AVAudioPlayer still playing ambient sound even when iPhone is on silent - ios

Question

I have an observable object which provides functionality to my app to play the same chime sound whenever I need (repeatedly).
The issue is that it plays when the iPhone is on silent and I cannot stop it. I Googled as much as I could and found that people were advising to set the audio category to 'ambient', however, this still does not appear to fix the issue for me.
Here's my Chime class:
class Chime: ObservableObject {
let chimeSoundUrl = URL(fileURLWithPath: Bundle.main.path(forResource: "chime.wav", ofType: nil)!)
private var audioPlayer: AVAudioPlayer?
init() {
let audioSession = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance()
do {
try audioSession.setCategory(.ambient, options: .duckOthers)
try audioSession.setActive(true)
} catch {
print("Failed to activate audio session: \(error.localizedDescription)")
}
do {
audioPlayer = try AVAudioPlayer(contentsOf: chimeSoundUrl)
audioPlayer?.prepareToPlay()
audioPlayer?.volume = 1.0
} catch {
print("Failed to prepare audio player: \(error.localizedDescription)")
}
}
func play() {
audioPlayer?.currentTime = 0
audioPlayer?.play()
}
}
I have tried setting the audio category in the Chime class' init function, at the top-level of the app in the onAppear of the view playing the chime, and in the Chime class' 'play' method (which actually causes app performance issues) - none of these seem to work.
I'd really appreciate any help. Thanks

Answer 1

Not sure whether you've tried this on a real device, but here's what I found:
Using the simulator, if the silent switch is already active when the app is opened it behaves as if it isn't on silent and the sound plays. If silent switch is activated after the app is opened it works as expected.
When I tried running it on a real device it worked correctly in both cases, so maybe it's a bug in the simulator.
If you're just playing short alert-type sounds you should probably use Audio Services rather than an AVAudioPlayer. That might look like this:
class Chime {
let chimeSoundUrl = URL(fileURLWithPath: Bundle.main.path(forResource: "alert.mp3", ofType: nil)!)
let chimeSoundID: SystemSoundID
init(){
var soundID:SystemSoundID = 0
AudioServicesCreateSystemSoundID(chimeSoundUrl as CFURL, &soundID)
chimeSoundID = soundID
}
func play(){
AudioServicesPlaySystemSound(chimeSoundID)
}
}
Running the above in the simulator the silent switch has no effect and sound always plays, on a real device it works as expected.