[BUG] Desktop client changes the system playback audio level - even though it should not be allowed to do so.

[demux4555]

• I have searched open and closed issues for duplicates (at least as well as I could, this topic is not easy to search for)

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Bug Description

On "Incoming audio call", the desktop client will (somehow) reduce the system's audio level when you answer it on the mobile, and when the call is ended, it will still remain at the level it was changed to by the client.

I had a look in the Volume Mixer, and all levels were normal (untouched), so nothing was apparently changed there.

I tried toggling mute, and adjusting the system audio volume manually, but it didn't help. It was still at an extremely low level.

So apparently, it seems like the Signal client has some weird "override" to controlling the system audio level without it being detected by the system (or the user). This is quite rude, and needs to stop immediately, to be honest.

Sound Properties > Communication: I have fully disabled the feature that volume should be reduced when there is communications activity.

Here are the settings in my Signal desktop client: https://i.imgur.com/y8GsD3B.png

I have to quit the Signal desktop client to be able to regain control over my computer's system audio level again.

I have no clue if the same happens if you answer the call in the desktop client, as I have no way to test (there are no headphones connected to the system, only speakers. And I don't want to risk audio feedback here.)

EDIT: this behaviour started after updating the desktop client just now. Never seen this happening before.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Someone calls you, and you get a "Incoming audio call" note in the desktop client.
2. Answer the call on your mobile.
3. Observe as system audio is reduced significantly, to the point where you can almost not hear anything that is going on in Windows anymore.
4. End the call on your mobile.
5. Get annoyed that the system audio volume is still very low, and not being able to figure out how to get it back to normal.
6. Quit the Signal desktop client, and suddenly the system audio volume is back to normal.

Actual Result:

The Signal desktop client removes the system's audio level control from the user.

Expected Result:

The Signal desktop client should respect settings in Windows that prevent it from touching the system's audio levels.

Screenshots

(See description text above)

Platform Info

Signal Version: 1.35.1

Operating System: Win 10 Pro Eng [Version 10.0.18363.900]

Linked Device Version: 4.70.3

Link to Debug Log

https://debuglogs.org/e700bda25a4ba8b345edf52a367cc555cb153b98cfd1c43feb8d852649af1acf

[jim-signal]

Hi @demux4555, for the short-term, you might want to disable incoming calls to avoid the issue. You can go to Preferences and find the Calling section, uncheck the "Enable Incoming calls" check box:

If you do this, you won't get incoming calls and your volume should not be affected if someone tries to call you. You can still get calls on your other devices though, they are independent.

In Signal calling, calls are setup and then they start ringing, so that as soon as you accept the call, it begins. In the background, the client accesses the default devices for playback and recording. Since these are usually the "Default Communications Devices", it is Windows that detects this and adjusts the volume, the Signal Desktop Client doesn't do this directly. You can change this behavior... In the "Sound Control Panel", go to the Communications tab and adjust to what you would prefer. We tested this and it works so far in our tests:

<- Try changing to "Do nothing".

The fact that after the incoming call is done (i.e. accepted on your linked device) and the volume isn't being adjusted back to normal does indeed seem to be a problem and we are looking in to it.

[demux4555]

Hi there, @jim-signal,

I had already set Sound Properties to "Do nothing" (as my screenshot shows in my initial post). And yet Signal ignored it. Good to hear you're looking into it.

I'll change Signal preferences to disable incoming calls for now. It was enabled by default here. And yes, I was unsure if it would affect all my devices or just this one, so I didn't touch it. (Also, I was unsure if it would affect notifications on incoming calls. I still want those, even though I don't want to use my desktop client for voice comms).

Thanks for the reply.

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

@demux4555 Can you try this again on the latest builds? We've made changes that should make this better.

[demux4555]

Hi there,

Just wanna let you know I haven't forgotten about this, but I haven't been on my desktop computer for a couple of days due to a drive that failed and needed replacing. I'll test this later today when I'm back on my desktop computer.

[demux4555]

@scottnonnenberg-signal

I tried just now, and Signal is still reducing the audio level on my system, even though the OS settings does not permit this (Sound Properties > Communication: Do Nothing).

Another issue I noticed now as well, is that while the "Incoming audio call" audio notification is playing, it seems to actually cut (entirely mute) all other audio sources on the system. The only thing that can be heard is the notification itself. This is rather critical, and is something that the client should never be doing in the first place as it prevents the user from hearing anything at all as long as the notification event is ongoing.

When the call is answered and the notification sound is gone, the system audio level remains lowered until the call is finished. It seems to be setting the audio level back to where it was before the "Incoming audio call" event started, so at least this issue has been resolved.

My current Signal preferences:

(The calls were answered on the mobile app, and not on the desktop client.)

[jim-signal]

Hi @demux4555, the Signal client is doing anything other than accessing the selected devices, we don't directly interact with the system volume. When accessing devices that Windows considers to be "default communications devices", it seems like irrespective of your settings, things are still being adjusted. There were issues early on in that we accessed the microphone before you actually answered and didn't properly end that access when the call ended.

But now, if the system volume is being lowered and you have disabled that for communications devices (which it seems that you have), then we don't know where the issue is. If this is still a problem, can you please provide a new set of logs using the latest version of Signal? We can take a look and see if anything else might be causing it and try again to reproduce.

[demux4555]

Hi there

I am still experiencing the same issue with volume being lowered the instant the incoming call sound notification beings. And it will remain lowered until the call has ended. Even if I answer on my phone (and not on my desktop client).

Debug Log: https://debuglogs.org/01ea47c8b55296b3bd5ee702b4e5b0c455e56140178477d29e5ac36ddf857dc3

[j-bs]

I also experience the same issue with calls on desktop.

The app doesn't seem to respect the Windows communications setting of "Do Nothing".

I have attached a log which will contain the following actions towards the end:

1. Receive a call and have windows audio muted/reduced
2. Call ends and audio is normal again
3. I then messed with the Windows communications settings - I swapped my default audio device (and back again) and I also swapped the Communications setting to "Mute" and then back to "Do Nothing".
4. Receive a second call and no audio is muted -- working as expected.

Debug Log: https://debuglogs.org/c28249f5132372724049da3a9493a763675bf44bbeb15aecf91b342eb18adba8

In the past I have also temp "fixed" the issue by restarting a specific application (outputting audio) on my PC while the call was still active.

[stale]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.

[stale]

This issue has been closed due to inactivity.