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Talvish
Enthusiast II
June 21, 2020

Sonos Arc + Samsung Q90T | Sound Cutting Out | Anyone else?

So I recently picked up the Sonos Arc + Sub and a Samsung Q90T TV (which has HDMI 2.1/eArc) and I am experiencing the sound cutting out periodically. Some details:

  • Only devices I can test with are an Xbox One S, Xbox One X and the built-in Samsung TV Apps

  • Sonos, Xboxes and Saumsung are properly set to have Dolby Atmos

  • I have experienced sound cutting out on both Atmos and 5.1 

  • I have experienced sound cutting out from both the Xboxes as well as the built-in Samsung TV Apps (only tested the Netflix app) . . . so I know the Xboxes aren't the issue

  • At times the sound cuts out very infrequently (minutes apart) and other times about every 10 to 20 seconds and there is no discernible pattern on what changes this.

  • There is a sound setting on the TV showing ‘sound output’ that should should normally say ‘Receiver(HDMI-eARC)’ when you have the ‘HDMI eARC Mode’ set to ‘auto’ but sometimes shows ‘Receiver(HDMI)’ instead (as if it lost the eARC signal).

  • The most stable I have seen the sound (though it did cut out once during a 30 to 40 minute session, so perhaps it is just much less likely) is if I go to the Samsung TV settings and set ‘HDMI eARC Mode’ to ‘off’ (only other option is ‘auto’). When doing this Dolby Atmos still works (at least it says so in the Sonos app).

I don't know if this is a Samsung issue, a Sonos issue, or just the two of them working together. Curious if this is some form of eARC / HDMI signaling issue.

Perhaps related side-note: the Samsung settings do say when playing with the settings it may cause temporary muting, which is kind of what this is, so wondering if when in 'auto eArc' mode, there is a problem. Unfortunately there is no way to force on, just 'off' and 'auto'.

On reddit, someone with a Samsung Q80T also said they had this issue. They also mentioned that toggling ‘Dolby Atmos compatibility’ fixed it (though obviously no Atmos). My experience was more temperamental. Sometimes it got better and sometimes it didn’t.

Anyone else experiencing anything like this?

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    98 replies

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    Stillsimon
    Lyricist I
    November 9, 2020

    This is what they say it's fixing.…

     

    Model : Q950T, Q900T, Q850T, Q800T, Q90T, Q80T, Q8DT, Q70T, Q7DT, LS03T, LS01T
    - Version : 1403.1
    - Improved usability 1. Improved picture quality 2. Improved browser performance 3. Improved app performance 4. Improved stability 5. Improved usability of input devices

     

    Number 5 looks promising...

      Stillsimon
      Lyricist I
      November 9, 2020

      Did not fix anything.

      jstruck
      Avid Contributor I
      November 17, 2020

      Did not fix anything.

      Has anyone heard/spoken to Samsung or Sonos about this continuing issue lately? I know people have in the past.

      BikerBoyUK
      Lyricist I
      November 17, 2020

      Same for me. I’ve got Q95T at 1403 with Sonos Arc and it’s playing Atmos fine but that random sound cut out issue is continuing... very strange. It’s not the end of the world but would be nice if it didn’t happen. On average it’s a couple of 1-2 second cut outs every hour but very rarely it cuts out for longer, around 5-6 seconds. Resetting and pulling cables in/out etc. hasn’t changed anything.

      jstruck
      Avid Contributor I
      November 17, 2020

      Same for me. I’ve got Q95T at 1403 with Sonos Arc and it’s playing Atmos fine but that random sound cut out issue is continuing... very strange. It’s not the end of the world but would be nice if it didn’t happen. On average it’s a couple of 1-2 second cut outs every hour but very rarely it cuts out for longer, around 5-6 seconds. Resetting and pulling cables in/out etc. hasn’t changed anything.

      Sounds like updates have been improving the situation? In your opinion, do you think they’ll eventually issue one that will completely resolve it? Or is this going to always have some glitch?

      chazas
      Contributor I
      November 17, 2020

      I have a Q80T and have three similar issues - none of which keeps me from enjoying my Arc, but they are annoying.

      Rarely, sound will cut out completely.  This is remedied by either just leaving it alone for a bit of time or do a hard reset on the TV, presumably to fix some issue with the eARC handshake.

      Rarely, sound will cut on and off repeatedly.  This is remedied by unplugging the Arc and rebooting.

      Then there are the 2-3 mostly 1-2 second cut outs per our BikerBoyUK references.  No solution found.

        BikerBoyUK
        Lyricist I
        November 17, 2020

        Same for me. I’ve got Q95T at 1403 with Sonos Arc and it’s playing Atmos fine but that random sound cut out issue is continuing... very strange. It’s not the end of the world but would be nice if it didn’t happen. On average it’s a couple of 1-2 second cut outs every hour but very rarely it cuts out for longer, around 5-6 seconds. Resetting and pulling cables in/out etc. hasn’t changed anything.

        Sounds like updates have been improving the situation? In your opinion, do you think they’ll eventually issue one that will completely resolve it? Or is this going to always have some glitch?

        Who knows, hopefully so. Reading around it looks like Sonos is working with various TV manufacturers to try and work out what the issue is.

        jstruck
        Avid Contributor I
        November 17, 2020

        Same for me. I’ve got Q95T at 1403 with Sonos Arc and it’s playing Atmos fine but that random sound cut out issue is continuing... very strange. It’s not the end of the world but would be nice if it didn’t happen. On average it’s a couple of 1-2 second cut outs every hour but very rarely it cuts out for longer, around 5-6 seconds. Resetting and pulling cables in/out etc. hasn’t changed anything.

        Sounds like updates have been improving the situation? In your opinion, do you think they’ll eventually issue one that will completely resolve it? Or is this going to always have some glitch?

        Who knows, hopefully so. Reading around it looks like Sonos is working with various TV manufacturers to try and work out what the issue is.

        @BikerBoyUK Oh, other manufacturers have this compatibility/cut-out issue too? So I know what brand to buy/not buy right now (or at least not blindly buy), who else are they having the issue with?

        BikerBoyUK
        Lyricist I
        November 17, 2020

        Same for me. I’ve got Q95T at 1403 with Sonos Arc and it’s playing Atmos fine but that random sound cut out issue is continuing... very strange. It’s not the end of the world but would be nice if it didn’t happen. On average it’s a couple of 1-2 second cut outs every hour but very rarely it cuts out for longer, around 5-6 seconds. Resetting and pulling cables in/out etc. hasn’t changed anything.

        Sounds like updates have been improving the situation? In your opinion, do you think they’ll eventually issue one that will completely resolve it? Or is this going to always have some glitch?

        Who knows, hopefully so. Reading around it looks like Sonos is working with various TV manufacturers to try and work out what the issue is.

        @BikerBoyUK Oh, other manufacturers have this compatibility/cut-out issue too? So I know what brand to buy/not buy right now (or at least not blindly buy), who else are they having the issue with?

        Yeah, I think it was on the Samsung community forum. If you Google it, quite a few come up but I can’t remember the other brands, sorry. Although they were just a few examples, doesn’t mean it’s this specific issue. Sounds like Samsung is the major one. I wouldn’t let it put you off though. Like a few others have said, it all sounds brilliant and works, just the odd cut out. But if that’s too frustrating for you, then hang on a bit longer.

        Bathdave
        Lyricist III
        November 18, 2020

        I had this issue with a new Samsung Q70T and Arc at the beginning of Oct ...research on here showed it was common ...my retailer said there was a known hardware issue on Arc and he had other instances which had been fixed with a replacement Arc. He swapped out and gave me a new one and it was great for 6 weeks then the problem restarted yesterday 

         

        im not minded to keep doing hard resets of either the arc or the tv

         

        I noted my replacement arc came with a optical to earc converter, which is apparently a fix for  a known problem.

         

        my retailer (fortuna in jersey ) have been really good and are on the case this morning ...I will report back. 
         

        it’s a very expensive bit of kit for some many issues, I guess it was rushed to market without being properly tested, or maybe there are quality control issues in manufacturing 

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