB headset has a microphone, you can also select the headset in the Input tab.settings_sound_output.png

Send audio output from a chosen application to USB headset.

In this example the chosen application is Skype.

  • Run PulseAudio Volume Control. This can be found in the Sound & Video section of the Applications menu, or by pressing <Super> and typing the name.
  • In the Playback tab, locate the Skype stream, click on the button and select the USB headset.pulse_audio_volume_control_playback.png
  • To have Skype take input from use the USB headset's microphone, do the same in the Recording tab.pulse_audio_volume_control_record.png