Issues with Asus Expertbook Ultra (B9406CAA)

Ask Fedora
, , ,
1

Greetings, everyone.

I recently purchased an Asus Expertbook Ultra:

> sudo dmidecode | grep -A3 '^System Information'

System Information
        Manufacturer: ASUS
        Product Name: ASUS EXPERTBOOK B9406CAA
        Version: 1.0

I installed Fedora 44 workstation, and there have been some issues with the hardware support. These are the things I have noticed so far:

  1. Brightness control is not possible; the display is locked at maximum brightness.
  2. There is no internal sound input or output; external sources work fine.
  3. The touchpad does not work.

Sound was actually working with kernel 7.0.14-201.fc44.x86_64, but is broken after updating to 7.1.3-200.fc44.x86_64. I do not know how to fix this.

I have found this repo with fixes for this exact model, but only the touchpad fix seems to work. Regardless, I would rather have a more structured fix for these problems.

Is there anyone else with similar issues? Or does anyone know if a fix is being worked on?

2

You probably want to post the full complete specs via inxi -Fzxx - that way we can see what sound chip you have, what thouchpad drivers, what panel and graphics chipset is in place and so on.

3

Of course. Here it goes:

> inxi -Fzxx

System:
  Kernel: 7.1.3-200.fc44.x86_64 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 16.1.1
  Desktop: GNOME v: 50.3 tk: GTK v: 3.24.52 wm: gnome-shell dm: GDM
    Distro: Fedora Linux 44 (Workstation Edition)
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: ASUS product: ASUS EXPERTBOOK B9406CAA v: 1.0
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: B9406CAA v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required>
    Firmware: UEFI vendor: ASUSTeK (Licensed by AMI LLC.) v: B9406CAA.304
    date: 03/16/2026
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 42.3 Wh (58.1%) condition: 72.8/70 Wh (103.9%)
    volts: 7.96 min: 8.04 model: ASUSTeK ASUS Battery serial: N/A charging:
    status: discharging cycles: 5
CPU:
  Info: 16-core model: Intel Core Ultra 7 356H bits: 64 type: MCP
    arch: Panther Lake rev: 2 cache: L1: 1.6 MiB L2: 24 MiB L3: 18 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 536 min/max: 400/4700:3700:3300 cores: 1: 536 2: 536
    3: 536 4: 536 5: 536 6: 536 7: 536 8: 536 9: 536 10: 536 11: 536 12: 536
    13: 536 14: 536 15: 536 16: 536 bogomips: 117964
  Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Panther Lake [Intel Graphics] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: xe
    v: kernel arch: Xe3 ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1,DP-2,HDMI-A-1
    bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:b0a0
  Device-2: Shinetech USB AI 5MP/FHD WebCam
    driver: hid-sensor-hub,usbhid,uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s
    lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3-6:3 chip-ID: 3277:0098
  Display: wayland server: X.Org v: 24.1.12 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.12
    compositor: gnome-shell driver: dri: iris gpu: xe display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 3456x2160 s-dpi: 96
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: Samsung ATNA40LE01-0 res: 3456x2160 hz: 120
    dpi: 293 diag: 355mm (14")
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 vendor: intel mesa v: 26.1.3 glx-v: 1.4 es-v: 3.2
    direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel Graphics (PTL) device-ID: 8086:b0a0
  API: EGL Message: EGL data requires eglinfo. Check --recommends.
  Info: Tools: api: glxinfo x11: xdriinfo, xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Core Ultra Processors HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK
    driver: sof-audio-pci-intel-ptl bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:e328
  API: ALSA v: k7.1.3-200.fc44.x86_64 status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.6.7 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
    4: pw-jack type: plugin
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Core Ultra Processors CNVi Wi-Fi driver: iwlwifi v: kernel
    bus-ID: 00:14.3 chip-ID: 8086:e340
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-1: wg0-mullvad state: unknown speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel Core Ultra Processors CNVi Bluetooth driver: btintel_pcie
    v: 0.1 bus-ID: 00:14.7 chip-ID: 8086:e376
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: <filter> lmp-v: 14
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 953.87 GiB used: 93.08 GiB (9.8%)
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Micron model: MTFDKBA1T0QHK-1BQ1AABGA
    size: 953.87 GiB speed: 63.2 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> temp: 43.9 C
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 951.27 GiB used: 92.54 GiB (9.7%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/dm-0
    mapped: luks-f90ecc22-a6bc-44b7-a395-fbe577728f82
  ID-2: /boot size: 1.9 GiB used: 534.6 MiB (27.5%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
  ID-3: /boot/efi size: 598.8 MiB used: 20 MiB (3.3%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
  ID-4: /home size: 951.27 GiB used: 92.54 GiB (9.7%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/dm-0 mapped: luks-f90ecc22-a6bc-44b7-a395-fbe577728f82
Swap:
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 8 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
    dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
  Src: /sys System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): cpu: 1800
Info:
  Memory: total: 32 GiB note: est. available: 30.63 GiB used: 5.73 GiB (18.7%)
  Processes: 588 Power: uptime: 6m wakeups: 0 Init: systemd v: 259
    default: graphical
  Packages: pm: rpm pkgs: N/A note: see --rpm pm: flatpak pkgs: 24
    Compilers: gcc: 16.1.1 Shell: fish v: 4.6.0 running-in: ghostty inxi: 3.3.40
4

For very new or locked-down enterprise-grade models it is not unusual to have problems. For display, sound, and network devices as vendors usually make Windows a priority. You may need temporary workarounds:

  1. USB dongles can provide network and sound with “in-kernel” drivers
  2. for some display or “enterprise Windows ” issues you may need to run Linux in Windows Subsystem for Linux

Some vendors provide drivers for a specific Linux distro, but those often need added work before they can be accepted for inclusion in the linux kernel.

5

Thanks for the reply.

It makes sense that for new hardware the support is spotty. I hope the fixes come soon.

Maybe other people can also share their workarounds.

8

Searching for your model on forums for other distros and in https://linux-hardware.org may find distros that have support as well as workarounds for other distros.

9

Quick update: I managed to get the brightness control to work by running:

sudo grubby --update-kernel=ALL --args="xe.enable_dpcd_backlight=2"

Sound still not working, even after downgrading back to the previous kernel, or over thunderbold.

10

Have you installed the sof-firmware? (your inxi output indicates that this tin uses sof rather than intel hda stuff):

sudo dnf install sof-firmware and then a reboot.

If that makes no difference, can you see if the existing firmware is actually loaded at all? sudo journalctl -b 0 | grep -Ei "sof|firmware|cs35|max983|tas2781"

11

You could always just remain on the working kernel until a fix is applied.

12

Might that be alsa-sof-firmware? If so, it is installed.

> sudo dnf install sof-firmware

Updating and loading repositories:
Repositories loaded.
Failed to resolve the transaction:
No match for argument: sof-firmware
You can try to add to command line:
  --skip-unavailable to skip unavailable packages

 > sudo dnf install alsa-sof-firmware

Updating and loading repositories:
Repositories loaded.
Package "alsa-sof-firmware-2025.12.2-1.fc44.noarch" is already installed.

Nothing to do.

This is what I get, not sure how to interpret it:

> sudo journalctl -b 0 | grep -Ei "sof|firmware|cs35|max983|tas2781"

Jul 08 21:53:29 fedora kernel: [Firmware Bug]: TSC ADJUST: CPU0: -3676536071 force to 0
Jul 08 21:53:29 fedora kernel: software IO TLB: area num 16.
Jul 08 21:53:29 fedora kernel: [Firmware Bug]: TSC ADJUST differs within socket(s), fixing all errors
Jul 08 21:53:29 fedora kernel: GHES: APEI firmware first mode is enabled by APEI bit.
Jul 08 21:53:29 fedora kernel: pps_core: Software ver. 5.3.6 - Copyright 2005-2007 Rodolfo Giometti <giometti@linux.it>
Jul 08 21:53:29 fedora kernel: PCI-DMA: Using software bounce buffering for IO (SWIOTLB)
Jul 08 21:53:29 fedora kernel: software IO TLB: mapped [mem 0x000000005ee00000-0x0000000062e00000] (64MB)
Jul 08 21:53:29 fedora kernel: Relocating firmware framebuffer to offset 0x0000000000800000[d] within [mem 0x14000000000-0x1400fffffff flags 0x14220c]
Jul 08 21:53:29 fedora kernel: integrity: Loaded X.509 cert 'Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011: a92902398e16c49778cd90f99e4f9ae17c55af53'
Jul 08 21:53:29 fedora kernel: integrity: Loaded X.509 cert 'Microsoft Corporation: Windows UEFI CA 2023: aefc5fbbbe055d8f8daa585473499417ab5a5272'
Jul 08 21:53:30 fedora kernel: intel_vpu 0000:00:0b.0: [drm] Firmware: intel/vpu/vpu_50xx_v1.bin, version: May  5 2026*NPU50xx*build/ci/npu-fw-ci-ci_branch_UD202620_npu_release_26ww17-20260422_094127-fc285c23e1bf595d6430660503e8616549c01a34-8-g3b1e1e826d3*3b1e1e826d34b0aeea5cc6d75b017eb4cbf5b735
Jul 08 21:53:30 fedora kernel: intel_ish_ipc 0000:00:12.0: ISH loader: load firmware: intel/ish/ish_ptl.bin
Jul 08 21:53:30 fedora kernel: xe 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Finished loading DMC firmware i915/xe3lpd_dmc.bin (v2.36)
Jul 08 21:53:30 fedora kernel: xe 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Tile0: GT0: Using GuC firmware from xe/ptl_guc_70.bin version 70.65.0
Jul 08 21:53:31 fedora kernel: xe 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Tile0: GT1: Using GuC firmware from xe/ptl_guc_70.bin version 70.65.0
Jul 08 21:53:31 fedora kernel: xe 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Tile0: GT1: Using HuC firmware from xe/ptl_huc.bin version 10.3.3
Jul 08 21:53:31 fedora kernel: xe 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Tile0: GT1: Using GSC firmware from xe/ptl_gsc_1.bin version 105.0.2.1397
Jul 08 21:53:45 fedora kernel: SELinux:  Permission firmware_load in class system not defined in policy.
Jul 08 21:53:45 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-boot-clear-sysfail.service - Clear SysFail Entry If The Boot Is Successful skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/LoaderEntrySysFail-4a67b082-0a4c-41cf-b6c7-440b29bb8c4f
Jul 08 21:53:45 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-hibernate-clear.service - Clear Stale Hibernate Storage Info skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/HibernateLocation-8cf2644b-4b0b-428f-9387-6d876050dc67
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-boot-clear-sysfail.service - Clear SysFail Entry If The Boot Is Successful skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/LoaderEntrySysFail-4a67b082-0a4c-41cf-b6c7-440b29bb8c4f
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-hibernate-clear.service - Clear Stale Hibernate Storage Info skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/HibernateLocation-8cf2644b-4b0b-428f-9387-6d876050dc67
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-boot-clear-sysfail.service - Clear SysFail Entry If The Boot Is Successful skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/LoaderEntrySysFail-4a67b082-0a4c-41cf-b6c7-440b29bb8c4f
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-hibernate-clear.service - Clear Stale Hibernate Storage Info skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/HibernateLocation-8cf2644b-4b0b-428f-9387-6d876050dc67
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-boot-clear-sysfail.service - Clear SysFail Entry If The Boot Is Successful skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/LoaderEntrySysFail-4a67b082-0a4c-41cf-b6c7-440b29bb8c4f
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-hibernate-clear.service - Clear Stale Hibernate Storage Info skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/HibernateLocation-8cf2644b-4b0b-428f-9387-6d876050dc67
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-boot-clear-sysfail.service - Clear SysFail Entry If The Boot Is Successful skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/LoaderEntrySysFail-4a67b082-0a4c-41cf-b6c7-440b29bb8c4f
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-hibernate-clear.service - Clear Stale Hibernate Storage Info skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/HibernateLocation-8cf2644b-4b0b-428f-9387-6d876050dc67
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Minimum firmware build 1 week 10 2014
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-boot-clear-sysfail.service - Clear SysFail Entry If The Boot Is Successful skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/LoaderEntrySysFail-4a67b082-0a4c-41cf-b6c7-440b29bb8c4f
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-hibernate-clear.service - Clear Stale Hibernate Storage Info skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/HibernateLocation-8cf2644b-4b0b-428f-9387-6d876050dc67
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-00a0-01a1-iml.sfi
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware Version: 15-18.26
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora kernel: iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: loaded firmware version 102.07fca168.0 sc-a0-wh-b0-c102.ucode op_mode iwlmld
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for firmware download to complete
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware loaded in 37822 usecs
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-00a0-01a1-pci.sfi
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware Version: 15-18.26
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-boot-clear-sysfail.service - Clear SysFail Entry If The Boot Is Successful skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/LoaderEntrySysFail-4a67b082-0a4c-41cf-b6c7-440b29bb8c4f
Jul 08 21:53:46 fedora systemd[1]: systemd-hibernate-clear.service - Clear Stale Hibernate Storage Info skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/HibernateLocation-8cf2644b-4b0b-428f-9387-6d876050dc67
Jul 08 21:53:47 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for firmware download to complete
Jul 08 21:53:47 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware loaded in 449266 usecs
Jul 08 21:53:47 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware timestamp 2026.18 buildtype 1 build 88847
Jul 08 21:53:47 fedora kernel: Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware SHA1: 0x38841b2b
Jul 08 21:53:47 fedora systemd[1]: mdmonitor.service - Software RAID monitoring and management skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/etc/mdadm.conf
Jul 08 21:53:48 fedora NetworkManager[1629]: <info>  [1783540428.2094] manager[0x564d4d585c40]: monitoring kernel firmware directory '/lib/firmware'.
Jul 08 21:53:49 fedora mullvad-daemon[1652]: DEBUG mullvad_daemon: New tunnel state: Error(ErrorState { cause: IsOffline, block_failure: None })
Jul 08 21:53:54 fedora rsyslogd[1742]: [origin software="rsyslogd" swVersion="8.2604.0-1.fc44" x-pid="1742" x-info="https://www.rsyslog.com"] start
Jul 08 21:53:57 fedora systemd[1]: Startup finished in 6.312s (firmware) + 4.740s (loader) + 828ms (kernel) + 15.321s (initrd) + 12.239s (userspace) = 39.442s.
Jul 08 21:54:06 fedora systemd[3777]: Starting gnome-software.service - GNOME Software...
Jul 08 21:54:06 fedora systemd[3777]: Started gnome-software.service - GNOME Software.
Jul 08 21:54:07 fedora rtkit-daemon[1423]: Successfully made thread 4351 of process 4351 (/usr/bin/gnome-software) owned by '1000' high priority at nice level 15.
Jul 08 21:54:07 fedora rtkit-daemon[1423]: Successfully made thread 5884 of process 4351 (/usr/bin/gnome-software) owned by '1000' high priority at nice level 15.
Jul 08 21:54:07 fedora systemd[1]: Starting fwupd.service - Firmware update daemon...
Jul 08 21:54:07 fedora rtkit-daemon[1423]: Successfully made thread 5886 of process 4351 (/usr/bin/gnome-software) owned by '1000' high priority at nice level 15.
Jul 08 21:54:07 fedora rtkit-daemon[1423]: Successfully made thread 5887 of process 4351 (/usr/bin/gnome-software) owned by '1000' high priority at nice level 15.
Jul 08 21:54:07 fedora rtkit-daemon[1423]: Successfully made thread 5890 of process 4351 (/usr/bin/gnome-software) owned by '1000' high priority at nice level 15.
Jul 08 21:54:08 fedora systemd[1]: Started fwupd.service - Firmware update daemon.
Jul 08 21:55:30 fedora sudo[8619]: dccabanas : TTY=pts/0 ; PWD=/home/dccabanas ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/sbin/dnf install sof-firmware
Jul 08 21:55:41 fedora sudo[8699]: dccabanas : TTY=pts/0 ; PWD=/home/dccabanas ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/sbin/dnf install sof-firmware
Jul 08 21:56:27 fedora sudo[8866]: dccabanas : TTY=pts/0 ; PWD=/home/dccabanas ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/sbin/dnf install sof-firmware
Jul 08 21:56:34 fedora sudo[8930]: dccabanas : TTY=pts/0 ; PWD=/home/dccabanas ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/sbin/dnf install alsa-sof-firmware
13

I would be glad to do that, but even after booting into 7.0.14-201.fc44.x86_64 I get no sound. I seem to have lost it with the new kernel, which I find odd.

14

Yep - my mistake - I was concentrating on the “sof” part as I’d done a dnf search on it to get the correct name, and then failed to actually paste that correct name!

I don’t see ANY attempt to initialise the audio card in that log, which is surprising. I was hoping to see an attempt to initialise it and perhaps a failure message which would give a clue as to the root cuase.

The fact that the sound worked in one kernel, then failed in a newer kernel and now does not work with the original working kernel any more implies it’s not fully a kernel issue, as reverting back to it should kick thing back into life if it’s a regression.

Can you post the output from aplay -Ll please - let’s see what IS being picked up, if anything!

You could also try resetting the alsa config; no idea if it’s to blame for the revert to an earlier kernel not working but something outside the kernel evidently changed and 7.1 is not happy with it.

sudo alsactl init
sudo alsactl store
15

Yeah, I assumed it was just a regression at first. Apparently not.

This is what I got:

> sudo alsactl init

Found hardware: "HDA-Intel" "Intel Panther Lake HDMI" "HDA:80862822,80860101,00100000" "0x1043" "0x15e4"
Hardware is initialized using a generic method

 > sudo alsactl store

 > aplay -Ll

null
    Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
pipewire
    PipeWire Sound Server
default
    Default ALSA Output (currently PipeWire Media Server)
hdmi:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, HDMI 0
    HDMI Audio Output
hdmi:CARD=PCH,DEV=1
    HDA Intel PCH, HDMI 1
    HDMI Audio Output
hdmi:CARD=PCH,DEV=2
    HDA Intel PCH, HDMI 2
    HDMI Audio Output
hdmi:CARD=PCH,DEV=3
    HDA Intel PCH, HDMI 3
    HDMI Audio Output
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 9: HDMI 3 [HDMI 3]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
16

Not seeing the sof stuff at all… :frowning:

One last thing, and I guess you’ve already done this - fire up alsamixer and make sure the channel(s) are unmuted. I’m going to guess though that there’s nothing to fiddle with as the thing doesn’t appear to be initialised at all.

17

Yeah, it is just the Dummy output…

Interestingly enough, I just booted into the live fedora usb I used to install the os, and there both sound and mic work fine. The device is labeled as “Panther Lake Smart Sound Technology BUS”. So there is some hope, I guess.