Audio Cuts out on random slides

Hi Adam!

Are you using the latest version of Storyline 360? We are currently on Storyline 360 (Build 3.49.24347.0).

If so, are you running into this issue in an LMS environment? If not, where are you noticing the audio cut out?

It would be helpful for us to take a look at your project to find the culprit. You can attach it to this public discussion or share it with our team privately using this secure upload link.

@Michael Stuart I'm having the same exact problem on multiple trainings I'm updating here. It's exhausting for both me and our LMS team to have to re-publish over and over again with no end in sight, as different slides' audio keeps cutting off with each publish. Have you been able to find a solution?

Hi team, 

Any update on this issue? We also have similar issues. The published file works fine in all local browsers. But when we put the files on a web server, the audio will cut out on random slides, especially in Chrome. I try to open the problem audio file (.mp3) directly in the content folder of the published file. It works well. 

Hello Ahin!

Thank you for sharing these details with us! It sounds like the audio cuts out when the file is on a web server when using Chrome. Have you tried repairing Storyline 360 and then publishing the project again? 

If that doesn't do the trick, I'd like our Support Engineers to step in and help. You can reach them in a support case.

Well, to add to the commentary...

I am currently trying to finish up a project with multiple scenes. All of the slides have audio, with an occasional video tossed in. I am adding quizzes (first time for me) to each scene. 

I previewed the entire project to test the quiz sections... an discovered today that a number of my audio files and at least one video now have no sound. 

I can play the individual file (mostly text to speech generated audio) and it plays fine. I can preview or edit the video affected, and it plays fine. But I preview the slide, scene, or project or use the player in the editing window... no sound in some of the files.

This is with Storyline 360. I just finished checking that I have the most up to date build, rebooted my computer, and that the source files are on my computers HD. The file names are generic ones Storyline has generated for the most part, or simply "line 1 audio" style names.

As for repair/replace.... I had issues with storyline locking up 2 months ago while importing images from powerpoint (I tend to do my image editing in PP, and then move the image to storyline) and so I uninstalled/reinstalled at that point. The program would simply freeze while importing the image...I had to force close the program and lose all work since the last save (hence finally re-installing).

I have today uninstalled, rebooted and reinstalled Storyline. The problem seems to persist. 

I have isolated an example slide that had an audio and video segment that is affected in to an Example.story file and attached it to the case 02697376.
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Follow up, after working with Articulate IT and some experimenting, it appears as (for me at least) the audio glitch has something to do with using a docked laptop. 

My system set up has 3 extremal monitors, plus the laptop. When I tried to use the Peek 360 program to record an example of the issue (It utilizes a microphone instead of recording speaker output) I opening my laptop to gain access to the microphone and the issue went away. 

I was able to duplicate the issue for a co-worker in demonstrating the issue existed until I opened the laptop. 

I am not sure if this helps anyone else, but wanted to follow up with what information I did find, in case it helps someone else. 

Hi, Joe.

Thank you for opening a support case and for coming back to share your findings. I see you're working with my teammate Lianne, who suggested checking Windows updates and ensuring your audio driver is also up to date. 

It is definitely strange that your docked laptop might be causing this issue! I'm hopeful someone else in the community works in a similar environment and can let us know their experience. 

If you have additional questions or new information to share, please reach out to Lianne through the case. 

Thanks for you the follow up. It is appreciated it.

I had my inhouse IT ensure that the audio drivers and MS Windows was as up to date as possible.

I am currently simply leaving my laptop opened, which seems to "fix" the issue, though I am still boggled as to why that could possibly be. In the event is dopes happen again while the laptop is open (and thus I can record using the microphone, not having an external one I can use) I will endeavor to make a recording as requested.

I did end up finishing part of that project and published to review. It appears to be working fine from my end, though I have a number of folks looking it over. I opened up my file for part 2 (of 3) and the first slide had the audio issue, until I opened my laptop.

This is sort of like the "insert character" issue where I occasionally have the characters left/right edges cut off if I am docked and just using external monitors. If I have the laptop just open, it tends to not happen or happen less (when it continues to happen I typically find there is a pending Articulate updator and Storyline update pending)

I apologize if I am over communicating on this. I have worked maintenance before and know how frustrating it is to trouble shoot an issue with too little information, and tend to go to the other extreme.

Again, thank you for the follow up.

Joe Needles
Training Coordinator
816 283 2682

We appreciate the great details you've shared with us! That's right! The more information, the better. You're in great hands troubleshooting with our Support Engineers. If you notice this snag reoccurring, please don't hesitate to submit a support case.

Hello,

I'm having the same issue using Presenter 360, the audio cuts out on random slides for some users (it appears and reappears on various slides). I published to Review 360 and had no issues, but the audio cut out for another user.

I also published to the LMS, and the audio cut out as well. I then made a new presentation by reusing the slides and re-importing the audio files (names are short) - same problem.

Can the support team take a look? Thanks.

Hi Sue,

Great call on opening a case with our support team, and I see Jose has already responded with a next step!

Feel free to respond to Jose to let him know if his suggestion did the trick or if you have any additional questions!

Hi Marshall,

I replied to a similar question here if you'd like to keep the conversation in one location.

I can see on this thread that many people are reporting that when one page's audio is solved, that the problem then randomly appears on another page.  This issue seems to be a common thread among many, and it's the exact problem I am experiencing on a 100+ page course.  If anyone else's issue has been solved, is there any way to post those details here, so that others can benefit from the solution, or can this only be solved on an individual, case-by-case basis?  Thanks!

@Eugenia Ji - Short answer: There is no practical solution - for me anyway.

I finally dedicated the time to sending my project into technical support. They tested it on SCORM Cloud and it works fine. Technical support also sent me a link, which launched the course on MY LMS and it confirmed the problem (which I didn't really understand, since that's why I contacted technical support in the first place).

Bottom line: since it works for them on SCORM Cloud, and not for me in my LMS, the problem must be in my LMS - as is likely with most everyone else that is having this same issue.

I'm not happy about it, but there doesn't seem to be anything else I can do.  I hope this helps anyone else who is still waiting for an answer on this issue.

I am having the same kind of problem when publishing Storyline to LMS.  The audio randomly drops off on various slides. I have tried renaming the audio files to shorter names an reimporting the audio.  Nothing works and we have spent hours upon hours reworking these presentations.  

Hi, Lisa.

Thank you for reaching out! 

I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing issues with audio when publishing to an LMS! For testing purposes, have you attempted to publish it for the web to see if it works as expected?

My initial recommendation when publishing to LMS would be to test your course with SCORM Cloud. Check out this step-by-step article!

If it works as expected in SCORM Cloud, I advise you to reach out to your LMS for more information, as it could be an issue on their end. 

If you still see the same behavior in SCORM Cloud, my recommendation would be to open a support case here, so we can take a closer look at your settings.

Let me know if this works!

Hi Lisa,  In my case, it was determined by Articulate that it was related to my LMS. I can't speak publicly about which LMS my company is using, but I can almost certainly guarantee that it's not the same LMS that you, or anyone else on this thread, is using.  The fix for me was to break up the audio into multiple parts and have each audio object trigger the next audio object upon completion. This seems easy, but it adds a burdensome layer of complexity to slide timings and animations. I understand that not all LMSs (including SCORM cloud) exhibit this behavior, but we chose our LMS and Articulate long before any of these problems appeared in our LMS.  Any assistance in solving the problem, (which, judging from reading this thread appears to be identical for multiple different LMS uses), would be welcomed!

Just chiming in that I'm having this issue too - although just when publishing for the web and viewing on an internal server and even locally - not through my LMS. 

I'll be trying Michael's hack of breaking up the offending audio files into two and triggering one after the other, but that's messy and I hope Articulate can find a comprehensive solution because it sounds like a growing issue!

I am having the same problem with audio when I preview my course. I tested in Edge, Chrome, and IE. Audio cut out in Edge & Chrome, but played in IE. Interestingly, when I previewed in IE, I hear a chirp at the exact point in time that audio cut out in Edge & Chrome.  It happens when I use either MP3 or WAV files. This has been happening intermittently for a while. My solution has been to delete and replace audio files. Is there a better solution?

I am having this same issue. I tried re-importing the audio and rebuilding the slide. The slide works as designed when previewing in Storyline, but seems to break in the LMS. I am able to replicate the issue in SCORMCloud. It seems that switching the audio file from .wav to .mp3 has fixed the problem in one instance.

It worked in the first three sections, but not in the fourth. So frustrating. I'm curious for others who had issues how long the audio was on the affected slide. I have noticed it seems to happen on any slide with audio longer than 60 seconds, and it usually happens around the 60-second mark.

Hi Patrick!

I understand how frustrating that is! I see that you've connected with Mick, one of our Support Engineers, in a support case. Great call. We'll continue the conversation via email.

Has there been any solution to this. This is happening throughout multiple courses now and there is no rhyme or reason to it. The audio plays within the storyline file but once it is published it cuts out halfway through on random slides. The animations still play, but the audio cuts out or even off. I have one trigger set to advance when the audio completes and it jumps way sooner than is intended because the audio is cutting out (which is extremely odd) and no where near the end of the audio. I have attempted to fix this trigger by setting to end of timeline and still the same result. I see this has been an issue for a little over a year now, just wondering if there has been a resolution.

Hey Brad! Articulate support worked with me for a while on this, but concluded that the problem was our LMS - not with their software.  Apparently, given the number of people reporting this problem, it's a pretty wide-spread among various LMSs, so I do wish that Articulate would take the matter into their own hands.  There is no *fix* that I know of - only a workaround, and not a very good one.  This workaround involves breaking up the audio on "long" audio pages into multiple parts and have each audio object trigger the next audio object upon completion. This seems easy, but it adds a burdensome layer of complexity to slide timings and animations, and is therefore not a workable solution for me. My ultimate solution was just to add written narration to all of the pages and just have the end users read what should have been narrated for the offending pages.  It's not good, but that's about all I could come up with.  I share your frustration.