Best answer by chucky999
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Beam: Keeps switching back to ARC from Bluetooth - how to stop?
Hi. I have an LG C8 OLED TV and a Beam, connected Via HDMI Arc. I also have some Sony Bluetooth headphones. Whenever I try and play the TV audio via Bluetooth after 2 seconds it switches back to Arc. Is there anyway to prevent this? I have to pull the HDMI lead out of the Beam, but can it be disabled via the app or some other way? Thanks.
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Hi all, How about this method of switching Bluetooth?
Try switching between both when using Bluetooth sound, it's just a few steps, so ease your mind.
Go to Advanced Settings > Connections
Click on Device Settings Configuration
- Turn off the simple link
- Remove sonos in universal control
- Not used, but removed just in case
Reasons:
Turn off the convenience feature that sonos automatically activates
Go to Advanced Settings > Connections
Click on sound
- Turn off eARC in additional settings
Reasons:
Simple Link will not start automatically the next time the power is turned on.
I use Air pod pro with lg OLE48cx and tried it with beam(gen2),thanks.
Supplementation.
If you wish to return to the sonos soundbar, please reverse this procedure.
When ARC is selected, Simple Link is automatically turned on.
This is probably because there are frequent problems with no sound if it is left off, so it is necessary to turn on the path so that there are no problems with manual connection in any home.
I am Japanese and not affiliated with LG or Sonos, but I would like to try the IKEA rear speakers from now on.
regards.
Had the same issues here - Sonos beam (GEN1) connected to OLED LG G2 with HDMI ARC, well recognized by the TV.
- When connecting Bluetooth device (e.g. Apple Airpods Pro), it switches back to BEAM after a couple of seconds. Same when selecting the TV speakers, it switches back to BEAM automatically.
==> could not find any better alternative/solution than to turn off the CEC/Simplink in the TV settings to prevent the BEAM from taking control over the other audio devices/tv speakers.
Not optimal solution though (because it forces you to change some TV settings before switching from BEAM to bluetooth device), but I can live with it.
- When connecting other HDMI devices (e.g. satellite box) to the TV, it switched back to TV speakers. When selecting back again the BEAM as audio output, no sound coming out from the BEAM.
Seems to be a conflict in HDMI ports, due to the CEC thing.
I purchased a CEC less adapter on Amazon, connected it to the satellite box, and now it all works perfectly.
Obviously when buying these products (TV, soundbars, etc...) you don’t expect to encounter these kind of issues (I spent quite some time reading forums, also discussed over the phone with LG customer service, etc...), and you expect the manufacturers to solve this (be it TV manuf, Sound device manuf… I don’t care).
But in the end there are some workarounds that can be found.
Still, hope this helps for those who are still having issues.
Can you link what adaptor you use?
this one:
https://www.amazon.com/BlueRigger-HDMI-CEC-Less-Adapter/dp/B07BFL8TM8
but this one is also advised as alternative:
https://www.amazon.com/Lindy-HDMI-Adapter-Female-41232/dp/B00DL48KVI
This is a pretty disappointing issue to have encountered with my Sonos system.
This was not an issue when using my old cheap Yamaha sound bar.
Temporarily disabling HDMI-CEC does work, and I have found that you can add this toggle to the “quick settings” in WebOS (appear when you single click the gear icon⚙).
I read with interest that Samsung might let you disable automatic HDMI switching and I hope that LG implements this. I personally would prefer to select an input rather that have it automatically selected.
If this issue is a “feature of the CEC spec” then there something is really broken I the spec.
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….
Me too..
LG OLed CX
Sonos ARC
keeps switching back to arc when connecting to the Bluetooth..
Still--with no disrespect intended towards you or anyone else taking a side here--this sequence of button presses and remote-mouse movements is overly burdensome for anyone but the expert user. The whole thing boils down to: “I keep selecting one thing, but getting another.”
AirPods for some viewing sessions (e.g., don’t wake-up the other members of the household) and Sonos Arc for others (e.g., normal or group or daytime viewing) seems like a pretty modest ask. Yet the number of button pushes and remote-mouse movements is pretty intensive just to switch between the two audio outputs. Makes me want to build a man-cave instead (as yet another workaround to the original problem).
Who knew getting a really nice flat screen TV and pairing it with a really nice soundbar would lead to such disappointment. Very frustrating.
It’s a Sonos issue. I also have a Yamaha soundbar. I swapped the soundbars to troubleshoot and no issue switching to Bluetooth when I use the Yamaha soundbar. My TVs are a Samsung UN82MU8000 series and a Sony XBR-75X850E.
Userlevel 2
Just bought an arc/sub/ones as a full surround setup for over 2k.
I use Bluetooth headphones at night when my other half has gone to bed. My other half uses the headphones when I work nights. I cannot just simply turn off CEC as it auto-enables. I would need to change multiple settings, every night & teach my other half to do the same. It also increases the chances of the sound coming out of the wrong device which would accidentally wake the other person. I cannot run through optical as I lose Atmos. This is a non-negotiable use case. I went with Sonos because it’s just supposed to work.
Attitude from Sonos CS on this issue is very poor - advice to use optical shows fundamentally poor understanding of their products & end users. They’re being returned, fortunately within 100 days so the only person losing money is them. There is a lot of competition in the wireless surround market and I will just go with a competitor. The sound is great but nothing special at this price point, what appealed is they were just supposed to work. Janky work arounds like setting up a smart plug are not acceptable on this system.
+1
SAME PROBLEM.
Samsung 2021 Smart TV. Sonos won’t allow the bluetooth to stay active … it just steals it right back. The only solution is to turn off the sonos. Once I disable the sonos HDMI, then the TV reverts back to TV sound and I can once again swap between sound modes without problem.
This is a SONOS problem, as I’ve tried multiple configurations between HDMI, Bluetooth, Optical, and TV … and the only time this happens is with Sonos Beam.
This needs to be fixed or I’m going to start linking every Sonos and TV review I can find to this thread so people are aware of losing their access to bluetooth if they opt for a Beam. Sorry for sounding frustrated, but this has taken hours of my life trying to fix it and it looks like it has been a problem for years, based on this thread.
Just bought an arc/sub/ones as a full surround setup for over 2k.
I use Bluetooth headphones at night when my other half has gone to bed. My other half uses the headphones when I work nights. I cannot just simply turn off CEC as it auto-enables. I would need to change multiple settings, every night & teach my other half to do the same. It also increases the chances of the sound coming out of the wrong device which would accidently wake the other person up. I cannot run through optical as I lose Atmos. This is a non-negotiable use case. I went with Sonos because it’s just supposed to work.
Attitude from Sonos CS on this issue is very poor. They’re being returned, fortunately within 100 days so the only person losing money is them. There is a lot of competition in the wireless surround market and I will just go with a competitor. The sound is great but nothing special at this price point, what appealed is they were just supposed to work. Janky work arounds like setting up a smart plug are not acceptable on this system.
Make sure that whatever system you go with, you aren’t utilizing HDMI-ARC/eARC technology (which will include CEC). It needs to be something where your sources connect to the audio system first, and your audio system connects to the TV.
And I agree that setting up a smart plug, while might be ok for some, it’s really an ideal solution. For one thing, Sonos products are designed to be always on. While the occasional reboot is fine, it’s not good for the life of the speaker. You don’t really want to cut power and reboot every time you switch between headphones and speakers.
As Danny mentions, whatever system you go with next, ensure it doesn’t use HDMI-ARC/eARC with CEC as you’ll certainly just end up with the same issue.
I also agree that powering off the Arc is not the answer - but I would certainly get in touch with the TV Support desk to make them aware that CEC is auto-enabling itself on the TV as ‘that’ is clearly a TV fault with the TV firmware.
I use an LG C9 TV and to switch from the HDMI-ARC/eARC output to use Bluetooth output, I just toggle off ‘CEC’ (calked ‘Simplink’ on an LG TV) and it automatically disables auto-power-sync (used to power devices on/off) and clearly in the case of your TV that is not working as it should be. I would certainly make the TV manufacturer aware that has caused you an issue here and that it may arise in the future too if you have other CEC enable devices connected to the TV that ‘may’ go onto occasionally steal the output port focus when listening to the audio over a Bluetooth connected headset.
If you disable CEC on the TV - it should stay disabled.
Following, same issue with LG C1 and Sonos ARC. Wish I had known before the Sonos purchase. I would like some money back. We have some hearing issues here. I would like Atmos most of the time and would like my wife to be able to use bluetooth headphones when needed.
I find even with eARC off and Simplink off if I accidentally touch the HDMI (ARC) sound out setting with the cursor it resets Bluetooth Device (Headphones) to ARC turning Simplink back on and hijacking the sound out to ARC. I can hardly scroll through the sound out settings, without Simplink and ARC turning back on. Anyways I just scroll carefully in the direction that avoids HDMI (ARC). Pretty klugey.
Kinda lazy of Sonos not to fix this, they sure worked hard enough on the rest of it. If they were clever they’d launch their own bluetooth headphones that would integrate with their products and work, a line extension if you will to make a buck.
I have the same issue with my LG E8 but it doesn't bother me as I rarely use Headphones at night now and just turn switch over to night time listening mode and turn on speech enhancement.
It would be good if I could just switch on the Sennheiser's and not have this issue.
Userlevel 2
As Danny mentions, whatever system you go with next, ensure it doesn’t use HDMI-ARC/eARC with CEC as you’ll certainly just end up with the same issue.
I also agree that powering off the Arc is not the answer - but I would certainly get in touch with the TV Support desk to make them aware that CEC is auto-enabling itself on the TV as ‘that’ is clearly a TV fault with the TV firmware.
I use an LG C9 TV and to switch from the HDMI-ARC/eARC output to use Bluetooth output, I just toggle off ‘CEC’ (calked ‘Simplink’ on an LG TV) and it automatically disables auto-power-sync (used to power devices on/off) and clearly in the case of your TV that is not working as it should be. I would certainly make the TV manufacturer aware that has caused you an issue here and that it may arise in the future too if you have other CEC enable devices connected to the TV that ‘may’ go onto occasionally steal the output port focus when listening to the audio over a Bluetooth connected headset.
If you disable CEC on the TV - it should stay disabled.
Do you have eARC enabled?
I have an LG C1. I can get CEC to remain off, I just have to turn off eARC in audio settings first.
From looking around this doesn’t seem to be an issue with the q950a for example, nor the Bose systems. I will find out soon enough once this return is processed.
As Danny mentions, whatever system you go with next, ensure it doesn’t use HDMI-ARC/eARC with CEC as you’ll certainly just end up with the same issue.
I also agree that powering off the Arc is not the answer - but I would certainly get in touch with the TV Support desk to make them aware that CEC is auto-enabling itself on the TV as ‘that’ is clearly a TV fault with the TV firmware.
I use an LG C9 TV and to switch from the HDMI-ARC/eARC output to use Bluetooth output, I just toggle off ‘CEC’ (calked ‘Simplink’ on an LG TV) and it automatically disables auto-power-sync (used to power devices on/off) and clearly in the case of your TV that is not working as it should be. I would certainly make the TV manufacturer aware that has caused you an issue here and that it may arise in the future too if you have other CEC enable devices connected to the TV that ‘may’ go onto occasionally steal the output port focus when listening to the audio over a Bluetooth connected headset.
If you disable CEC on the TV - it should stay disabled.
Do you have eARC enabled?
I have an LG C1. I can get CEC to remain off, I just have to turn off eARC in audio settings first.
From looking around this doesn’t seem to be an issue with the q950a for example, nor the Bose systems. I will find out soon enough once this return is processed.
The Q950a has HDMI inputs(source) and outputs to the TV. It does have eARC, but I doubt many users are turning this on, as it would only be needed for TV internal apps. And it would be a smaller subset of people who use eARC and bluetooth headphones...and the TV CEC doesn’t stay off.
Yes of course eARC and CEC are both initially enabled when using the Sonos HT products and CEC (Simplink, or it’s equivalent) must be ‘disabled’ by the user on any/every brand of TV to then use the Bluetooth or any other type of audio output that the TV has.
That’s how the LG TV works with CEC (Simplink) - but once CEC is toggled ‘off’, it should switch off auto-power-sync too (automatically) so that there is then no way the Sonos device can then take back control of the TV (and vice versa) and use the HDMI-2 (ARC/eARC) port.
CEC should not (ever) auto-enable and switch back ‘on’. If that’s what is happening on the C1, then it’s a firmware fault IMHO - CEC should stay switched ‘off’ allowing you to use your Bluetooth headset.
This will happen with any HT device that uses the TV’s ‘audio return channel features’ with CEC control - but once you switch CEC ‘off’ to use the Bluetooth headset - the TV should not switch back to outputting to the Sonos Arc until you re-enable Simplink (CEC).
It should be a simple case of toggling CEC (Simplink) ‘off/on’ to use your Bluetooth headset and HT system and if that’s not the case, then it is the TV firmware that’s likely at fault.
Even if we were to ask Sonos to ‘fix this’ by switching off CEC at their end - you would find yourself going into the Sonos App settings instead to switch off CEC on the Arc - it’s just as easy, if not far easier, to switch off CEC (Simplink) in the TV settings, plus it’s a toggle feature/option that every TV has already - so it’s not something that Sonos needs to fix anyway IMHO.
Still--with no disrespect intended towards you or anyone else taking a side here--this sequence of button presses and remote-mouse movements is overly burdensome for anyone but the expert user. The whole thing boils down to: “I keep selecting one thing, but getting another.”
AirPods for some viewing sessions (e.g., don’t wake-up the other members of the household) and Sonos Arc for others (e.g., normal or group or daytime viewing) seems like a pretty modest ask. Yet the number of button pushes and remote-mouse movements is pretty intensive just to switch between the two audio outputs. Makes me want to build a man-cave instead (as yet another workaround to the original problem).
Who knew getting a really nice flat screen TV and pairing it with a really nice soundbar would lead to such disappointment. Very frustrating.
I understand and to some extent I agree, but I see this as being something TV manufacturers in general should fix with their software - the user should be able to select the Bluetooth option and it either switches off CEC, or it simply allows both audio outputs at the same time (my preferred option). I think that is a better solution than perhaps having Sonos fix this.
Userlevel 2
Had the same issues here - Sonos beam (GEN1) connected to OLED LG G2 with HDMI ARC, well recognized by the TV.
- When connecting Bluetooth device (e.g. Apple Airpods Pro), it switches back to BEAM after a couple of seconds. Same when selecting the TV speakers, it switches back to BEAM automatically.
==> could not find any better alternative/solution than to turn off the CEC/Simplink in the TV settings to prevent the BEAM from taking control over the other audio devices/tv speakers.
Not optimal solution though (because it forces you to change some TV settings before switching from BEAM to bluetooth device), but I can live with it.
- When connecting other HDMI devices (e.g. satellite box) to the TV, it switched back to TV speakers. When selecting back again the BEAM as audio output, no sound coming out from the BEAM.
Seems to be a conflict in HDMI ports, due to the CEC thing.
I purchased a CEC less adapter on Amazon, connected it to the satellite box, and now it all works perfectly.
Obviously when buying these products (TV, soundbars, etc...) you don’t expect to encounter these kind of issues (I spent quite some time reading forums, also discussed over the phone with LG customer service, etc...), and you expect the manufacturers to solve this (be it TV manuf, Sound device manuf… I don’t care).
But in the end there are some workarounds that can be found.
Still, hope this helps for those who are still having issues.
Can you link what adaptor you use?
Sonos is acting like a web browser: it wants to be the default sound output.
I found a simple solution: I returned it to Costco.
Add me to the list. New LG OLED CX with Sonos Arc/AirPod Pros. Same issue as everybody else. Had to unplug the HDMI cable so I don’t wake the wife up
Very surprising Sonos is having this issue for as much as I paid for my set up
Userlevel 2
As Danny mentions, whatever system you go with next, ensure it doesn’t use HDMI-ARC/eARC with CEC as you’ll certainly just end up with the same issue.
I also agree that powering off the Arc is not the answer - but I would certainly get in touch with the TV Support desk to make them aware that CEC is auto-enabling itself on the TV as ‘that’ is clearly a TV fault with the TV firmware.
I use an LG C9 TV and to switch from the HDMI-ARC/eARC output to use Bluetooth output, I just toggle off ‘CEC’ (calked ‘Simplink’ on an LG TV) and it automatically disables auto-power-sync (used to power devices on/off) and clearly in the case of your TV that is not working as it should be. I would certainly make the TV manufacturer aware that has caused you an issue here and that it may arise in the future too if you have other CEC enable devices connected to the TV that ‘may’ go onto occasionally steal the output port focus when listening to the audio over a Bluetooth connected headset.
If you disable CEC on the TV - it should stay disabled.
Do you have eARC enabled?
I have an LG C1. I can get CEC to remain off, I just have to turn off eARC in audio settings first.
From looking around this doesn’t seem to be an issue with the q950a for example, nor the Bose systems. I will find out soon enough once this return is processed.
The Q950a has HDMI inputs(source) and outputs to the TV. It does have eARC, but I doubt many users are turning this on, as it would only be needed for TV internal apps. And it would be a smaller subset of people who use eARC and bluetooth headphones...and the TV CEC doesn’t stay off.
I could use something like the Q950A + an Nvidia Shield and that would be cost neutral to the Sonos return. Plus I have a bit more functionality with the Shield.
I tried to turn off auto power sync on the TV and it just re-enables itself - same issue as Simplink. The only option to get this current setup to work would be to either unplug the HDMI (PITA to faff about behind the TV daily) or smart plug which as you say is bad for the speakers. Due to lack of HDMI pass through on the Arc I am limited in work arounds.
Figuring out if this a fault with the LG or Sonos doesn’t really help me - this issue seems to have been going on for >2 years so I think a software update from either side is unlikely. The Sonos is within it’s return period but the LG is not, so the Sonos system has to go back.
Here is some information on CEC, which includes many of the random names various companies use for it.
Amazed this is still an issue!
Does anyone know if beam v2 is the same, if so I won't even bother looking at upgrading.
it is my turn now….. …...Sonos Arc with Samsung TV UA-50KU6000
Im not a technical person. Stumbled upon this thread while I am searching on how to connect my wired headphone to my TV without without affecting my sonos arc setup.
Same issue here. LG CX, Sonos Arc, and Bluetooth headphones.
After connecting headphones, TV will immediately switch back to Sonos Arc. I have to disable SimpLink for it to stick with the headphones.
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