Dive into the technical aspects of audio on your device, including codecs, format support, and customization options.

Audio Documentation

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AudioUnit may experience silent capture issues on iPadOS 18.4.1 or 18.5.
Among the millions of users of our online product, we have identified through data metrics that the silent audio data capture rate on iPadOS 18.4.1 or 18.5 has increased abnormally. However, we are unable to reproduce the issue. Has anyone encountered a similar issue? The parameters we used are as follows: AudioSession: category:AVAudioSessionCategoryPlayAndRecord mode:AVAudioSessionModeDefault option:77 preferredSampleRate:48000.000000 preferredIOBufferDuration:0.010000 AudioUnit format.mFormatID = kAudioFormatLinearPCM; format.mSampleRate = 48000.0; format.mChannelsPerFrame = 2; format.mBitsPerChannel = 16; format.mFramesPerPacket = 1; format.mBytesPerFrame = format.mChannelsPerFrame * 16 / 8; format.mBytesPerPacket = format.mBytesPerFrame * format.mFramesPerPacket; format.mFormatFlags = kAudioFormatFlagsNativeEndian | kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsPacked | kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsSignedInteger; component.componentType = kAudioUnitType_Output; component.componentSubType = kAudioUnitSubType_RemoteIO; component.componentManufacturer = kAudioUnitManufacturer_Apple; component.componentFlags = 0; component.componentFlagsMask = 0;
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145
Jun ’25
Correct way for an Audio Unit v3 to return fewer than requested number of samples given a buffer
I have an AUv3 plugin which uses an FFT - which requires n samples before it can produce any output - so, depending on the relation between the host's buffer size and the FFT window size, it may receive a several buffers of samples, producing no output, and then dumping out what it has once a sufficient number of samples have been received. This means that output is produced in fits and starts, in batches that match the FFT size (modulo oversampling) - e.g. if being fed buffers of 256 samples with an fft size of 1024, the output buffer sizes will be 0 for the first 3 buffers, and upon the fourth, the first 256 processed samples are returned and the remaining 768 cached; the next three buffers will return the remaining cached samples while processing and buffering subsequent ones, and so forth. The internal mechanics of that I have solved, caching output if the current output buffer is too small, and so forth - so it all works as advertised, and the plugin reports its latency correctly. And when run as an app in demo-mode, playback works as expected. In the plugin's render block, it captures the number of frames written, and if it is less than the number of frames passed in, adjusts the mDataByteSize of the output buffers to match the actual quantity of data being returned: unsigned int framesWritten = (unsigned int) processHelper->processWithEvents(inAudioBufferList, outAudioBufferList, timestamp, frameCount, realtimeEventListHead); if (framesWritten < frameCount) { for (UInt32 i = 0; i < outAudioBufferList->mNumberBuffers; ++i) { outAudioBufferList->mBuffers[i].mDataByteSize = framesWritten * 4; // assume 4 byte floats } } However, there are a couple of serious issues: auval -v fails it with - Render Test at 64 frames, sample rate: 22050 Hz ERROR: Output Buffer Size does not match requested When connected to Logic Pro, it appears that mDataByteSize is ignored, and the entire allocated buffer is read - audio has sections of silence snipped into it which corresponds the number of empty buffers being returned If I set Logic's buffer size to 1024 and use a 1024 sample FFT window, the plugin works correctly - but of course a plugin cannot dictate buffer size, and `1024 is too small a window size to be useful for anything but filtering very high frequencies This seems like it has to be a solvable problem, and most likely the issue is in how my code reports the number of usable samples in the returned buffer. So, what is the correct way for a plugin to report that it has no samples to return, but will, uh, real soon now? I know I could convert this plugin to be one that does offline rendering of the entire input, but this is real-time processing, just with a fixed amount of latency, so that should not be necessary.
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364
Nov ’25
The files generated using AVAudioRecorder have a constant size of only 4kb
Hello. My app uses AVAudioRecorder to generate recording files, which are consistently only 4kb in size. Most users generate audio files normally, with only a few users experiencing this phenomenon occasionally. After uninstalling and installing the app, it will work normally, but it will reappear after a period of time. I have compared that the problematic audio files generated each time are fixed and cannot be played. Added the audioRecorderDidFinishRecording proxy method, which shows that the recording was completed normally. The user also reported that the recording is normal, but there is a problem with the generated file. How should I handle this issue? Look forward to your reply. - (void)startRecordWithOrderID:(NSString *)orderID { AVAudioSession *audioSession = [AVAudioSession sharedInstance]; [audioSession setCategory:AVAudioSessionCategoryRecord error:nil]; [audioSession setActive:YES error:nil]; NSMutableDictionary *settings = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] init]; [settings setObject:[NSNumber numberWithFloat: 8000.0] forKey:AVSampleRateKey]; [settings setObject:[NSNumber numberWithInt: kAudioFormatLinearPCM] forKey:AVFormatIDKey]; [settings setObject:[NSNumber numberWithInt:16] forKey:AVLinearPCMBitDepthKey]; [settings setObject:[NSNumber numberWithInt: 1] forKey:AVNumberOfChannelsKey]; [settings setObject:[NSNumber numberWithBool:NO] forKey:AVLinearPCMIsBigEndianKey]; [settings setObject:[NSNumber numberWithBool:NO] forKey:AVLinearPCMIsFloatKey]; NSString *path = [WDUtility createDirInDocument:@"audios" withOrderID:orderID withPathExtension:@"wav"]; NSURL *tmpFile = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:path]; recorder = [[AVAudioRecorder alloc] initWithURL:tmpFile settings:settings error:nil]; [recorder setDelegate:self]; [recorder prepareToRecord]; [recorder record]; }
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238
Jul ’25
AVAudioUnitSampler Bug with Consolidated Audio Files
Hello, I've discovered a buffer initialization bug in AVAudioUnitSampler that happens when loading presets with multiple zones referencing different regions in the same audio file (monolith/concatenated samples approach). Almost all zones output silence (i.e. zeros) at the beginning of playback instead of starting with actual audio data. The Problem Setup: Single audio file (monolith) containing multiple concatenated samples Multiple zones in an .aupreset, each with different sample start and sample end values pointing to different regions of the same file All zones load successfully without errors Expected Behavior: All zones should play their respective audio regions immediately from the first sample. Actual Behavior: Last zone in the zone list: Works perfectly - plays audio immediately All other zones: Output [0, 0, 0, 0, ..., _audio_data] instead of [real_audio_data] The number of zeros varies from event to event for each zone. It can be a couple of samples (<30) up to several buffers. After the initial zeros, the correct audio plays normally, so there is no shift in audio playback, just missing samples at the beginning. Minimal Reproduction 1. Create Test Monolith Audio File Create a single Wav file with 3 concatenated 1-second samples (44.1kHz): Sample 1: frames 0-44099 (constant amplitude 0.3) Sample 2: frames 44100-88199 (constant amplitude 0.6) Sample 3: frames 88200-132299 (constant amplitude 0.9) 2. Create Test Preset Create an .aupreset with 3 zones all referencing the same file: Pseudo code <Zone array> <zone 1> start : 0, end: 44099, note: 60, waveform: ref_to_monolith.wav; <zone 2> start sample: 44100, note: 62, end sample: 88199, waveform: ref_to_monolith.wav; <zone 3> start sample: 88200, note: 64, end sample: 132299, waveform: ref_to_monolith.wav; </Zone array> 3. Load and Test // Load preset into AVAudioUnitSampler let sampler = AVAudioUnitSampler() try sampler.loadAudioFiles(from: presetURL) // Play each zone (MIDI notes C4=60, D4=62, E4=64) sampler.startNote(60, withVelocity: 64, onChannel: 0) // Zone 1 sampler.startNote(62, withVelocity: 64, onChannel: 0) // Zone 2 sampler.startNote(64, withVelocity: 64, onChannel: 0) // Zone 3 4. Observed Result Zone 1 (C4): [0, 0, 0, ..., 0.3, 0.3, 0.3] ❌ Zeros at beginning Zone 2 (D4): [0, 0, 0, ..., 0.6, 0.6, 0.6] ❌ Zeros at beginning Zone 3 (E4): [0.9, 0.9, 0.9, ...] ✅ Works correctly (last zone) What I've Extensively Tested What DOES Work Separate files per zone: Each zone references its own individual audio file All zones play correctly without zeros Problem: Not viable for iOS apps with 500+ sample libraries due to file handle limitations What DOESN'T Work (All Tested) 1. Different Audio Formats: CAF (Float32 PCM, Int16 PCM, both interleaved and non-interleaved) M4A (AAC compressed) WAV (uncompressed) SF2 (SoundFont2) Bug persists across all formats 2. CAF Region Chunks: Created CAF files with embedded region chunks defining zone boundaries Set zones with no sampleStart/sampleEnd in preset (nil values) AVAudioUnitSampler completely ignores CAF region metadata Bug persists 3. Unique Waveform IDs: Gave each zone a unique waveform ID (268435456, 268435457, 268435458) Each ID has its own file reference entry (all pointing to same physical file) Hypothesized this might trigger separate buffer initialization Bug persists - no improvement 4. Different Sample Rates: Tested: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 96kHz Bug occurs at all sample rates 5. Mono vs Stereo: Bug occurs with both mono and stereo files Environment macOS: Sonoma 14.x (tested across multiple minor versions) iOS: Tested on iOS 17.x with same results Xcode: 16.x Frameworks: AVFoundation, AudioToolbox Reproducibility: 100% reproducible with setup described above Impact & Use Case This bug severely impacts professional music applications that need: Small file sizes: Monolith files allow sharing compressed audio data (AAC/M4A) iOS file handle limits: Opening 400+ individual sample files is not viable on iOS Performance: Single file loading is much faster than hundreds of individual files Standard industry practice: Monolith/concatenated samples are used by EXS24, Kontakt, and most professional samplers Current Impact: Cannot use monolith files with AVAudioUnitSampler on iOS Forced to choose between: unusable audio (zeros at start) OR hitting iOS file limits No viable workaround exists Root Cause Hypothesis The bug appears to be in AVAudioUnitSampler's internal buffer initialization when: Multiple zones share the same source audio file Each zone specifies different sampleStart/sampleEnd offsets Key observation: The last zone in the zone array always works correctly. This is NOT related to: File permissions or security-scoped resources (separate files work fine) Audio codec issues (happens with uncompressed PCM too) Preset parsing (preset loads correctly, all zones are valid) Questions Is this a known issue? I couldn't find any documentation, bug reports, or discussions about this. Is there ANY workaround that allows monolith files to work with AVAudioUnitSampler? Alternative APIs? Is there a different API or approach for iOS that properly supports monolith sample files?
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372
Dec ’25
Why Does WebView Audio Get Quiet During RTC Calls? (AVAudioSession Analysis)
I developed an educational app that implements audio-video communication through RTC, while using WebView to display course materials during classes. However, some users are experiencing an issue where the audio playback from WebView is very quiet. I've checked that the AVAudioSessionCategory is set by RTC to AVAudioSessionCategoryPlayAndRecord, and the AVAudioSessionCategoryOption also includes AVAudioSessionCategoryOptionMixWithOthers. What could be causing the WebView audio to be suppressed, and how can this be resolved?
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557
Jul ’25
How to match music with shazamkit for Android ?
Hi all, i can successfully match music using shazamkit on Apple using SwiftUI, a simple app that let user to load an audio file and exctracts the relative match, while i am unable to match music using shamzamkit on Android. I am trying to make the same simple app but i cannot match music as i get MATCH_ATTEMPT_FAILED every time i try to. I don't know what i am doing wrong but the shazam part in the kotlin Android code is in this method : suspend fun processAudioFileInBackground( filePath: String, developerTokenProvider: DeveloperTokenProvider ) = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) { val bufferSize = 1024 * 1024 val audioFile = FileInputStream(filePath) val byteBuffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(bufferSize) byteBuffer.order(ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN) var bytesRead: Int while (audioFile.read(byteBuffer.array()).also { bytesRead = it } != -1) { val signatureGenerator = (ShazamKit.createSignatureGenerator(AudioSampleRateInHz.SAMPLE_RATE_44100) as ShazamKitResult.Success).data signatureGenerator.append(byteBuffer.array(), bytesRead, System.currentTimeMillis()) val signature = signatureGenerator.generateSignature() println("Signature: ${signature.durationInMs}") val catalog = ShazamKit.createShazamCatalog(developerTokenProvider, Locale.ENGLISH) val session = (ShazamKit.createSession(catalog) as ShazamKitResult.Success).data val matchResult = session.match(signature) println("MatchResult : $matchResult") setMatchResult(matchResult) byteBuffer.clear() } audioFile.close() } I noticed that changing Locale in catalog creation results in different result as i get NoMatch without exception. Can you please help me with this?
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94
Apr ’25
AVPlayerView with .inline controlsStyle macOS 26
My audio app shows a control bar at the bottom of the window. The controls show nicely, but there is a black "slab" appearing behind the inline controls, the same size as the playerView. Setting the player view background color does nothing: playerView.wantsLayer = true playerView.layer?.backgroundColor = NSColor.clear.cgColor How can I clear the background? If I use .floating controlsStyle, I don't get the background "slab".
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162
Oct ’25
AVAudioSession setActive(true) fails after phone call when app is in background
I’m seeing what appears to be an iOS audio-session issue that occurs only when a phone call happens while the app is in the background. API: AVAudioSession, AVAudioRecorder Background Modes: Audio enabled (UIBackgroundModes = audio) Category: .playAndRecord Microphone permission: granted Expected Behavior If the app is recording audio in the background and a phone call interrupts it: AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification(.began) fires Call ends AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification(.ended) fires App should be able to re-activate its audio session and resume or restart recording Apple documentation suggests this should be supported for background audio apps. Actual Behavior When the app is in the background and phone call is ended: AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification(.ended) does fire Attempting to reactivate the audio session always fails: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=560557684 ("!int") "Session activation failed" The session appears to remain permanently “interrupted” Retrying activation (with delays) does not help Recreating AVAudioRecorder does not help Reactivation works only after the app is opened again
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159
Jan ’26
Track changes in the browser tab's audibility property.
Hi! I am writing a browser extension that allows you to control the playback of media content on a music service website. Unfortunately Safari does not support tracking changes to the audible property in an event tabs.onUpdated. Is there an alternative to this event? I'm looking for a way to track when the automatic inference engine interrupts playback on a music service website. That you.
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93
Apr ’25
coreaudiod display sleep
hi all, as soon an audio is played in a whatever app, coreaudiod inserts a sleep prevent assertion for both, the system AND the display. can i somehow stop the insertion of the display sleep assertion? pid 223(coreaudiod): [0x00004e9e00058dc2] 00:03:18 PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep named: "com.apple.audio.AppleGFXHDAEngineOutputDP:10001:0:{B31A-08C6-00000000}.context.preventuseridledisplaysleep" Created for PID: 4145. where PID 4145 is spotify. but it doesn't matter which app is playing the audio. any help would be appreciated thanks
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80
Nov ’25
How to detect when iOS Camera app starts video recording (with Allow Audio Playback ON)?
Since iOS 18, the system setting “Allow Audio Playback” (enabled by default) allows third-party app audio to continue playing while the user is recording video with the Camera app. This has created a problem for the app I’m developing. ➡️ The problem: My app plays continuous audio in both foreground and background states. If the user starts recording video using the iOS Camera app, the app’s audio — still playing in the background — gets captured in the video — obviously an unintended behavior. Yes, the user could stop the app manually before starting the video recording, but that can’t be guaranteed. As a developer, I need a way to stop the app’s audio before the video recording begins. So far, I haven’t found a reliable way to detect when video recording starts if ‘Allow Audio Playback’ is ON. ➡️ What I’ve tried: — AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification → doesn’t fire — devicesChangedEventStream → not triggered I don’t want to request mic permission (app doesn’t use mic). also, disabling the app from playing audio in the background isn’t an option as it is a crucial part of the user experience ➡️ What I need: A reliable, supported way to detect when the Camera app begins video recording, without requiring mic access — so I can stop audio and avoid unintentional overlap with the user’s recordings. Any official guidance, workarounds, or AVFoundation techniques would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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274
Aug ’25
How to disable the built-in speakers and microphone on a Mac
I need to implement a solution through an API or custom driver to completely block out the built-in speakers and microphone of Mac, because I need other apps to use specified external devices as audio input and output. Is there a way to achieve this requirement? What I mean is that even in system preferences, it should not be possible to choose the built-in microphone and speakers; only my external device can be used.
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188
Apr ’25
How to inform Logic Pro that AU view does not have a fixed aspect ratio?
I have an AUv3 that passes all validation and can be loaded into Logic Pro without issue. The UI for the plug in can be any aspect ratio but Logic insists on presenting it in a view with a fixed aspect ratio. That is when resizing, both the height and width are resized. I have never managed to work out what it is I need to do specify to Logic to allow the user to resize width or height independently of each other. Can anyone tell me what I need to specify in the AU code that will inform Logic that the view can be resized from any side of the window/panel?
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213
Apr ’25
AVAudioMixerNode outputVolume range?
According to the header file the outputVolume properties supported range is 0.0-1.0: /*! @property outputVolume @abstract The mixer's output volume. @discussion This accesses the mixer's output volume (0.0-1.0, inclusive). @property (nonatomic) float outputVolume; However when setting the volume to 2.0 the audio does indeed play louder. Is the header file out of date and if so, what is the supported range for outputVolume? Thanks
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151
Apr ’25
MusicKit: Best way to check if all tracks of albums are added to library.
I prefer to use the album fetched from the library instead of the catalog since this is faster. If doing so, how can I check if all tracks of an album are added to the library. In this case I'd like to fetch the catalog version or throw an error (for example when offline). Using .with(.tracks) on the library album fetches the tracks added to the library. The trackCount property is referring to the tracks that can be fetched from the library. The isComplete property is always nil when fetching from the library. One possible way is checking the trackNumber and discCount properties. However this only detects that not all tracks of an album are added to the library if there is a song not added ahead of one that is. I'd like to be able to handle this edge case as well. Is there currently a way to do this? I'd prefer to not rely on the apple music catalog for this since this is supposed to work offline as well. Fetching and storing all trackIDs when connected and later comparing against these would work, but this would potentially mean storing tens of thousands of track ids. Thank you
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101
Mar ’25
AVAudioEngine installTap stops working after phone call interruption on iPhone 16e
Environment Device: iPhone 16e iOS Version: 18.4.1 - 18.7.1 Framework: AVFoundation (AVAudioEngine) Problem Summary On iPhone 16e (iOS 18.4.1-18.7.1), the installTap callback stops being invoked after resuming from a phone call interruption. This issue is specific to phone call interruptions and does not occur on iPhone 14, iPhone SE 3, or earlier devices. Expected Behavior After a phone call interruption ends and audioEngine.start() is called, the previously installed tap should continue receiving audio buffers. Actual Behavior After resuming from phone call interruption: Tap callback is no longer invoked No audio data is captured No errors are thrown Engine appears to be running normally Note: Normal pause/resume (without phone call interruption) works correctly. Steps to Reproduce Start audio recording on iPhone 16e Receive or make a phone call (triggers AVAudioSession interruption) End the phone call Resume recording with audioEngine.start() Result: Tap callback is not invoked Tested devices: iPhone 16e (iOS 18.4.1-18.7.1): Issue reproduces ✗ iPhone 14 (iOS 18.x): Works correctly ✓ iPhone SE 3 (iOS 18.x): Works correctly ✓ Code Initial Setup (Works) let inputNode = audioEngine.inputNode inputNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 4096, format: nil) { buffer, time in self.processAudioBuffer(buffer, at: time) } audioEngine.prepare() try audioEngine.start() Interruption Handling NotificationCenter.default.addObserver( forName: AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification, object: AVAudioSession.sharedInstance(), queue: nil ) { notification in guard let userInfo = notification.userInfo, let typeValue = userInfo[AVAudioSessionInterruptionTypeKey] as? UInt, let type = AVAudioSession.InterruptionType(rawValue: typeValue) else { return } if type == .began { self.audioEngine.pause() } else if type == .ended { try? self.audioSession.setActive(true) try? self.audioEngine.start() // Tap callback doesn't work after this on iPhone 16e } } Workaround Full engine restart is required on iPhone 16e: func resumeAfterInterruption() { audioEngine.stop() inputNode.removeTap(onBus: 0) inputNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 4096, format: nil) { buffer, time in self.processAudioBuffer(buffer, at: time) } audioEngine.prepare() try audioSession.setActive(true) try audioEngine.start() } This works but adds latency and complexity compared to simple resume. Questions Is this expected behavior on iPhone 16e? What is the recommended way to handle phone call interruptions? Why does this only affect iPhone 16e and not iPhone 14 or SE 3? Any guidance would be appreciated!
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198
Oct ’25
ioreg AVBControllerState - AVB/EAV Mode
Hello. To determine wether "AVB/EAV Mode" of a AV-capable network interfaces is turned on or off I query the IO registry and evaluate the property "AVBControllerState". I was wondering if this is the "correct" approach and if there is anything known about the values for this property? Network interfaces without AV capability may also carry this property (e.g.: for my WiFi adapter the value of 1) whereas the value for interfaces with AV capability can be 0 and 3. At least as far as I could observe with my limited amount of test devices at hand. Is it safe to assume that a value of 3 means this feature is turned on, 0 that it is turned off and ignore values of 1? Is there another approach to get to know the status of the "AVB/EAV Mode"? Thanks for any insight. Best regards, Ingo
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91
3w
ScaleTimeRange will cause noise in sound
I'm using AVFoundation to make a multi-track editor app, which can insert multiple track and clip, including scale some clip to change the speed of the clip, (also I'm not sure whether AVFoundation the best choice for me) but after making the scale with scaleTimeRange API, there is some short noise sound in play back. Also, sometimes it's fine when play AVMutableCompostion using AVPlayer with AVPlayerItem, but after exporting with AVAssetReader, will catch some short noise sounds in result file.... Not sure why. Here is the example project, which can build and run directly. https://github.com/luckysmg/daily_images/raw/refs/heads/main/TestDemo.zip
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136
Jul ’25