Audio Options in Kiosk Pro

There are a number of options that can be used with Kiosk Pro for audio output - each one works slightly differently:

iPad Speakers

Native speakers are the default option for audio on iPad and will be used automatically if no other audio output devices are connected.

You can set the iPad’s native speakers as the default option for screensaver and/or content audio output, even if headphones are connected. These settings also allow you to control the initial volume for each.

Headphones or External Speaker connected via Audio Jack or Bluetooth

For optimal performance, we recommend using headphones or speakers that are permanently connected to the audio jack and cannot be disconnected by visitors.

You can allow visitors to toggle between the iPad’s native speakers and the headphones through a button in the Navigation Bar, or you can present a headphone-only listening experience. You can also set headphones as the default option for screensaver and/or content audio output, and control the initial volume for each.

While Bluetooth headphones and speakers will work with these features, the connection can be less reliable and, if disconnected, may require a restart of the app to reconnect and/or work as expected.

If you have a setup where visitors can connect their own headphones through the audio jack, audio that is currently playing through the iPad speakers will automatically switch over to the headphones when they are connected. When headphones are disconnected, the media must be stopped and restarted for sound to play through the iPad speakers or reconnected headphones. While the iOS does notify the app when headphones are connected or disconnected under certain circumstances, it does not do so for every connection or disconnection event. This means that the Headphone Switch button, default speaker, and volume levels for headphones will not work correctly with this type of setup.

External Monitor over AirPlay or Wired AV Adapter

If the app is connected to an external monitor via AirPlay or the wired Digital AV Adapter, audio will play through the external monitor speakers by default.

To use headphones in conjunction with an external monitor, the headphones must be connected to the external monitor speaker outputs, not directly to the iPad. It is not possible to allow switching between external monitor speakers and the iPad speakers or between external monitor speakers and headphones. When connected to an external monitor, ‘Enable Headphone Switch’ should be turned off.

If using audio output through an external monitor, you can allow visitors to adjust the volume using the ‘Volume Slider’ setting.

If you want to be able to control the volume of the Screensaver or the default volume for content, you can enable the Homepage Audio Settings and/or Screensaver Audio settings. In these settings, the external monitor is treated as ‘Headphones’ so you’d set the default speaker and volume as such.

To recap, if you are connecting to an external monitor, you can either:

1. Turn Homepage Audio Settings and Screensaver Audio settings off. In this case, volume can be set through iOS settings, the physical volume buttons (if exposed), or the Volume Slider in the bottom navigation bar (if enabled).
2. Turn Homepage Audio Settings and/or Screensaver Audio settings on and set the default speaker for each to ‘Headphone’, which is how the external monitor speakers are identified. This allows you to control volume in the ways listed above and also to preset the initial volume when the app idle times out to the screensaver or the homepage.