Android 15: Workarounds for Sound Exposure Settings (Automatic Volume Reduction) when using DAC/Dongle with Phone

[Schizeophonic]

Hi all,

Long time no post, but hoping the community can help with the following issue that I am experiencing in Android 15. Specifically that google has deployed automatic volume reduction when using USB connected devices and there is no way to disable this 'feature'. You can DISABLE it for Bluetooth connect devices, but I am using a USB C -> 3.5mm dongle to feed my car with a 3.5 mm audio input. The car is older and only has a 3.5 mm audio input or a cd player.

The problem is that I like having the volume at 100% on the phone when sending it to the usb dac/dongle since it sounds the best when used like this (clarity). I control the volume via the car's volume control. I don't listen at loud volumes. However, after periodic intervals, android lowers the volume automatically to 'prevent hearing loss' since it believes I am using headphones. I am not, so this basically totally kills the volume level while I am driving, and I have to try to turn the volume back up while driving. It is also a manual and fooling around with this while driving is both silly and dangerous. I usually just drive around in relative silence after this. It is really frustrating. I have contacted Google support many times with no resolution, and in googles own support documentation the OEM provider of the phone can control whether you can disable this or not. For Pixel devices, it appears you cannot and I have tried everything.

Does anyone know of a workaround for this issue? I have looked into the app 'USB Audio Player Pro', since this app appears to bypass the Android OS audio stack to avoid this tomfoolery. Any simpler solutions? Hardware that I could buy? I prefer the simplest solution so that I can just go back to listening to music/audiobooks without interference. I am literally thinking about just using my Ipad in my car since I haven't found any apple devices that suffer from this issue.

Any help that anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated. There are many threads on reddit about this issue and I think that this may increasingly become a problem with our devices and would prefer to know how to navigate going forward.

Documentation below:
https://support.google.com/pixelpho...ications,turn-notification-cooldown-on-or-off

https://source.android.com/docs/core/audio/sound-dose

Examples on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/s/ib8P7A0glq
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixe...mly_lowering_on_its_own_on_pixel_6/?rdt=35354
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1at8wsq/pixel_7_pro_volume_changing_on_its_own/
https://www.reddit.com/r/pixel_phones/comments/u54vof/volume_keeps_lowering_randomly_on_pixel_6/
https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/162706324/volume-keeps-turning-itself-down?hl=en

 

[SGarfinkle]

The last reply to the support.google.com thread said that then problem went away when google assistant was disabled. Not sure if that helps in your case or not?

 

[Schizeophonic]

The last reply to the support.google.com thread said that then problem went away when google assistant was disabled. Not sure if that helps in your case or not?

Thanks for the reply. I did try disabling the google assistant and it still occurred with the similar cadence and prevalence. So, unfortunately not a solution for me

 

[SGarfinkle]

Is there anything in developer options that helps?

 

[Schizeophonic]

Is there anything in developer options that helps?

No. If you go to this link: https://support.google.com/pixelpho...ications,turn-notification-cooldown-on-or-off

It is explicitly disabled by the OEM (I assume pixel/google) by the language found here:

Tips:

• Sound exposure notifications are automatically enabled on your Pixel phone and cannot be turned off.
• If you don’t acknowledge or dismiss the notification, it automatically lowers the volume. (It always lowers the volume even if I dismiss in time. It is in fact the first thing it does).
• If the sound suddenly increases, your phone automatically lowers the volume to a safe level.

Additionally, if you click the regulation link here: https://source.android.com/docs/core/audio/sound-dose, you will find a flow diagram like this referencing the MCC safe media volume enforced flag. It is up to the OEM to give the user the control of this flag in developer options, and this is removed for many android phones, including pixel phones. If this flag was NOT enforced, it would give the user the control of using the volume control in a way that fits their needs, and we should have this option. Right now, I am looking for a device (Qudelix-5k bluetooth USB DAC AMP)/app (perhaps UAP referenced above) that offloads ALL sound processing away from android OS, since that does appear to the be problem. The device manufacturers are essentially not giving us this control of our volume to comply with the regulation listed in the documentation associated with this 'feature'.

 

[BS5711]

I am not an Android phone user but was curious and a Google search indicated this, might be a clue perhaps ?

 

[SGarfinkle]

Ugh. Glad I have a Moto phone - no issue there. UAPP plus dongle might also work.. Over in the classified ads, I'm selling a Tempotec Sonata BHD Pro. If you want to just try it out to see if it helps, PM me.