Keep audio devices always connected

Available on Voice for Browser 2023.3.2 and later

You may see a notification when Voice for Browser cannot play alert sound for incoming calls. In some cases the web browser can block the alert sound.

Alert message is displayed differently on earlier Voice for Browser 2023.2.6 to 2023.3.1 as described here.

(You can check your version number from Voice for Browser > Menu > About)

Two different notifications exist:

Notification inside the Voice for Browser
Desktop notification outside the browser window

Notification inside Voice for Browser

Desktop notification on Windows 11

The above desktop notification requires Notifications permission for the browser. It is possible that the desktop notification is not displayed in all embedded scenarios.

Why alert sound may be blocked?

Chrome and Edge browsers are preventing audio playback from a window, tab or iframe which the user hasn’t interacted with. This autoplay policy was developed by browser manufacturers to prevent unwanted audio from playing, such as audio or video advertisements.

This usually applies to the initial incoming call after signing in - or when reloading your host application where the Voice for Browser is embedded (such as Salesforce or Dynamics 365). Typically this is the first call of the day.

The issue is not related to a having a wrong audio device selected. Other audio, such as talking on calls, should work fine during the issue.

How to make the alert sound play?

There are two options how to solve the issue from the notification inside the Voice for Browser:

Activate now - This helps with the problem temporarily because browser requires user interaction (just a click) with the phone before allowing it to play audio. However, this only helps as long as the current phone session stays open. You may also click anywhere on the phone instead of Activate now - this also removes the notifications. If the phone is reloaded, then the audio problem may appear again.
Change audio setting - An Advanced audio setting is available on Voice for Browser 2023.3.2 for a more permanent resolution of the issue. See below.

Advanced audio settings

The setting Keep audio devices always connected toggles between two audio handling modes.

Setting disabled

Audio stream is opened only when an alert sound is played back or a call takes place.
Red circle in browser tab appears only when audio stream is open.
Audio quality of other simultaneously used applications (such as YouTube and Spotify) is affected ONLY when Voice for Browser is open and if alert sound is ringing or a call is ongoing.
Voice for Browser 2023.1.0 to 2023.2.5 always use only this behavior.

Setting enabled

Audio stream is always open
Red circle in browser tab is always visible:
Audio quality of other simultaneously used other applications (such as YouTube and Spotify) is worse when Voice for Browser is open - even without an ongoing call. Wireless headphones battery consumption may also be higher.
With the audio stream open, the operating system switches Bluetooth audio profile to a profile which ensures Bluetooth bandwidth for both directions but in lower audio quality. Quality is sufficient for calls, but noticeably low when listening to music.
This applies also when the user has connected their Bluetooth headphones via USB or has even disabled Bluetooth in the operating system.
Audio quality is unaffected if headphones or speakers are connected with an analog 3,5 mm connector.
Voice for Browser 1.8.3 and older versions always use only this behavior.

Show notifications

This setting can be used to enable or disable the notification messages “You cannot hear alert sound”. See example screenshots at top of this page. This is useful if you prefer to have the Keep audio devices always connected setting disabled and want to hide the notifications about alert sound.

Please note:

Voice for Browser 2023.2.5 and older do not display any notification messages about the issue.
Voice for Browser 2023.2.6 to 2023.3.1 have different functionality as described here.

Alternative workarounds

Browser workarounds

If the above information doesn’t apply to you, there are also browser workarounds to help with the alert sound not playing back:

Browser-specific audio workarounds

Audio handling mode can be configured for the organization

Voice for Browser 2023.2.6 and later can also be configured with two different options for handling the audio streams: Default and Legacy. This configuration option sets the selected mode for the whole organization. It can still be overridden with the Keep audio devices always connected setting by the user.

The configuration option cannot be set by the user, but instead it is a configuration option for Voice for Browser which is set when the phone is initialized in an embedded scenario. This option may not be available on all embedded scenarios.