A Warning to VoiceOver Users Regarding Volume Issues in watchOS 11.2 AppleVis | Empowering blind and low-vision users of Apple products ... / AppleVis
Update: A member of our community has shared a workaround for the volume issue discussed below. This involves using the new Volume item in the Control Center to raise the system's master volume. While this is a reliable workaround for those who are already on watchOS 11.2, we stand by our recommendations in the original post. Original Post: Apple announced that today they will be releasing iOS 18.2 to the public; It is expected that Apple will release the corresponding updates for its other platforms, including watchOS 11.2, as well. This post contains preliminary details about an issue that we believe VoiceOver users need to be aware of prior to installing watchOS 11.2. Because of the inability to downgrade Apple Watch software without sending the device to Apple, we strongly recommend that if you have not already installed watchOS 11.2, that you read this post in its entirety, as well as any comments, before doing so. During the latter half of the watchOS 11.2 beta cycle, members of the community, as well as our team, identified an intermittent but significant issue with VoiceOver volume that occurs when using Siri or when an alarm activates. At this point, we need to stress that our understanding of the below issue (and all of the ways it may manifest itself) is limited. It is very possible that we may not understand the full scope of the issue; and it is also entirely possible that there may be an effective workaround that we simply have not identified. What we do know, both from our internal testing and from reading posts on our Apple Beta Software forum, is that in certain circumstances, VoiceOver volume will decrease significantly. In our own testing, our team encountered this issue mainly when using Siri; or after an alarm (such as the Wake Up Alarm in the Sleep app) is activated. Another member of our community has reported that this issue also occurs when receiving an incoming call. While this issue most often presents as a decrease in volume, we have also observed an initial presentation of the bug where the volume actually increased after using Siri. We believe that the issue may be related to how the volume levels between VoiceOver and other system audio interact, though this is just an educated guess on our part. At the time of posting, we are not aware of an effective workaround for this issue. Our testing suggests that if VoiceOver volume does become lowered, it is usually possible to raise VoiceOver volume by using Dictation in a text field. It may also be possible to raise VoiceOver's volume using the 'Volume' Rotor option, though our experience with this is limited and we make no claims that it is effective in all circumstances. Due to the severity of the issue and the inability for end-users to downgrade watchOS software without sending their device back to Apple, we recommend that VoiceOver users do not update to watchOS 11.2 until a fix is released or an effective workaround is identified. If you do not wish to install watchOS 11.2 at this time, we recommend that you ensure that Automatic Software Update is disabled. To do this, in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, go to General> Software Update> Automatic Updates, and toggle the 'Automatic Updates' option to 'Off'. If you have any additional information about this issue or have identified an effective workaround, we would greatly appreciate it if you would please let us know by posting a comment. Tags Apple Watch News Comments Suggested Workaround for VoiceOver Volume Issue in watchOS 11.2 By Cliff on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 14:55 I have been using the watchOS 11.2 developer beta throughout the entire beta cycle, and I have also noticed this annoying bug. However, I discovered something a release or two ago that might help, even though it’s not a direct workaround. What happens is that the main volume for the entire watchOS decreases, while, for instance, VoiceOver’s specific volume remains at the level it is set to. Think of it like changing the volume on an iPhone using the volume buttons. This is a master volume that controls everything: media playback, sound effects, and VoiceOver. So, VoiceOver speech may still be set to, say, 100%, but the watch has lowered the master volume when this occurs. This volume can be adjusted directly with the digital crown during media playback or while in a phone call. If you have a newer watch that can play music from Apple Music or similar directly from the watch’s speaker, you can access this master volume while media is playing. Now, to what I discovered: there is now a dedicated volume control in the Control Center on the watch. For me, it just appeared suddenly after one of the last beta updates, but it may be possible to add this control manually in the Control Center after updating to watchOS 11.2 if you don’t see it there. This is a direct control for the master volume, similar to the volume you access during calls or media playback, and it can easily be increased back to, for example, 100%. I’ve noticed that every time I use Siri now, it drops down to 44% on my Ultra 2 watch. I don’t see any correlation between this specific volume and the volume Siri is set to, or ringtones and alerts, but in any case, this provides a quicker way to adjust the master volume back up when the watch unexpectedly decides to lower it. I hope this makes some sense and helps a bit until Apple is able to address this bug! :) Take care re: Suggested Workaround for VoiceOver Volume Issue in By Geovanni Bahena on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 15:18 Thank you for this tip. I never thought to even look for that control in the control center. Low and behold, there it is! I can confirm that you can get the volume bak up this way. Thank You, Post Updated By Michael Hansen on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 15:43 Hi Cliff, Thank you so much for this! I have updated our post with a link to your comment and a brief description of the workaround. No issues By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 15:52 At this time no issues, it is working well, watch 9 with current beta of watch OS. @Holger Fiallo then you are… By TheBllindGuy07 on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 16:12 @Holger Fiallo then you are one of the rare luckiest people out there. @Cliff I thought this was already known, thank you for posting anyway. I was about to add this exact description for the bug too. When I am in a crowded environment and am able to talk the easiest thing is still to just ask siri media volume 80%. When I am patient enough, and say watch volume is at 5% I can tolerate some amount of neck pain and go to the control centre and adjust the watch volume after having increased that of voiceover to the maximum beforehand to maximize its audibleness. Depending on the context and users understanding of the still completely undocumented (as far as I know when I read apple watch support articles for this post) new volume control changes on watchos 11, this bug is a major one which could totally lead a person completely unable to use the watch. Can Siri adjust the new master volume? By Steve Sawczyn on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 16:16 I don't have the beta and the release isn't available to me yet but I'm wondering if Siri can adjust the master volume? Siri set volume to whatever percent might be an annoying but effective workaround. I also wonder if this is more prevalent on the newer watches that can play audio through their speakers, I wonder this as I never experienced volume issues described in previous posts on my Ultra. Thanks for the heads up. On… By Ollie on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 16:21 Thanks for the heads up. On 11.1 and turned off auto update. Bless you brave souls for diving into the beta. I've done it on the iphone because I know I can drop back, but never dared on the watch. @Steve Sawczyn By TheBllindGuy07 on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 16:29 Yes, and that's what I do most of the time. Just asks media volume 80% (which is believed to be the default volume before watchOS11). This change is probably the most unpopular one because as far as I remember voiceover volume control on the watch was one of the smoothest thing ever before. Would Adjusting the Volume from the Watch App Work? By Tanya Harrison on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 18:17 I'm too chicken to try betas so I haven't been able to play with this bug. Just looked at the volume settings on the watch app on my iPhone, and noticed that the volume could be changed from within the settings, so wondering if this work-around could also work? Meantime I've told my friends not to update ☺️ delete update file By Olivier on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 19:17 You can delete the update file. In the Watch app on the iPhone, go to General, and then, storage. You should see a WatchOS update. Click on it and you should be able to delete it. The only thing that I don't know is if the update will eventually download by itself again. Hopefully not. I hope this will prevent some accidental installs. Best, Olivier Original Article: https://www.applevis.com/blog/warning-voiceover-users-regarding-volume-issues-watchos-112 Sent from my iPhone -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. 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