Volume control and mute

This page shows you how to configure volume settings for audio recording, audio playback, and for the playback of music files.

Agora Video SDK supports adjusting the audio volume for both recording and playback to meet practical application use-cases. For example, during a two-person call, you can mute a remote user by adjusting the playback volume setting to 0.

The figure below shows the workflow of adjusting the volume.

Volume adjust workflow

Playback refers to transmitting an audio signal from a sender to a recipient, where it is played back through a playback device.

In-ear monitoring refers to the process of playing audio captured by a device.

Recording refers to the process in which audio signals are captured by a recording device and then sent to the transmitter.

Caution

If you set the volume too high using the signal volume adjustment methods, it may lead to audio distortion on some devices.

Ensure that you have implemented the SDK quickstart in your project.

Use one or more of the following volume control methods to adjust volume settings.

Call adjustPlaybackSignalVolume or adjustUserPlaybackSignalVolume to adjust the volume of the audio playback signal.

Java

int volume = 50;int uid = 123456;// Set the local playback volume for all remote users mRtcEngine.adjustPlaybackSignalVolume(volume);// Set the local playback volume for a specific remote user. For example, a user with uid=123mRtcEngine.adjustUserPlaybackSignalVolume(uid, volume);

Kotlin

val volume = 50val uid = 123456// Set the local playback volume for all remote usersmRtcEngine.adjustPlaybackSignalVolume(volume)// Set the local playback volume for a specific remote user (e.g., user with uid=123)mRtcEngine.adjustUserPlaybackSignalVolume(uid, volume)

During the process of audio capture, mixing, and playback, Agora enables you to adjust the in-ear monitoring volume. Enable and set the volume using enableInEarMonitoring and setInEarMonitoringVolume.

Java

// Enable in-ear monitoringmRtcEngine.enableInEarMonitoring(true);int volume = 50;// Adjust in-ear monitoring volumemRtcEngine.setInEarMonitoringVolume(volume);

Kotlin

// Enable in-ear monitoringmRtcEngine.enableInEarMonitoring(true)val volume = 50// Adjust in-ear monitoring volumemRtcEngine.setInEarMonitoringVolume(volume)

Call adjustRecordingSignalVolume to adjust the volume of the audio recording signal.

Java

ChannelMediaOptions options = new ChannelMediaOptions();options.clientRoleType = Constants.CLIENT_ROLE_BROADCASTER;mRtcEngine.joinChannel(token, channelName, 1234, options);// Adjust the recording signal volume to 50int vol = 50;mRtcEngine.adjustRecordingSignalVolume(vol);

Kotlin

// Create ChannelMediaOptions and set client roleval options = ChannelMediaOptions().apply {    clientRoleType = Constants.CLIENT_ROLE_BROADCASTER}// Join channelmRtcEngine.joinChannel(token, channelName, 1234, options)// Adjust the recording signal volume to 50val vol = 50mRtcEngine.adjustRecordingSignalVolume(vol)

When configuring audio settings, it's essential to understand the default behavior and the options available. Here are the key points to keep in mind:

• The SDK defaults to a device volume of 85 when using the recording device to capture audio signals.
• A volume of 0 means mute, and a volume of 255 represents the maximum volume of the device.
• If the SDK detects that the recording volume is too low in the current environment, it automatically increases the volume of the recording device.
• The volume of the recording device directly influences the global volume of the device.
• If the default recording device volume does not meet your requirements, adjust it by regulating the signal amplitude captured by the microphone or sound card.

To mute or unmute the local audio stream, call muteLocalAudioStream:

Java

// Stop publishing the local audio stream    mRtcEngine.muteLocalAudioStream(true);        // Resume publishing the local audio stream    mRtcEngine.muteLocalAudioStream(false);

Kotlin

// Stop publishing the local audio streammRtcEngine.muteLocalAudioStream(true)// Resume publishing the local audio streammRtcEngine.muteLocalAudioStream(false)

To mute or unmute a remote user, call muteRemoteAudioStream with the uid of the remote user:

Java

// Stop subscribing to the audio stream of the remote user    mRtcEngine.muteRemoteAudioStream(remoteUid, true);    // Resume subscribing to the audio stream of the remote user    mRtcEngine.muteRemoteAudioStream(remoteUid, false);

Kotlin

// Stop subscribing to the audio stream of the remote usermRtcEngine.muteRemoteAudioStream(remoteUid, true)// Resume subscribing to the audio stream of the remote usermRtcEngine.muteRemoteAudioStream(remoteUid, false)

Video SDK enables you to obtain the user IDs and corresponding volumes of the three users with the highest instantaneous volumes in a channel during the process of audio recording, mixing, and playback. You use the onAudioVolumeIndication callback to obtain this information. A returned uid of 0 in the callback indicates the local user.

Java

private final IRtcEngineEventHandler mRtcEventHandler = new IRtcEngineEventHandler() {      // ...      // Retrieve the user IDs of the three users with the highest instantaneous speaking volume,      // their respective volumes, and determine whether the local user is speaking.      @Override      public void onAudioVolumeIndication(AudioVolumeInfo[] speakers, int totalVolume) {      }};

Kotlin

private val mRtcEventHandler = object : IRtcEngineEventHandler() {    // Retrieve the user IDs of the three users with the highest instantaneous speaking volume,    // their respective volumes, and determine whether the local user is speaking.    override fun onAudioVolumeIndication(speakers: Array<AudioVolumeInfo>?, totalVolume: Int) {        // Your implementation here    }}

Note

Call enableAudioVolumeIndication to enable reporting of the users' volume in the callback.

Java

// Enable the onAudioVolumeIndication callback mRtcEngine.enableAudioVolumeIndication(1000, 3, true);

Kotlin

// Enable the onAudioVolumeIndication callbackmRtcEngine.enableAudioVolumeIndication(1000, 3, true)

This section contains content that completes the information on this page, or points you to documentation that explains other aspects to this product.

• adjustRecordingSignalVolume
• adjustPlaybackSignalVolume
• adjustUserPlaybackSignalVolume
• adjustAudioMixingPlayoutVolume
• enableInEarMonitoring [2/2]
• setInEarMonitoringVolume
• onAudioVolumeIndication
• muteLocalAudioStream
• muteRemoteAudioStream

Agora offers the following open-source sample project for adjusting recording, playback, and in-ear monitoring volumes for your reference.

• GitHub: JoinChannelAudio

• How can I solve the problem of low volume?