iOS: Audio Unit RemoteIO not working on iPhone

Question

I'm trying to create my own custom sound effects Audio Unit based on the input from the mic. This application allows simultaneous input/output from the microphone to speaker. I can apply effects and work using the simulator, but when I try to test on the iPhone I can't hear anything. I paste my code if anyone can help me:

  - (id) init{
    self = [super init];

    OSStatus status;

    // Describe audio component
    AudioComponentDescription desc;
    desc.componentType = kAudioUnitType_Output;
    desc.componentSubType = kAudioUnitSubType_RemoteIO;
    desc.componentFlags = 0;
    desc.componentFlagsMask = 0;
    desc.componentManufacturer = kAudioUnitManufacturer_Apple;

    // Get component
    AudioComponent inputComponent = AudioComponentFindNext(NULL, &desc);

    // Get audio units
    status = AudioComponentInstanceNew(inputComponent, &audioUnit);
    checkStatus(status);

    // Enable IO for recording
    UInt32 flag = 1;
    status = AudioUnitSetProperty(audioUnit,
                                  kAudioOutputUnitProperty_EnableIO,
                                  kAudioUnitScope_Input,
                                  kInputBus,
                                  &flag,
                                  sizeof(flag));
    checkStatus(status);

    // Enable IO for playback
    status = AudioUnitSetProperty(audioUnit,
                                  kAudioOutputUnitProperty_EnableIO,
                                  kAudioUnitScope_Output,
                                  kOutputBus,
                                  &flag,
                                  sizeof(flag));
    checkStatus(status);

    // Describe format
    AudioStreamBasicDescription audioFormat;
    audioFormat.mSampleRate         = 44100.00;
    audioFormat.mFormatID           = kAudioFormatLinearPCM;
    audioFormat.mFormatFlags        = kAudioFormatFlagIsSignedInteger | kAudioFormatFlagIsPacked;
    audioFormat.mFramesPerPacket    = 1;
    audioFormat.mChannelsPerFrame   = 1;
    audioFormat.mBitsPerChannel     = 16;
    audioFormat.mBytesPerPacket     = 2;
    audioFormat.mBytesPerFrame      = 2;


    // Apply format
    status = AudioUnitSetProperty(audioUnit,
                                  kAudioUnitProperty_StreamFormat,
                                  kAudioUnitScope_Output,
                                  kInputBus,
                                  &audioFormat,
                                  sizeof(audioFormat));
    checkStatus(status);
    status = AudioUnitSetProperty(audioUnit,
                                  kAudioUnitProperty_StreamFormat,
                                  kAudioUnitScope_Input,
                                  kOutputBus,
                                  &audioFormat,
                                  sizeof(audioFormat));
    checkStatus(status);


    // Set input callback
    AURenderCallbackStruct callbackStruct;
    callbackStruct.inputProc = recordingCallback;
    callbackStruct.inputProcRefCon = self;
    status = AudioUnitSetProperty(audioUnit,
                                  kAudioOutputUnitProperty_SetInputCallback,
                                  kAudioUnitScope_Global,
                                  kInputBus,
                                  &callbackStruct,
                                  sizeof(callbackStruct));
    checkStatus(status);

    // Set output callback
    callbackStruct.inputProc = playbackCallback;
    callbackStruct.inputProcRefCon = self;
    status = AudioUnitSetProperty(audioUnit,
                                  kAudioUnitProperty_SetRenderCallback,
                                  kAudioUnitScope_Global,
                                  kOutputBus,
                                  &callbackStruct,
                                  sizeof(callbackStruct));
    checkStatus(status);


    // Allocate our own buffers (1 channel, 16 bits per sample, thus 16 bits per frame, thus 2 bytes per frame).
    // Practice learns the buffers used contain 512 frames, if this changes it will be fixed in processAudio.
    tempBuffer.mNumberChannels = 1;
    tempBuffer.mDataByteSize = 512 * 2;
    tempBuffer.mData = malloc( 512 * 2 );

    // Initialise
    status = AudioUnitInitialize(audioUnit);
    checkStatus(status);

    return self;
}

This callback is called when new audio data from the microphone is available. But never enter here when I test on the iPhone:

static OSStatus recordingCallback(void *inRefCon, AudioUnitRenderActionFlags *ioActionFlags, const AudioTimeStamp *inTimeStamp, UInt32 inBusNumber, UInt32 inNumberFrames, AudioBufferList *ioData) {
    AudioBuffer buffer;

    buffer.mNumberChannels = 1;
    buffer.mDataByteSize = inNumberFrames * 2;
    buffer.mData = malloc( inNumberFrames * 2 );

    // Put buffer in a AudioBufferList
    AudioBufferList bufferList;
    bufferList.mNumberBuffers = 1;
    bufferList.mBuffers[0] = buffer;

    // Then:
    // Obtain recorded samples

    OSStatus status;

    status = AudioUnitRender([iosAudio audioUnit],
                             ioActionFlags,
                             inTimeStamp,
                             inBusNumber,
                             inNumberFrames,
                             &bufferList);
    checkStatus(status);

    // Now, we have the samples we just read sitting in buffers in bufferList
    // Process the new data
    [iosAudio processAudio:&bufferList];

    // release the malloc'ed data in the buffer we created earlier
    free(bufferList.mBuffers[0].mData);

    return noErr;
}

Answer 1

I solved my problem. I simply needed to initialize the AudioSession before playing/recording. I did so with the following code:

OSStatus status;

AudioSessionInitialize(NULL, NULL, NULL, self);
UInt32 sessionCategory = kAudioSessionCategory_PlayAndRecord;
status = AudioSessionSetProperty (kAudioSessionProperty_AudioCategory,
                               sizeof (sessionCategory),
                               &sessionCategory);

if (status != kAudioSessionNoError)
{
    if (status == kAudioServicesUnsupportedPropertyError) {
        NSLog(@"AudioSessionInitialize failed: unsupportedPropertyError");
    }else if (status == kAudioServicesBadPropertySizeError) {
        NSLog(@"AudioSessionInitialize failed: badPropertySizeError");
    }else if (status == kAudioServicesBadSpecifierSizeError) {
        NSLog(@"AudioSessionInitialize failed: badSpecifierSizeError");
    }else if (status == kAudioServicesSystemSoundUnspecifiedError) {
        NSLog(@"AudioSessionInitialize failed: systemSoundUnspecifiedError");
    }else if (status == kAudioServicesSystemSoundClientTimedOutError) {
        NSLog(@"AudioSessionInitialize failed: systemSoundClientTimedOutError");
    }else {
        NSLog(@"AudioSessionInitialize failed! %ld", status);
    }
}


AudioSessionSetActive(TRUE);

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