javascript - NotReadableError: Could not start source

Question

I have added this piece of code in my project

if (navigator.mediaDevices === undefined) {
  navigator.mediaDevices = {};
}

if (navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia === undefined) {
  navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia = function (constraints) {

    var getUserMedia = (
      navigator.getUserMedia ||
      navigator.webkitGetUserMedia ||
      navigator.mozGetUserMedia
    );

    if (!getUserMedia) {
      return Promise.reject(new Error('getUserMedia is not implemented in this browser'));
    }

    return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
      getUserMedia.call(navigator, constraints, resolve, reject);
    });

  };
}

Then I'm trying to access a video stream using getUserMedia

navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia({
    video: true,
    audio: false
}).then(stream => {
    // do stuff
}).catch(error => {
    console.log(error.name + " " + error.message);
});

When I test this in my emulators it works on android versions 5 and up, however when I run it on an actual device I get this error

NotReadableError Could not start source

I have added the cordova-plugin-media-capture plugin to make sure my app will request the appropriate permissions, however I don't want to use the plugin I'd rather use the getUserMedia API.

So far my researches show that the reason for this error is that some other app is already using the camera but that's not the case, I even went a step further and restarted the device, then opened my app, making sure there are no other running apps and I still got the error.

Has anyone had this issue?

Answer 1

Update - 19/11/2020

WKWebView can use getUserMedia in iOS 14.3 beta 1.

• https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=208667
• https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=752458

Update - 04/06/2020

Another bug ticket has been filed specifically for WKWebView. No support. https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=208667

Updates to standalone mode gaining getUserMedia access in iOS 13.4 https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=185448#c6

Update - 14/09/2019

There are changes to Safari on iOS 13 & Safari 13: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari_release_notes/safari_13_release_notes

SFSafariViewController has gained getUserMedia functionality (!!!, however I need to confirm this, please see below for reports of it working)

https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=183201

However WKWebView does not seem to gain getUserMedia functionality:

https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=752458 https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=185448

iOS 13 and Safari 13 release notes:

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/ios_ipados_release_notes/ios_13_release_notes https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari_release_notes/safari_13_release_notes

Update - 04/11/2018 - Links to working Ionic, Cordova and Native android examples with instructions

GitHub link to working Cordova example

GitHub link to working Android example

GitHub link to a working Ionic example

Steps to achieve getUserMedia access on Android via the Cordova framework are:

• Follow Cordova Android install instructions (link)
• Add Permissions to AndroidManifiest.xml (link)
• Save WebRTC Adapter.js file to ./www/js/adapter.js and include in ./www/index.html
• Add cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-android-permissions
• Add plugin permission code, and the necessary getUserMedia code inside of the ./www/js/index.js file. Make sure you use getUserMedia adapter. Please see this file as an example (link).

Please see the full line by line instructions with a success and error image inside the GitHub project.

---

I am not sure how much of this relates to Cordova... However I had this error when I made my own Android getUserMedia test app (link). It is dependant mainly on the native app user permissions, then how the parent app creates the webviews, which version of webrtc is packaged within your app, and how you call getUserMedia.

JavaScript side of the application: Rather than doing browser shim code yourself make sure you use the WebRTC adapter (link). This removes a lot of common problems. You can see an example here (link). I also recommend looking at the WebRTC Samples here (link).

Native side of the application: You will need Mic and Camera user permissions for Video and Audio. This is the main culprit. You need to make sure they have been accepted before the creation of the WebView. Thus all permission checking, popups, etc, need to happen before the creation of the WebView. If permissions are granted after you most likely need to reboot the App, etc.

When you build and deploy your application go to App Settings and manually turn on the permissions if you haven't been prompted already. Then it should work.

I wasn't able to get Video/Audio emulation working in the emulator only on the actual device. I also only encountered the NotReadableError on Android utilising a WebChromeView before permissions have been accepted. Lastly The min API version for Android is 21 (Lollipop) for this functionality as the parent application needs to allow run-time permissions via WebView onPermissionRequest (link).

As numerous in-app browsers (Facebook, Pinterest, etc) do not handle onPermissionRequest on Android WebRTC via a website typically doesn't work. On iOS it is guaranteed (as of April 2018) not to work as Apple have only allowed WebRTC access through the Safari only. Thus Cordova is limited to Android API 21 if it handles the permissions correctly.