Audio Session Troubleshooting

Real-Time Pipeline Is Silent

Symptoms: engine.start() succeeds but no audio comes through the tap.

Checklist:

1. Microphone permission — confirm AVAudioSession.recordPermission == .granted

2. Audio session activated — call AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setActive(true) before engine.start()

3. Correct format in installTap — the format passed to installTap must match the AVAudioInputNode's output format:

   Swift

   let inputFormat = engine.inputNode.outputFormat(forBus: 0)
   // If inputFormat.sampleRate != 48000, use AVAudioMixerNode to resample

4. installTap before start — installTap must be called before engine.start()

AVAudioSession Activation Failed

Swift

let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance()
try session.setCategory(.playAndRecord, options: [.mixWithOthers, .allowBluetooth])
try session.setActive(false, options: .notifyOthersOnDeactivation)
try session.setActive(true)

Engine Stops After Phone Call

Swift

NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(
    forName: AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification,
    object: nil, queue: .main
) { [weak engine] notification in
    guard let info = notification.userInfo,
          let t = info[AVAudioSessionInterruptionTypeKey] as? UInt,
          let type = AVAudioSession.InterruptionType(rawValue: t) else { return }
    switch type {
    case .ended:
        try? engine?.start()
    default: break
    }
}

Sample Rate Mismatch Warning

Always query the actual input format:

Swift

let hwFormat = engine.inputNode.outputFormat(forBus: 0)

guard let targetFormat = AVAudioFormat(
    commonFormat: .pcmFormatFloat32, sampleRate: 48_000, channels: 1, interleaved: false
) else { return }

mixer.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 480, format: targetFormat) { buffer, _ in
    // buffer is now guaranteed 48kHz Float32 mono
}