Troubleshooting AVS Device SDK Common Issues

Having trouble with the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) Device SDK? The following page provides possible resolutions for common issues on all platforms, Linux, macOS, and Raspberry Pi. If you run into another AVS Device SDK problem that's not listed here, create a new issue on the SDK GitHub page.

All platforms

Issue: the SDK doesn't load

Symptoms

This problem can occur if your AlexaClientSDKConfig.json file doesn't reference the correct databases. You might see the following error message:
miscDatabase:E SQLiteMiscStorage:createFailed:reason=Could not load config value,key=databaseFilePath.

Try this

To determine if your databases are linked

Open your AlexaClientSDKConfig.json file.
Find the databaseFilePath entries and make sure they link to the appropriate databases.

For example, the following json object lists the database path for lwaAuthorization. This path must be valid.
```
 {
     "lwaAuthorization": {
         "databaseFilePath": "${SDK_LWA_AUTHORIZATION_ADAPTER_DATABASE_FILE_PATH}"
     },
 }
```

Issue: Amazon Music won't play

Symptoms

This problem can occur if your device isn't set with the correct date. Incorrect time settings cause certificate issues when contacting Amazon server. You might see the following error message: curlEasyPerformFailed:error=Peer certificate can't authenticate with the provided CA certificates.

Try this

To change the date on your device

In your terminal, run the following commands with the correct date.
- Change the date: date +%Y%m%d -s "20180131"
- Change the time: date +%T -s "16:11:00"

Issue: The SDK doesn't output audio

Symptoms

This problem can occur if the SDK doesn't reference the correct audiosink in the AlexaClientSDKConfig.json file – sometimes the SDK automatically tries to select the best audio sink based on your system configuration. This automatic setting can cause issues depending on how you build the SDK.

Try this

To check if your audiosink is working

In your terminal, run the following command: gst-launch-1.0 -m audiotestsrc ! autoaudiosink.
- If the system is working, a test tone plays.
- If the system isn't working, a test tone doesn't play.
If a test doesn't play, use -m to determine which audio sink you've set up. For example:

autoaudiosink0-actual-sink-osxaudio" (tag): GstMessageTag, taglist=(taglist)"taglist\,\ description\=$string$\"audiotest\\\ wave\"\;;
Run the following command gst-launch-1.0 -m audiotestsrc ! alsasink
If you hear a test tone, you must modify the value on line 589.

Replace the existing audio_sink values

m_pipeline.audioSink = gst_element_factory_make("autoaudiosink", "audio_sink");

With the following audio_sink values

m_pipeline.audioSink = gst_element_factory_make("alsasink", "audio_sink");

Issue: Authentication error when changing products

Symptoms

When you try to run the Alexa Smart Screen SDK sample app on a new device, you see the following error. You have registered the device as a product in the Alexa console.

RequiresShutdown:~RequiresShutdownFailed:reason=notShutdown,name=FocusBridge
CapabilitiesDelegate:getCapabilityConfigsStringFromJsonFailed::Interface configurations not available
CapabilitiesDelegate:getCapabilityConfigsStringFromJsonFailed::Interface configurations not available
CapabilitiesDelegate:getCapabilityConfigsStringFromJsonFailed::Interface configurations not available
CapabilitiesDelegate:getCapabilityConfigsStringFromJsonFailed::Interface configurations not available
CapabilitiesDelegate:getCapabilityConfigsStringFromJsonFailed::Interface configurations not available
CapabilitiesDelegate:getCapabilityConfigsStringFromJsonFailed::Interface configurations not available
CapabilitiesDelegate:getCapabilityConfigsStringFromJsonFailed::Interface configurations not available
CapabilitiesDelegate:getCapabilityConfigsStringFromJsonFailed::Interface configurations not available
CapabilitiesDelegate:getCapabilityConfigsStringFromJsonFailed::Interface configurations not available
CBLAuthDelegate:receiveTokenResponseFailed:result=UNAUTHORIZED_CLIENT

Try this

Navigate to the ~/sdk-folder/db folder and delete its contents.
From the new product's config.json file, copy the credentials (clientID and productID) into the AlexaClientSDKConfig.json file.
Run the sample again.
To authorize the new product, enter the code provided on the screen in the web page at amazon.com/us/code. For more details, see Get a Refresh Token in the AVS Device SDK documentation.

Ubuntu

Issue: No sound when using the Plantronics speaker box

Symptoms

There is no audio output when using the sample app. This problem can occur if the gstreamer is incorrectly configured.

Try this

To update GStreamer

In your terminal, run the following command: sudo apt install gstreamer1.0-alsa.
Test GStreamer with the following command: gst-launch-0.10 audiotestsrc ! autoaudiosink. If GStreamer is working, you hear a constant tone sound.

To configure audio settings

If audio is still not working after you install GStreamer, you might have to adjust some system settings.

Disable the onboard audio with a deny list: sudo echo "blacklist snd_bcm2835" > /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-blacklist.conf.
Set your USB / DAC card as the default audio device. sudo echo "options snd-usb-audio index=0" > /etc/modporbe.d/alsa-base.conf.

Issue: CMake version 3.10.2 doesn't work with libcurl version 7.67.0

Symptoms

CMake version 3.10.2 – which is the default version of CMake that ships with Ubuntu 18.04 – is incompatible with libcurl version 7.67.0.

Try this

CMake version 3.18.2 is compatible with libcurl version 7.67.0.

Uninstall the default version provided by the Ubuntu package manager. sudo apt-get purge cmake
Download and extract the latest version of CMake from the official CMake webpage.

Update the version and build variables with the following command.

 version=3.x
 build=3
 mkdir ~/temp
 cd ~/temp
 wget https://cmake.org/files/v$version/cmake-$version.$build.tar.gztar xzvf cmake$version.$build.tar.gz
 cd cmake-$version.$build

Install the extracted source.

 ./bootstrap make -j4 sudo make install

macOS

Issue: The SDK fails to build

Symptoms

This problem can occur if your build is missing required dependencies. The SDK won't compile and throws an error related to the dependency you are missing.

Try this

To update your dependencies

To fix any missing dependencies, run the brew install command for each missing dependency.

Issue: The sample app failed to build

Symptoms

This problem can occur if your version of curl doesn't support HTTP/2. This problem can occur if curl installs with incorrect settings.

Try this

In your terminal, run the following command: brew uninstall curl.
Re-install curl as described in Set up your MacOS environment.

Issue: Gstreamer fails to build

The Gstreamer plugin can't dynamically load as it fails to find the path to the plugin.

Symptoms

The SampleApp build fails with this error.

    0:00:00.013776000 35506 0x7f78e5d06720 WARN     GST_ELEMENT_FACTORY gstelementfactory.c:754:gst_element_factory_make_valist: no such element factory "audioconvert"!

    <unknown>:35506): GStreamer-CRITICAL **: 12:04:10.148: gst_object_unref: assertion 'object != NULL' failed

    (<unknown>:35506): GLib-CRITICAL **: 12:04:10.149: g_main_context_find_source_by_id: assertion 'source_id > 0' failed
    Failed to create SampleApplication!

Or the SampleApp hangs with this error.

    (gst-plugin-scanner:35769): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 12:09:00.338: type name '-a-png-encoder-pred' contains invalid characters

    (gst-plugin-scanner:35769): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 12:09:00.338: g_type_set_qdata: assertion 'node != NULL' failed

    (gst-plugin-scanner:35769): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 12:09:00.338: g_type_set_qdata: assertion 'node != NULL' failed

    (gst-plugin-scanner:35769): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 12:09:00.377: type name '-a-png-encoder-pred' contains invalid characters

    (gst-plugin-scanner:35769): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 12:09:00.377: g_type_set_qdata: assertion 'node != NULL' failed

    (gst-plugin-scanner:35769): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 12:09:00.377: g_type_set_qdata: assertion 'node != NULL' failed

Try this

Override the Gstreamer plugin search path to $(brew --prefix)/lib/gstreamer-1.0/.

    GST_PLUGIN_PATH=$(brew --prefix)/lib/gstreamer-1.0/ ./SampleApplications/ConsoleSampleApplication/src/SampleApp ./Integration/AlexaClientSDKConfig.json DEBUG9

Issue: macOS dynamic link library (`dyld`) not loaded in npm install

Symptoms

You see the following output.

dyld: Library not loaded: /usr/local/opt/icu4c/lib/libicui18n.63.dylib
  Referenced from: /usr/local/bin/node
  Reason: image not found
/bin/sh: line 1: 91419 Abort trap: 6           npm install
make[2]: *** [modules/GUI/CMakeFiles/GUIClient] Error 134
make[1]: *** [modules/GUI/CMakeFiles/GUIClient.dir/all] Error 2
make: *** [all] Error 2

Try this

brew reinstall node

If brew reinstall node doesn’t fix the error, uninstall and reinstall the node manually from the node.js website.

brew uninstall --ignore-dependencies node

In your web browser, go to https://nodejs.org/en/download/.
Download the LTS version for Mac, and follow the prompts to install Node.js.
Rerun your cmake and make commands.

Issue: MacOS dynamic link library (`dyld`) not loaded error from sample app

Symptoms

When you try to run the Alexa Smart Screen SDK sample app, you see the following output.

dyld: Library not loaded: @rpath/libAVSCommon.dylib
  Referenced from: ~/sdk-folder/ss-build/./modules/Alexa/SampleApp/src/SampleApp
  Reason: image not found
Abort trap: 6

Try this

Run the following command.

export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$HOME/sdk-folder/sdk-install/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH

Issue: SampleApp fails to create PortAudio microphone wrapper

Symptoms

You see the following error.

||PaMacCore (AUHAL)|| Error on line 1277: err='-66748', msg=Unknown Error
PortAudioMicrophoneWrapper:Failed to open PortAudio default stream:errorCode=-9986
PortAudioMicrophoneWrapper:Failed to initialize PortAudioMicrophoneWrapper
SampleApplication:Failed to create microphone wrapper!
InternetConnectionMonitor:testConnectionFailed:reason=contentFetcherCouldNotDownloadHeader
SampleApplication:Failed to initialize SampleApplication

Try this

Run the following command.
```
brew install portaudio
```
Use the updated PortAudio paths to rebuild AVS SDK and SmartScreen SDK. Note that the paths might be slightly different on your system depending on where brew installed the packages.
```
-DPORTAUDIO_LIB_PATH=$(brew --prefix)/opt/portaudio/lib/libportaudio.dylib \
-DPORTAUDIO_INCLUDE_DIR=$(brew --prefix)/opt/portaudio/include
```

Raspberry Pi

Issue: Device freezes and install process stops

Symptoms

Your Raspberry Pi freezes after you run the setup.sh script to install the SDK. For details about installing the SDK, see Step 2: Download and Install the SDK in Set Up the AVS Device SDK on Raspberry Pi with a Script. This problem might occur when there isn't enough memory on the device, especially if you use an older model of Raspberry Pi, such as Raspberry Pi 3.

Try this

From the command line, run the following commands to increase the virtual memory on your device.

Stop the operating system from using the current swap file.
```
sudo dphys-swapfile swapoff
```
Modify the swap file configuration file.
```
sudo nano /etc/dphys-swapfile
```
Find CONF_SWAPSIZE in the file, and then update it to 2048.
```
CONF_SWAPSIZE=2048
```
Reinitialize the swap file of your Raspberry Pi.
```
sudo dphys-swapfile setup
```
Turn the swap system back on.
```
sudo dphys-swapfile swapon
```
Restart your Raspberry Pi.
```
sudo reboot
```

Issue: Raspberry Pi overheats

Symptoms

Try this

From the command line, run the following commands.

Navigate to your /home/pi directory.
Open the setup.sh file. For example, type
```
sudo nano setup.sh
```
Find all the occurrences of -j2 and remove them.
Save, and then close the file.

Issue: No option to output sound to a USB sound card

Symptoms

The SampleApp uses the default input and output for audio.

Try this

To use a USB sound card, install the dsnoop and dmix plugins. Paste this code into .asoundrc, and into asound.conf.

Issue: Microphone doesn't work

Symptoms

You get the following error rec FAIL formats: can't open input default: snd_pcm_open error: No such file or directory when testing the Raspberry Pi during the microphone set up.

This problem can occur when the .asoundrc file isn't configured correctly for the voice input hardware.

Try this

In your terminal, type arecord -l to list the correct card number and device number to record audio. Take note of the numbers that follow card and device, you need them later.

For example
```
 **** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
 card 2: Device [USB Audio Device], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
   Subdevices: 1/1
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
```
Open the .asoundrc file.
In the capture.pcm object, find the slave.pcm value.
Add the card number and device number that you generated in step one in the following format hw: <card number>, <device number>.

For example

If you use the values from the example shown in step one, your capture.pcm object has a card number of 2 and a device number of 0. Note that different Raspberry Pi models might have different hardware numbers.
```
 ...
         capture.pcm {
                 type plug
                 slave.pcm "hw:2,0"
         }
 ...
```

Issue: No audio output when using the 3.55mm audio jack

Symptoms

You are running the Sample App and the Alexa wake word is triggering, however, you don't hear any audio out of your speaker that's connected to a 3.5mm audio jack.

This problem can occur if the .asoundrc file isn't configured correctly for the voice input hardware.

Try this

In your terminal, enter aplay -l to list the correct card number and device number for audio playback. Take note of the numbers that follow card and device, you need them later.

For example

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
***....***
card 1: Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones], device 0: bcm2835 Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones]
 Subdevices: 4/4
 Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
 Subdevice #1: subdevice #1
 Subdevice #2: subdevice #2
 Subdevice #3: subdevice #3

Open the .asoundrc file.
In the playback.pcm object, find the slave.pcm value.
Add the card number and device number that you generated in step one in the following format hw: <card number>, <device number>.

For example

If you use the values from the example shown in step one, your playback.pcm object has a card number of 1 and a device number of 0. Note that different Raspberry Pi models might have different hardware numbers.
```
   ...
           playback.pcm {
                   type plug
                   slave.pcm "hw:1,0"
           }
   ...
```

Having trouble using the AVS Device SDK on smart screens? The following sections show possible resolutions for common issues. The sections cover issues with all platforms, macOS, and Raspberry Pi.

If you run into a problem that's not listed here, create a new issue in our GitHub repo.

Issue: Missing `libcrypto` (or other library) error from AVS Device SDK build

Symptoms

AVS Device SDK cmake build command fails with the error, "can't find libcrypto," or an error reporting another library as missing.

Note: If you have the wrong version of a given library, the library is reported as missing.

Try this

Install the required version of the missing library. For example, the AVS Device SDK requires libcrypto version 1.1. To install it, use the following command.

To install version 1.1

Use the following command.

 sudo apt install libcurl4-openssl-dev libssl-dev

To update pkgconfig

Check whether pkgconfig is correct.
```
pkg-config --list-all | grep libcrypto
```
Copy the contents of pkgconfig in openssl@1.1 (or the current version being used) into /usr/local/lib/pkgconfig.
```
cp /usr/local/Cellar/openssl@1.1/1.1.1g/lib/pkgconfig/* /usr/local/lib/pkgconfig
```

Check whether pkgconfig is now correct.

pkg-config --list-all | grep libcryptosr/local/opt/openssl/lib

You should see the following command output.

PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/local/opt/openssl/lib/pkgconfig

Last updated: Oct 12, 2022

Troubleshooting AVS Device SDK Common Issues

All platforms

Issue: the SDK doesn't load

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: Amazon Music won't play

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: The SDK doesn't output audio

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: Authentication error when changing products

Symptoms

Try this

Ubuntu

Issue: No sound when using the Plantronics speaker box

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: CMake version 3.10.2 doesn't work with libcurl version 7.67.0

Symptoms

Try this

macOS

Issue: The SDK fails to build

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: The sample app failed to build

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: Gstreamer fails to build

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: macOS dynamic link library (dyld) not loaded in npm install

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: MacOS dynamic link library (dyld) not loaded error from sample app

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: SampleApp fails to create PortAudio microphone wrapper

Symptoms

Try this

Raspberry Pi

Issue: Device freezes and install process stops

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: Raspberry Pi overheats

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: No option to output sound to a USB sound card

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: Microphone doesn't work

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: No audio output when using the 3.55mm audio jack

Symptoms

Try this

Issue: Missing libcrypto (or other library) error from AVS Device SDK build

Symptoms

Try this

Related topics

Issue: macOS dynamic link library (`dyld`) not loaded in npm install

Issue: MacOS dynamic link library (`dyld`) not loaded error from sample app

Issue: Missing `libcrypto` (or other library) error from AVS Device SDK build