MPVolumeView does not show route button on launch

Question

iOS 9.1 - iPhone 6S

MPVolumeView's route button (airplay) is not showing when app launches even when there are wireless routes available.

I have tried querying my MPVolumeView after it has been created to check for wireless routes and I get 0. I'm only able to get 1 (and have the route button appear) by disabling and enabling WiFi to trigger a notification.

The MPVolumeView in my app is to control the volume of videos played from UIWebView. Also, whenever I activate a wireless route for streaming the MPVolumeView slider disappears - is there a way to prevent this behaviour when using UIWebView to play media?

Below is my code for creating the MPVolumeView:

    -(void) createAndDisplayMPVolumeView{

    // Create a simple holding UIView and give it a frame

    volumeHolder = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame: volumeSlider.frame];

    volumeHolder.autoresizingMask = UIViewAutoresizingFlexibleHeight;

    volumeSlider.hidden = YES;

    // set the UIView backgroundColor to clear.

    [volumeHolder setBackgroundColor: [UIColor clearColor]];



    // add the holding view as a subView of the main view

    [nowPlayingMainView addSubview: volumeHolder];



    // Create an instance of MPVolumeView and give it a frame

    myVolumeView = [[CustomVolumeView alloc] initWithFrame: volumeHolder.bounds];

    myVolumeView.tintColor = [UIColor darkTextColor];

    myVolumeView.showsRouteButton = YES;

    myVolumeView.showsVolumeSlider = YES;

    volumeRect = myVolumeView.frame;

    [myVolumeView setRouteButtonImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"airplayButton"] forState:UIControlStateNormal];

    [myVolumeView setRouteButtonImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"airplayButtonHighlighted"] forState:UIControlStateHighlighted];

    [myVolumeView setRouteButtonImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"airplayButtonSelected"] forState:UIControlStateSelected];

    [volumeHolder addSubview: myVolumeView];
}

Answer 1

As @kvr said, first test on hardware device

Airplay route button appears when more than one route is available.

Trick I found to show permanently Airplay Button is to hide MPVolumeView route button, remove user MPVolumeView user interaction and target the route button action with a UIButton Wrapper.

var airplayRouteButton: UIButton?

private func airPlayButton() -> UIButton {
    let wrapperView = UIButton(frame: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 44, height: 44))
    wrapperView.setImage(YOUR_AIRPLAY_IMAGE, for: UIControlState.normal)
    wrapperView.backgroundColor = .clear
    wrapperView.addTarget(self, action: #selector(PlayerView.replaceRouteButton), for: UIControlEvents.touchUpInside)

    let volumeView = MPVolumeView(frame: wrapperView.bounds)
    volumeView.showsVolumeSlider = false
    volumeView.showsRouteButton = false
    volumeView.isUserInteractionEnabled = false

    self.airplayRouteButton = volumeView.subviews.filter { $0 is UIButton }.first as? UIButton

    wrapperView.addSubview(volumeView)

    return wrapperView
}

@objc private func replaceRouteButton() {
    airplayRouteButton?.sendActions(for: .touchUpInside)
}