Hi Kevin, Thank you for your suggestions. It seems reasonable to believe that other apps are holding the audio session (even though no sound is emitted), as this fade-in issue doesn't occur after rebooting. We are already using withAudioVolume, and a 1-2 second blank could degrade our user experience since the alert is triggered by our Bluetooth device. So, this might not be a viable solution for us. We still need to determine whether our app or other apps are holding the audio session, but your suggestion has been helpful in guiding us forward. Thanks again.