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Arc microphone constantly turns off and off by itself

  • 15 August 2023
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arc microphone constantly turns off and off by itself with alexa and smart lg tv eARC connection.

arc volume control always works with tv. 

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Best answer by Corry P 18 December 2023, 12:45

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97 replies

Userlevel 7
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The only reason that I can think of that could cause this is if the Alexa  integration is losing connectivity.  It’s a long shot but have a look at my post here: 

 

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the problem is in the lg tv’s eARC 

when the sonos arc is disconnected from LG eARC, the  microphone on/off problem goes away.

the tv’s internal alexa is turned off.   the “HI LG” tv feature is turned on.

 

Userlevel 7
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From purely a Sonos perspective, the only way that the mic can turn off is if the Alexa integration is broken at some point or someone presses the Mic button.  What model TV do you have?

Userlevel 7

Hi

What @UKMedia has said is a possibility. First verify that the Sonos skill is active in the Alexa app and up-to-date. If all is good in the Alexa app try deleting the Alexa voice assistant from the affected speaker and re-adding it. If that doesn’t correct the issue here are two more options:

Option 1

  • Make sure your device software is up-to-date
  • Remove the Alexa voice assistant from the affected speaker (if other speakers are having the same issue do the same for them)
  • Sign out of the Alexa app and delete it
  • Re-add the Alexa app to your device and sign-in
  • Make sure your preferred skills in the Alexa app are active (especially Sonos) 
  • Re-add the Alexa voce assistant to the affected speaker(s)
  • See if the issue persists 

Option 2

  • If the above did not resolve the issue 
  • Submit a diagnostics within 10 minutes of the occurrence (if possible) or upon discovery
  • Post the reference ID number in this thread
  • Call Sonos Tech Support
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was on phone w/ sonos tech support for 1.5 hours.

they ran a lot of diagnostics w/ no success 

they r shipping me a replacement 

hope that works…

 

‘’THX ALL for replies!

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I have the Sonos voice assistant and the mic constantly turns on and off at random. I had a replacement sent with the same results. Does it whether i am using the tv or just playing music. What a hunk of junk.

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sonos has run all these diagnostics to no avail.

they even sent me a replacement arc and the random off/on issue still persists

they claim that this arc off/on issue is new to their techs.  i found 3 year old reddit discussions (without solutions) for the same arc off/on issue

sonos can’t explain to me why i did not have this off/on problem with my beam (gen 1)

guess i will just go back to the beam because no other sound bar is compatible w my sonos system.

 

sonos has run all these diagnostics to no avail.

they even sent me a replacement arc and the random off/on issue still persists

they claim that this arc off/on issue is new to their techs.  i found 3 year old reddit discussions (without solutions) for the same arc off/on issue

sonos can’t explain to me why i did not have this off/on problem with my beam (gen 1)

guess i will just go back to the beam because no other sound bar is compatible w my sonos system.

Leaving the speaker connected to the TV’s HDMI-ARC/eARC port, what happens if you simply move the Sonos Arc further away from the TV and create a bit more distance between the two? Does that solve the mic on/off issue?

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placed the arc and power source 12 feet from the tv (no hdmi arc connection ) and still experienced the off on (muting) problem.  So, the distance from arc to tv is not the cause.

 

hooked arc up to a different tv, different brand, in a different room.  same issue

 

 

 

 

placed the arc and power source 12 feet from the tv (no hdmi arc connection ) and still experienced the off on (muting) problem.  So, the distance from arc to tv is not the cause.

 

hooked arc up to a different tv, different brand, in a different room.  same issue

I can only suggest you perhaps get back in touch with Sonos Support, with a system diagnostic report/reference after reproducing the issue and see if they can resolve the matter.

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i have been in touch with sonos on numerous days with a level 2 tech person. 

he has run diagnostics in real time when the off/on problem kept on occurring.  no solution.

again, they claim that this arc off/on issue is new to their techs.  i found 3 year old reddit discussions (without solutions) for the same arc off/on issue

 

 

Do you have pets?

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no pets

off/on problem began happening on 2 arcs right out of the box.

does anyone have any ideas why my beam (gen 1) does not have  this off/on problem?

no pets

off/on problem began happening on 2 arcs right out of the box.

does anyone have any ideas why my beam (gen 1) does not have  this off/on problem?

Both Sonos Soundbars should work for you. I’ve seen mic issues reported before (albeit a long time ago), but even then, only very (very) occasionally in threads here …and often a replacement device, or repositioning the Soundbar has sorted the issue. I think you need to return to Sonos support and maybe even video the issue and provide the Support Staff with the evidence gathered. Then see if they can assist you to resolve the issue.

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no pets

off/on problem began happening on 2 arcs right out of the box.

does anyone have any ideas why my beam (gen 1) does not have  this off/on problem?

 

I am in the EXACT same situation. I had an Arc that had this issue right out of the box, and I just received a replacement with the same issue. I have Sonos Voice Assistant activated, and at random intervals I hear the mic on/off tone. It doesn’t matter whether I’m using the TV sound or just playing music, same result. I’ve hard reset the device, to no avail.

Since Sonos is saying they’re unaware of the issue, would you be willing to share your diagnostic codes with me? I’ve also logged a number of them and am hoping that if both of us complain about the same issue with firm records, we’ll get a better response.

Out of curiosity, what TV do you have? I have a 2018 Vizio P-F1 with arc (not e-arc). I haven’t disconnected it from the TV, but I’m guessing I’d have the same result since the issue persists when I’m just playing music (and it sounds like you’ve already tried this).

I did have one thought I haven’t tried yet and I’m wondering if you did. When I swapped my Arc for the replacement, I used the same power cable that was connected to my original Arc. I’m wondering if maybe there’s something wrong with that and I should try swapping in the replacement power cord to see if that changes anything.

What has Sonos support said to you thus far in terms of troubleshooting?

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ken

i have been on the phone/e-mail end of contact ad nauseam with sonos level 2 tech support since monday.  he has been sharing all data with his support tech team.

 

johnny drama32:

update

47424320  - major off/on’s with associated clicks every couple of seconds.  just sent sonos diagnostic.  had to remove sonos assistant because the clicks were way too annoying 

 

see below for original draft of my reply:

how long have you had your arc?

i have seen this same problem on reddit sonos forums that are over 3 years old

1520451136,1507668416 and1288322289 -  recent diagnostics. sonos has a lot of “real time” diagnostics that they have performed

i have a 2023 lg  oled tv w/ eArc.

when i only play music (w/out hdmi), i also have same off/on issue

i used the new power and hdmi cords that came with the replacement arc to no avail

so far, i have been interacting w/ sonos support every day.

new arc, tried repositioning unit, turning off all smart home and security devices to no avail

 set up my old sonos beam (gen 1) ~12 inch’s below arc.  - no off/on problems!

 

i think sonos support  is running out of ideas…

 

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It’s so perplexing that others aren’t having the same issues regularly. The chances of both of us getting two broken units seems unlikely. Interesting that we both have Vizio TVs, but if it’s doing it without being connected, seems unlikely to be the issue. However, did you ever try hard resetting the arc without connecting it to the Vizio and seeing if the problem persists? Just throwing this out there, but maybe once it’s set up with the Vizio, it has created certain settings in the arc (like volume control) that continue to affect the mic even if you then disconnect it and only listen to music or connect it to another tv. Kind of a shot in the dark, but the fact we both have Vizios is curious.

I guess another test could be bringing the arc to someone else’s home and seeing if you have the same issue. Then you could narrow it down to a wifi issue or something to do with the way power is affecting the unit.

I have an easy fix in that I have the era 300s, which also have voice assist. I can just turn off Voice Assist on the arc if I wanted to, but the product should work as described.

How are you connecting with T2 tech support? Did they give you an email? If so, maybe I could connect with the same person.

 

Here are my diagnostic codes if it helps:

723779744

642824365

1529549030

2072542269

1114071393

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From purely a Sonos perspective, the only way that the mic can turn off is if the Alexa integration is broken at some point or someone presses the Mic button.  What model TV do you have?

This can’t be correct because nobody is touching my mic and I have the Sonos voice assistant and am having the same issue. 

I take it that if you toggle off the mic hardware switch (top right-hand-side), the issue goes away, but have you perhaps tried toggling the mic hardware button off/on a few times in case it’s just got itself stuck slightly at some kind of in-between position?

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I take it that if you toggle off the mic hardware switch, the issue goes away, but have you perhaps tried toggling the mic hardware button off/on a few times in case it’s just got itself stuck slightly at some kind of in-between position?

I don’t think toggling it makes it go away. It automatically turns off and on regardless. I think if voice assistant is turned off, the problem goes away. The guy in this thread turned off Alexa voice assistant. I was using Sonos voice assistant but getting the same problem. 

The only thing I can think of is 1) between the two of us we got four broken units, all with the same issue (read: unlikely) 2) there’s something about the device being connected to a Vizio that is causing the issue, and the issue may persist even after being disconnected from the TV once it’s been set up that way. Nothing else makes sense.

I don’t think toggling it makes it go away. It automatically turns off and on regardless. I think if voice assistant is turned off, the problem goes away. The guy in this thread turned off Alexa voice assistant. I was using Sonos voice assistant but getting the same problem. 

The only thing I can think of is 1) between the two of us we got four broken units, all with the same issue (read: unlikely) 2) there’s something about the device being connected to a Vizio that is causing the issue, and the issue may persist even after being disconnected from the TV once it’s been set up that way. Nothing else makes sense.

It sounds like a hardware fault, but what are the chances of getting two faulty units?… can’t say I’ve known that happen to two different people …and I’ve seen others here with a Sonos Arc and Vizio TV’s and no mic issue, so it is certainly baffling.

Sorry to ask this, but can you just perhaps confirm that the mic on/off toggle switch and mic LED  is on the upper right hand surface of the Arc, as it has been known in the past where users have installed their Arc the wrong way up - so I’m just ruling out that perhaps being the case here.

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It’s sitting on a console and yes, it’s in the top right.

It’s sitting on a console and yes, it’s in the top right.

Thanks - just thought it worth checking, as sometimes these type of things get missed. 👍

I’m baffled by the cause, as normally a replacement device has immediately solved this extremely rare type of issue in the past. I guess it’s going to be down to the Staff to find the answer to this one.

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It’s sitting on a console and yes, it’s in the top right.

Thanks - just thought it worth checking, as sometimes these type of things get missed. 👍

I’m baffled by the cause, as normally a replacement device has immediately solved this extremely rare type of issue in the past. I guess it’s going to be down to the Staff to find the answer to this one.

 

I just spoke to customer service and they’re refusing to look at Hogan1’s diagnostics without his permission, even though the easiest way to resolve this would be to look at both arcs and see if there’s a commonality causing it. Sonos CS is so bad that it makes me just want to return everything. I don’t see how it’s a privacy issue to look at diagnostic reports.

GDPR can be troublesome.