Arc TV sound cuts in and out.

I have just fallen into the Sonos black hole with the abysmal Arc soundbar not working as advertised with a new ‘flagship’ Samsung TV. I suffer intermittent sound, and a compete lack of dolby Atmos and cinema sound (from suitable sources), and lacklustre sound in various combinations. Having now tripped across this support forum, not only do i discover the problems are common and well known, far worse, they have existed for months, and months. How on earth can Sonos sell equipment that is well known not to work in a very large number of setups, and make no mention of that fact in the sales process - in my view thats criminal.

Having driven to suppliers after many hours of research, coughed up my hard earned cash, I then spent many hours trying to fix it, inc fulfilling requests from Sonos support, reconfiguring setups, buying new Hdmi cables as requested (at my cost) and the only option i am now offered is to return it. No offer of timescales for a fix, no recompense for the time, money and effort wasted, and no recognition that Sonos really messed up on this.

Their remains the Sonos statement that it is a Samsung problem, really, as well as LG, Sony, JVC which apparently have the same problems? The final irritation - a client has an identical TV which on all counts works 100% correctly with a non Sonos sound system, boy do I regret having a house full of Sonos equipment…

Seems to me that after more than 6 months Sonos needs to offer a timetable for a fix, or i for one will simply have some old equipment that still doesn't quite work, what an appalling situation...

What did Samsung have to say about your matter? I understand Sony have mentioned they’re going to fix their issues with a firmware update for some of their TV models, hopefully coming soon.

I have two LG TV’s that are working with an Arc and Beam without any issues, but if Samsung have acknowledged a problem, then isn’t this perhaps down to them to resolve?

I’m considering a new TV for our Dining room, but it would be nice to know what Samsung have to say about the matter - I know some of their older sets with "auto-hdmi-select" were problematic and there was no software fix for that issue.

Sony has come out with a software update that fixed the issue. It has for me. Also know some that have Samsung and did their update and fixed the issue. It’s not a Sonos problem. Other sound bar makes also experience the issue. It’s the tv ‘s that have the issue.

What did Samsung have to say about your matter? I understand Sony have mentioned they’re

Sony has come out with a software update that fixed the issue. It has for me. Also know some that have Samsung and did their update and fixed the issue. It’s not a Sonos problem. Other sound bar makes also experience the issue. It’s the tv ‘s that have the issue.

Which Sony FW number did you update to?

What did Samsung have to say about your matter? I understand Sony have mentioned they’re

Sony has come out with a software update that fixed the issue. It has for me. Also know some that have Samsung and did their update and fixed the issue. It’s not a Sonos problem. Other sound bar makes also experience the issue. It’s the tv ‘s that have the issue.

Which Sony FW number did you update to?

I think the issue is with the TVs not Sonos. I updated my Sony X950H to v6.4960 and since then not one sound drop with the Arc.

I think the issue is with the TVs not Sonos. I updated my X950H to v6.4960 and since then not one sound drop with the Arc.

Same here. I don’t even think about the issue anymore.

Hi, thanks fir yr info - that’s really useful. I have installed the latest software on both Samsung and Sonos but unfortunately it’s no different. I hear what you say as to responsibility, but there are a lot of other sound systems that work properly with identical TV’s (that the ARc doesn’t work with). I still have to disconnect the mains to get it to work on the TV which really isn’t great!

I recently installed a 12 x ‘Amp’ Sonos system for a friend and client, just relieved he didn’t want a Sonos Arc - he used a high end Denon which works fine - phew!

I have just fallen into the Sonos black hole with the abysmal Arc soundbar not working as advertised with a new ‘flagship’ Samsung TV. I suffer intermittent sound, and a compete lack of dolby Atmos and cinema sound (from suitable sources), and lacklustre sound in various combinations. Having now tripped across this support forum, not only do i discover the problems are common and well known, far worse, they have existed for months, and months. How on earth can Sonos sell equipment that is well known not to work in a very large number of setups, and make no mention of that fact in the sales process - in my view thats criminal.

Having driven to suppliers after many hours of research, coughed up my hard earned cash, I then spent many hours trying to fix it, inc fulfilling requests from Sonos support, reconfiguring setups, buying new Hdmi cables as requested (at my cost) and the only option i am now offered is to return it. No offer of timescales for a fix, no recompense for the time, money and effort wasted, and no recognition that Sonos really messed up on this.

Their remains the Sonos statement that it is a Samsung problem, really, as well as LG, Sony, JVC which apparently have the same problems? The final irritation - a client has an identical TV which on all counts works 100% correctly with a non Sonos sound system, boy do I regret having a house full of Sonos equipment…

Seems to me that after more than 6 months Sonos needs to offer a timetable for a fix, or i for one will simply have some old equipment that still doesn't quite work, what an appalling situation...

Although I couldn't agree more about finally getting a fix for this, there are some workarounds that work for me, and at least makes me enjoy Atmos without any intermissions.

First in settings > sound > advanced settings:

Your eARC mode should be set to “off”, otherwise there will be no sound at all
Atmos compatibility can be set to “on”

Whenever you startup your TV and experience sound dropping intermittently you should go to settings > Sound > Advanced settings and then toggle the Atmos compatibility to off and back to on.

In my case that seem to do the trick and I experience unintermittent sound. Also, when I play atmos content via the built in Netflix app, the Sonos app will tell me that it receives Dolby Atmos.

The downside: I need to do this every day, and I still think it should just support eARC.
I would expect that for a 3000 EUR combination this should just work.

Update: after posting I decided to check the firmware on my Samsung Frame TV and found out there was an update (1460.9). After updating I was able to turn on eARC without loss of sound. But initially the sound drops were still there so decided to reboot both TV and ARC. For now the sound was there and I managed to play Atmos via eARC. (Sounds great BTW!) Now let's check if intermittent sound drops are fixed as well. Keep you updated

Anyone with 3.21.09 on the LG CX/GX, I have heard some mention it fixes some audio issues and contains some eARC improvements, hoping this resolves dropouts, with Samsung and Sony recent updates improving the issue, it leads me to believe all the manufacturers have fixed issues with eARC hopefully.

Hi, the same issue with Sonos Arc and Samsung the Frame 2020. I did everything that was suggested in previous posts. New firmware on tv installed. Problem still exist. Please help.

Diagnostic report number: 833712213

Hi, the same issue with Sonos Arc and Samsung the Frame 2020. I did everything that was suggested in previous posts. New firmware on tv installed. Problem still exist. Please help.

Diagnostic report number: 833712213

I think Samsung has to tweak its update a bit more. Some say it’s resolved their issue, some not.

@Dogdad, in my case definitely not. Hope to see working update very soon. I saw that Sony successfully resolved the same issue, according to some recent posts… Still waiting for some help from Sonos, but I'm not in optimistic mood...

Just got the Arc and have it paired with 2 Play:1’s and a gen 3 sub.
Samsung Q80R tv.

The sound from the tv will play for around 5 seconds and then cut out for around 1 second, play for 5, out for 1, on and on.

I’ve swapped out the hdmi cable twice, tried unplugging the tv, switched between PCM and DD+ and switched between different apps on the tv.

The sonos app shows that I am getting an atmos signal

Was running a beam with the Play:1’s (but no sub) before just fine.

Not sure what I should try next.

Thank you,

mike

Hi All,

I am having the same issue with my Sonos ARC which I just got given for Christmas.
I have th following setup:

Sonos ARC

2 x Sonos Play 1 surrounds

LG C9 OLED

All running on the latest firmware.

I was not expecting this from a Soundbar in this price bracket. I was planning on buying the Gen3 Sub but right now I am planning on returning the ARC for a refund.

When will this be resolved?

Hi All,

I am having the same issue with my Sonos ARC which I just got given for Christmas.
I have th following setup:

Sonos ARC

2 x Sonos Play 1 surrounds

LG C9 OLED

All running on the latest firmware.

I was not expecting this from a Soundbar in this price bracket. I was planning on buying the Gen3 Sub but right now I am planning on returning the ARC for a refund.

When will this be resolved?

I have an almost identical setup - my LG C9 is running firmware 05.00.10 and I have no issues with surround sound (L)PCM/Dolby/Atmos - Have you set the HDMI Port to ‘pass-through’ with the eARC setting enabled?

My other thoughts are to switch off CEC on any other devices attached to the TV and if the problem persists then maybe try another HDMI cable between the TV and Arc.

@Ken_Griffiths Thanks for the reply! :)

I am using an AppleTV 4K which I have CEC enabled on so I don’t have to use 20 different controllers…

Every other device in my network works with CEC, so I would imagine Sonos should be able to get the ARC to do so too???

That’s okay.. did you try with the TV ports set to pass-through, rather than auto?

Yes! The TV is set to Passthrough and eARC is on. I have noticed it is generally Dolby atmos content that causes the issue???

I’ve not noticed it with my C9 HT setup. Any particular type of Atmos, compressed, or uncompressed ...and is it from a particular App or device?

As an example I’m using compressed DD+ Atmos from the in-built Netflix App (6 Underground) and the lip-sync is just fine - no dropouts or sync issues with the Audio.

I’ve used a blue-ray player (set to bitstream) to play uncompressed Dolby TrueHD Audio (not Atmos) and that is working fine here too.

Those are just as examples. I’m just wondering if it’s a connected source like your Apple TV 4K using uncompressed multichannel LPCM - if so, then it’s likely the connecting cable, or perhaps the TV not passing through the uncompressed audio quickly enough - as the Arc will only play the audio when it receives it. If that is the case maybe try a different cable or try switching the pass-through option off and back on again and see if that resolves the issue.

I have a new Arc (with sub and surrounds) and new 65” Samsung The Frame. The audio connection problem is real.

Sonos and Samsung need to work together to fix it.

A simple power on and off of the Arc consistently fixes this.

But doing this is not only inconvenient, also very occasionally I then have an issue with the Arc cluster properly re-registering on the network, sometimes then, in-turn, requiring me to reset my entire mesh network.

Sonos owes everyone a formal public statement about how it will fix its problem.

And it should fix it, and fast.

I have a new Arc (with sub and surrounds) and new 65” Samsung The Frame. The audio connection problem is real.

Sonos and Samsung need to work together to fix it.

A simple power on and off of the Arc consistently fixes this.

But doing this is not only inconvenient, also very occasionally I then have an issue with the Arc cluster properly re-registering on the network, sometimes then, in-turn, requiring me to reset my entire mesh network.

Sonos owes everyone a formal public statement about how it will fix its problem.

And it should fix it, and fast.

Exactly my setup, and exactly my problems. It has been months and months!! Cmon Sonos!

Hello I purchased a Sonos arc several months ago .It’s connected to my Samsung q70, the past 3 days I started receiving constant audio drops on multiple apps and inputs. I just power cycled the arc a half hour ago and it hadn’t persisted since

Anyone with 3.21.09 on the LG CX/GX, I have heard some mention it fixes some audio issues and contains some eARC improvements, hoping this resolves dropouts, with Samsung and Sony recent updates improving the issue, it leads me to believe all the manufacturers have fixed issues with eARC hopefully.

Hello.

yes the new update fixes the sound drop out switching from Apple TV Dolby atmos to YouTube or anything non Dolby atmos.

I also had an issue with my arc dropping sound for 2-3 seconds infrequently. I changed out my cable to a HDMI certified monoprice cable and since then I have not had a single sound drop out. Hope this helps!

Hello I purchased a Sonos arc several months ago .It’s connected to my Samsung q70, the past 3 days I started receiving constant audio drops on multiple apps and inputs. I just power cycled the arc a half hour ago and it hadn’t persisted since

Try changing out the HDMI to HDMI certified cables on Amazon. The ones that came with the arc are subpar. That fixed the drop outs for me!

Hello I purchased a Sonos arc several months ago .It’s connected to my Samsung q70, the past 3 days I started receiving constant audio drops on multiple apps and inputs. I just power cycled the arc a half hour ago and it hadn’t persisted since

Try changing out the HDMI to HDMI certified cables on Amazon. The ones that came with the arc are subpar. That fixed the drop outs for me!

Thanks for the quick reply I’m actually already using this one from Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BHQ5PGB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

In the past half hour I’ve had no cutouts since the power cycle.

Anyone with 3.21.09 on the LG CX/GX, I have heard some mention it fixes some audio issues and contains some eARC improvements, hoping this resolves dropouts, with Samsung and Sony recent updates improving the issue, it leads me to believe all the manufacturers have fixed issues with eARC hopefully.

Hello.

yes the new update fixes the sound drop out switching from Apple TV Dolby atmos to YouTube or anything non Dolby atmos.

I also had an issue with my arc dropping sound for 2-3 seconds infrequently. I changed out my cable to a HDMI certified monoprice cable and since then I have not had a single sound drop out. Hope this helps!

Good to hear, Im hoping it fixes my occasional audio drops as well, I know this firmware fixes the audio stutter when you play atmos and then go to stereo, so thats good.

Just need LG to release the firmware in the UK.

I have a new Arc (with sub and surrounds) and new 65” Samsung The Frame. The audio connection problem is real.

Sonos and Samsung need to work together to fix it.

A simple power on and off of the Arc consistently fixes this.

But doing this is not only inconvenient, also very occasionally I then have an issue with the Arc cluster properly re-registering on the network, sometimes then, in-turn, requiring me to reset my entire mesh network.

Sonos owes everyone a formal public statement about how it will fix its problem.

And it should fix it, and fast.

If you read the posts, you’ll learn it’s not a Sonos issue, but the tv manufacturers! Sony and Samsung have already come out with firmware updates that fix the issue. Different regions are getting them at different times.

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