Hi @Corry P 

No, never used LPCM. The Sonos app shows it is Dolby Atmos.

I’ve now been testing over the past few weeks since the update to the ARC and the Samsung TV (I own ‘The Frame’).

In the beginning I still saw some errors, with cutting sounds every 10 minutes or so, but since the announcement of the new Apple TV4K 2.gen with support of HDMI 2.1 and my current Apple TV4K was updated to tvOS 14.5, I haven't seen any issues since then. All ATMOS content work without any interruptions. I’ve tested over several apps like Netflix, AppleTV+ and Amazon Prime. It seems the problem may have been with the Apple TV as I didn't experience any issues with the built-in Samsung TV apps after the firmware update.

I’d like to thank everyone who has added to this topic.

Special thanks to @Corry P for adding support, while Samsung support is hopeless.

Hi @Talvish 

All I can really recommend is that you make sure all devices are up-to-date and have all been rebooted (unplug from power - standby won’t help). Check your HDMI connections too - maybe reverse the cables so each plug is plugging into a different device/socket.

With luck, it will be much like the Apple TV and be fixed in an update. Are all other sources playing OK?

Hi @hi-tone 

Glad to hear you’re now able to listen issue-free! Thanks for sharing what fixed it for you!

Hey @Corry P 

Everything is up-to-date, done various unplugs from power. Ensure (and replaced) HDMI cables.  As for other sources, nothing else is plugged into the TV and haven’t tried the built-in apps in a long while.

Hi @Talvish 

I recommend testing the TV apps with Atmos. If they play without issues then the issue is likely with the TV passing-through audio from external sources. You could try swapping cables or plugging the XBox into a different HDMI port.

@Corry P , ya tried the cable swap (making sure it supports HDMI 2.1), no difference...also only one HDMI 2.1 port. :(

Hi @Talvish 

Did you test TV apps? Do they play without issue?

HDMI-ARC only requires HDMI v1.4 - getting cables that support 2.1 is over-kill - these are for carrying 4K video, which your Arc doesn’t receive. eARC is similar - it’s utilises a repurposed wire on the cable (ethernet) and audio just doesn’t require the same shielding as 4K.

 Corey P,

I was finally able to update Samsung firmware to the latest version for my Q80T (1462.1). Problem is still occurring, and in some cases is worse. Not only is there a short pause in audio about every 15 minutes, sometimes sound goes away completely and doesn’t come back unless I shut everything down and turn it on again. Still seems to be associated with Atmos content. I’ve been thinking about buying a sub but am afraid to commit for fear of having to return the Arc. What now?

Hi @WRM 

Have you tried disconnecting other devices from your TV and testing? Some HDMI devices interfere with each other on the CEC channel. Please try using the TV’s apps while only the Arc is connected to the TV. If that works, reconnect devices and test - one at a time.

If you find that one device causes an issue, try to disable CEC on it. If you cannot, you may need to get a CEC-less adaptor to strip the connection for that device.

Corry, Arc is plugged into HDMI-eARC (and HDMI-eARC mode is enabled). Apple TV is plugged into HDMI 4. I don’t see any way to disable CEC on the Apple TV. 

Hi @WRM 

Don’t worry about disabling CEC on the Apple TV - it won’t be the problem, or we’d hear a lot more about it.

Have you tried unplugging your TV and Arc from power for 30 seconds?

If so, and it didn’t help, please try disabling the eARC option on your TV - you can still get (compressed) Atmos via normal ARC using the Dolby Digital + (Atmos) format.

Ok. Will try disabling eARC. But by doing that what am I giving up?

@WRM 

Only uncompressed Atmos. You’d need a very good pair of ears and ideal listening conditions to tell the difference between compressed and uncompressed, if it’s even possible.

However, if a source is only available in Atmos rather than Dolby Digital + (Atmos), the TV would convert it to standard Dolby Digital 5.1.

Thanks. Is there a complete solution in the works? Under current conditions the speaker is doing less than advertised. 

Hi @WRM

We aren’t aware of any current issues with the Samsung Q80T and Arc. 

I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and what it reports. 

This is not resolved.  My sound cuts in and out every 20-30 mins for about 3-7 secondswhile watching dolby atmos content on my 2020 frame tv.

Same for me. Samsung Q80t updated itself to latest software ver. 2016. Still having sound issues with Atmos content. Also, as suggested, I disabled eARC. That has NOT helped. 

Also disabling earc wouldn’t give me dolby atmos sound…and also renders this arc pointless in the first place…

@dcva_ and @WRM, 

It appears that the best way forward for you both, would be to contact Sonos Support, as suggested above, in order that the Staff can establish precisely what the issues are and perhaps just in case they are specific matters related to your own HT setup. 

Anyway, hope your are able to get your issues resolved soon.

I’ve been a long time follower of this thread and wanted to give me own experience on this matter.  I own a 2020 Samsung Q80T and have had it connected to an Arc for almost a year now.  In that time I’ve had this infamous audio skip which has been tormenting me.  Any Atmos and even some non-Atmos content would cause audio to skip every 1-10 minutes like clock work.  I honestly thought this would never end.  I was going mad like everyone else.

I’m a cable cutter so I was using a 2019 Shield TV (Tube) for all video/audio, a 15 ft HDMI cable going from the Shield to TV and another 15 ft HDMI cable going from the TV eArc port to the Arc.  Both cables were HDMI 2.0b rated.  Firmware was always up to date on the TV, Shield and Arc.

About two weeks ago I finally said enough is enough and re-did the whole setup.  I swapped the Shield TV to a Shield TV Pro (Mainly to get more RAM and move from a 32-bit to 64-bit OS), I wall mounted the Arc and connected it to the TV using the Sonos provided HDMI cable this time.  I also swapped out the HDMI cable connecting the Shield TV Pro with a 2.1 rated one (15 ft).  Lastly I factory reset the TV and Arc (The Shield started from a wiped drive since it was new).  

Once everything was set back up I made sure all CEC settings were turned off on all devices (Anynet+ on the TV had to be left on in order for eArc to work), I made sure audio pass-through was enabled on all devices, and I made sure HDMI Input Signal Plus was enabled for all ports being used on the Samsung.

Lo and behold I’m two weeks in and not a single audio blip.  Which change above fixed things?  No idea.  I like to think the new cable and factory resets were the most likely cause.  I also moved the HDMI cable from the Shiled from input one to input four on the Samsung since it was the only HDMI 2.1 port on the TV.  I know this shouldn’t matter but I thought mind as well use the port with the higher specs since it was available.

Lets hope I can put this issue to rest from here on out.  Good luck to all and yes there’s still hope for you.

So I think that I have determined that my continuing problem with periodic sound drops (every 12 minutes or so) have something to do with the combination of the Samsung Q80T, the Sonos Arc and my Apple TV. If I watch Atmos content through, for example, the Netflix app on Apple TV, I invariably get the sound dropouts. If I watch the exact same content through the Netflix app on the Samsung TV (i.e., independent of the Apple TV), no sound dropouts! Not surprisingly, if I watch the same content on Netflix through the Apple TV but using the built in TV speakers (i.e., unplug the Arc), there is no sound drop out, presumably because the sound out of the speakers is not Atmos. So it seems that the flaw is in passing the audio signal through the Apple TV. Could be the HDMI cable I guess, but I bought a high quality HDMI 2.1 cable, so I doubt that’s the problem. All device software is up to date. Maybe with the impending release of TvOS 15 the problem will go away, but I’m not hopeful . . .

Same issue as all of you. In my case, I noticed last Sony update disabled IP Direct; turned the option on and resumed watching stream @point where audio died without issue...only Sonos and / or Sony can give a definitive answer, but so far so good.

I have an X90J

I had the same problem and corrected it by ensuring my TV and Sonos products were connected to the same WiFi signal.  For whatever reason, my Beam went offline and when it reconnected, apparently it did not connect properly.  To connect the Beam to my WiFi, I removed the old connection and reinitiated as if it were a new connection.  Fro 2 days, all has been working fine.

A $50 soundbar wouldnt be giving us these fits. Sound cutting out every 15 minutes or so is annoying. Still no fix from Sonos 

Did you try and contact Sonos about your problem?