[x86-64] Audio output resets across reboots

Hi folks, long-time user, first-time caller. I recently replaced a Raspberry Pi 4 which was running Kodi with a ThinkCentre; I got tired of the rPI's poor WiFi and tendency to hang and need a reboot.

The new setup isn't working as well as I hoped. Every time I reboot the machine, it plays audio through the (terrible) internal speaker, instead of over HDMI into my receiver. if I go into settings->system settings->audio, the audio output device is set correctly ("ALSA: HDA INTEL PCH, MJI MARANTZ-AVR ON HDMI #0"), though it isn't actually used. Fixing this requires changing the output device to something else, then back to the receiver, after every reboot.

Seems like a bug to me, but is this known / is there some kind of workaround?

Using LibreELEC 12.2.1 generic.x86_64, hardware is a ThinkCentre M720q (i5-8400T w/ 8gb RAM).

Quote from chewitt

Did you backup the RPi4 and restore to the ThinkCentre? or make a clean install on the ThinkCentre?

I installed LibreELEC on the ThinkCentre, then copied the Kodi configuration from the Pi.

Quote from VLouis

The "rPI's poor WiFi" it's easy to handle with a USB-Wifi adapter, or better with a wifi-ethernet adapter (if you have no chance to use wired network there). The "tendency to hang and need a reboot" could be related to the wifi issue... So, if you still have the RPi4 and could try with wired network or have a cheap USB-wifi, it worth to try it... I'm using few RPi-LE, and with "normal" use (without too much "fancy" addons), it's very stable. Even the one with wifi connection (not the "standard built in wifi"), it's stable.

I have other gripes about the pi, like its lack of support for VP9. WiFi and locking up seem like different/unrelated problems to me. The WiFi will sometimes drop and not reconnect, but the system doesn't lock up. Other times, it's completely unresponsive and has to be rebooted.

Had similar issues with the 3B and 4.

I switched back to the Pi4, but I don't like it.

Quote from VLouis

You could try to check the sound options in the BIOS. Maybe it's something to set the default sound output to HDMI. Or disable the built in speaker.

Already checked, there's nothing like that. It doesn't really know about things at the level of what's connected to the outputs. If I disable audio in the BIOS, I can only select Bluetooth as the audio output in Kodi -- the built-in audio controller handles HDMI audio as well as the speaker/headphone.

If I disable the speaker, but leave the controller enabled, it boots up to no audio at all. It still shows the output as HDMI, and switching to another output / back to HDMI restores audio.

Quote from VLouis

Another thing, even if these developed for continuous use, it could be benefic to be rebooted time to time. For this I'm using a cron job, to reboot the LE every day at early morning (like am 3:00).

Since the problem occurs only when the system is re/booted, this would exacerbate the issue.

I have another issue with the ThinkCentre, which is that it freezes whenever I turn my TV off. Sigh...