Sound doesn't work properly in root but does in normal user

Question

I'm using debian 9 with gnome.
When i use the root the volume control doesn' t work and doesn' t have the megaphone symbol (that is also missing in the gnome panel). I can move the bar but doesn` t affect the volume.

In Settings/Sound there aren' t any output/input devices.
There aren't any system sounds like when you keep deleting in the terminal or when you using fn + the volume controls that aren' t working.
Fn keys are working for the others functions but not for the audio.
Except for the system sounds the audio is working and i can set the volume using alsa-mixer (that isn' t practical).

If i use a normal user everything is fine: the volume control (in the gnome panel) works and has the megaphone symbol, system sounds are working, fn keys for the audio are working and in Settings/Sound there are the output/input devices.

How can i have fix the audio for the root?

Don' t tell me that is dangerous and why i want log in as root.
I really wish to do so.
From the comments i can see that dirkt states:

Pulseaudio by default only works with a logged-in user, by design

Any idea to how fix pulseaudio?

Answer 1

Too bad that you didn' t know that all those problems are caused by pulseaudio.
If you run in a terminal pulseaudio you will see something like this:

W: [pulseaudio] main.c: This program is not intended to be run as root (unless --system is specified).

If you run pulseaudio --system won' t work (at least on my system), I don' t know if there is any proper solution.
But there is a very simple and perfect workaround use only pulseaudio:

1. Copy this folder /home/normal-user/.config/pulse into your home (/root/.config) from another "normal" user.
   

2. In /root/.config/autostart (if the folder doesn't exist create it) make a file with this content:

   [Desktop Entry]
   Type=Application
   Terminal=false
   OnlyShowIn=GNOME;KDE
   Exec=pulseaudio
   Name=pulseaudio
   Comment=Volume/audio controls
   

3. And name it pulseaudio.desktop (the important thing is the .desktop).
   Double click and you are ok (trust and launch).
   

   Now every time that you log in (as root) your sound will be fine.

Other GUIs:

It also works for KDE plasma.
If your GUI uses pulseaudio you can add it to the entry OnlyShowIn=.
Or remove that line to always start pulseaudio (on every GUI).