**Question:** How do I get the pulseaudio command `play` from the Termux app to emit sound over the phone speakers (without rooting the phone or using a proot installation in Termux)?
**Specifics:**
I have a *Samsung Galaxy S21-U*
running *Android 14*
and *Termux `0.118.1`*
(retrieved from *F-Droid* on 2024.08.22)
with *TigerVNC `1.10.1-41`*. TigerVNC and associated required packages retrieved via *apt* in termux, and I followed [these steps](https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Graphical_Environment) to bring up an *[xfce4](https://www.xfce.org/) desktop environment*.
I cannot find working instructions, but I did find the following:
1. The following solutions successfully played MP3 files over USB-C speakers:
- [The command `play-audio` from this answer](https://android.stackexchange.com/a/242118/246519) (`mpg123` and `play` produce no output, but see [2] below);
- [These instructions on reddit for the `mpv` command](https://old.reddit.com/r/termux/comments/men125/can_termux_play_audio/);
- I cannot get output over the phone speakers from either of the above.
2. [The VNC subset of this answer](https://android.stackexchange.com/a/205629/246519) does not work for me
- A virtual pulseaudio sink `auto_null.monitor` exists.
- The commands `play` and `mpg123` seem to attach to this sink.
- With the above inputs attached, the sink `auto_null.monitor` switches state from `SUSPENDED` to `RUNNING`.
- With audio playing, the xfce4 volume control panel shows the volume fluctuating.
- No sound is emitted over *either* the phone or USB-C speakers.
### Related questions and forum threads
[This reddit thread](https://old.reddit.com/r/termux/comments/19edqx4/sound_in_x11/) contains some links.
- There is a [comment](https://old.reddit.com/r/termux/comments/19edqx4/sound_in_x11/kjc4p4k/) which others say *does not* work. For me, specifically, the error from those commands is `User-configured server at 127.0.0.1, refusing to start/autospawn`. I gather this is connected to the existing configuration set to achieve **[1]** and **[2]** above, but am not sure about the safe/correct steps to redress it.
- There is a [link to LinuxDroidMaster's Termux-Desktops github](https://github.com/LinuxDroidMaster/Termux-Desktops). The approach I'm using is consistant with what they call a [termux native desktop](https://github.com/LinuxDroidMaster/Termux-Desktops/blob/main/Documentation/native/termux_native.md). I couldn't find mention of sound beyond a passing `pkg install pulseaudio` line, but let me know if there's more there.
- There is a [link to these instructions](https://docs.andronix.app/troubleshoot/sound), which seem to assume the *proot* installation approach has been followed. It seems to download a `.sh` file, but its content appears to be binary and I do not know how to extract it into a human-readable form to understand what it is doing.
[This reddit user is strugging with a chroot termux setup](https://old.reddit.com/r/termux/comments/bpa8jz/pulseaudio_streaming_client/)
- Their [posted solution](https://old.reddit.com/r/termux/comments/bpa8jz/pulseaudio_streaming_client/eo06cs4/) may contain important clues even though I am not using a chroot setup. I get the same `User-configured server at 127.0.0.1, refusing to start/autospawn` error when I enter their commands, but presumably I need to go back and undo something in the setup for failed solutions **[1]** and **[2]]** to tidy things up.
[Another reddit thread](https://old.reddit.com/r/termux/comments/1e5hk90/termux_play_sound_on_handy_speaker_while_running/)
- [The only reply](https://old.reddit.com/r/termux/comments/1e5hk90/termux_play_sound_on_handy_speaker_while_running/ldmqsld/) suggests using `termux-media-player play` from the `termux-api` package. This produces no sound for me, from either the phon or USBC speaker, when run from either the termux terminal or the xfce4 VNC session.
Pursuing the `User-configured server at 127.0.0.1, refusing to start/autospawn` error,
- I ran `apt remove pulseaudio --purge`, noted the packages this would remove in the console output of said command, and then reinstalled all these packages along with pulseaudio.
- This cleared user edits to configuration files in `~/../usr/etc/pulse/`. I browsed for other suspicious `*rc*` and `*profile*` file names that might contain leftover configuration and found none.
- I opened a fresh shell to clean out any `export VARNAM=FOO` cruft.
- `pulseaudio --start` runs.
- I typed `pulseaudio -k` and `export PULSE_SERVER=127.0.0.1`
- Now `pulseaudio --start` prints the (presumably desired) `refusing to start/autospawn` error.
- I returned to termux and ran `pactl load-module module-native-protocol-tcp auth-ip-acl=127.0.0.1 auth-anonymous=1`
- At this point, */u/allanrps* reported
> *You should now be able to return to the chroot environment and play audio. The clients will connect to the pulse server running in termux and you will have sound!*
>
But, no sound is heard (although pulseaudio controls register audio being sent).
_____________________
### Edit 1 on 2024.08.23: Is Termux 0.118.1 *supposed* to be able to output audio on its own?
Are these hypotheses true?:
- Even when given permissions to play audio, the Termux app does not have access to the phone's speakers (unless perhaps on rooted devices with chroot?). It can only natively export sound over USB-C audio devices?
- Most of the tutorials for the VNC desktop environments use pulseaudio, and the instructions above *are not* for routing pulseaudio output to external USB-C speakers.
- The commands `play-audio` and `mpv` do something else to access USB-C speakers via termux (bypassing pulseaudio), which is why they work?
- There is probably a way to get apps talking to pulseaudio in the xfce4 session to play to USB-C speakers as well, but exact methods are not documented?
- In principle there is no reason a pulseaudio server with access to the phone speakers could not be incorporated into the termux app. Indeed, I imagine there may be forks or newer versions that do this. But, it is not (AFAICT) implemented in the F-Droid version? Or it is there and I can't get it to work?
- For playback through phone speakers using termux on a non-rooted device, one needs a third Android app to serve a network pulseaudio sink, and connect termux to this as if it were a remote machine. I need to ensure that the pulseaudio client settings in termux are set correctly to match the pulseaudio server app started on Android. I will attempt this with **PulseAudio Rtp Receiver** version `1.0.6`?
That said, even some of the older content I'm finding on the internet suggests that Termux can route pulseaudio output to the phone speakers on its own. I just can't find any tutorials that actuaool work. The partial information from forum posts are usually from people half-way through attempting a proot or chroot installation of a more expansive Linux distribution under Termux. I want to interaface `play` in Termux with the host Android linux as lightly a possible.