The audio volume changes when the microphone is turned on.

[Nahatakyan]

My application is for watching videos with other users. When a user is watching a video and then turns on the microphone, the volume changes. It looks like the volume changes after the audio session category is changed. Can someone help me prevent the audio volume from changing?

SDK version: 2.10.1
Xcode version: 26.1, 26.2

[hiroshihorie]

Yes, each audio session category has different volume levels. Depending on your app requirements, there are different ways to handle this.

If users will almost always turn on mic, you can try:

// This will invoke mic perms dialog if not granted already.
try await AudioManager.shared.setRecordingAlwaysPreparedMode(true)

Or, you can always use .playAndRecord:

// Turn off automatic session configuration
AudioManager.shared.session.isAutomaticConfigurationEnabled = false

// Configure AVAudioSession yourself (Always use .playAndRecord)
let audioSession = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance()
do {
  try audioSession.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .videoChat, options: [.mixWithOthers, .allowBluetoothHFP, .allowBluetoothA2DP, .allowAirPlay])
  try audioSession.setActive(true)
  print("Audio session configured and activated.")
} catch {
  print("Failed to set up audio session: \(error.localizedDescription)")
}

With either method above, you need to do this early in your app, before publishing or subscribing to audio.

[Nahatakyan]

@hiroshihorie I used this code

AudioManager.shared.audioSession.isAutomaticConfigurationEnabled = false

let audioSession = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance()
do {
  try audioSession.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .default, options: [])
  try audioSession.setActive(true)
  print("Audio session configured and activated.")
} catch {
  print("Failed to set up audio session: \(error.localizedDescription)")
}

But the volume of the video is very low, with the maximum volume slider. I can't hear the video's sound.
I also tried with:

  try audioSession.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .default, options: [.mixWithOthers])

But the same result.

[hiroshihorie]

Oh, you need to use .voiceChat or .videoChat to enable voice processing, i'll update the sample code above ☝️.
Can you try it again ?

[Nahatakyan]

.videoChat is slightly higher than .voiceChat, but still is too low.

[Nahatakyan]

And there is something strange happening with the audio behavior:

private func setupAudioSession() {
    AudioManager.shared.audioSession.isAutomaticConfigurationEnabled = false
    do {
        let audioSession = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance()

        try audioSession.setCategory(
            .playAndRecord,
            mode: .videoChat,
            options: [
                .mixWithOthers,
                .allowBluetoothHFP,
                .allowBluetoothA2DP,
                .allowAirPlay
            ]
        )
        try audioSession.setActive(true)
        Logger.log(category: .player, message: "audio session configured for playAndRecord")
    } catch {
        Logger.log(level: .error, category: .player, message: "failed to setup audio session: \(error)")
    }
}

Observed behavior:

1. Playing the video - the sound is very low
2. Joining the room - the volume has not changed
3. Turning on the microphone - the volume increases
4. Turning off the microphone - the volume has not changed
5. Leaving the room - the volume decreases