element-hq / element-hq/element-x-android

Audio routing issue on call start - quiet/muted audio until output device is switched

Open
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A-Call O-Occasional S-Minor T-Defect Z-Element Call
Dominant language
Kotlin
Stars
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Forks
624
Avg merge
1d 14h
Merged PRs (30d)
149

Description

### Steps to reproduce

When initiating or receiving a call in Element X, the audio is very quiet or inaudible for both participants. The issue resolves itself immediately when manually switching the audio output device (e.g. loudspeaker → handset → back to loudspeaker) in the call settings.
Expected behavior: Audio works correctly from the moment the call is established.
Actual behavior: Audio is quiet/muted until the user manually switches the audio output device.

### Outcome

1.Start a call between two devices
2.Both participants connect successfully
3.Audio is either very quiet or completely inaudible
4.Go to call settings and switch audio output device twice (any → any → back)
5.Audio immediately becomes normal
Notes: LiveKit server logs show audio track (opus) is published and received correctly on the server side, so this appears to be a client-side audio routing initialization issue specific to Android audio manager.

### Your phone model

Device 1: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, Device 2: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

### Operating system version

Android 16

### Application version and app store

Element X version: latest (26.03.0)

### Homeserver

Server: Synapse 1.148.0 + LiveKit SFU (self-hosted), LiveKit SDK: 2.15.13

### Will you send logs?

No

### Are you willing to provide a PR?

No

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

No source file or test is named. Start by reproducing the call on the reported Samsung devices and Android 16 with Element X 26.03.0, then inspect Android audio-routing initialization and the output-device switch path, comparing state before and after the manual switch. Done means audio is normal immediately when the call is established.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
android, kotlin
Domain
audio-video-rtc, mobile
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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