Dell Precision Fn Key Issue: F4 Interferes with Microphone Control

[astroscion]

After upgrading to Linux kernel 6.11.0-17 from 6.8.0.52 on Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, the microphone on my Dell Precision 5690 stopped working. The microphone appears to receive an incorrect signal in the audio settings (or pavucontrol), and the signal fluctuates continuously. When attempting to record, only a crackling sound is heard.

This issue is not new; it has been occurring with every new kernel version since at least 6.8.0-3x. Multiple users have reported similar problems in various forums, such as:
- https://askubuntu.com/questions/1519369/internal-mic-not-working-on-dell-precision-5490/1541865#1541865
- https://github.com/intel/ipu6-drivers/issues/228#issuecomment-2673246547

After extensive investigations, the issue seems to be related to the F4 key on the keyboard (mute/unmute microphone toggle). When switching between secondary and primary function keys (Fn Lock), the microphone behavior changes, and it starts working—even if it was previously non-functional...

Actually the solution is to switch F1-12 as primary function to use the microphone...

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 24.04
Package: gnome-tweaks 46.0-2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 6.11.0-17.17~24.04.2-generic 6.11.11
Uname: Linux 6.11.0-17-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia_modeset nvidia
ApportVersion: 2.28.1-0ubuntu3.3
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Sun Feb 23 16:42:38 2025
InstallationDate: Installed on 2025-01-03 (51 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS "Noble Numbat" - Release amd64 (20240827.1)
PackageArchitecture: all
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=fr_FR.UTF-8
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 SHELL=/bin/bash
 TERM=xterm-256color
 XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
SourcePackage: gnome-tweaks
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)