Sonos Arc audio keeps cutting out.


I have a sonos ARC and sound keeps cutting out for 1-2 seconds and then picks back up. My sonos was fine for about 1 week after purchasing but now the sound will cut out periodically. Here is my diagnostics number 103248445. How can I fix this issue?

Ken_Griffiths 1 year ago

Same here. Very aggravating. Diagnostic report 490235596. 

This used to be an issue with some TV’s, particularly with Samsung and connected sound systems using HDMI-ARC/eARC, where other connected peripherals like Apple TV (as an example) tried to steal the CEC focus.

So maybe try disabling CEC on any other connected devices and then power off all for a few minutes to setup the handshake again and see if that perhaps solves the matter.

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205 replies

Hi,

I have the same issue with a Samsung 90T, and I’ve tried all of the solutions mentioned over the last month or so.

Such as but not limited to; power cycling, removing all other devices, trying different input devices, checking settings on tv, updating firmware on tv, turning off Alexa, turning off CEC, checking the type and quality of the HDMi cables/ports.

I’ve submitted a diagnostic: 265717871

I’m happy to conduct further testing and provide any results.

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Hi @Gaffney90, Thank you for reaching out and welcome to the community and for sending a diagnostic report of your Sonos system. Upon checking on the diagnostic information, it shows that the Arc status is disabled. Kindly re-enable the CEC on the TV and thanks for doing all necessary troubleshooting steps as our team is continuously monitoring this issue. I'll ask you to kindly contact our phone support team for further assistance and more in-depth troubleshooting steps and to create a case ticket for this concern.

Let us know what you have in mind with the advice above.

The Sonos community is always here to help.

 

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I’m also experiencing this issue. I have a 3 week old Samsung Q80T and my Arc is a week old. It happened today for the first time. I turned my TV on and the sound kept cutting in and out. Had to power cycle my Arc to resolve it. I have my TV connected to the Arc via the eArc port. I will take a diagnostic the next time it happens.

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After a couple of weeks of _not_ experiencing the intermittent audio problem with the Arc, I may have discovered a contributing factor.  CAVEAT - I have a Samsung Frame TV, and I see several people in this topic with non-Frame TVs, so not sure if I’ve actually discovered a smoking gun.  In any event…

Since my last post, in my efforts to troubleshoot, I switched on the “TV Autoplay” setting for my Sonos Arc in the app.  Since that time, I have not experienced the intermittent audio problem.  However, yesterday afternoon I switched TV Autoplay back to OFF, and that evening, when I turned on the TV, the intermittent audio problem resurfaced. I’m thinking that’s not a coincidence.

So, why would I switch off TV Autoplay in the first place?  As those of you with Frame TVs are likely aware, the TV has a motion sensor that will turn off the standby art display to save power.  If I’m playing music through my Sonos Arc (from any source other than the TV) and the TV art display has turned off due to no motion in the room, as soon as motion is detected, and the TV resumes the art display, Sonos apparently thinks that the TV has been switched on (i.e. the HDMI/ARC port comes back to life) and the Sonos music playback stops  (which is behaviour you’d probably expect from Autoplay if you were actually turning on the TV).  I noticed this  back when I had my Playbar connected to this TV, which is why I initially switched Autoplay off.  I found it annoying that everytime my art display came out of sleep mode, it would kill the music playback.

It would seem Sonos is probably doing exactly what it’s designed to do - detecting the state of the HDMI/ARC port into which it’s connected - but only when you have TV Autoplay switched on.  The Samsung TV is apparently shutting down that HDMI/ARC port when it shuts down the art/standby display (due to the motion sensor), and wakes the port up again when the display wakes up, even though the display is only the standby art display, and not the actual television (if that makes sense).  If the Sonos TV Autoplay is switched off, it apparently isn’t checking to see if the TV HDMI/ARC port is alive, and that’s when I get the intermittent audio, until I unplug/replug the HDMI cable (or power cycle the Arc). 

Not sure what this all means in terms of resolving this issue.  Might there be a way for Sonos to regularly check the state of the HDMI/ARC port whether or not TV Autoplay is switched on?  It doesn’t seem quite right to me that Sonos is only detecting the power state of the HDMI/ARC port if TV Autoplay is switched on (if that is indeed what’s happening)

In the case of non-Frame Samsung TVs, I can only guess that the HDMI/ARC port on the TV shuts down as part of some power saving scheme as well, although not linked to an “art display” motion sensor. 

Figured I’d share this information with the community as I hadn’t seen any specific references to the TV Autoplay setting when I scanned the posts.  Curious to know if any of you experiencing this issue have noticed the same correlation to the TV Autoplay setting in the Sonos app.

I’ve also shared this with Sonos Tech Support. 

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After a couple of weeks of _not_ experiencing the intermittent audio problem with the Arc, I may have discovered a contributing factor.  CAVEAT - I have a Samsung Frame TV, and I see several people in this topic with non-Frame TVs, so not sure if I’ve actually discovered a smoking gun.  In any event…

Since my last post, in my efforts to troubleshoot, I switched on the “TV Autoplay” setting for my Sonos Arc in the app.  Since that time, I have not experienced the intermittent audio problem.  However, yesterday afternoon I switched TV Autoplay back to OFF, and that evening, when I turned on the TV, the intermittent audio problem resurfaced. I think that’s not a coincidence.

So, why would I switch off TV Autoplay in the first place?  As those of you with Frame TVs are likely aware, the TV has a motion sensor that will turn off the standby art display to save power.  If I’m playing music through my Sonos Arc (from any source other than the TV) and the TV art display has turned off due to no motion in the room, as soon as motion is detected, and the TV resumes the art display, Sonos apparently thinks that the TV has been switched on (i.e. the HDMI/ARC port comes back to life) and the Sonos music playback stops  (which is the behaviour you’d probably expect from Autoplay if you were actually turning on the TV).  I noticed this back when I had my Playbar connected to this TV, which is why I initially switched Autoplay off.  I found it annoying that every time my art display came out of sleep mode, it would kill the music playback.

It would seem Sonos is probably doing exactly what it’s designed to do - detecting the state of the HDMI/ARC port into which it’s connected - but only when you have TV Autoplay switched on.  The Samsung TV is apparently shutting down that HDMI/ARC port when it shuts down the art/standby display (due to the motion sensor) and wakes the port up again when the display wakes up, even though the display is only the standby art display, and not the actual television (if that makes sense).  If the Sonos TV Autoplay is switched off, it apparently isn’t checking to see if the TV HDMI/ARC port is alive, and that’s when I get the intermittent audio until I unplug/replug the HDMI cable (or power cycle the Arc). 

Not sure what this all means in terms of resolving this issue.  Might there be a way for Sonos to regularly check the state of the HDMI/ARC port whether or not TV Autoplay is switched on?  It doesn’t seem quite right to me that Sonos is only detecting the power state of the HDMI/ARC port if TV Autoplay is switched on (if that is indeed what’s happening)

In the case of non-Frame Samsung TVs, I can only guess that the HDMI/ARC port on the TV shuts down as part of some power saving scheme as well, although not linked to an “art display” motion sensor. 

Figured I’d share this information with the community as I hadn’t seen any specific references to the TV Autoplay setting when I scanned the posts.  Curious to know if any of you experiencing this issue have noticed the same correlation to the TV Autoplay setting in the Sonos app.

I’ve also shared this with Sonos Tech Support. 

Unfortunately, I always have the TV Autoplay option enabled in my setup, and I experienced the sound issue today. Perhaps that is particular to your setup?

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Ah, ok.  Well, there goes my exciting theory - I thought I was on to something.

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It happened to me again this morning. I’ve submitted a diagnostic; 1286106442

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Hi @sparkymark75, thanks for reaching out and for sending a diagnostic report of your Sonos system. Sorry to hear about the issue with your Sonos Arc. Upon checking the diagnostic information, it shows that the HDMI EArc status is offline. Since you tried to unplug and replug the cable from the EArc port and power cycled the Sonos Arc, and it still shows offline. We’ll take this further. I'll ask you to kindly contact our phone support team for further assistance and more in-depth troubleshooting steps.  

Let us know what you have in mind with the advice above.

The Sonos community is always here to help.

Userlevel 3
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Hi @sparkymark75, thanks for reaching out and for sending a diagnostic report of your Sonos system. Sorry to hear about the issue with your Sonos Arc. Upon checking the diagnostic information, it shows that the HDMI EArc status is offline. Since you tried to unplug and replug the cable from the EArc port and power cycled the Sonos Arc, and it still shows offline. We’ll take this further. I'll ask you to kindly contact our phone support team for further assistance and more in-depth troubleshooting steps.  

Hi @Simon B 

Just to clarify, the sound on the ARC returned once I power cycled it. However as mentioned by others above, this isn’t a long term solution. It seems to happen for me when I bring the TV out of standby. The TV is a Samsung Q80T (UK version).

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Hi @sparkymark75, thanks for the quick update. For this scenario that it is an ongoing issue even after doing a power cycle on the Sonos Arc and doing some necessary troubleshooting steps. I'll ask you to kindly contact our phone support team for further assistance and more in-depth troubleshooting steps. They should be able to check on this issue thoroughly and give alternative options for a resolution on this issue. 

Please, feel free to let me know if you require any further information.

The Sonos community is always here to help.

Hi, 

I am having the same issue as others here, the only difference I see is that it grew in frequency. Initially it would happen once or twice per week, and now it’s every single time I start the sound systems to watch something on the TV. My Diagnostic number is 512796646.

Thanks

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Hi @Alceste, Thank you for reaching out and welcome to the community. Sorry to hear that you have the same issue with your Sonos Arc. Upon checking the diagnostic report of your Sonos system, I can’t see anything wrong with the diagnostic information. So that we can check this further. I'll ask you to kindly contact our phone support team for further assistance and more in-depth troubleshooting steps.  

Let us know what you have in mind with the advice above.

The Sonos community is always here to help.

Hi,

I purchased a Sonos Ars soundbar 5 months ago and I really disappointed!!!

This cutting-off issue makes me crazy and it's unbelievable that it's unsolved for more than 5 months!!!

It should be the high-end soundbar of Sonos but it feels like a cheap Chinese copy or something.

I really can't explain to myself why I bought this wannabe “cutting-edge” product if I need to unplug it from power every time I want to use it.

Really disappointed!

I can only agree with you. I have contacted the local support and they were nice and willing, but Murphy’s law doing it s thing the problem did not happen when I was on the call…. but the again the next time I powered it all. I’ll keep trying but it is surprising this does not create more ripples as I see so many occurrences of this problem being raised.

I have the same issue …m y initial Arc was returned to the retailer who was aware of other problems, said it was a manufacturing fault and replaced it. The new one was fine for 6 weeks until last night when it started happening again 

 

my diagnostic fault number is 809839053

 

my retailer has referred it to Sonos but I am ready to take it back for a refund and get a Samsung soundbar ...its clear that this product is not fit for purpose and I am not willing to spend my time rebooting and reconfiguring what is supposed to be a premium product 

 

the plethora of comments on here and other fora make it clear that this is a widely occurring failure rather than a random ad hoc failures 

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Reading through all the months of comments with customers experiencing e-Arc incompatiblily with the Sonos Arc and Samsung Frame 2020 model TV’s, SONOS HOW DO YOU FIND IT ACCEPTABLE THAT THIS IS STILL AN ISSUE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS. WHY HAS THIS NOT BEEN FIXED . PLEASE CONTACT ME TO ARRANGE A REPLACEMENT SOUND BAR to replace the faulty one you sold to me. 

Here is my take. Sonos, I think you know exactly what the problem is and are unable to fix it. Might be a physical problem with the hdmi port, but this is a systemic problem. So it’s time to own it. I would like my unit replaced with one that has a more recent manufacturing date. And yes I’ve gone through every single suggested fox you’ve offered for the last 4 months.

I’m having the same problem as everyone else, and the weak responses from Sonos are concerning. (WiFi interference … seriously?) I think I will return my Sonos Arc and leave a negative review on Amazon to let others know before they purchase the Arc. This may be the only way Sonos will actually address the issue.

I Lied - Another Update...so, in all my back and forth with Sonos, they ended up keeping one of my cases open and a very responsive and seemingly-knowledgeable support rep has been corresponding with me.  One of the first things he said - and this was the first time I got anything like this from Sonos - is that there is a KNOWN ISSUE with eARC TVs, and with those TVs, the symptom is a periodic complete loss of audio.  And they are apparently working with Samsung to resolve.  My Samsung Frame TV is a 2019 version with regular HDMI/ARC (i.e. not eARC).  And my symptom of the audio cutting in/out, like someone is pressing the mute/un-mute button every 1-2 seconds, is, according to him, not a common issue.  This strikes me as odd, given there are so many posts in this topic, and others, that seem to raise the identical issue.  And the diagnostic shows the HDMI/ARC port to be inactive when the symptom is occurring.  None of this is novel - we all suspect it’s a software/firmware issue on the TV side (and apparently not just Samsung TVs), but just wanted to confirm with the community...for those of you with regular HDMI/ARC connections (not eARC), does your TV periodically [allegedly] shut down the HDMI/ARC port and you’re left with audio cutting in/out until you either hard-reboot your TV or unplug/re-plug the HDMI cable to the Arc?  I told the rep to just go read a few of these topics in the community and he’d see I’m not alone in this, but they’re treating my issue like something unique, albeit with no real optimism for a solution. :face_palm_tone1:

I have an eARC on my 2020 75” Samsung frame TV and I also have my sound cut in/out when I first turn my tv on in the morning. It happens every morning not just a couple of times a week. My kids have just learned to unplug the arc and plug it back in. I pre-ordered the arc system with sub earlier this year and it finally arrived July 2020. The sound is great but the connectivity issues are frustrating for the amount I spent on this system. I haven’t done any diagnostics with Sonos because I have no hope they will solve it. I keep checking periodically  in these forums for a fix. I hope on comes soon 

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Hi folks, thanks for the information that was provided and I apologize for this ongoing issue. Kindly visit the main thread about this issue on the Sonos Arc audio drop out concern for any recommendations and update about this issue. 

Keep me in the know with the advice above.

We're here to answer any further questions you have.

Hi,

I’m having the same issue, I’ve:

  • Tried different HDMI cables in case that was the issue
  • Power cycled the TV and ARC (work for a little while)
  • Reset the ARC and set-up from scratch
  • Removed surround speakers in case they were causing the issue
  • Ensured TV (also new) is plugged directly into a LAN cable for maximum download speeds.

Diagnostic report number - 1571715648

Any help would be much appreciated :)

- Rich

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Hi @Rich McNabb, Thank you for reaching out, and welcome to the community. Thanks for submitting a diagnostic report of your Sonos system, upon checking, the diagnostic report, it shows that the Sonos Arc is working fine, the issue that showed up on the diagnostics is with the other speakers which are not getting enough bandwidth of connections. We’ll take this further, I'll ask you to kindly contact our phone support team for further assistance and more in-depth troubleshooting steps. They may ask for remote access for further assistance and additional steps and options for this issue. 

Let us know what you have in mind with the advice above.

We're here to answer any further questions you have.

Thanks for the quick response I’ll give them a call on Monday. Thanks!

 

In the meantime I ran another diagnostic (1474439627) while the arc was cutting in an out. Would you mind doing a quick check on that so I have all the info I need when I call support next week, please?

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Hi @Rich McNabb, thanks for the update and thanks for sending another diagnostic report, upon checking the report, it shows that the Sonos Arc is offline this time. and there are interference and low bandwidth of connections on the other speakers. You may check his article about Reducing wireless interference on Sonos for some troubleshooting steps. 

Let me know your thoughts on the advice above.

The Sonos community is always here to help.

Hi Simon,

Can you explain what you mean when you say the “Arc is offline”, please?

We have a new Samsung Q95T 65" QLED Ultra HD 4K Smart TV that is plugged directly into the router via a network (LAN) cable and then the Arc is connected to the TV via an HDMI cable.

Would the Arc be using the TV’s hardwired network cable in this scenario or does it work independently and still use the wifi regardless?

If that’s the case, should I plug the Arc directly into the router via a network cable too?

Thanks!

- Rich

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