App looses microphone access when not active on v 1.6.20

[dmgartung]

Steps to reproduce

1. When on a voice call, click Home button or switch to other app

Outcome

What did you expect?

Continue conversation easily without interruptions while switching to other apps or lock the phone.

What happened instead?

Voice call party do not hear you because app looses access to microphone. It is noticeable on Samsung (S24) as green dot in the upper right corner (indicating microphone access) dissappears.

Works perfectly fine on 1.6.18

Your phone model

Samsung S24 Ultra

Operating system version

Android 14

Application version and app store

Element version 1.6.20 I. G Play store

Homeserver

matrix

Will you send logs?

No

Are you willing to provide a PR?

No

[romawkafor]

I faced the same problem on about 10 new Samsung devices running Android 14

[adi-vizgan-unplugged]

I have the same issue, and I have further information:
When I compile Element's code with targetSdk set to 33, the issue does not happen. Probably Google changed something between targetSdk 33 and targetSdk 34, IDK what.

[throwException]

I can confirm this on a Pixel 6a using GrapheneOS.

This should be fixed urgently as it keeps me from doing hands-off calls.

[bro2020]

I confirm this.
Element-web:v1.11.75
Synapse:v1.114.0
Android app: 1.6.20 [40106202] (G-fca16b67) (With Google Play)

Reproduced on:
Samsung Galaxy S20 (Android 13)
Pixel 7 Pro (Android 14)

Does not reproduce on:
Xiaomi Mi10T (Android 12)

[aprettij]

The same problem occurs using Moto G84 and Samsung S21 (Android 14)

[dmgartung]

@bmarty Hello. Is there any chance that this bug can be patched? Those who that don't know how to downgrade or use GitHub are basically cant use this app calls. I see there are updates for Element X but not for this client.

[profitrollgame]

I can confirm this is still the case on 1.6.22 [40106222] (G-9a4602bf).

Tested on the OnePlus 7T Pro (A14).

Calls are nearly unusable. Including the fix from PR in the next release would be highly appreciated.

[kirkawolff]

This has been an annoyance for quite some time. Whenever browsing to another app or the screensaver kicks in, my microphone is muted. On Element 1.6.22, GrapheneOS build 2024092900 android 14, pixel 6pro.

[dmgartung]

So I tested new released version 1.6.22 and the bug still present in that version.

[kirkawolff]

The changes from this ticket were made a day or two after the 1.6.22 release. They appear to be on an approximate monthly release cycle. I don't see that the PR has been merged yet.

[kirkawolff]

When do we get this bug fix in a release?

[j4mt]

I also face this issue on Samsung s22 mentioned above when switching Apps.

[jsiit]

I can also confirm this problem on Note 20 Ultra 5G (Android 13, Element 1.6.22 [40106222] (G-9a4602bf))
Are there any updates on whether this problem is fixable?

I tested Element X a time ago and found it incomplete and not very usable. Can anyone give a status on how that improved (hopefully)?

[mdhanif-simformsolutions]

Starting Android 14 you can't record audio if the app is in background unless you use a foreground service with at least microphone type.

[kirkawolff]

The latest release fixes this. Thank you!