Shaking mutes audio playback?

[Rod Whiteley]

Weird issue when playing podcasts (Doggcatcher): if my phone is in my pocket and I'm walking quickly, the playback through my Galaxy Buds mutes.
Only way to get audio back on is to pause playback, change volume (up or down works) and the re-start playback. Adjusting volume (up or down) doesn't work unless playback is first paused.
I am guessing that somehow mute is getting triggered by the phone being shaken, but I can't find any setting in DoggCatcher, Android OneUI, GoodLock relating to shake.

Any help greatly appreciated - it's driving me nuts

Android 13, OneUI 5.1.1, Galaxy Fold 4
Kernel version: 5.10.136 (Oct 30 2023)
Knox 3.9

 

[VidJunky]

Welcome to Android Central forums.

Just a couple of questions first.

Is the volume actually muted? Does it show the speaker with a line through it indicating that the sound is muted?

If you open another app that plays with the screen off, like YouTube or another pod cast app, will they play fine even though this app appears muted? Have you tried opening something else to see if the device is actually muted?

Have you tried just restarting playback from the app, or do you have to also adjust the volume to get playback?

Since you believe it's shaking that is causing this, have you started playback and just shook the phone to see what happens?

First I argue the amount of movement the device would experience from walking would not be enough to be considered a shake. I've seen shake gestures and they don't happen from mild shaking that would be experienced while walking. Running, maybe, working out in some other way, maybe, but not just walking.

This causes me to believe that the app is being put to sleep. At some point you were probably told the app was running in the background and asked if you wanted to put the app to sleep and said yes thinking it was a right now thing or a temporary thing, like I did when I was asked about a podcast app, or in Samsung's wisdom the phone decided it shouldn't be open in the background and added it to the list like it's done to countless apps trying to eek out every minute of battery life. To check this go to Settings>Battery and device care>Battery>Battery usage limits>Sleeping apps/Deep sleeping apps, and check if your app appears on either list. If it does remove it. You might consider adding it the 3rd list there, Never sleeping apps. This will prevent it from ever being put to sleep by the system and ensure it doesn't get optimized by the power saving operation of the phone.

If you don't find your app there post back the answers to the other questions and we'll offer more advice.

Best wishes.

 

[Rod Whiteley]

Welcome to Android Central forums.

Just a couple of questions first.

Is the volume actually muted? Does it show the speaker with a line through it indicating that the sound is muted?

If you open another app that plays with the screen off, like YouTube or another pod cast app, will they play fine even though this app appears muted? Have you tried opening something else to see if the device is actually muted?

Have you tried just restarting playback from the app, or do you have to also adjust the volume to get playback?

Since you believe it's shaking that is causing this, have you started playback and just shook the phone to see what happens?

First I argue the amount of movement the device would experience from walking would not be enough to be considered a shake. I've seen shake gestures and they don't happen from mild shaking that would be experienced while walking. Running, maybe, working out in some other way, maybe, but not just walking.

This causes me to believe that the app is being put to sleep. At some point you were probably told the app was running in the background and asked if you wanted to put the app to sleep and said yes thinking it was a right now thing or a temporary thing, like I did when I was asked about a podcast app, or in Samsung's wisdom the phone decided it shouldn't be open in the background and added it to the list like it's done to countless apps trying to eek out every minute of battery life. To check this go to Settings>Battery and device care>Battery>Battery usage limits>Sleeping apps/Deep sleeping apps, and check if your app appears on either list. If it does remove it. You might consider adding it the 3rd list there, Never sleeping apps. This will prevent it from ever being put to sleep by the system and ensure it doesn't get optimized by the power saving operation of the phone.

If you don't find your app there post back the answers to the other questions and we'll offer more advice.

Best wishes.

Thanks for the reply and suggestions.
I have opened the phone initially when this happened and didn't notice the mute icon, but I will check and get back to you next time I'm walking and it mutes.
When it mutes playback I've not opened other apps to check - my only interest was in resuming playback from the podcast player, but will check this as well.
I'm fairly confident it's related to walking, but perhaps instead of shaking, it's somehow related to Google Fit or the Samsung Health apps identifying that I'm walking and doing something? I doubt this as it never happens if the phone is in my backpack, only if it's in my pocket and I'm walking fast.

I checked the sleeping apps as you suggested and DoggCatcher isn't on there, but thanks for the idea.
Thanks again for your help and suggestions, and I'll get back with the other answers after the next walk.

 

[VidJunky]

You are using Samsung Health on a watch I assume? I use a watch 4 classic and listen via my Samsung Buds, Gen 2 I believe, and run and walk with my device either in a pocket or in my hand and haven't experienced this issue. Not to say the experience is the same for you but just to say. Plus Health is running all of the time for most of us who use a watch. I have to say "most" of us because recently there was a post with a question, How to disable Health and only run when requested. I think they were trying to get longer battery life. But anyway it seems if it were related to the Health app it would happen more often than just when you were specifically working out. It is also odd that it happens in your pocket but not in your back pocket. If it were being put to sleep, which you verified it isn't, a light sensor in the dark or screen off would usually trigger putting the app to sleep. Still walking doesn't seem like enough movement for a motion gesture, but I've never seen you walk either, but even a fast walk as you described seems out there. Pocket vs backpack physical activity brings to mind temperature though.

Should have asked before but how long does it take for this muting to happen? 1 min, 5, 20? Typically if the device were being put to sleep it would happen within a min maybe two, I know you disproved that just using it for reference. An overheating event might take 10 min or more, depending on how hot the user got and the environment. It takes time to build up heat and have it affect the processor. Are you in a particularly warm climate?

 

[Rod Whiteley]

You are using Samsung Health on a watch I assume? I use a watch 4 classic and listen via my Samsung Buds, Gen 2 I believe, and run and walk with my device either in a pocket or in my hand and haven't experienced this issue. Not to say the experience is the same for you but just to say. Plus Health is running all of the time for most of us who use a watch. I have to say "most" of us because recently there was a post with a question, How to disable Health and only run when requested. I think they were trying to get longer battery life. But anyway it seems if it were related to the Health app it would happen more often than just when you were specifically working out. It is also odd that it happens in your pocket but not in your back pocket. If it were being put to sleep, which you verified it isn't, a light sensor in the dark or screen off would usually trigger putting the app to sleep. Still walking doesn't seem like enough movement for a motion gesture, but I've never seen you walk either, but even a fast walk as you described seems out there. Pocket vs backpack physical activity brings to mind temperature though.

Should have asked before but how long does it take for this muting to happen? 1 min, 5, 20? Typically if the device were being put to sleep it would happen within a min maybe two, I know you disproved that just using it for reference. An overheating event might take 10 min or more, depending on how hot the user got and the environment. It takes time to build up heat and have it affect the processor. Are you in a particularly warm climate?

Thanks again for the replies, I really appreciate your help.

When the muting happens, it is within a couple of minutes or so of starting walking, and in that case it typically will happen 2-4 times, as short as 10sec apart, as long as a minute or two, but the behaviour eventually stops (longest I walk for is maybe 2 hours, typically 30 minutes).

I do live in a very hot environment (Doha, Qatar), but this will happen even when I start walking home from work and I'm inside the air-conditioning so I think temperature is less likely.

In regard the side pocket, note it doesn't do this behaviour when it's in my backpack where it doesn't bounce around nearly as much - this was the main reason I thought the problem related to movement.

Of course this morning walking to work it didn't happen, but the phone did overheat yesterday (I was stupidly Qi charging and USB simultaneously in the car) and all apps were closed. Maybe this points to an interaction with another background app running.
Thanks again for your help,
Rod

 

[VidJunky]

App related is a good thought. Off it happened more often than not it could be something you use everyday and maybe you didn't yesterday when it didn't happen. This isn't one you can test in safe mode because it requires data I assume for streaming and I'm general there are some apps that you just can't open when in safe mode. Anyway, perhaps try closing all background apps before your next walk so that the only open app is your player. If this yields two or three successful walks then you can start scrutinizing what's open when it happens and close one app at a time until you find the one that when closed this doesn't happen. You may already be on this path since you mentioned being app related. Let us know what you find.

 

[Rod Whiteley]

App related is a good thought. Off it happened more often than not it could be something you use everyday and maybe you didn't yesterday when it didn't happen. This isn't one you can test in safe mode because it requires data I assume for streaming and I'm general there are some apps that you just can't open when in safe mode. Anyway, perhaps try closing all background apps before your next walk so that the only open app is your player. If this yields two or three successful walks then you can start scrutinizing what's open when it happens and close one app at a time until you find the one that when closed this doesn't happen. You may already be on this path since you mentioned being app related. Let us know what you find.

When all the apps were closed (after the heat related closure of everything) the next 2 walks were OK. This morning it muted again, so I also checked the mute icon (it wasn't on) and opened YouTube & tried to play a vid - the video played, but no sound.
Pausing playback, changing the volume, and restarting playback on Doggcatcher resumed audio (as is usual) so I'm thinking you're right about it being some background app I opened.
I fear this may be nearly impossible to track down as I'd have to run (walk?) the experiment with every app opened in turn, as well as every combination of apps which would be practically impossible.

Oh well, hope this helps someone else, and thanks again for all your input, I really appreciate it.

 

[VidJunky]

Not necessarily. If it is app related walking is not even a factor. It is more than likely just the activity you happen to be doing that you relate to the issue because, and correct me if I'm wrong, this is when you listen to your podcasts. Do you listen when you're home or just kicking around the house? Personally, I only listen when I'm in my car driving. Very rarely if ever do I listen outside of that, and I'm assuming that this is true for you and walking.

Since we're moving away from this being a walking issue you should be able to recreate it at home just sitting around. I would recommend doing it in the afternoon or evening because by then you've opened and/or used most of your regularly used apps. I would open the multitask window, where your phone shows you all of your background and recently opened apps. Note what appears in this list and play an old episode, begin playing it and put your screen to sleep. This mimics your walk without the shaking but remember we're testing if an app is the issue not the walk. If the phone goes quite, go into the recently opened apps window and use the close all button to close and remove all of the apps. Then resume playback as before. Since you say it usually only takes a few minutes if it doesn't happen again in a few minutes, we can assume that something from that list was the cause. Then you can use that information to further narrow down the culprit. If it does happen again, that could be a little more difficult because at that point it might a system app. But first things first, let's get to this point where we know if the issue goes away when nothing is open in the background and know what is open in the background when it does happen.

If it makes you feel better you can gently shake the phone back and forth while you sit, further replicating your walk, but I have a feeling you won't need to.

 

[Rod Whiteley]

Of course - that's great thinking - I hadn't thought that I mostly use the buds when walking. I do use them occasionally (few times per week) in the car and it's never happened there, but I just tried as you suggested, and now 20 minutes later, no pausing.
Next time it borks, as you suggest I'll reboot and open no apps for a couple of days and see how we go.
Thanks again, I really appreciate your help chasing this down.