gnome-control-center is only involved in applying configuration changes, it's not a service and not active/playing a part in what is happening after rebooting on disconnecting devices, reassigning to pulseaudio
When you play sound in an application, do you see that one added to the 'applications' tab from the sound settings? is the volume muted/low there? ** Package changed: gnome-control-center (Ubuntu) => pulseaudio (Ubuntu) ** Changed in: pulseaudio (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided => Low ** Changed in: pulseaudio (Ubuntu) Status: New => Incomplete -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to pulseaudio in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1768754 Title: Applications are muted (silent) but system sounds work Status in pulseaudio package in Ubuntu: Incomplete Bug description: How to reproduce this bug: * Connect a laptop to a dock, which is connected to a screen with an HDMI / DisplayPort cable. * Then configure the sound to exit through the cable connecting the screen. * Turn off the computer * Take it out of the dock * Turn on the computer Then, the sound automatically switches to the audio output of the laptop. System sounds work well, such as the bell of output volume slider or the test speaker buttons “front left” or “front right”. Unfortunately, no more applications can produce a sound. Graphically, applications react normally, we can see their connections with pulse audio in the applications tab of the sound settings. But no sound comes out of the speakers. Workaround : * Connect an alternative audio output, such as a Bluetooth headset * Select it in the “Choose a device for sound output:” option * Switch back to the internal audio speakers * Et voilà ! If it help, my laptop is a “HP Zbook G2” sometime connected to a “HP 2012 230W Docking Station” Thank you for your attention. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 18.04 Package: gnome-control-center 1:3.28.1-0ubuntu1 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.15.0-20.21-generic 4.15.17 Uname: Linux 4.15.0-20-generic x86_64 ApportVersion: 2.20.9-0ubuntu7 Architecture: amd64 CurrentDesktop: GNOME Date: Thu May 3 09:21:01 2018 EcryptfsInUse: Yes ProcEnviron: TERM=xterm-256color PATH=(custom, no user) XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set> LANG=fr_FR.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/bash SourcePackage: gnome-control-center UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to bionic on 2018-04-24 (8 days ago) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pulseaudio/+bug/1768754/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : desktop-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp