Can you enter “sound” in the search box on the taskbar and then select the Playback tab.  Select the Sonos beam and then click on Configure.  Do you have 5.1 sound selected?  If not, please select and then press the Test button.  Please let us know how you get on. :)

ok so im not sure what system your thinking of, but there is no “playback tab”

however i have windows 10 set to output to the digital audio (s/pdif)(hi def device) other wise known the the optical port. 

if i get into the properties of this device, under defult formats i get is 2 channel options (as shown). and that works 

if i then switch it to 5.1 it no longer works, aka i get no sound at all.

im thinking its cuz the beam cant deal with DTS??? is there a work around??

Yes, the Beam only works with Dolby Digital. Can the PC output that? What’s in the Supported Formats tab?

I have Windows 10 64 bit:

As @nik9669a has stated you can only select 5.1 DD

so im hopped, as dts is the only 5.1 i can get???

As I already asked: what’s in the Supported Formats tab? 

it has dolby digital selected but its not out putting that sound, aka if i play something with dedicated rear channel sound i get nothing

Have you tried 44.1kHz?

that did literally nothing 

so no one here has any idea?? well that s****

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the community guidelines.

​Hi @wolfram8411, thank you for reaching out to the Sonos community. I appreciate you for bringing this concern to us. Let me help you out with this.

If you can submit a diagnostic from your Windows 10 PC and mobile devices to compare the reports. Just include the confirmation number in your response so that we can look up the information.

If you need help with any other information, feel free to reach out. We'll wait for your reply.

diagnostic from device is 1566298235

diagnostic from pc is 831971977

not sure what that will tell you but, the system works … i just cant get true surround sound out of the rear channels. its the sonos pushing part of the left and right channels to the rear. but if this helps im willing to try 

Hi @wolfram8411, thank you for your quick response and for providing the diagnostic reports. Let us help you out.

Upon checking, there's a communication problem between your Sonos speakers and your network, either between Sonos devices and your router or between Sonos and the internet.

To correct this, the next step is to perform a sequential reboot of your network devices, all your Sonos products, and force close mobile controllers to refresh the connection.

A sequential reboot means that we need to do this in order.
1. Unplug your network devices (modem, router, any wireless access points on the network) from the power and wait for 60 full seconds before you plug it back in.
2. Once the router is back online, unplug all your Sonos devices from the power. Please wait 15 seconds before you plug back them back in.
3. Force close the Sonos app from your iOS or Android device.
4. When the status light on your Sonos speakers are solid white, get back on the Sonos app and check if you're connected.

When your system is back online, try to remove and re-add the surround speakers in the home theater setup. Did it fix the issue?

After performing the steps above and you're still experiencing the same problem, hardwire one of your speakers to your router and observe your Sonos system. Please submit another diagnostic for us to check if the errors have been cleared out.

Please feel free to reach out in the future if you have any other questions.

You're always welcome here.

thanks for trying to help me, taking your time to try and help out is awesome. how ever i do not think you fully understand the problem or have not read the full post. and are working off some kind of script

the problem is not that the surround speaks have no audio. i get audio just fine from them. and i love my system as it is, with no problems even if you seem to think there is one. 

the problem is its not true surround sound. if i play a test file that have 6 distinct (front left, center, front right, SUB, rear right, rear left) the 5 channels (sub gives nothing as i don't have one on this surround set up) are merged.  I'm guessing sonos dose this so stereo sound is sent to all speakers. i only want this to be a thing if I'm playing stereo sound. but if i give it 5.1 (once or if i get a sub) sound i would like it to play true 5.1. as my earlier post have pointed out my computer seems only capable of out putting stereo sound in a form the beam can deal with. when i know it is capable of much more. my question, and the reason I'm on here, dose anyone know how to force my pc to give 5.1 in a form the beam can deal with. as it dose not deal with DTS. I'm not talking through the PC app (that works fine), im talking natively through the optical output on my motherboard. as i want my sonos system to play all computer sounds, not just music from my pc (as I'm using it as my pc speaker setup)

and cuz i know your going to ask yes i did all your steps and my new diagnostic is 1701999125
but again this is not a problem with the sonos system, (other then it cant deal with DTS, the one format i know my pc can output in 5.1) its a computer problem. 

Hi @wolfram8411, thank you for your detailed response and explained what's happening in your system. 

The computer has limited capabilities of the motherboard and it supports codec 5.1. DTS format is not supported with Sonos and it can only output PCM 2.0 audio format. Based on the diagnostic, it can only read the PCM stereo and not the true sound, this is why we don't recommend our home theater speakers to be connected to other devices except the TV that can generate multiple codecs like PCM, Dolby Digital + Dolby Atmos.

The 2080Ti video card is an audio card that can generate 5.1 surrounds. It only supports traditional speakers and not WiFi speakers. What you can do is to contact your computer manufacturer to check if the motherboard can only process and produce DTS5.1. In this kind of set up with working a 5.1 Sonos home theater to your computer will not work. 

If you need help with any other information, please feel free to reach out. The Sonos community is always here to help.

A thought: are you/should you be using sound that is output from your graphics card rather than the motherboard? If the graphics card has HDMI you may need a splitter to extract the audio to input to the Beam - but check the card can send a DD signal first. 

problem solved thanks all

TLDR: Realtek sound cards (most on motherboard sound cards) can’t do the Dolby the beam needs … get a sound blaster/better sound card. 

so as it turns out, after much mucking about. its was the on motherboard sound card. Realtek doesn't want to pay Dolby as such they do not have there encoding. So I got a sound blaster x3, and it vary much dose output Dolby 5.1 and I'm now rocking a true surround sound Sonos system as my pc speakers. now all i need is the sub and I got 5.1 (not sure if i will do that but probably will).

once its hooked up you have to make sure its set up to push Dolby live out the optical jack but once that is done. your laughing. 

Hi @wolfram8411, thank you for your response and for updating us.

If you encounter any issues, just submit a diagnostic and let us know the confirmation number for us to check.

Please do not hesitate to reach out or create a topic if you still have further questions or concerns. 

The Sonos Community is always here to help.