Load local MP3 or WAV from Android as AudioClip - UnityWebRequest HTTP 404 error

I'm able to load audio using UnityWebRequestMultimedia.GetAudioClip in the Unity Editor with the following code but when I run it on Android I am unable to load any files from the user's device.

Code (CSharp):

1. void Start() {
2.     audio = GetComponent<AudioSource>();
3.     string fullPath = Path.Combine("file://" + previewSong);
4.     StartCoroutine(GetAudioClip(fullPath));
5. }
6.  
7. IEnumerator GetAudioClip(string fullPath)
8. {
9.     using (var uwr = UnityWebRequestMultimedia.GetAudioClip(fullPath, AudioType.MPEG))
10.     {
11.         ((DownloadHandlerAudioClip)uwr.downloadHandler).streamAudio = true;
12.  
13.         yield return uwr.SendWebRequest();
14.  
15.         if (uwr.isNetworkError || uwr.isHttpError)
16.         {
17.             debugSongPath2.text = uwr.error;
18.             yield break;
19.         }
20.  
21.         DownloadHandlerAudioClip dlHandler = (DownloadHandlerAudioClip)uwr.downloadHandler;
22.  
23.         if (dlHandler.isDone)
24.         {
25.             audio.clip = dlHandler.audioClip;
26.  
27.             if (audio.clip != null)
28.             {
29.                 audio.clip = DownloadHandlerAudioClip.GetContent(uwr);
30.  
31.                 Debug.Log("Playing song using Audio Source!");
32.             }
33.             else
34.             {
35.                 Debug.Log("Couldn't find a valid AudioClip.");
36.             }
37.         }
38.         else
39.         {
40.             Debug.Log("The download process is not completely finished.");
41.         }
42.     }
43. }

The errors I experience vary depending on how I form the start of the URL.

Code (CSharp):

1. Path.Combine("file:/" + previewSong);
2. malformed URL
3.  
4. Path.Combine("file://" + previewSong);
5. http:/1.1 404 not found
6.  
7. Path.Combine("file:///" + previewSong);
8. unknown error
9.  
10. Path.Combine("file:////" + previewSong);
11. unknown error

When I output the URLs on my Android phone they look correct. Here's an example path:

Code (csharp):

1. file:///storage/emulated/0/Music/Deorro/Deorro - Five Hours.mp3

I was previously loading audio from this URL successfully with WWW.GetAudioClip but that's obsolete. This leads me to believe the URL is correct. I've tried building with and without Development Mode. Not sure what else to try. I'd like to get this working with UnityWebRequestMultimedia but if there is an alternative, more effective way of loading local files I'm open to it.

 

So how is previewsong constructed? It should use the streaming assets path (assuming its in the build)

 

@Aurimas-Cernius thanks, my AndroidManifest.xml has the necessary user permissions as far as I know.

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

I looked into using File.ReadAllBytes() but it looks like I'd have to convert the byte array to an AudioClip and there seems to be significant differences in the byte arrays of MP3s and WAVs.

I thought UnityWebRequestMultimedia.GetAudioClip was built for this purpose. I would much prefer to use this method than convert a byte array but if I have to go that route it's fine. The biggest hurdle for me there is finding documentation that outlines the process.

@nilsdr the file is on the user's device. I am retrieving the absolute path using an Android file picker solution.

 

@Aurimas-Cernius that makes sense. File.Exists returns true on Android when I plug in the file path. What issues could I be running into with my URI?

Thanks!

 

Thanks @Aurimas-Cernius just tried passing the path to a System.Uri object and I'm running into the same issue, http:/1.1 404 not found.

This seems like an issue specific to my app's settings. I downloaded the DJ PRO plugin from the Asset Store because the demo worked on my phone but when I implement the same plugin on my app with the same song and song path I get an http:/1.1 404 not found error. Could this be an issue with the Android Manifest? Permissions? Something else? Seems strange.

 

@Aurimas-Cernius the issue was with the new Android 11 scoped storage which disables READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE. I had to add the following to my AndroidManifest.xml:

Code (CSharp):

1. <manifest ... >
2. <!-- This attribute is "false" by default on apps targeting
3.      Android 10 or higher. -->
4.   <application android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true" ... >
5.     ...
6.   </application>
7. </manifest>

https://developer.android.com/training/data-storage/use-cases#opt-out-scoped-storage

 

I got the same issue.
I did not attempt to use the manifest solution above because a permission check just before returns true for both read and write on external storage.

Code (CSharp):

1.   Debug.Log("ExternalStorageRead " + Permission.HasUserAuthorizedPermission(Permission.ExternalStorageRead));
2.         Debug.Log("ExternalStorageWrite " + Permission.HasUserAuthorizedPermission(Permission.ExternalStorageWrite));

I have space in my fileNames but this works fine in the editor on the local machine.
But it does not on android ( pico neo 3)

Saved location:

Code (CSharp):

1.   /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.name.name/files/PsyCurioSaves/3/userCreatedContant_audio/Art_11 (1)patientID3themeKey0recording.wav
2.  

Uri / Url

Code (CSharp):

1.  
2. http://localhost/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.name.name/files/PsyCurioSaves/3/userCreatedContant_audio/Art_11 (1)patientID3themeKey0recording.wav
3.  

maybe it doesnt like the explicit http://localhost/ ? ( added by the webrequest)


I do read images from the disk via
File.ReadAllBytes with success aswell.

I cant do ReadAllBytes with the .wav files as I dont know how to convert them into .wav after having the bytes. Thats what the web request is for.

 

Thats my request code:
( which works for the editor / local machine)

Code (CSharp):

1.  Debug.Log("start laoding in");
2.         if (File.Exists(audioFilePath))
3.         {
4.        
5.             using (UnityWebRequest request = UnityWebRequestMultimedia.GetAudioClip(audioFilePath, AudioType.WAV))
6.             {
7.                 yield return request.SendWebRequest();
8.  
9.                 if (request.isNetworkError)
10.                 {
11.                     Debug.Log("www.error " + request.error);
12.                     Debug.Log(" www.uri " + request.uri);
13.                     Debug.Log(" www.url " + request.url);
14.                     Debug.Log(" www.result " + request.result);
15.                 }
16.                 else
17.                 {
18.                     AudioClip myClip = DownloadHandlerAudioClip.GetContent(request);
19.                     audioSource.clip = myClip;
20.                     Debug.Log("done");
21.                 }
22.             }
23.         }

 

@Aurimas-Cernius
thanks! I dont have much experience with that.

I do create an uri like this now and test:

Code (CSharp):

1. System.Uri _uri = new Uri(audioFilePath);

and i pass it over to:

Code (CSharp):

1. UnityWebRequest request = UnityWebRequestMultimedia.GetAudioClip(_uri, AudioType.WAV))

This attempt results in path starting with something like file:/// ..
and remains working locally on the machine (pc).
So I will test on the device again soon.

I always have to build to the device to test this (40 minutes) so it is pretty time intensive..

 

that worked

thanks