Beam: Keeps switching back to ARC from Bluetooth - how to stop?

I switched a few days ago from a Bose SoundTouch 300 and Acoustimass to the Arc with the Sub. Way back when I bought the Bose setup I had the same issues that I do have now with the Arc.

Back then Bose added a button within the Bose App “HDMI-CEC” or something similar to toggle on and off. By toggling it off the issues were GONE. I was able to watch TV and listen to Audio via Bluetooth on the headphones while the Bose was doing something else (e.g. playing music / doing nothing at all), without the bar switching between inputs.

So there is no doubt that this is purely a Sonos issue. TV: LGB7D by the way. Hasn't changed. 

This is super annoying. 

Please get a fix going Sonos!

Just researched the same problem….best solution I found was to add the optical adapter to the HDMI cable and plug into the optical port on my TV (Samsung 7000) instead of the HDMI-CEC (ARC) port.  This is good and bad….good in that the TV will recognize when I put my bluetooth headset on (Bose Quietcomfort ear buds) and start playing through them automatically (and it fixes the problem you mention above)….bad because it requires a manual step to put it back to using the Beam...when I turn off my bluetooth headset, the sound begins to play through both my TV speakers and the Beam...have to use the settings in the TV and select the Optical source again to get it to just play through the Beam.  Oh and if you do this, not sure it would matter but be sure to turn off your HDMI-CED selection.

My C1 will not allow me to manually switch off HDMI CEC so this does not work for me. If i unplug the Arc power lead, i need to reinstall it in the app when reconnected. However, unplugging the HDMI lead from the back of my Arc (which is eay to access in front of my tv) allows me to use ear buds, which auto connect as soon as i open the case. When movie time is over, i simply  plug the HDMI back in and the arc becomes the default sound output again. Annoying problem , simple workaround

Found a fairly simple fix to this issue on my Samsung QN50Q80AAF with the Sonos Arc. Basically a Samsung 50 inch QLED purchased in 2022. 

after hooking up and setting up the Sonos Arc, I too could not successfully switch to my Bluetooth receiver setup, which is how I listen with headphones. Turns out you can just got to Settings—>External Device Manager—>Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC). You turn this feature off and it will no longer automatically switch to Sonos Arc constantly, but you also don’t have to turn off or disconnect Arc. Can connect to Bluetooth as usual.

when you want to turn Arc on again, you go back to the Anynet+ setting and turn it back on. Sonos Arc hooks back up.

I have Sonos connected to the HDMI 2 eArc output.

Perhaps would work on other Samsungs?

Thank you. Anynet+ is Samsung speak for HDMI-CEC. The solution you found has been mentioned before.

I disabled HDMI-CEC function, or Anynet+ on my Samsung QLED settings so that my Sonos Arc is no longer the default speaker, and I could use my BT headphones. But in doing this, is there a way to use BT headphones AND get sound from the tv speakers at the same time? I want 2 people to be able to watch tv, with 1 getting sound from headphones, and the other from tv speakers. Or, is the answer, as some have indicated on this forum, to purchase a Sonos optical adapter and plug my Sonos Arc into the Optical port? Will that enable 1 to listen to BT headphones and the other to listen to Sonos simultaneously? Is there any downside to using the Optical for the Sonos speaker?

Stumbled across this thread when trying to do the same as everyone else - use some bluetooth speakers so as not to disturb the wife.    And now I understand what is happening, and noting that this has been around for several years, wondered why no-one has suggested another solution that I have been pleading for Sonos to do for even more years - have some wireless headphones that are another Sonos node?    Using a Connect /Port to provide that functionality is completely expensive overkill and still not seamless.   Since most of my Music is played now via Sonos (although I do play my Vinyl direct) everytime I want to use headphones its a faff, and now it seems also if I want to watch someting on TV via Headphones.   wake up someone at Sonos, there have been rumours but nothing yet….

Same issue here (some 2+ YEARS later) with Sonos Arc on Samsung Q80R’s ARC HDMI connection. Change sound output to Bluetooth device and the Sonos Arc steals the sound back in a few seconds, if not immediately. VERY frustrating.

Come on Sonos, you can do better than this. There are lots of your customers who need to listen to their TV audio from more than just the Sonos device connected via HDMI cable. This is a game changer for me and I’m heavily invested in the Sonos ecosystem, yet this gives me pause.

Maybe try first toggling off CEC (AnyNet+) on the TV, that usually allows a user to then switch inputs.

It’s not Sonos, it’s Samsung.  I have a Samsung TV which will do this all the time, whereas my Toshiba will stay on Bluetooth as long as I want it to.