My question: Do you think it could be a timing thing? Because once I run the command such as sudo sparkbox up media the device then attaches properly? It does this after every update SparkBox AI replied: Yeah — that's not a timing coincidence, and you've just pinned the actual bug. That pattern — attaches fine after a manual up, then disappears again after every SparkBox update — is exactly the hw-overlay re-application failure the KB article already named. The overlay gets applied at container creation time, and on your box that re-apply step is silently failing during the auto-update path, so it only comes back when you force it with a manual up. So to be blunt: it's not timing. It's the update logic not re-attaching /dev/dri on recreate, and you're having to do SparkBox's job for it every update. That's a real bug, and it needs Tom to actually ship a fix — not something you should keep babysitting. Two things: 1. Get it back right now (the one-liner you already know): sudo sparkbox up media Skip the tdarr/immich ones if Jellyfin's your main transcode box — but if you use all three, run all three. 2. Escalate it properly — this is textbook "needs a patch" material: - Click "Share to demox" below - Say: /dev/dri drops from Jellyfin after every SparkBox update, JELLYFINHWACCEL=vaapi is set, host has renderD128, and only a manual sudo sparkbox up media re-attaches it. Also note the doctor falsely reports "NO /dev/dri" on th …(reply truncated — full chat sent to Tom)
9 replies
Chris wrote:
Hey Dan — not a timing thing, you've pinned a real one. That's the graphics device getting dropped whenever SparkBox updates, and it's ours to fix, not something you should have to re-do each time. The command you found is the right stop-gap: run sudo sparkbox up media after an update and hardware transcoding comes straight back. We fixed a close cousin of this recently (the device going missing after the overnight update), so first make sure you're current with sudo sparkbox upgrade. If you're already on the latest and it still drops every update, that's a fresh case — I've sent the details to Tom to chase the update path directly.
Dan wrote:
Currently on 1.6.577 for reference
Chris wrote:
Appreciate the version — that's essentially current. The latest release is only a dashboard card-system change, and the earlier GPU fix we shipped is already in your build, so the fact it still drops on every update means this is a fresh case rather than anything you're missing. I've handed those details to Tom to chase the update path directly. Until then, your sudo sparkbox up media after each update is the right stop-gap and will keep hardware transcoding working. I'll post back here as soon as there's news on it.
Doc_Senna wrote:
I had this same problem when I updated today as well.
Chris wrote:
Thanks for the confirmation, DocSenna — a second report the same day helps Tom a lot, so this is genuinely useful. You're seeing the same thing as Dan: the graphics device goes missing after an update, then comes straight back with sudo sparkbox up media. Tom's already working on it from Dan's report above, and I've added yours to it. Until the fix lands, that one command after each update keeps hardware transcoding working.
xionide wrote:
I am having this issue too. Was fighting it yesterday but got it back up. Probably going to disable overnight updates for now because I feel like I finally have this thing in a good place.
Chris wrote:
Thanks for adding your voice, xionide — a third box hitting the same thing after each update makes it clear this is on our end, not anything you've done, and Tom's digging into it now. Disabling the overnight update for a while is a perfectly good way to keep things steady, and if a manual update ever drops the graphics device, sudo sparkbox up media snaps it straight back. I'll post right here the moment the fix ships.
xionide wrote:
Just did the big update today and once again it broke transcoding.
Chris wrote:
Sorry it's still doing this, xionide — that's the same graphics-device bug from further up this thread, and it's genuinely still open on our side, so the latest update knocked hardware transcoding out again. To get it back right now, open your terminal and run sudo sparkbox up media, then give it a minute. I've flagged this newest report to Tom so he can see it's still biting on the current build, not just the older ones. Until the fix lands, that one command after any update is the reliable way back.