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Badgercop
Enthusiast II
April 23, 2019
Answered

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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    chucky999Answer
    Lyricist I
    August 12, 2019
    I have the same problem as Badgercop. It seems that this is pretty common as shown by these similar threads in the sidebar to this thread. The best, though not optimal, solution seems to be to turn off the HDMI-CEC connection on your TV. It would be nice of SONOS would fix the APP to handle this situation. The problem is not solely with LG systems - both Samsung and Sony are referenced in the other threads.
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    AussieMelbFan
    Contributor I
    September 6, 2021

    Hi All,

    Same issue here for me - recently purchase a brand new LG G1 65’ with a Sonos ARC + Sub Gen 3. 

    Trying to set the G1 to use a pair of wireless headphones using Bluetooth whilst the ARC is connected using eARC.

    The ARC keeps forcing the audio out connection back to itself. The Bluetooth connection to the headphones disconnects after about 1-2 seconds when it reverts back to the Sonos ARC as the audio output device.

    I understand that this is how HMDI-CEC is meant to work but have tried everything to stop this behaviour, even setting the TV to optical out but the ARC just keeps taking over.

    Things I’ve tried:

    1. Disable QuickStart+
    2. Disable eArc Support
    3. Change Audio Output to Optical
    4. Disable HDMI-CEC (reverts back to Simplink On after a few seconds)

    Basically no way to connect headphones whilst power is on to the ARC and connected to the TV over eARC. Really annoying problem….

    I reached out/logged a ticket via Online chat this morning but was also advised that there isnt a solution to this problem and to try contact LG. I have opened a case with LG but I dare say this is a problem with Sonos looking through this thread.

    Please fix this :( its not unrealistic for people to want to watch TV with headphones at night…...

    mjeshurun
    September 18, 2021

    I have the same issue with Sonos Beam connected to a Samsung TV model The Frame 2019.  
    I can’t use Bluetooth headphones, unless I disable HDMI-CEC. 
    Sonos, please fix this issue 🙏

    Lyphe
    Avid Contributor I
    September 19, 2021

    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.

    OggieMan
    Lyricist II
    October 10, 2021

    STOP telling people to open tickets with LG, Samsung, Sony. ETC. The common product is Sonos

    I tested and can confirm the BOSE Sound Touch 300 works perfectly with my Samsung Q80 75in and Samsung buds. Then I swap back to Sonos ARC and it fails. Same cable, same TV same Buds same port.  

    Sonos, you are a premium product. Why does Bose work? 

      egan2021
      Lyricist I
      October 13, 2021

      Same issue here: LG GX TV, Sonos Arc, Airpods Max. When connecting the Airpods Max via bluetooth to the GX TV, I get 2 secs of sound then the HDMI ARC connection takes over. The temporary solution I found was to toggle HDMI eARC off and then on in the TV sound settings.

      Shal
      Contributor I
      October 17, 2021

      Same here, Samsung TV, no issue with a bose bar, problem is sonos which keeps reconnecting itself... Really annoying not to see any fix after all this time 

      OggieMan
      Lyricist II
      November 5, 2021

      All TV’s work with BOSE’ and not Sonos. That hurts. 

      Case closed. You have a clear choice now. 

       

      Sonos sells well 2nd hand on ebay. 

      Shal
      Contributor I
      November 5, 2021

      Thanks  only thing which makes me think is that Bose as far as I know doesn't have amplifiers and I have a bunch of external speakers. Without this I would have switched long ago

      fmhanc
      Contributor I
      November 9, 2021

      Well first... it's not switching from Bluetooth. The Beam is not a Bluetooth speaker, but I digress.

      Chances are your TV or Cable box is still playing and the Beam is set to auto-play. So turn them off when listening to other audio, or check the Beam's room settings and disable auto-play.

       


      Sorry you didn’t understand what I wrote.

      I know the Beam isn’t a Bluetooth device, I didn’t say it was. I said I’m trying to play my TV audio via Bluetooth to my Bluetooth headphones. I can’t turn the TV off, because I’m using it with my Bluetooth headphones.

      Perhaps I should just start again...

      My TV is connected to the Beam via Arc. I’m trying to use my Bluetooth headphone with the TV (late at night, so I don’t disturb the household). When I go into the the TV’s menu and chose Bluetooth as the audio output it plays audio via the headphones for 2 seconds before it automatically switches back to the Beam. This is because the Beam is ‘always on’ (unlike other amps I have used).

      What I am asking is - is there any other solution other then pulling the power or HDMI cable out of the Beam? (I know one solution is to change to optical, but I want to stick with Arc is possible).

       

      I bought a smart plug and use it to shut off my Sonos Arc when I don’t want to use it.

      I have a hearing  aid transmitter connected to Optical output on the TV and had the same problem you had.  Could not switch settings on Sound to TV speakers and Optical because it would continually switch back to HDMI/ARC after a couple of seconds.  

      Turning off the Sonos Arc soundbar with the smart switch, the LG automatically switches back.   You can navigate back if needed to your Bluetooth option.

       

      fmhanc
      Contributor I
      November 9, 2021

      It’s a ‘feature’ of the HDMI-CEC spec. Connect your Beam via optical, or your headphones, and there won’t be that conflict. 

      Optical option you will lose many other features of HDMI Arc including the Dolby Atmos feed (for Sonos Arc)

       

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