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ThePandemoniumInstitute
[BUG] Inability to hear or access voice chat
Description
I am not able to use Voice Chat in any meaningful way. Occassionally when I first join a room, i get exactly a half second of audio before it cuts off. I have tried restarting my browser, clearing my cache, changing microphones, refreshing the page, joining and leaving different rooms, updating my programs, downloading the Linux App, and restarting my computer. Using the Linux app, I straight up cannot give it permissions to use my mic at all.
I can hear in-game sound effects such as the clock ticking or the town square gong, but absolutely no voice chat. I can't hear anybody and they can't hear me.
I am on firefox 135.0.0 Linux (and I am on Linux Mint 21.1 Cinnamon), my usual microphone is a HyperX Quadcast, and my headphones are just a simple over-ear type that plugs in directly to my microphone. I managed to get Voice Chat to work exactly 1 time, but I don't know how I fixed it, and I am unable to replicate the solution. I'd appreciate any sort of help or advice as to what to try to fix this.
Steps to reproduce
- Join a game
- Set up audio with microphone
- Hear nothing at all from your fellow players no matter what you do.
Browser
Firefox
Operating System
Linux
Date and Time
February 26th, 2025 (don't have specific time)
Game Session
No response
Relevant console log output
CHROME_POLY:
Object { menus: Getter & Setter, manifest: Getter & Setter, normandyAddonStudy: Getter & Setter, extension: Getter & Setter, i18n: Getter & Setter, storage: Getter & Setter, test: Getter & Setter, trial: Getter & Setter, userScripts: Getter & Setter, runtime: {…} }
content-scripts.js:1:64919
CONTENT_SHELL: Page allowed. Skipping shell injection blocks content-scripts.js:1:54294
TSS: excluded result: true content-scripts.js:1:61930
Failed to connect with service worker for getRuleList msg undefined
I have the same issue, except I can hear the sounds in some lobbies and cannot at all in some others. I figured out it has to do with the chat server - for ex. I can hear when the server is EU Central, but cannot when it is US West or EU West 1.
i wonder then if it had something to do with players connecting from chat servers that are "too far away", then. i wish i knew what i did to temporarily fix my mic so i could replicate it to test the theory
Thanks for these reports. We're aware that there are sometimes issues connecting to the chat servers, particularly across geographic areas. Are either of you able to share roughly where you are in the world?
We don't have any reliable ways to fix this problem in every case, but people have got better connection quality by using a VPN if it helps them connect from a closer point to the chat server. That will depend on your individual situations though.
Sorry I don't have anything concrete for you at the moment.
no worries, as long as it's a concern on the table for a fix, i'm okay to wait. i wish i had more data to provide but it didn't occur to me to log anything when it worked for those couple of games because at the time i thought it was a mic issue. i live on the west coast of canada, in the boonies, but my connection is usually good
Hey @rabbitscreams, that sounds like you're having some connection issues with WebRTC. It might be caused by a firewall or ISP setting, or just depending on your internet connection quality. Have you tried using a VPN? The Linux standalone app is currently not supporting mic / cam input unfortunately, which makes it not really usable unfortunately. There's a link to an issue tracker if you want to know how far along those features are on Linux. If you're on Discord, feel free to send me a message (@bra1n) and if I'm around, we could try to figure out live what is causing these problems for you.
I'll add on to this, as I've just experienced this for the first time tonight after playing at least 20 games without ever having a problem. I'm using a MacBook Pro. I've tried restarting the app, hard rebooting my computer, and changing the audio device in my settings. I've been using the desktop app, Version 3.32.1 (20240916.132810). I did also attempt to connect using a browser (Safari), and sound worked for about 5 seconds upon initially joining a room until it completely cut out again. I can hear the sound effects (like the clocktower chime) just fine, but I can't hear the players. Located in Seattle, WA. Happy to provide any more info if needed.
Further update: I had seen a suggestion earlier to try a VPN. I tried connecting to NY, Toronto and London and it still didn't work.
@bra1n i have not yet tried a VPN (as it is, im leery of many of the VPN services out there for my own reasons) but i am considering trying one as a possible solution. the main problem is im not able to pinpoint specifically whats wrong, and having that one session that went well is even more confusing since i dint change anything abt my ISP or setup besides just refreshing the page and such.
That's understandable! As an alternative, you could try accessing the app from a different internet connection, eg. tethered from your mobile phone or at a different place / library / cafe, to make sure it is not a problem that is caused by your local internet connection.
thankfully i cant use the app more or less just fine from my phone! at the very least i can spectate in public matches and can surmise from there my microphone will probably work. my phone is an android (i think A50, so older but it works) and i use firefox browser on my android will mostly the same addons. though saying that i wonder if it would still be broken on a private window with no addons.
okay interesting. i just checked in a private window and everything works fine; i can hear people talking at least. i did some testing to see which addon was being fussy but i cant track it back to any particular one? i tried disabling a lot of the obvious culprits (privacy and adblockers) as well as the more niche ones, but none seemed to work out. in fact i disabled all my addons and refreshed the page but i still couldnt hear anything. all i can guess then is that there's something else blocking access than an addon (which is a relief).
i guess at least playing in a private window is a good temporary solution?
Hold on, so it works on your phone, with the same internet connection? And it works on your Linux desktop computer if you use an incognito tab? Then it has to be something in your browser settings / addons that prevents it from working. Not sure what that could be though, maybe browse a bit through the settings or internal experimental flags at about:config?