A workaround is apparently coming with Android 12L
Throwing video to larger screens or sending audio to more powerful speakers is something you just expect to work on Android. Unfortunately, that changed with Android 12, and not being able to control the volume of casted content using a device’s volume buttons has been a mystery ever since. When the problem was originally spotted in August, it was believed to be a bug in Android 12 Beta 3, but now we know otherwise. As reported by Mishaal Rahman, the issue in Android 12 is a legal one, as revealed in a comment by a Googler on a separate thread of Google’s IssueTracker.
Google hasn’t expanded on this comment, which makes sense for a legal matter, but it may be related to the company’s ongoing disputes with Sonos. In January, Sonos filed a lawsuit claiming the theft of intellectual property while suggesting over 100 patents were infringed upon as the two companies collaborated on developing Google Assistant for Sonos speakers. Sonos brought five of the infringements to court, citing a lack of resources for a prolonged battle over all of the infringements, and requested an injunction that would effectively ban the sale of Google-made devices, including Pixel phones, speakers, tablets, and laptops.
In response, Google counter sued Sonos and pointed to its own portfolio of patents. Google suggested Sonos had access to those patents during the Google Assistant partnership and went on to utilize them in its own product development. However, in September Sonos filed a subsequent lawsuit including five additional claims of patent infringement.
While the legal battles continue there is likely to be further fallout, and the inability to control the volume of casted content from an Android 12 device could be related. There is some potentially good news though, as in a response to the problem on the IssueTracker thread a Googler states there should be a workaround present in Android 12.1 (Android 12L).
UPDATE: 2021/12/02 11:19 EST BY RAJESH PANDEY
Confirmation from Google that Sonos lawsuit is to blame
A Googler has further commented regarding this matter on the Issue Tracker (via Mishaal Rahman and 9to5Google) expressed his frustration at the “broken US patent system.” The engineer also clarifies that this regression in behavior in Android 12 has been caused by the Sonos lawsuit, with a workaround under development for the next version of Android. Given the ongoing legal dispute between the two companies, it is surprising to see an employee from the big G share these details publicly.
Nonetheless, frustrated with everyone calling Google staff “stupid” and hurling abuse at them, the engineer asks everyone to “sit tight” and redirect their frustration at US patent law instead, as this was not a “mistake” from the company.
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