Overview
Chromium-based browsers, including Google Chrome, require a user to interact with a web page before the browser will allow audio to play automatically. This is a built-in browser security policy designed to prevent unwanted audio from playing without user consent. In Sharpen Q, this restriction can present as a silent ring, where an incoming interaction triggers a toast notification, but no audible ringing sound is heard.
For more information on why Chrome implemented this policy, refer to the Chrome Autoplay documentation.
How This Affects Sharpen Q
When an agent opens Sharpen Q without first interacting with the page, the browser's autoplay restriction will block the ring sound file from playing when an interaction arrives. The agent will still receive the on-screen toast pop-up notification, but it will be silent. This can result in missed or delayed responses to incoming interactions.
Resolution
To prevent this issue, agents should interact with the Sharpen Q page immediately after it loads each session. This can be as simple as:
A single left click anywhere on the page, including blank space
Clicking any button within the Sharpen Q interface
Once the page has been interacted with, the browser will permit audio playback and the ring sound will function normally for the remainder of that session. This interaction is required once each time the page is freshly loaded.
Autoplay Error Modal
To help agents understand why they did not hear a ring sound, Sharpen surfaces the browser's autoplay error as a dismissible modal with the following message:
"We attempted to play a ring sound, but it was automatically muted by your browser. To avoid this issue in the future, you must interact with the Sharpen Q page when it first loads."
Dismiss the modal and click anywhere on the Sharpen Q page to resolve the restriction going forward in that session.