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

T
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

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

C

I have a 2020 Sony X950 with eARC and have encountered a similar issue. When streaming Netflix content in Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos, the audio cuts out from time to time. When this happens I can exit Netflix, but the audio does not return. The Android TV UI makes a “ding” sound every time you navigate the menus, but that does not work until I power cycle the television.

 

After seeing this forum with Samsung and LG users, I’m guessing it’s the arc sound bar itself. I have about 14 days to return and I might do that. For $799 and my first Sonos experience, it isn’t a good one.

C

This is a widespread issue with the arc and in another thread many suggested unplugging the arc and then plugging it back in.  I just tried it on my arc connected to my Samsung Q90T and sound is no longer cutting out.  I have no idea how long this will be fixed, but it was OK for the first 6 days I’ve had this setup.  Go figure.  Help us Sonos.

D

@DanielDion I have had the Q90T and Sonos Arc Setup for a over a month now.  I did have some issues with sound cutting out at first.  I have only had it happen once over the last 3 weeks or so.  It was when Netflix (TV App) went fo the next episode automatically.  Not sure why this only happened once over the last 3 week as we watch Netflix every night just about and let it automatically go to the next episode all th time.  Anyway, I love the TV and the Sonos Arc.  I can’t say for certain you won’t have the sound cutout issues but I also don’t want you to let this issue dissuade you from making the upgrades.  Both products are exceptional except for this one issue, which seems to be very sporadic, and for me at least, not very frequent.

thanks for your reply!!!

planning to have both this fall. If I can wait for black friday, it will be the 75.

best regards 

Dan

 

E

Getting the problem where the sound cuts out for 2 seconds every 5 seconds or so.  Only thing I find that corrects it every time is power cycling the Arc.  Then it works for approximately 1 to 2 days and comes back.  Sometimes tweaking settings on the Samsung side fixes the issue temporarily but at this point the only thing that always works is power cycling the Arc by unplugging it and plugging it back in.

Krishma M
Userlevel 5
Badge +13

Hi @malkam, thanks for reaching out here and welcome to the community. Let me share this thread and just to let you know that if you’re only using the inbuilt apps on your TV, you’ll still get Atmos even it’s eARC is disabled. If Arc is receiving an Atmos signal, it will display that within the Sonos App on both the "Now Playing" screen, and within the settings portion of our app. 

eARC should always be enabled if possible to get the most out of the Sonos Arc. If your TV is having trouble when eARC is enabled and you're using streaming services like Netflix, you can disable the eARC from the TV settings because the streaming audio will still be compressed and you'll still get Atmos and most probably we’re investigating about it.  
For 4k Bluray or any hard media plugged in directly to the TV and has Atmos, always enable eARC because eARC always looks for uncompressed audio. Here’s a helpful video about it. 

Hope this helps. We and the community are always here to help.

Help others find useful content by clicking the like button and selecting the best answer to your question.
S

Q80T + Arc here. This happened to me yesterday as well. Right after I tried the beta upgrade. Cutting out only happened with audio from the TV. Was still able to play music via my phone.

In the end I did a factory reset on the TV. Didn’t resolve the issue. I then did a power cycle on the Arc and this seemed to fix it. 

I’m starting to feel rev 1 owners of the arc are beta testers...

K
Userlevel 2
Badge +4

Same issue with Samsung here.  Swapped HDMI cable initially and it was a fix for about a week.  Issue came back yesterday.

T
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

This is definitely wider-spread. Another post here about the Samsung Frame:

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/sonos-arc-samsung-frame-tv-earc-not-working-6842523?postid=16444852#post16444852

K

Happening to me daily. 

To fix it I go into expert sound settings and toggle dolby atmos off and back on.

Hopefully just a bug that's fixed with a software update 

D
Userlevel 1
Badge

I have the q95t and I have my Arc wired straight into hdmi 3 (eARC) the Arc only shows the Arc as a HDMI Receiver as opposed to Receiver eARC - I have a horrible audio delay when using Atmos on my Xbox One X and I think a possible fix could be to enable audio pass through on the TV but this is only possible on eARC devices, which for some reason it doesn't seem to think the Arc is.

1

I just got my Samsung Q90T and Sonos Arc up and running two days ago.  I am also experiencing the audio drop out.  Like others have said, going into Sound Expert Settings and changing the eArc from Auto to Off then back to Auto gets the sound going again.  It has mainly been noticed when the TV is turned on, but I also noticed it when trying to tweak the sound settings to get Dolby Atmos from the Netflix (4K subscription) and Amazon Prime Apps installed on the TV.  That is another issue but I feel like venting…. 

 

I have found through the Sonos App that I can only get Dolby PCM 5.1 with the installed TV apps even if the content is delivered with the Atmos signal.  I found this in the Samsung Q90T manual:  “Dolby Atmos - You can set the TV to allow Dolby Digital+ with Atmos streams that are input from external devices.”  The key words being EXTERNAL DEVICES.  Therefore it is my assumption that I must purchase an External Device to get the full Atmos experience from my 2020 Samsung Q90T and Sonos Arc.  I am getting a 4K Apple TV to validate this tomorrow, but I would love to hear if anyone else can validate this on the Samsung (or LG so if it works on the LG I can hate myself even more for buying Samsung)...

 

And the sound cutting out is just absurd.  Something has to give. Since we are seeing this with multiple TV models I’m starting the think this particular issue is with the Sonos Arc and not the TV...

F

Samsung Q80T + Sonos Arc via eArc port using RocketFish HDMI cable (happens with Sonos provided cord as well)

Sound intermittently cuts out every 8 secs for an undefined duration.  Cut out being a flash of silence lasting 1-2 seconds.  Total phenomenon can last 5 to 10 mins. Occurs every time TV powers up so initially thought TV or Sonos Arc needed time to catch up on audio but lately started happening later during uninterrupted usage.  Also originally thought it might have been a Directv Genie issue but cut out happens on native apps such as Netflix and Apple+.  Both TV and bar have latest firmware and I’ve tried unplugging and replugging HDMI cords on both ends.  Toggling audio outputs, Atmos on/off, and PCM/pass through to no success.

 

Quite disruptive and maddening!

Praying for an OTA update to resolve...

 

 

N

I suspect the issue is eArc on the tv. I have the q95t hooked up to a Sony ht-st5000 Soundbar. External devices to the tv and then eArc to the Soundbar. Sometimes Atmos works sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it works for a while and then just cuts out. I use Apple TV and Xbox one. It’s very frustrating. 

P
Badge +2

I’m in the same boat. Is there a work around here? Maybe sacrifice atmos somehow? Would using the optical to hdmi adapter? Of course that would controlling the soundbar more difficult since CEC (or equivalent) would no longer work.

S

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...

C

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.

O

Same problem here, QN90a + Arc. Sound randomly will not function at all after TV has been powered off for any period of time. Setting audio mode on Samsung TV to Auto corrects the problem, but downgrades audio to Stereo PCM on some inputs (Nintendo Switch among them). Setting back to Pass-Through on the TV options resolves this once more, restoring full surround on affected devices (e.g. 5.1 on Switch)… but only until power cycling TV again, after which it's back to no audio at all.

I am aware that Samsung TVs have some issues with Pass-Through audio. However there has to be a fix for this…

Cables are all high quality 48 Gbps Cable Matters from Amazon. Connections all good. Firmware of all devices is latest.

Q

Same here is happening with a brand new samsung Q80T. Sonos said it is a known issue and to report through the app each time the sound is cutting.

 

It is only happening when playing Atmos content.

P
Userlevel 1

Hello. Has anyone fixed this issue? 

I have Sonos Arc, 2SL and Sub with Samsung Q90T and Apple TV. 

The sounds cuts on average about 5 times per hour for a second or two when watching through Apple TV. This occurs with both Dolby Atmos and 5.1 through Netflix and Disney app. 

If I watch something on the TV’s native app, the sound cuts out completely after about 15 minutes. The sound setting no longer says ‘eArc’ and it just says HDMI. I have to go into settings to get it to work again. 

I am running the latest TV software. I am running the latest Apple TV software. I have tried different HDMI cables. I have factory reset everything multiple times. The retailer has even replaced the Sonos Arc. I have tried various settings on the TV. 

E

I was unable to resolve the issue after numerous calls to Sonos including system diagnostic submissions. I returned the ARC and went back to using my old Playbar. There is obviously some issue with the HDMI Arc connection because the optical connection on the playbar works fine.

S

First of all, I am having this same problem and will be returning the Arc if they can’t fix it. Might need to return all my Sonos products since the entire point of the Arc was integrating the various rooms in my house, and I don’t want an entirely different system in my den. This is on top of the fact that Sonos seemingly does not care about the issue with their flagship home theater product.

Second, Michel, you should exchange your TV. You are experiencing what seems to be an entirely different problem. I used to have my Sonos beam connected to my Q90T and never experienced issues with sound cutting out. My tv has never asked me to “activate” any ports and HDMI-CEC works just fine with all my devices. With the Arc, my sound cuts out intermittently but otherwise all is well with the TV and the various devices I use.

Sonos needs to fix this. It’s insane that we pay this much for a product that doesn’t work as advertised.

T

Bought a Samsung QN 75 6 months ago used my old Samsung power bar and worked fine, at Christmas I got the Sonos Arc hood everything up to the E-Arc hdmi. From the get go sound keeps cutting out every 15 sec off 15 seconds on what is happening the HDMI keeps loosing connection. When TV setting is on auto keeps bouncing back and forth from tv speakers and Sonos hdmi. Not sure what to do return the Sonos Arc for a Bose 900 ???you spend all this money and can’t enjoy 

O
Badge

Same issue with Samsung here.  Swapped HDMI cable initially and it was a fix for about a week.  Issue came back yesterday.

Does Sonos have a fix?

O
Badge

Is there a fix for ARC audio cut out problem?

J

Q95T and Arc with same issue. First two weeks no probs, now started cutting couple of days ago.

Power cycle Arc + disable/enable hdmi+cec fixes it for some time.

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