When connecting ipad pro to usb-c dock (Caldigit USB-C Pro Dock) it automatically selects headphone-output of the dock for audio output and there seems to be no way to change this. Any possibility to change this to use displayport-audio on the same dock?
iPad Pro, iOS 13
An interesting response - as the issue is not so much a limitation of iPadOS per-se, but is a function of the third-party manufacturers hardware implementation.
Some third-party manufacturers (yours included) reroute default audio via the adapter; when this occurs, you cannot override this behaviour.
If using an external device, such as a combined dock-device, it may have multiple interfaces - such as 3.5mm analogue audio, HDMI (with or without HDCP), USB Type A, USB-C, or other interface (SD, microSD, LAN etc.)
The manufacturer of the dock-device will decide, through their own hardware and firmware implementation, whether or not their on-device interface(s) are selected when (a) by default the dock is connected to the iPad, or (b) when a physically connecting a cable - or other device (such as Headphones) - to the port/external-interface of the dock.
As such, given the possible variations amongst third-party hardware manufacturers, I cannot provide a definitive answer applicable to all available hardware. However, given your reported experience, the dock-device that you have selected appears to default all audio routing to itself. If you wish to change this behaviour, you may need to source an alternative dock - having first verified (and perhaps tested) that it is compatible with your needs.
Some (although not all) USB docks exhibit this behaviour in rerouting Audio. You will need to contact the manufacturer of the third-party dock for technical support.
Architecturally, the iPad can only provide video or sound output to one interface at a time - the active interface being selected either through the active App, or through connection of an external accessory device.
This is clear and I understand. So there is no option to choose which one it is if the external accessory has two audio outputs? Like in Mac OS you can choose between different audio devices with the same dock (Headphone/USB-C/HDMI/BT).
I have contacted them, but the answer was: Not currently. This is a limitation of iPad OS and we estimate that this should be fixed in a future update.
So my question actually is, how to switch between two audio output ports or to make them work at the same time.
So there is no limitation on the OS side and it should be possible to route audio to two digital output paths?
iPad Pro audio problem with USB-C dock
