Set the Audio Route

The audio route is the pathway audio data takes through hardware components during playback. On mobile devices, the audio route mainly includes speakerphones, earphones, or wired or Bluetooth playback devices.

This page describes how to set the audio route to the earpiece or speakerphone on a mobile device.

The SDK type and channel profile determine the default audio route, as shown in the following table:

SDK type\Channel profile	Communication profile	Live streaming profile
Audio SDK	Earpiece	Speakerphone
Video SDK	Speakerphone	Speakerphone

When you use the Video SDK, if you call methods such as disableVideo, enableLocalVideo, muteLocalVideoStream, or muteAllRemoteVideoStreams to disable the video, the default audio route automatically switches to the one that the Audio SDK uses.

If the default audio route does not meet your needs, you can call the following methods to switch the audio route:

• setDefaultAudioRouteToSpeakerphone: Call this method before joining a channel to switch the default audio route. After successfully switching the audio route, the SDK starts to use the new audio route by default.
• setEnableSpeakerphone: Call this method after joining a channel to switch the current audio route. This method only switches the audio route used in the current channel. It does not affect the default audio route. If the user leaves the current channel and joins a new channel, the SDK uses the default audio route.

After you switch the audio route successfully, the SDK triggers the onAudioRouteChanged callback to indicate that the audio route has been changed.

To query whether the current audio route is the speakerphone, call isSpeakerphoneEnabled.

If the SDK uses the media volume, the audio route is affected as follows:

• With versions earlier than v3.5.0, the SDK cannot set the audio route as the earpiece.
• With v3.5.0 and later versions, the SDK can set the audio route as the earpiece. At the same time, the volume type becomes in-call volume. If you switch the audio route to the speakerphone, the SDK sets the volume type back to the media volume.

To learn about the scenarios where the SDK uses the media volume, see What is the difference between the in-call volume and the media volume.

If the user uses an external audio playback device such as a wired or Bluetooth headset, the audio can only be played through the external device; the SDK cannot switch the audio route to the earpiece or speakerphone. When the user uses multiple external devices, the audio is played through the external device that is connected last.

• If a user uses one external audio device, when the user removes the external audio device, the SDK sets the audio route as follows (in order of priority): setEnableSpeakerphone > setDefaultAudioRouteToSpeakerphone > the default audio route.

• If multiple external audio devices are connected, when the user removes the current playback device, the audio route is affected as follows:

  • With versions earlier than v3.5.0, the SDK does not play audio through any audio route, which causes a no-audio issue.
  • With v3.5.0 and later versions, the SDK sets the audio route as follows (in order of priority): the external device connected next to last > ... > the external device connected first > setEnableSpeakerphone > setDefaultAudioRouteToSpeakerphone > the default audio route of the SDK.

The audio route setting is affected by the volume type and the presence of external audio devices. Consider the following when troubleshooting the issue:

• Is the user using an external device, such as a wired or Bluetooth headset? If so, the user must remove the external device before they set the audio route to the earpiece or speakerphone.

• Can the user successfully switch to the speakerphone but not to the earpiece? If so, the issue might be caused by the volume type. Agora recommends that you upgrade the SDK to v3.5.0 or later.