I would disable any auto-playing audio technology on my Android phone; accessing the media volume control is such a huge pain in the arse - multiple taps and drags to rummage into the Settings and get to it.
NB: the hardware controls only set the ringtone volume, unless you're too late and the phone is already playing media†.
†hopefully - sometimes the hardware volume buttons still don't control media volume even when media is playing.
(You can get widgets to control the various volumes, but I've not found one I really liked).
