Update: This is now necessary for Chrome, too. You might see this message in the console:
The AudioContext was not allowed to start. It must be resumed (or created) after a user gesture on the page.
It can be tricky to deal with Web Audio because browser vendors have measures in place to protect users from undesired sound playback. In short, user interaction is required to unlock the AudioContext.
Sanity check: make sure your device is unmuted - I know at least Safari iOS will prevent Web Audio playback if the ringer is set to vibrate.
Here's some small boilerplate code to add the necessary hooks. This is written in ES6 JavaScript, and will work in Safari (iOS and macOS) and Chrome:
function unlockAudioContext(audioCtx) {
if (context.state !== 'suspended') return;
const b = document.body;
const events = ['touchstart','touchend', 'mousedown','keydown'];
events.forEach(e => b.addEventListener(e, unlock, false));
function unlock() { audioCtx.resume().then(clean); }
function clean() { events.forEach(e => b.removeEventListener(e, unlock)); }
}
Call the function immediately after creating the audio context, like this:
const audioCtx = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext)(); unlockAudioContext(audioCtx);
Here's something very similar in ES5:
function unlockAudioContext(audioCtx) {
if (audioCtx.state === 'suspended') {
var events = ['touchstart', 'touchend', 'mousedown', 'keydown'];
var unlock = function unlock() {
events.forEach(function (event) {
document.body.removeEventListener(event, unlock)
});
audioCtx.resume();
};
events.forEach(function (event) {
document.body.addEventListener(event, unlock, false)
});
}
}
Digbalay Bose
/ May 15, 2019 QuoteThanks for the code Matt ! The code worked for safari from macbooks but when I tried it from safari in iphone and ipad, i could not hear any sound.
James Moore
/ July 6, 2019 QuoteThanks. Finally something that worked for me. The only problem I have now is that I have to click the button twice or second click outside the button to hear the audio. After 4 times or so, it just stops working and I have to refresh the browser to get it to work again. Very frustrating!