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Why can't I hear audio in stereo when playing a stereo file?

When calling startAudioMixing or playEffect to play a stereo file, the user might encounter the issue of not being able to hear audio in stereo.

Reason​

If you cannot hear stereo audio, the possible reasons are as follows:

  • The audio file being played is not a stereo file.
  • Stereo encoding is not set in the Agora SDK.
  • The audio playback device does not support stereo audio.

Solution​

To troubleshoot and solve the issue, do the following:

Step 1: Check the audio file​

Check whether the audio file is a stereo file by viewing the audio signal.

  • If the audio file has only a mono audio signal, or if the audio file has dual audio signals but the audio signals of the left and right channels are the same, the audio file is not a stereo file. Change the file to a stereo file.
  • If the audio file has dual audio signals and the audio signals of the left and right channels are different, the audio file is a stereo file. Proceed to step 2 to check the SDK settings.

Step 2: Check the SDK settings​

The SDK can correctly encode and transmit stereo audio only when you set the stereo encoding. Check whether you call setAudioProfile and set the profile parameter to AUDIO_PROFILE_MUSIC_STANDARD_STEREO (3) or AUDIO_PROFILE_MUSIC_HIGH_QUALITY_STEREO (5).

  • If a stereo profile is not set, set the profile parameter correctly.
  • If the profile is set correctly, proceed to step 3 to check the audio playback device.

Step 3: Check the audio playback device​

Check whether the device supports stereo audio, and check whether the device is working properly.

  • If the device does not support stereo audio, change it to a device that supports stereo audio.
  • If the device supports stereo audio but does not work properly, contact the device manufacturer for repair or change it to a device that works properly.
  • If the device supports stereo audio and works properly, submit a ticket to contact Agora customer support for further exploration of the issue.

If you use a Bluetooth device to play audio, note the Bluetooth profile. The two common profiles are as follows:

  • Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP): The unidirectional transmission of high-quality audio data, usually for stereo music playback. A2DP does not support capturing audio through the Bluetooth device, so you need to use other devices to capture audio.

  • Hands-Free Profile (HFP): The bidirectional transmission of audio data, usually for audio calls. HFP commonly uses Synchronous Connection Oriented link (SCO) to carry a mono audio channel, so a Bluetooth device cannot play stereo audio using HFP.

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