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okgrongstad
August 2, 2020

Sound cutting in and out on Sonos Arc after playing Dolby Atmos content on Apple TV 4K

Sound cutting in and out on my Sonos Arc after playing Dolby Atmos content on Apple TV 4K 

I’ve had my Sonos Arc and Sub Gen 3 for about two weeks now and I’m very satisfied with the sound quality, but I’m having some very annoying issues with audio cutting in and out… 
I have the latest LG OLED TV, a LG GX (same as the CX, just wall mounted). The only two boxes I have hooked up to my TV is an Apple TV 4K and a PS4 Pro, but I’m having sound issues on my Apple TV.
Before I explain the problem, yes, I’ve pretty much done all the troubleshooting I can do. Plug everything in and out, check that the cables is properly connected, updated everything, the Arc, TV and Apple TV, everything should be up to date as I’m writing this post. 

 

Okay, so here’s the issue, with a half ish solution. 

My issue: 
If I play any content that supports Dolby Atmos on iTunes, Apple TV+, Netflix etc. and try to play some music through the Apple Music app or watch any video on YouTube on my Apple TV after that, the audio cuts in and out every other second. This even happens after playing a Dolby Atmos movie on iTunes and when I go back to the movie menu, the audio starts to cut in and out. It doesn't help to turn the TV and Apple TV on and off and it doesn't help to just restart the Apple TV itself. 

 

The half ish solution:

The only fix that I found that worked, is to play a movie that is in 5.1 after playing Dolby Atmos supported content. If I do that and then go into Apple Music or YouTube, the audio is fine and it doesn't cut in and out every other second. 

 

The issue: 
So it seem like the Arc might have an issue going from Dolby Atmos straight over to stereo sound. But going from Dolby Atmos to 5.1 or from 5.1 to stereo works just fine.
It work perfectly the other way around, from stereo to 5.1 or Dolby Atmos. The only thing I hear then is a little loud zippering or buzzing sound, but I guess that’s just because the Arc is switching the sound receiving signal? If that zippering / buzzing sound shouldn't happen, let me know. 

 

The funny part: 

Here’s the the funny part though, if I play something in Dolby Atmos on my Apple TV and after that play a YouTube video on the built-in YouTube app on the TV, the audio is fine. Same if I AirPlay music to the Arc. So I’m a little unsure if there’s something that has to be fixed from Sonos’s end or Apple’s? 

I’m seeing a lot of people on here tags @Ryan A  and @Kyle A, so I’m gonna do that too, seeing as they come up with a lot of good answers. 

If anyone else has had similar issues, let me know.

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    110 replies

    Show previous replies
    Fakebook
    Lyricist I
    December 20, 2020

    Having this exact issue - any updates yet? I’m fairly sure it’s related to the AppleTV only.

    Problem occurs for me when:

    1. Watch any Atmos content (typically Disney+ is easiest)
    2. Atmos sound works fine
    3. Back out to YouTube app (or any non-Atmos app)
    4. Sound doesn’t work, goes in/out every second
    5. Return to Disney+
    6. Even Atmos sound is broken at this point

    If I change to any other device via HDMI, the sound works just fine, even if using Atmos. Typically I’ll just move to my built in TV apps until the issue eventually fixes itself.

    ledzep1
    Headliner II
    December 20, 2020

    This is apparently fixed on the LG CX with new firmware (3.21.09), only available in some regions at the moment though.

     

    DsunMD
    Lyricist III
    December 20, 2020

    This is apparently fixed on the LG CX with new firmware (3.21.09), only available in some regions at the moment though.

     

    Good to hear!

    majelbstoat
    Contributor I
    December 21, 2020

    This is apparently fixed on the LG CX with new firmware (3.21.09), only available in some regions at the moment though.

     

    Confirmed, this is fixed in LG CX firmware 3.21.09 :)

      Trebz
      Lyricist I
      December 24, 2020

      Frustrating that this firmware is not widely available if it fixes the issues.  I am on 3.11.30 and no updates available.

      DsunMD
      Lyricist III
      December 24, 2020

      Frustrating that this firmware is not widely available if it fixes the issues.  I am on 3.11.30 and no updates available.

      It’s easy to download from the Korean website. 
      https://www.lgservice.co.kr/search/driverSoftTotalSearchPage.do?searchKeyWord=2020%EB%85%84%20LG%20%EC%98%AC%EB%A0%88%EB%93%9C%20AI%20%EC%B5%9C%EC%8B%A0%20%EC%86%8C%ED%94%84%ED%8A%B8%EC%9B%A8%EC%96%B4_OLEDxxCXX_GXX_O20)&oneCateCode=1005&twoCateCode=D002795

       

      select the first option All Red = OLED

      ledzep1
      Headliner II
      December 24, 2020

      Frustrating that this firmware is not widely available if it fixes the issues.  I am on 3.11.30 and no updates available.

      Yeah as above if in US it seems you can install the Korean firmware, but overall looks like it was a small push of updates early in the week to a select few, likely they will push to TVs in the new year now or hopefully upload to the website to download and install manually.

      Trebz
      Lyricist I
      December 25, 2020

      Frustrating that this firmware is not widely available if it fixes the issues.  I am on 3.11.30 and no updates available.

      It’s easy to download from the Korean website. 
      https://www.lgservice.co.kr/search/driverSoftTotalSearchPage.do?searchKeyWord=2020%EB%85%84%20LG%20%EC%98%AC%EB%A0%88%EB%93%9C%20AI%20%EC%B5%9C%EC%8B%A0%20%EC%86%8C%ED%94%84%ED%8A%B8%EC%9B%A8%EC%96%B4_OLEDxxCXX_GXX_O20)&oneCateCode=1005&twoCateCode=D002795

       

      select the first option All Red = OLED

      I saw a couple of people on the LG forum did this and said it did not fix the issue.  Can you verify that it worked for you?   I am just a little leery of installing a potentially unsupported firmware, and then have something else go wrong on a $3500 TV and not get support from LG.    

      DsunMD
      Lyricist III
      December 25, 2020

      Frustrating that this firmware is not widely available if it fixes the issues.  I am on 3.11.30 and no updates available.

      It’s easy to download from the Korean website. 
      https://www.lgservice.co.kr/search/driverSoftTotalSearchPage.do?searchKeyWord=2020%EB%85%84%20LG%20%EC%98%AC%EB%A0%88%EB%93%9C%20AI%20%EC%B5%9C%EC%8B%A0%20%EC%86%8C%ED%94%84%ED%8A%B8%EC%9B%A8%EC%96%B4_OLEDxxCXX_GXX_O20)&oneCateCode=1005&twoCateCode=D002795

       

      select the first option All Red = OLED

      I saw a couple of people on the LG forum did this and said it did not fix the issue.  Can you verify that it worked for you?   I am just a little leery of installing a potentially unsupported firmware, and then have something else go wrong on a $3500 TV and not get support from LG.    
       

      granted I’ve only had the update for a day but so far so good! The soundbar going out for 2-3 seconds issue has not popped back up!
       

      The Apple TV issue with atmos and stereo sound cutting in and out has been resolved for sure  

       

        bclarkep
        bclarkep
        Lyricist III
        December 28, 2020

        WOW

        LG just fixed the issue today they pushed a new firmware.

         

        03.21.09

         

        fully resolved the Dolby Atmos issues when switching from stereo to Atmos back to strep on Apple TV.

         

        So happy, after months of this not working!

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