I have an Arc and the mic turns on and off without warning at random times. It makes a tone every time this happens. It does it with music or the tv. I called sonos and got a replacement, but that didn't fix the issue. How is this happening with a capacitive touch button when nothing is touching it?
Is the device just designed horribly and there is no fix?
This isn’t normal. If you place the Arc in another room, does it do the same thing?
Haven't tried it but wouldn't I then have to remove it from the surround system? I also had an issue when I swapped the arcs where it wouldn't let me remove the surrounds from the previous room. Had to do hard resets of all devices. Such a pain.
I don't know why room would a difference. I tried it with no AC on. It's also about a foot from the tv. I tried to hold it up to the tv to see if that would trigger it. It did not.
The chances that I got two broken devices seems slim but this is totally bogus. It's obviously poorly designed.
Have you submitted a diagnostic report and spoken to support? I don’t know if the diagnostic report will indicate where the “mic on” command came from but might be worth an ask of Sonos?
Could it be an hdmi-arc command? Does your tv support voice control? Just putting a few ideas out there for further suggestions/contributions to try to move forwards and resolve it.
It does it whether the TV is on and playing sound or whether it’s independently playing music, so it can’t be the arc.
I’ve logged several diagnostics but it’s pointless. The support team is all in India and give basic, unhelpful advice along the lines of “did you restart your router.” I don’t understand how I could get two Arcs which have the same exact issue. Seems too coincidental. I’ve seen others having the same issue, including another active thread on here.
It just seems like the designed it poorly.
Or perhaps it’s an issue with the signals it’s receiving from the TV via the ARC/eARC path? I’ve got two Arcs, and neither exhibit this behavior, and until recently, both were connected to Vizio TVs.
I’d be tempted to first make sure the TV’s software was up to date, then reboot the TV by unplugging it from the wall for 5 minutes, just to eliminate that possibility. Then I’d be tempted to disconnect it from the TV connection completely, and see if it could be reproduced, which would be a good indicator of either a Sonos hardware or software fault. But given the low recurrence of this in the wider population, it seems unlikely.
Suspect you’ll need to get to at least level 2 support, it wouldn’t surprise me if the basic front line folks just don’t have the experience or training to understand this super rare issue.
Or perhaps it’s an issue with the signals it’s receiving from the TV via the ARC/eARC path? I’ve got two Arcs, and neither exhibit this behavior, and until recently, both were connected to Vizio TVs.
I’d be tempted to first make sure the TV’s software was up to date, then reboot the TV by unplugging it from the wall for 5 minutes, just to eliminate that possibility. Then I’d be tempted to disconnect it from the TV connection completely, and see if it could be reproduced, which would be a good indicator of either a Sonos hardware or software fault. But given the low recurrence of this in the wider population, it seems unlikely.
Suspect you’ll need to get to at least level 2 support, it wouldn’t surprise me if the basic front line folks just don’t have the experience or training to understand this super rare issue.
Well if it’s unlikely to be a Sonos hardware/software fault, and the issue persists even when the Arc is just playing music with the tv not even on, then where would the issue lie? It has to be one or the other. It seems incredibly unlikely that both Arcs I received have the same issue. And it seems even more unlikely that the other person in this community bringing up the exact same issue, and who has also gotten a replacement, would have two broken arcs.
Shouldn’t this be easy to fix through the diagnostics? I assume they can see what’s triggering the mic.
There could be a fault in ARC, I might think, causing the mic to be switched on or off, which is why I was suggesting testing while the HDMI cable is disconnected, to see if it was reproducible. The challenge is that there are so few people reporting this as an issue, it certainly seems quite unusual, despite the fact that you are. Much easier to find, I’d think, if hundreds upon hundreds of people were submitting it as an issue, along with diagnostics.
I don’t expect minimum wage folks on the front line to be fully conversant in finding arcane circumstances in diagnostics, just the basics. Which is why I was suggesting a higher level, someone who may have more experience in reading diagnostics, and finding perhaps that one odd data point that doesn’t make sense.
There could be a fault in ARC, I might think, causing the mic to be switched on or off, which is why I was suggesting testing while the HDMI cable is disconnected, to see if it was reproducible. The challenge is that there are so few people reporting this as an issue, it certainly seems quite unusual, despite the fact that you are. Much easier to find, I’d think, if hundreds upon hundreds of people were submitting it as an issue, along with diagnostics.
I don’t expect minimum wage folks on the front line to be fully conversant in finding arcane circumstances in diagnostics, just the basics. Which is why I was suggesting a higher level, someone who may have more experience in reading diagnostics, and finding perhaps that one odd data point that doesn’t make sense.
I am going to try and disconnect it when I get home, but it seems weird that the other person in the community having the same issues also disconnected from the tv and moved it to a different room and still has the same issue.
I agree, it does seem odd. But it also seems odd to me that there is only one other person, out of the thousands upon thousands of installed units, that are reporting this issue. It doesn’t mean there isn’t an issue, it suggests it’s hard to find and fix.
I have the same problem. Seems to be related to Google Assistant although when using Sonos Voice, you can hear Mic going on and off. Turned off Google and issue goes away.
Internet search suggests there are many with this problem!
Did you ever figure out this issue? I am experiencing the same thing. I have a Sonos Arc hooked up to an LG C1 TV via HDMI eARC, and am using Alexa as my voice assistant. When audio is coming from the TV, I hear the microphone turning itself on and off. It happens randomly, usually every few minutes though.
Hello there, same issue here. Sonos ARC turned the mic on and off randomly. Connected to Sony oled tv with eARC. Played music on spotify (tv off).
This happens one week after installation of the sonos system and today i used Trueplay. Before Trueplay no issue. Is this the cause of turning the mic on and off on the ARC? On the Era300’s all fine.
Same here. Arc linked to Amazon Alexa for voice assistant. Mic enable/disable sound happens intermittently when listing to music. TV is powered off.
Removing Alexa Voice assistant as a test and will report back.
I have an LG C3 65 connected to Arc and Amazon Alexa. The mic randomly keeps coming off and on. I have turned roofer, arc, tv etc off and on, reset and reinstalled everything and it keeps happening. Does anyone have a suggested solution?
I have an LG C3 65 connected to Arc and Amazon Alexa. The mic randomly keeps coming off and on. I have turned roofer, arc, tv etc off and on, reset and reinstalled everything and it keeps happening. Does anyone have a suggested solution?
Yes, it is probably best to reproduce the issue, then submit a Sonos system diagnostic report from within the Sonos App, note it’s reference and then contact/chat with Sonos Support Staff via this LINK and see what the Staff can perhaps suggest to resolve the matter.
It appears that some users with this type of issue have had their Arc replaced due to a fault, but the Staff will likely need to check things with you first in case it’s just a software issue that can perhaps be quickly resolved.
Same issue with new ARC (white model, 1 day old). As soon as the Sub is added to the sourround set or the touch contol is disabled by app it works. If touch in enabled (no one touch) the microphone will be disabled randomly by self. Used in the past BeamGen1, no issues.
Tried with some sticker on the touch sensor for the microphone but does not help.
Is it hardware issue or software bug ?
Diagnose ID 1850850345
The same thing happens to my Arc and apparently this is a very common issue with a frustrating workaround. Turning off touch controls fixes the problem, but I would like to use them. My wife keeps trying to convince me to send the Arc back. :(
Just purchased Arc and have the same issue. The only way I am able to resolve this issue is to turn the touch controls off. What a shame we must eliminate a feature to eliminate a Sonos defect.
I’m experiencing the same problem with a new ARC. The issue started right after I installed it. I’m using Google Assistant.
It is probably best to reproduce the issue, then submit a Sonos system diagnostic report from within the Sonos App, note it’s reference and then contact/chat with Sonos Support Staff via this LINK and see what the Staff can perhaps suggest to resolve the matter.
It appears that some users with this type of issue have had their Arc replaced due to a fault, but the Staff will likely need to check things with you first in case it’s just a software issue that can perhaps be quickly resolved.
I’ve also had this issue a few times now in addition to the voice control turning on and off repeatedly while making a ding sound every time. Tech support did something remotely to “fix” the voice control but as soon as my kids started playing Xbox it started doing it again. Hasn’t happened with the tv since the fix but the random high pitch sound while muting the tv randomly happened again tonight. I’ve had this ARC for about 2 weeks with multiple issues. A bit disappointed with the problems so far and working with tech support is a bit of a nightmare. Going to try and get this new issue resolved and cross my fingers nothing new crops up.
I have the same issue (Sonos Arc connected to an LG TV via HDMI eARC, and am using Alexa as my voice assistant).
The microphone goes on and off quite randomly, which makes voice control almost unusable. Disabling touch controls is not an option as I use them often to adjust volume.
I have the same issue (Sonos Arc connected to an LG TV via HDMI eARC, and am using Alexa as my voice assistant).
The microphone goes on and off quite randomly, which makes voice control almost unusable. Disabling touch controls is not an option as I use them often to adjust volume.
It is probably best to submit a Sonos system diagnostic report from within the Sonos App, note it’s reference and then contact/chat with Sonos Support Staff via this LINK and see what the Staff can perhaps suggest to resolve the matter.
There‘s a known hardware issue with some Arc devices as mentioned above. If you contact Sonos support as
In the meantime you can turn of hardware touch buttons in Sonos app settings to avoid the ping pong on off behavior.
Same issue here on brand new Arc with Sub (Gen 3) on LG OLED CX TV. We have noticed it only occurs when playing PS5. When watching Roku on a different input of the TV, this problem does not occur at all. I just disabled Touch control (since we only use Roku remote or app on phone to adjust volume) and beeps stopped. Anyone else experience it only when on one particular input of the TV?
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