Bug 495052

Summary:	Multiple icons used for a muted microphone
Product:	[Plasma] plasmashell	Reporter:	dev.lh
Component:	Microphone Indicator widget	Assignee:	Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs-null>
Status:	RESOLVED DOWNSTREAM
Severity:	normal	CC:	kde, nate
Priority:	NOR	Keywords:	usability
Version First Reported In:	5.27.11
Target Milestone:	1.0
Platform:	Kubuntu
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:
Attachments:	Video of the weird icons Video showing the desync between the center mic icon and the bottom one

Description dev.lh 2024-10-19 16:47:58 UTC

SUMMARY
This is something that has been present since forever and never made sense to me:
It can make a difference if you mute your microphone using a globally configured shortcut
(in my case `System settings > shortcuts > audio volume > mute microphone = alt m`),
or if you mute it using the GUI (clicking on the microphone or `right-click > mute`).

When you mute it using the shortcut, it seems like the microphone enters a sort of pseudo-muted state:
It is shown in the microphone indicator itself as `volume set to 0` (not strike-through), however in the audio indicator it is shown as muted (muted symbol, and the volume is kept as it is without being 0).
When you mute it using the mouse, the icon is loaded correctly as strike-through.

On a related note: If my guess is correct, this extra state might also cause another bug:
When you change the mute state, a "new microphone state" icon pops up in the center of your screen.
However, from time to time, the icon displayed there de-syncs from the icon displayed in the indicator (i.e. I muted my microphone and the icon it shows is "microphone enabled" or vice versa).
If this seemingly extra state causes it, it would explain why the icon sometimes de-syncs (or even re-syncs itself) without a clear indicator why

POSSIBLY RELATED:
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=398974
(which also shows how long this bug already exists if both refer to the same issue - it seems at least somewhat likely)

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Mute icon with global shortcut, observe icon
2. Unmute with same shortcut
3. Mute icon with the GUI, observe icon again

**Or any other combination of the two**.
The worst thing: It is non-deterministic which icon will be chosen when muting using the shortcut:
I've managed both to get the correct "muted" icon as well as the incorrect "volume is 0" icon while writing this bug report.
I assume that it depends on when exactly you mute/unmute the mic using the UI that you switch states.

I think the only reproducible setup to get rid of these states is rebooting your PC beforehand.
My experience so far is that on a freshly booted system, the incorrect icon appears for muting via shortcut.
As stated above, once you are in the "wrong" (fixed) state, it doesn't occur anymore - for a while.

OBSERVED RESULT
**Sometimes**, the icon differs.

EXPECTED RESULT
A muted microphone always receives the same icon, no matter how it was triggered.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Operating System: Kubuntu 24.04
KDE Plasma Version: 5.27.11
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.115.0
Qt Version: 5.15.13
Kernel Version: 6.8.0-47-generic (64-bit)

Comment 1 Nate Graham 2024-12-12 21:07:17 UTC

Not sure I fully understand, sorry. Any chance you could attach a screen recording that shows what's going on? That would be illuminating. Thanks a lot!

Comment 2 Bug Janitor Service 2024-12-27 03:47:24 UTC

🐛🧹 ⚠️ This bug has been in NEEDSINFO status with no change for at least 15 days. Please provide the requested information, then set the bug status to REPORTED. If there is no change for at least 30 days, it will be automatically closed as RESOLVED WORKSFORME.

For more information about our bug triaging procedures, please read https://community.kde.org/Guidelines_and_HOWTOs/Bug_triaging.

Thank you for helping us make KDE software even better for everyone!

Comment 3 dev.lh 2024-12-27 11:19:10 UTC

Created attachment 176902 [details]
Video of the weird icons

In the video, I first mute and unmute the microphone manually using the button.
Then, I use the global shortcut `alt+m` to mute and unmute the microphone where it uses a different icon

Comment 4 dev.lh 2024-12-27 11:31:08 UTC

Created attachment 176905 [details]
Video showing the desync between the center mic icon and the bottom one

In this video, you see my other potentially related point:
It seems to be possible to create a de-sync between what the icon in the center of the screen shows and what it shows at the bottom:
They can become de-synced and display the exact opposite.

What isn't shown in the video is that on a freshly started system, they are not desynced.

Comment 5 dev.lh 2025-01-01 12:56:28 UTC

I think I've added all information I can give on this bug.
Is there anything else I can do to help?
Also, what's the correct state of this issue now?
It shouldn't be `WAITINGFORINFO` anymore…

Comment 6 Nate Graham 2025-10-23 18:23:39 UTC

Ah, this is a consequence of the fact that prior to Plasma 6, icon themes and plasma themes could have different icons. In Plasma 6, they can't, and the icons are now identical between these two use cases, at least when using the Breeze icon theme. If they still don't match when using a 3rd-party icon theme, that's now an issue in the 3rd-party icon theme.