Share audio is not working with Azurecommunicationcalling iOS SDK

Question

Share audio is not working with Azurecommunicationcalling iOS SDK

Payal Tiwari 60

I am able to share screen with ACS Properly with Broadcast extension , Whenever I m going to share audio I m getting error :- Error Domain=ACSCallingShared Code=1 "Failed" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Failed}

Is Audio sharing possible in iOS using Azure Communication Services (ACS) Join Room functionality?

I am working on implementing screen sharing with audio in an iOS app using Azure Communication Services (ACS) Join Room functionality.

I want to know if screen sharing with audio is supported and how it can be achieved. Since iOS does not allow direct access to screen content, I am considering the following approach:

Use a Broadcast Upload Extension to capture screen frames.
Transfer frames to the main app using App Groups or Darwin Notifications.

Any guidance or sample code would be greatly appreciated!

Alekhya Vaddepally 820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-21T10:30:11.71+00:00
Hi Payal Tiwari,

You are capable of implementing screen sharing using a broadcast upload extension with the Azure Communication Services (ACS) calling SDK on iOS - and this is currently an officially supported approach. However, about audio sharing, especially system audio (eg sound or other app audio), need to clarify the current boundaries and what is possible.

Unfortunately, sharing the device audio (system audio) with screen is not currently supported by iOS, and this range is applied to other outlines such as replay kit or call kit. The error you are seeing:

Error Domain=ACSCallingShared Code=1 "Failed" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Failed}

... usually occurs because the iOS device/system does not allow the third-party application or extension to capture the audio directly. This is a platform-level ban, not the ACS SDK border

While direct audio sharing is not possible, there are some options based on your use of use:

you can use App audio (only within your app)

If the audio you want to share is being played within your app (eg, a video, music, or game sound that generates your app), you can:

Capture that audio manually and send it to a separate stream using a custom audio source.

Mix the audio into the stream that you are sending through ACS (although it is complicated and may require audio processing/mixing framework such as avaudioengin).

ACS custom supports audio sources that can be injected into a call
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/communication-services/quickstarts/voice-video-calling/get-started-with-video-calling?pivots=platform-ios
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/communication-services/tutorials/migrating-to-azure-communication-services-calling?tabs=java&pivots=platform-web#key-features-available-in-azure-communication-services-calling-sdk
if you have any further concerns or queries, please feel free to reach out to us.
Payal Tiwari 60 Reputation points

2025-04-21T10:35:49.3+00:00

I have checked in Microsoft Teams , In teams it is working to share screen with Other apps audio . Can you give me if any work around is possible becuase my need is to share screen with Audio.
Alekhya Vaddepally 820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-21T11:15:57.6333333+00:00
Hi Payal Tiwari,
Microsoft teams use private, non-public APIs provided by Apple, which are allowed under special rights as it is a system-level app or due to Microsoft's agreements with Apple. These APIs are not available for third-party developers, which is why teams can share the system audio but cannot do any app produced using ACS (or any app produced using public iOS API).

So technically, the teams are an exception - not the rule - and what it is doing, it is not copyable using the public SDK provided by Apple or Azure.

We have some limitations on public API like on IOS:

Replaykit allows screen capture through broadcasting extension.

It supports microphone audio, but the system is not audio.

You cannot capture playing audio from other apps for public distribution (eg, youtube, spotify, or even playing video to your own app).

This applies to the board - ACS, WEBRTC, and even facetime clones - unless you are using privileged API (like teams).

Although there is no correct solution due to Apple's restrictions, here are some options to consider the basis of the specific nature of your app:

Use microphone + screen sharing the screen, allow users to statement or talk.

This is the most common decline:

Replaykit fully supports this setup.

ACS supports microphone audio sharing during screen sharing.

If the audio you want to share is coming from your app (eg, playing a video or sound in your app),

You can use AVAudioEngine or custom audio sources to mix and inject audio in ACS calls.

This external app does not work for audio - only your app audio.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/communication-services/concepts/voice-video-calling/media-access

Create a remote playback setup (advanced)

This is a more creative (but complex) work -round:

Capture the screen as usual using Replaykit.

Route the audio of your app on a local audio buffer.

Send that audio separately through a custom audio track on ACS.

On the obtained side, mix video + audio for playback.

It only works when you are under complete control over the app's playback environment (eg, safari, youtube, or spotify).
Alekhya Vaddepally 820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-22T08:35:21.3966667+00:00

Hi Payal Tiwari,
We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution, please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help
Payal Tiwari 60 Reputation points

2025-04-22T12:17:37.0166667+00:00

Hello

Thank you for your response .

I dont have found any solution till now.

I m sending audio data from extension to main app through socket.

now I m stuck here where I m sending raw audio to ACS but getting error and not able to share same as video.

I m working on this if you have solution let me know.
Sampath 2,345 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-25T06:58:21.34+00:00

Hello @Payal Tiwari , requesting you check private message and reply there. Thank you.

Accepted answer

0 additional answers

Your answer

Payal Tiwari 60 Reputation points

2025-04-21T10:35:49.3+00:00

I have checked in Microsoft Teams , In teams it is working to share screen with Other apps audio . Can you give me if any work around is possible becuase my need is to share screen with Audio.
Alekhya Vaddepally 820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-22T08:35:21.3966667+00:00

Hi Payal Tiwari,
We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution, please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help
Payal Tiwari 60 Reputation points

2025-04-22T12:17:37.0166667+00:00

Hello

Thank you for your response .

I dont have found any solution till now.

I m sending audio data from extension to main app through socket.

now I m stuck here where I m sending raw audio to ACS but getting error and not able to share same as video.

I m working on this if you have solution let me know.
Sampath 2,345 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-25T06:58:21.34+00:00

Hello @Payal Tiwari , requesting you check private message and reply there. Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello @Payal Tiwari,

I’m sharing this detailed answer not only to help with your case but also for the benefit of the community, in case someone else faces a similar issue when working with Azure Communication Services (ACS) on iOS.

Thank you so much for your patience and all the efforts you put into testing and sharing updates. After reviewing everything carefully, I can confirm that audio sharing along with screen sharing is possible on iOS with ACS, but with some important limitations. Using a Broadcast Upload Extension, you are able to capture screen frames and pass them back to your main app using App Groups. As you also discovered, it is possible to capture audio, but iOS itself does not allow apps to capture full system sounds (like music from another app or device sounds) unless private APIs are used. This is part of Apple’s security design and is explained in their ReplayKit documentation.

On the Azure side, ACS supports working with custom audio and video streams through raw media access, as explained in the Azure Communication Services Raw Media Access Overview. You were able to fix the original error by adjusting the audio format to match what ACS expects — PCM 16-bit, mono or stereo, with a sample rate of either 16kHz or 48kHz — and after that, the audio started sending successfully.

Regarding the audio glitches you noticed on the receiver side, this is something that can happen when sending raw audio over the network. To improve it, you can add a buffer to smooth out the audio and handle small network issues like jitter or packet loss. Microsoft’s iOS Raw Media Quickstart can help you set up raw media handling properly on the receiving side.

About AVAudioEngine, while it is a good tool for resampling audio if needed, your current method capturing audio in the Broadcast Extension and sending it to the app is completely fine. Since you got it working without needing AVAudioEngine, there is no need to change unless you face resampling issues later.

Hope it helps!

Please do not forget to click "Accept the answer” and yes wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.

Share via

Share audio is not working with Azurecommunicationcalling iOS SDK

0 additional answers

Your answer