822874 - [Flame v2.0, v2.1, v2.2] [Volume] Volume very low with headphones/audio out/Bluetooth in certain applications

Status: RESOLVED INACTIVE

(Core :: Audio/Video: Playback, defect)

Description

[Mark Côté [:mcote]]

With my big DJ-style headphones, the volume is only decent in a quiet room when at maximum.  When connected to my stereo at max volume, I have to crank the stereo's volume up to about twice normal.

Comment 1

[Marcia Knous [:marcia]]

Mark: I assume you are talking about audio volume from the music app?

Comment 2

[Mark Côté [:mcote]]

Yes indeedy.

Comment 3

[Naoki Hirata :nhirata (please use needinfo instead of cc)]

i have to pump up the volume for it to be at a decent level for me to hear.  I could be skewed since I do have suffer from slight tinnitus.

Comment 4

[Alex Keybl [:akeybl]]

If reproducible on Otoro and a problem in our tree, this is worth tracking.

Comment 5

[Marcia Knous [:marcia]]

I have heard various comments about non-Unagi/ZTE headphones not working well with the devices as far as audio because of a different pin configuration. Until we get a final shipping device I think it is hard to test this to see what the audio volume will really be like with different headphones.

Comment 6

[Jeni]

Issue only occurs when using a non-ZTE headphones but with headphones it does work.  
Issue repros on 
Inari Build ID: 20130604070207
Gecko: http://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-b2g18_v1_0_1/rev/42555e1e72fa
Gaia: bf10abc41a01516995a99f3c6727a612bbdfe755

On two devices listed below issue does not repro when using both headphones from device as well as a Coby headset..... 
Buri, Build ID: 20130603070208
Gecko: http://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-b2g18_v1_0_1/rev/42555e1e72fa
Gaia: fcae23654296c9cc645c2b7e77a2c36bf494803a
 
and

Unagi Build ID: 20130603230207
Gecko: http://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-b2g18/rev/b6f9eab044dd
Gaia: 0a1cf9f90d33092a845c9c791bee4f7455b602b1

Comment 8

[Elio Qoshi [:Elio]]

Any news regarding this?
As a music lover I find it impossible to listen to decent music with my Firefox OS device ( I have a Keon)
I'm sure the device is capable of much more but for some wierd reason it is set to such a low volume

Comment 9

[Adrian Crespo]

I can't barely heard music on my Keon device, tested on v1.1, v1.2 and v1.3.

Have anyone given a look at apps/system/js/sound_manager.js? Lines 320, 359 and 608.

  // Platform doesn't provide the maximum value of each channel
  // therefore, hard code here.
  var MAX_VOLUME = {
    'alarm': 45,
    'notification': 45,
    'telephony': 40,
    'content': 45,
    'bt_sco': 40
  };

Comment 10

[Adrian Crespo]

Bad news, maybe it's a duplicated bug: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=812607

Comment 11

[Ralph Daub [:rdaub]]

Hi CodingFree,

My initial instinct is that bug 812607 does not seem to be a duplicate, that bug was related to microphone output because of the standard used for the headphone jack on that specific device.

I have also been able to replicate this bug on the ZTE Open C v1.3 and on the Flame v1.3 devices, and the volume is indeed very low when listening through headphones.

I am adding [QAWanted] so that this bug can be further investigated. If it's indeed a software issue, seems like it would be easy enough to resolve.

- Ralph

- Ralph

Comment 12

[Jason Smith [:jsmith]]

This has been around for a while, so I don't think this is worth investigating.

Comment 13

[Ralph Daub [:rdaub]]

Hi Jason, can we revisit this issue?

This is a problem that still exists and is still affecting users, as we can see on SUMO forums and on Input:
* https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1015636
* https://input.mozilla.org/en-US/dashboard/response/4545385
* https://input.mozilla.org/en-US/dashboard/response/4545233
* https://input.mozilla.org/en-US/dashboard/response/4521783
* all Input feedback with the word "volume" - https://input.mozilla.org/en-US/?q=volume&product=Firefox+OS&date_end=2014-08-18&date_start=2013-07-01

I believe there may be a disconnect between the loudness factor that users EXPECT to hear on the LOUDEST setting, and what developers and testers of Firefox OS hear on the LOUDEST setting.

To clear any confusion, I've been using different models of Firefox OS as a daily driver for many months. In the LOUDEST setting, it sounds "fine" or "kinda loud" if you are in a quiet environment. However, in a loud environment, or when trying to connect the phone to another speaker system via cable or bluetooth, it is not possible to achieve a LOUD volume, even on the highest volume setting.

If the phone is tested on a quiet environment, this should be taken into account. The loudest setting in the phone should be... LOUD, and possibly be uncomfortable to listen to.

Examples:
1. When I connect the phone to my car's stereo via bluetooth, I have to turn up the phone all the way to the loudest setting, AND the car's stereo to the loudest setting (40, as opposed to 15-25 which I use to listen to radio, CDs, Android phone in the car). This is still not loud enough to be able to listen to music clearly with the car windows open. The "SOUND OUTPUT" is very low when compared to other devices.

2. A user on Input describes that when he connects his phone to his speakers at home, he turns up his Firefox OS device up all the way, and then has to turn up his stereo twice as loud as when other devices are connected. Again, the "SOUND OUTPUT" is very low when compared to other devices.

I also disagree with the decision that we should not investigate an issue solely because it has been around for a while. I think that this is even more of a reason to investigate it and figure out if it's indeed something that can be fixed in the software.

I apologize for the wrong message, and I hope that I was able to express my thoughts correctly. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, or if there is any testing that I may be able to help with.

Thanks,

- Ralph

Comment 14

[Jason Smith [:jsmith]]

Hema would be the person you would need to talk to if investigation into fixing this issue is needed.

Comment 15

[Hema Koka [:hema]]

Assigning to dominic to investigate later -- committed features for 2.1 and other release blocker bugs are higher in priority

Comment 17

[Paul Bryan]

I can confirm that this is still currently an issue on both ZTE Open C (1.3) and Flame (1.3 & 2.0). Any suggested workarounds?

Comment 18

[roby95]

Confirm on Flame 2.2 and 2.1, used Bose stereo and apple's headphones.

Comment 19

[roby95]

Bose via-bluetooth and aux, problem is the same!

Comment 20

[Ralph Daub [:rdaub]]

Hi,

For the past 2 weeks, I noticed sound volume from STANDARD MEDIA APPS (Music app, Video app) is decent on Bluetooth. However, sound is still VERY LOW on webapps (Youtube app) when connected to car stereo via Bluetooth.

I have NOT tested on headphones.

ENVIRONMENT:
Device:   Flame
Version:  2.0.0.0-prerelease
Build ID: 20140904000202

Paul Brian and [e-mail], can you confirm if you also noticed this behavior? 

Thanks!

- Ralph

Comment 21

[Paul Bryan]

Ralph, I can confirm that the YouTube app is also very quiet on Bluetooth. I will provide results on the standard music app soon.

Comment 22

[Paul Bryan]

Okay, I tested Bluetooth with the standard music app, and sure enough it can be made quite loud. I'll test the headphones again with the standard music app to report its status. Tested on:

Device: Flame
Version: 2.0.0.0-prerelease
Build ID: 20140907160200

Comment 23

[roby95]

Yes with bluetooth via youtube, the audio is very low

Comment 24

[Paul Bryan]

Headphones with standard music app: good. With YouTube: quiet.

Device: Flame
Version: 2.0.0.0-prerelease
Build ID: 20140918160209

Comment 25

[Hema Koka [:hema]]

Moving it to audio/video component since they probably are the right ones to investigate given the test results.

Comment 26

[Ralph Daub [:rdaub]]

Hi Hema and Dominic,

Are there any updates on the investigation of this bug, or any suggestions how we can get traction on this issue? The suggestion from comment 9 seems like it would be very simple - is it feasible?



TO SUMMARIZE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS BUG:
* In some way or another, this volume issue has been affecting all the Firefox OS versions and models since the very first version of Firefox OS. This issue makes the output of sound to an external device *virtually unusable*
* On older versions of Firefox OS, it affected Music application, Video application, and Websites. Currently the Music and Video apps seem to output volume at a decent loudness. However, Sound output from third-party applications and browser is still VERY quiet, making it *virtually unusable*
* Users continue to experience and report on this issue while seeing no new development on this bug. In the latest comment of a SUMO thread, a user will be returning this phone specifically for this reason.



Again - I hope that we can give proper attention to this bug. I am happy to provide any additional logs, tests, or insights on this issue. This issue is something I have experienced every time I wished to use my Firefox OS device to connect to an external source, so I am happy to provide additional insights.

Thanks in advance,

- Ralph

Comment 28

[:gerard-majax]

Confirmed on Flame with KK. Looking at |dumpsys media.audio_policy|, I can see that channel 01's volume when configured at the maximum value is still 0.5, while for the telephony channel we go up to 1.0.

Comment 29

[Hema Koka [:hema]]

I think Eric Chou's team is probably the right ones to take this on. 

Eric, could you please help with this and since 2.2 planning is starting, please check if it can be addressed in 2.2 timeframe. Thanks so much!

Comment 30

[Eric Chou [:ericchou] [:echou]]

Hi Hema/Ralph,

I'm going to delegate this to Steven since now his team is in charge of dealing with media related issues.

Comment 31

[Randy Lin [:rlin] - Be Mozillian on 2015/01/26]

ni to me and I can check that.

Comment 32

[Randy Lin [:rlin] - Be Mozillian on 2015/01/26]

Use AUDIO_STREAM_SYSTEM to playback video content on browser would cause this problem.
It's better to use AUDIO_STREAM_MUSIC because android HAL layer would reduce the audio volume on headset to avoid damage your ear.

Comment 33

[Randy Lin [:rlin] - Be Mozillian on 2015/01/26]

Can refer to this bug 1059698.

Comment 34

[BugMagnet]

I bought a ZTE Open C

Software:    FFOS_US_EBAY_OPENCV1.0.0B06
OS Version    1.3.0.0
Hardware Revision:     P821A10B01
Platform:    28.0
Build ID:    20140523093151
Git commit:    2014-05-26 05:55:18

I connected an FM transmitter to the headphone jack to play music through my car radio system. With transmitter at full power and radio max volume, the music was still very low and difficult to hear over road noise.

I connected it by cable to a powerful PA amplifier and again volume was so low people just 15 feet away had trouble hearing it.

I enabled the bluetooth and made a connection to the same PA amplifier which had built-in bluetooth support. Turning the amplifier to max volume still produced pitifully low output.

Whether it is software or poor hardware design, I can't say but certainly will confirm it is badly broken.

Comment 35

[Alastor Wu [:alwu]]

Hi, Could you give me more details?
I tested it on my flame, the music volume is normal.

Comment 36

[Ralph Daub [:rdaub]]

Hi Alastor,

What version and base image configuration did you use to perform the tests? What test environments did you use?

Please review comment 13, comment 20, and comment 26, where I explain in detail what I have experienced and what users have reported in the SUMO forums.

Adding needinfo from [:alwu] and adding [:hcondei] for more insight from a Support perspective.

- Ralph

Comment 37

[Alastor Wu [:alwu]]

Hi, Ralph,
Sorry for my late response.

I tested to play music from the music app and youtube, and connect the flame with the bluetooth speaker.
As my opinion, when the volume is set to the maximum, I think this volume is enough to me. (In the normal environment)
And I also check the stream volume in the audio fliger, It is 1.0 (maximum) when I turn up the volume setting to the loudest mode.

Here is my test device information.

Gaia-Rev        2b83a6d5d1185a438b5bbd287497ac2743b501db
Gecko-Rev       https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/34a66aaaca81
Build-ID        20150205010209
Version         38.0a1
Device-Name     flame
FW-Release      4.4.2
FW-Incremental  eng.cltbld.20150205.044014
FW-Date         Thu Feb  5 04:40:24 EST 2015
Bootloader      L1TC00011880

Comment 38

[Ilana]

haven't seen any feedback like this on input, but will keep my eyes peeled.

Comment 39

[lenaing]

Hi,

Maybe this could help :

I experience the same issue on a ZTE Open C with Media sound level pushed to the max (FFOS 2.1) :
- Application (Music and FM) : Sound level is normal (Loud as expected)
- Web application : Youtube / Soundcloud, sound level is too low (We get a "normal" level, not a "loud" one).

This device ZTE Open C (French, Leclerc) :
Model : qcom
Software : Boot2Gecko 2.1.0.0-prerelease
Plateform : 34.0
Build ID : 20150228210343
Git commit info : 2015-02-25 18:20:09 - 5d3479fd

The same physical device is not affected by the issue with a later release (FFOS 2.2) :

Model : qcom
Software : Boot2Gecko 2.2.0.0-prerelease
Build Number : eng..20140806.064432
Plateform : 37.0
Build ID : 20150412180546
Git commit info : 2015-04-10 21:41:12 - cec00d64

Comment 40

[lenaing]

The following configuration (other physical device) has no issue :

Phone : ZTE Open C (French, Darty)
Model : qcom
Software : Boot2Gecko 2.2.0.0-prerelease
Platform Version : 37.0
Build identifier : 20150315100612
Git commit info : 2015-03-13 04:36:44, 4aefc3f6

Comment 41

[Nils Ohlmeier [:drno]]

Mass closing do to inactivity.
Feel free to re-open if still needed.