Audio troubleshooting.

Audio issues on Remio cluster into four buckets: silent sessions (no audio at all), crackling and dropouts (buffer underrun), drift (sample-rate mismatch), and echo or feedback (audio loop). Each has a well-defined cause and a fast fix. Work through this guide top-down — the most common symptom is at the top.

1. 01

   Silent session — no audio at all

   If the stream is playing video but you hear nothing, walk through these in order.

   • Capture toggle — open host preferences and confirm Capture System Audio is on. The toggle defaults to off on every fresh install.
   • macOS Screen Recording — Apple gates audio capture behind the same permission as screen capture. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, toggle Remio Host on, then relaunch the host. Without this, you'll see video but get total silence.
   • Client output — tap the audio icon in the in-session toolbar and confirm an output device is selected. On iPhone, also check the silent-mode switch on the side of the device — Remio respects ringer mute.
   • Source app picked — if you're using per-app routing, make sure the application you picked is actually producing audio. The dropdown only lists currently-active sources.
   • Aggregate device installed (macOS) — open Audio MIDI Setup (in Applications/Utilities) and confirm Remio Audio appears in the device list. If it doesn't, the driver install was blocked — reinstall the host and approve any kernel-extension prompts.
2. 02

   Crackling, popping, dropouts

   These are almost always buffer underrun — the client renderer ran out of audio frames to play and either skipped silence or repeated the previous frame, both of which sound like a pop.

   • Disable Low-Latency Mode — the toggle in host preferences. Off, the buffer grows to ~40 ms and absorbs jitter. On weak networks this single change usually fixes it.
   • Move closer to the access point — 5 GHz Wi-Fi falls off rapidly with distance. One room away is usually fine; three rooms away or behind walls will start to drop packets.
   • Switch off Bluetooth output — Bluetooth audio has its own buffer. Combined with Low-Latency Mode on Remio, the two buffers can fight. Try wired headphones or USB-C output if Bluetooth pops.
   • Drop the video bitrate — audio shares the channel with video. If video is saturating the link, audio loses frames first. Lower video resolution to 1080p and audio cleans up.
   • Check the network type — open the in-session stats overlay. If you see conn=relay with high RTT, you're on TURN; latency variance is naturally higher and audio buffer needs to be larger.

   RULE OF THUMB

   If crackling appears only during video-heavy moments (scrolling, animations), the link is capped. If it's constant, it's likely buffer or Bluetooth.

3. 03

   Audio drifting out of sync with video

   If audio starts in sync and slowly slides ahead or behind video over many minutes, the host and client audio clocks are running at slightly different rates. This is a sample-rate mismatch problem.

   • Force 48 kHz on both ends — in host preferences set the sample rate to 48 kHz. On macOS clients, open Audio MIDI Setup and confirm the output device is also at 48 kHz. Mismatched rates introduce resampling that drifts.
   • Restart the session — any change to the sample rate takes effect on the next connection. Disconnect and reconnect.
   • Long sessions on cellular — cellular clock skew can introduce drift over hours. Reconnect to reset the clock alignment; modern builds re-sync every keyframe but a fresh handshake is the cleanest reset.
   • Check macOS aggregate device rate — if you use Remio Audio alongside other audio devices in an aggregate, the rate is forced by macOS to match all members. Set every member device to the same rate in Audio MIDI Setup.
4. 04

   Echo, feedback, or doubled audio

   This happens when audio plays through speakers on both host and client at the same time. Examples: streaming the host's Zoom meeting while sitting next to the host, or running mic passthrough while both ends play through speakers.

   • Wear headphones on one side — the simplest fix. Headphones on the host or client end the loop immediately.
   • Mute the host's speakers — open the host's volume control and mute. The session audio still flows to the client; only the local playback is silenced.
   • Use per-app routing — instead of System Audio, route only the application that needs to be streamed. Notifications, music players, and other system sounds stay on the host's speakers.
   • Disable mic passthrough if you don't need it — mic passthrough creates an extra audio path that can amplify echo if both ends have open mics.
5. 05

   Mic passthrough not working

   If Remio Microphone appears on the host but apps can't hear anything from it, the client's mic permission is the most likely cause.

   • Client OS microphone permission — on iPhone/iPad open Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, toggle Remio Client on. On macOS the same setting lives in System Settings. Quit and relaunch the client after granting.
   • Host app picked the right input — in Zoom, Discord, OBS or any other app, the input dropdown often defaults to the built-in mic. Pick Remio Microphone explicitly.
   • Mic actually capturing on client — open a voice memo app on the client and confirm the device's mic works locally. Hardware faults are rare but happen.
   • Re-enable passthrough — toggle Microphone Passthrough off and on in host preferences. This re-registers the virtual input device.

   # Mic passthrough diagnostic order
   client → check OS mic permission for Remio Client
   client → test mic in a local voice memo app
   host   → toggle Microphone Passthrough off, then on
   host   → in target app, pick "Remio Microphone" from input dropdown
   test   → speak into client; level should appear in host app