Arc and LG OLED TV sounds cuts in and out


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starting a thread for all Arc and LG OLED TV owners that have the sound cutting in and out issue. there’s a thread with Samsung TV owners that had the issue resolved with the latest update released on 3/9. Can LG owners get some support?


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Userlevel 7
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Hi @rottsko 

More often than not, it’s the opposite. LG will take the issue far more seriously if they have an influx of contacts from customers, regardless of what we tell them. What we can do is share with them the technicalities of what our devices report in these circumstances, and this will already have been done. 

Userlevel 2
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Where is the support from Sonos? They fixed the samsung issue but nothing regarding LG…

 

Im still getting complete audio dropouts every day and have to toggle eARC off and on to get the audio back.

There is zero financial relationship between Sonos and LG. You, however, are not only a paid customer, but also a potential advertising opportunity. They’d be much more likely to listen to a customer than a company like Sonos. 

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After at long conversation with Sonos (Denmark) i finally had my arc exchanged for a new one. And i dont have any problems with the audio dropping on the new arc. Its been up and running for three days now and not one audio drop. Before on the old arc i would have multiple a day. And i could provoke it to happen within seconds (i have tried for a long time on the new one and nothing).

 

i dont know if it will last (i think so) but i thought you guys should know that a new arc apparently fixed the problem for me.

I have a temporary workaround that works but is obnoxious and I lose atmos. Tv on, audio output to arc, earc off, results on no volume through Sonos arc. 
 

change audio out to internal speakers by turning on earc. Change audio output back to arc. Then turn earc off and there will be a slight delay and the arc will work. Issue: you have to do this obnoxious process every time you restart the tv. And atmos is not a available. 
 

And to tease you, it will work for 2 seconds upon restart and then go sadly silent.  It’s an LG programming issue. Their customer service sucks. They’ve failed to schedule a tech to come out and try to fix it (code) no idea how that is doing to work, and failed to do so multiple times and it’s on me to call them back and keep pestering them to honor their garbage warranty and crap code. 

Userlevel 7
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Hi @shr1986 

We are aware of an issue whereby TV apps running on certain LG TV models are unable to reliably play Dolby Digital + Atmos content to an Arc when eARC is enabled on the TV. Disabling eARC allows normal playback without issue, and external sources are unaffected, regardless of the eARC setting.

Due to these specific circumstances under which the issue occurs, we recommend you contact LG for support.

Until LG release an update that fixes this, we recommend you either keep eARC disabled (you will still get Atmos sound) or use apps on another device that’s connected to the TV (Xbox, PlayStation, nVidia Shield, FireStick, Roku, Apple Tv, etc.).

The Samsung issue is completely unrelated and incomparable, regardless of how similar they may appear.

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Hi @Corry P 

 

But that is not the problem I and many others are having? We are experiencing complete audio drops when we switch sources. For me it happens when i switch from my Apple TV 4K to the tv tuner and when I switch from one app to another on my Apple TV. It happens a lot when I go from 5.1 content to 2.0 content and I know its related to eARC as I can get the sound back when I toggle eARC off and then on. And by the way I can’t get Atmos on my Apple TV 4K when I disable eARC. Its the only way to get LPCM and Atmos… 

 

I have done everything you told me by phone, mail and in here  (new cables, tried Digital Optical and so on) but nothing works and I have been having this issue since I bought the arc a year ago. I have also been in contact with LG but they could not help (they just said they knew there was a problem with LG and some Sonos products). 

Userlevel 7
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Hi @shr1986 

The Arc will play what it’s given, as long as the stream is in a supported format. If there are issues when you change source on your TV, then I can only say that it sounds like the TV is not handling the switch very well, or that other devices connected to the TV are somehow interfering with the CEC network your TV creates among the HDMI-connected devices, though the former seems more likely. If you’ve already exhausted our troubleshooting steps, then I can only suggest you get back in touch with LG and let them know how you feel.

If, on the other hand, you are able to connect your Arc to another, differently-branded TV and get similar results, then that would serve to illustrate that your particular Arc has an issue. In this case, please get back in touch with our technical support team.

Userlevel 5
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I had this issue, but I’ve gone 4-5 weeks without a dropout now, (touch wood).

lg cx firmware 3.21.16 along with a different hdmi cable (Belkin ultra high speed) seems to have solved it for me, and I was getting these drops quite often when changing between devices or sources on the tv.

 

Im actually a little hesitant about updating to the new Sonos firmware now.

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I had this issue, but I’ve gone 4-5 weeks without a dropout now, (touch wood).

lg cx firmware 3.21.16 along with a different hdmi cable (Belkin ultra high speed) seems to have solved it for me, and I was getting these drops quite often when changing between devices or sources on the tv.

 

Im actually a little hesitant about updating to the new Sonos firmware now.

i’ve replace hdmi cables twice and it cuts on all of them. everything is up to date, LG C7, Apple TV and Sonos Arc.  if Sonos  support resolved this issue for Samsung, they should resolve it for LG TVs. 

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this is ridiculous. i can’t believe i spent almost $2k and i’m dealing with these issues. shouldn’t sonos contact lg and inform them of the issue and work with them to get them to roll out a fix.  a person calling lg tech support is not going to have as much weight as another company calling them to inform them of the issue. lg support is going to be clueless as to what the issue is!  unreal. 

Userlevel 2
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I had this issue, but I’ve gone 4-5 weeks without a dropout now, (touch wood).

lg cx firmware 3.21.16 along with a different hdmi cable (Belkin ultra high speed) seems to have solved it for me, and I was getting these drops quite often when changing between devices or sources on the tv.

 

Im actually a little hesitant about updating to the new Sonos firmware now.

Still no issues? Im thinking about trying the same cable but i dont know if its worth it…

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I just had my motherboard changed in my b9 and the problem is still there…

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After at long conversation with Sonos (Denmark) i finally had my arc exchanged for a new one. And i dont have any problems with the audio dropping on the new arc. Its been up and running for three days now and not one audio drop. Before on the old arc i would have multiple a day. And i could provoke it to happen within seconds (i have tried for a long time on the new one and nothing).

 

i dont know if it will last (i think so) but i thought you guys should know that a new arc apparently fixed the problem for me.

keep us updated. does anyone have the new C1 LG OLED tvs and having this issue?  i’m thinking about replacing my C7 with C1. 

You are not alone.  I just upgraded from a C7 to a C1 and I’m noticing cutouts with the built-in Netflix app with PCM 5.1.  Not sure if it’s the Sonos Arc or the LG.  On the TV, I do have eARC enabled and audio output set to passthrough.  Input is set to bitstream.

Sonos please take note of this issue!!

ugh…thinking about just going with another brand tv when i decide to get a new tv. i hear the sony a90j oled is equal/better than lg oled. 

has anyone purchased the new apple tv 4k and seen if this issue is resolved?

Just got the new Apple TV, same issue. In contact with support via email and their response didn’t work. Contacted again and they sent the same fix (again). Might just ditch the sonos, way too much effort when these things should be plug and play and stay out of the way (at least for me).

I had purchased an LG C1 last month and the Arc last week. Drops audio for Dolby Atmos daily. Sonos said it was the TV set having problems sending the signal. Funny thing is I purchased a different soundbar first and it did not have this problem. I’m assuming if it was the TVs “fault” it would’ve done it to the previous bar.  It’s such a shame because other than this issue it’s a great soundbar. I wish there would just be a fix rather than blaming another company. I mean technically the Arc is the accessory. The accessory should make sure it adapts to the main piece of equipment. Without the tv there’s basically no use for an arc soundbar. Obviously there’s a problem between these 2 units. I hope someone resolves it soon. Thank god the place I bought it from has a 60 day return period. 

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Tried everything and nothing works. 
 

Are you working on the issue Sonos?

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Do you have any hardware connected? Apple tv? 
 

I have the same settings and im having audio drops 5-10 a day. It happens when i switch source and i have a theory its connected to audioformat. So when i switch from 5.1 to 2.0 the audio drops completly and i have to remind the arc its getting a audio signal.

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Do you have any hardware connected? Apple tv? 
 

I have the same settings and im having audio drops 5-10 a day. It happens when i switch source and i have a theory its connected to audioformat. So when i switch from 5.1 to 2.0 the audio drops completly and i have to remind the arc its getting a audio signal.

Yes, I have an Apple TV.  Why hasn’t Sonos Support been on this thread like the Samsung thread?  

I have Apple TV 4HD, Firestick 4K, an old PS3 and a Virgin Media Tivo V6 cable TV box - so I use a HDMI switch too, but no sound drop/sync issues at all with the C9 - I’m not using any special cables, just those that came with the devices, but all my devices are wired to an unmanaged ethernet switch back to the router. Not that I think wiring makes a difference, as I’ve tried the Apple TV on WiFi in the past (and that really makes the connection quicker) as the ethernet port on the ATV4 HD is only 100Mbits/s, but I prefer the stability of a wired connection.

The Sonos Arc however is running on my WiFi (WM:1), as are both the surrounds and Sub (WM: 2)

Userlevel 2
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I guess you’re lucky then😉 

I guess you’re lucky then😉 

Have you tried setting up the HDMI handshakes again with your devices by powering everything off completely (not standby) for a minute or so? Maybe consider changing your HDMI cables too if the problem persists. Faulty HDMI cables are certainly not unheard of.

I guess you’re lucky then😉 

One other ‘minor’ thing - did you setup the Sonos Arc in the LG ‘Device Connector’ using ‘Sonos’ as the Soundbar Manufacturer? (See screenshot from my TV). I’m not sure it will make a difference, but mention it just in case.

Userlevel 1
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Same Here.

LG C165
Sonos Beam Gen 2
Apple TV 4K


Audio drops when watching content in dolby atmos on Apple TV

Same Here.

LG C165
Sonos Beam Gen 2
Apple TV 4K


Audio drops when watching content in dolby atmos on Apple TV

Perhaps try switching off the HDMI-CEC control just on the devices connected to the TV, including Apple TV and see if it resolves the audio dropout issue …and if that works, then restore HDMI-CEC on each device, just one at a time, and see if one particular connected device is causing the issue. Once that’s established, perhaps leave its HDMI-CEC switched off (if it’s not too inconvenient to do that with your HT setup).