No audio in IOS after sleep mode
Jan 11, 2021
We produce narrated presentations which are Storyline slides about a minute long with an mp3 audio track and text building in synch with it.
They work fine on PCs and devices, with the exception of iOS -- iPhone and iPad.
We have run into a problem that if the device goes into sleep mode, then upon returning to the program, the slide plays (progress meter advances) but the audio is muted.
The only way I have found to get the sound back is to hit the refresh arrow in the browser address bar, then you get the big round Play button (image attached), which I understand is needed to get around the iOS audio restriction when users must click something on-screen before audio can play. Audio then plays again normally and the course resumes.
Is there any other way around this issue? I foresee difficulties communicating this workar0und to users.
We are using iOS 14, the latest release of Storyline 360, and the Classic player.
thanks, Mark
5 Replies
Hello Mark!
I'm happy to help! It sounds like the timeline doesn't resume after sleep mode. Have you tried using a button with a trigger to resume the timeline?
I'm not able to reproduce the issue on my end. Would you mind sharing the file or a link to the project?
I'll make sure to reply with my findings! If you'd prefer to share the file privately, here's a secure upload link for our Support Engineers to take a look.
Lauren, thanks for your reply! I did submit a trouble ticket yesterday and uploaded my file to a support engineer; he was unable to replicate the issue. However, he said other users also have experienced this issue, and it seemed to be iOS version dependent. It is considered to be a bug and is expected to be resolved in version 48 of SL360 when it released.
I also reproduced the issue by hitting the lock button when the timeline was paused (which is at the end of every Storyline "slide" in our case) -- so, just not waiting for the iPhone to go into lock/sleep on its own. In this situation the audio is no longer playing. After unlocking, if I hit the next or previous button on the player, the timeline resumes as expected (progress meter increments and bullets build as normal), but the audio will not come back no matter what, until hitting refresh and getting the Big Play Button.
However, hitting the lock button while the sound is playing (at which times the timeline is advancing as well) -- after unlocking, the presentation and sound resume with no problem.
This suggests the workaround of having a "silent" mp3 looping throughout.
Another possibility would be a trigger that is activated only on iOS devices which can detect somehow when the problem or conditions around it have occurred and throw up that Big Play Button. I'd be fine with that!
The presentation is rolling out next week regardless, but if you can help me to a workaround I will be most grateful!
Hi Mark,
Thanks for following up! I see where you've connected with my teammate, Lejan, and have created a workaround for your project.
He's best suited to take a look at your suggestion and provide additional guidance. Be on the lookout for a reply soon!
Thanks, Ren! I'll post the best solution we come up with here in case anyone needs it...
Hi everyone -- Lejan said this problem would be resolved in version 3.48, which I have just installed this morning -- I have just tested it, and he was correct, so Case Closed. If someone feels they are having a similar problem to what I described above, I made this sound testing file (attached) to help diagnose it.