I can't change the audio track

[Joab0]

Describe the bug

I'm having trouble switching between audio tracks on some content. On the web, I can easily switch between tracks without any issues, but on the Android app (using the default Web player), the audio track doesn't change.

To clarify, the content has audio tracks in both pt-BR and en-US. However, even when I select the en-US track, the playback remains in pt-BR.

Logs

No response

Application version

2.6.2

Where did you install the app from?

None

Device information

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12

Android version

Android 14

Jellyfin server version

10.9.11

Which video player implementations does this bug apply to?

• [X] Web player (default)
• [ ] Integrated player (ExoPlayer)
• [ ] External player (VLC, mpv, MX Player)

[jetzzze]

I experience the same problem on two different smart phones

Application version 2.6.2

Where did you install the app from? Google App Store

Device information Samung Galaxy S22 and S24

Android version Android 13 and 14

Jellyfin server version 10.10.0

Which video player implementations does this bug apply to? The Android app internal player

Thank you for considering this as a bug and for fixing it 👍

[tcely]

I also ran into this with a OTA recording where I put the main and SAP audio streams into the mkv.

The web player says I am playing the SAP Audio Description stream (it even reports it as stereo instead of the 6 channels main has) but the actual audio I hear doesn't change (the audio descriptions aren't playing).

[PommesMitFritten]

Same issue here, although with a twist: Without subtitles, picking a different audio track has no effect, the movie continues to play in the default language/English. But if I choose any subtitles, the audio changes to the selected track.

This issue does not occur using the web interface in the mobile google chrome browser app, neither for the "normal" player nor for the "embedded" player.

Edit: Switching "Settings->Client Settings->Video player type" from "Web player" to "Integrated player" in the app, solves the issue.

Android 14 Jellyfin App 2.6.2 Jellyfin Server 10.10.3

[luinniuxx]

Same issue here, although with a twist: Without subtitles, picking a different audio track has no effect, the movie continues to play in the default language/English. But if I choose any subtitles, the audio changes to the selected track.

This issue does not occur using the web interface in the mobile google chrome browser app, neither for the "normal" player nor for the "embedded" player.

Edit: Switching "Settings->Client Settings->Video player type" from "Web player" to "Integrated player" in the app, solves the issue.

Android 14 Jellyfin App 2.6.2 Jellyfin Server 10.10.3

That does not happen to every single video of , one of my videos with HEVC SDR switch audio tracks was OK.

"Web player" to "Integrated player" in the app works for me as well.

[karlicoss]

Switching to "Integrated player" solved the same issue for me! In addition, seems like it fixed issue when Jellyfin was eating 400% CPU transcoding MKV movies with subtitles (PGSSUB, mediainfo said Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs). Looks like now it's all via direct play

[BotBlake]

I also cannot reproduce this issue. Can someone give me a heads up if this is still an issue?

Kind regards

[jetzzze]

Hi, I wanted to test with Jelly client app Android version: 2.6.3-beta1 and server version: 10.10.7

but me phone just upgraded to Android 18 One-Ui 7.0 and Jellyfin app does not work ... need to fix this first :-)

I tested with Jelly client app Android version: 2.6.3-beta1 and server version: 10.10.1

and the problem was still there

[BotBlake]

I'm on Android 15 OneUI 7 and do not have any issues. I am not aware of any issues with the Jellyfin App and OneUI 7 😅

[jetzzze]

I just needed to clear the cache to cleanly login to the new server version and and after this the app and the connection works (stupid me!)

But the audio issue is still there:

Jelly client app Android version: 2.6.3-beta1 and server version: 10.10.7

Still not possible to switch from primary to secondary audio track in the app. Jelly app always plays primary audio track even though the app shows that the second audio track is selected.

[jetzzze]

Ok, need to correct my findings. I tested with a different set of video files and it seems not generally a problem anymore.

It works like 50:50 ... I have files where it now switches the audio language but I have others where it does not.

BUT when playing those files via the web UI directly from the Jellyfin server in the web browser (Firefox or Brave) the audio switch works flawlessly. So the second audio track is working but not in the app.

But I fear it will be hard to chase as some files are working and some are not ...

I can provide a file for testing if wanted :-)

[jetzzze]

I found the reason!

When the file is in MP4 format the audio track change does not work. If it is an MKV container then it works !!!

I converted the MP4 file that did not work with Handbrake into a MKV container format and then it worked. Can you please check if this can be confirmed by you and/or the other users that reported the same behaviour?

Cheers

[tcely]

I found the reason!

When the file is in MP4 format the audio track change does not work. If it is an MKV container then it works !!!

I don't think that is going to be the reason. I was using .mkv files when I saw the problem.

I converted the MP4 file that did not work with Handbrake into a MKV container format and then it worked.

Does your converted file still have multiple audio streams? Are they still in the same order? Was a default flag added?

[jetzzze]

Does your converted file still have multiple audio streams? Are they still in the same order? Was a default flag added?

Yes I have assigned the two existing audio tracks (AAC 5.1 German and AAC 5.1 English) in the same order to the MKV file. I am not aware of setting a default flag with Handbrake. And I definitely did not explicitly set one.

If you say it can not be the container format I will try to check the metadata info of the video files. Can you advise what to look for?

[jetzzze]

I found a difference:

the working file (in my case mkv) has a "Forced" flag which is set to "No" for both audio tracks:

Language : German Default : Yes Forced : No

Language : English Default : Yes Forced : No

while the not working file (in my case mp4) does not even have the "Forced" flag in both audio tracks:

Language : German Default : Yes

Language : English Default : Yes

Has this something to do with the default flag that @tcely mentioned? Can this flag manually be manipulated for an audio file or does Jellyfin need to handle this? Because otherwise I would need to reprocess all affected mp4 files?

[jetzzze]

After checking the web player in the browser I have now checked how the Jellyfin app on my Android TV (jellyfin-androidtv 0.18.8) and on my Fire TV stick (0.18.8 as well) behaves. They are switching the audio track when selecting the second (Non-Standard) audio track. So it the issue can be narrowed down to the Android phone/tablet app.

Let me know if I can do any further testing or collecting metadata info from my video files.

Cheers

[YoannPa]

I got the exact same issue on a OnePlus 13R. It is the current version of the Android Jellyfin App.

Will try the solution suggested by @PommesMitFritten

[YoannPa]

I can confirm that the solution proposed by @PommesMitFritten worked on OnePlus 13R :

Switching "Settings->Client Settings->Video player type" from "Web player" to "Integrated player" in the app, solves the issue.

[jetzzze]

Edit: Switching "Settings->Client Settings->Video player type" from "Web player" to "Integrated player" in the app, solves the issue.

I can also confirm that this workaround works. It is up to the developers to decide if the webplayer behaviour needs to be fixed or if the workaround is considered the solution for this issue :-)