Symptom

When using the Vonage Video API on Chrome v 71 or later, audio and video won't play properly.

Applies To

• Video API
• Chrome 71
• Audio Auto-Play

Resolution

Ensure you are using the latest version of the JavaScript SDK. The JS SDK Subscriber API shows a play button over the subscriber view when this issue occurs. The audio and video will play when the user selects the play icon. This fix was added in JS SDK v2.15.4.

Cause

In Chrome 71, the audio auto-play policy is enabled. Due to this policy, Vonage Video API applications require a change.

As per the policy, it is good practice to wait for user interaction in a WebRTC application before starting audio playback as user would be aware of something happening. You can read more about it in Chrome's documentation.

If users subscribe to a stream without publishing, with the new Chrome 71 auto-play policy the subscriber will not play audio video stream (will be blocked) until the user interacts with the page.