I occasionally get a loud buzzing over the audio from Beam connected with HDMI

If it’s any help, but slightly off-topic, I’m having a similar issue intermittently with my PlayBase since upgrading to Sonos 2. I’m using a TOSlink connection from a Sony TV. The audio format is Dolby Digital 5.1. The set top box and TV are connected via HDMI (non-ARC).

I have the problem only when watching PBS stations. It goes away if I switch to a non-PBS channel but returns when I switch back to PBS. It goes away on the PBS channels as well if I put the TV and STB to sleep then wake them up.

Could it have something to do with the way British TV programs are re-encoded for broadcast in the USA?

It's set to auto sound everywhere.

Like the post above, it's only on YouTube and Netflix so far, it will play music and TV fine, but if you go back into those services it will buzz again until powered off. 

Also YouTube and Netflix have a different buzz.

If there's anything else I can test to help, let me know

I have had the exact same issue 3 times since the S2 update, though I'm yet to grab a diagnostic of it happening.

I have a Beam connected via HDMI Arc to an LG TV. In all 3 cases it's happened when using the Prime Video app on the TV itself (although even this doesn't happen every time).

Turning the TV off stops the buzzing, but as soon as the TV is switched back on again the buzzing returns, even when just viewing a menu. Similarly, unplugging the TV from the mains and plugging it back in again, as soon as the TV is switched on the buzzing returns.

Disconnecting and reconnecting the HDMI leads from both ends doesn't fix it. As soon as the HDMI is reconnected the buzzing restarts.

As others have mentioned, if I switch the TV off and then get the Beam to stream some music, it sounds fine. Turn the TV back on again, and the buzzing returns.

The only thing that fixes it is pulling the mains on the Beam.

I have a Sky box and a PS4 plugged into the TV via HDMI too, and have tried disconnecting these in case the TV is trying to pass nonsense from one of those (both are on standby), but again the buzzing continues.

I had no issues of this kind with the S1 firmware so can only assume that the S2 firmware is causing the issue.

Same problem as described in various comments here.

Music plays fine without the buzzing but once the TV (Samsung QLED) is switched on, the buzzing starts even without opening Netflix or Youtube. 

Submitted a diagnostic report: 1755628959

Sonus seems to have gone quiet over this issue. Please could we all have a further update.

So this happened to me again this evening when using the Amazon Prime Video app on an LG TV. Specifically it happened when I paused the programme and attempted to seek back a few minutes.

Once the buzzing started it continued even when closing the prime app and switching on the Sky box. Anything that used the HDMI connection the buzzing was there.

Unplugging the Beam was the only fix.

Diagnostic report of the buzzing occurring: 1534378377

This has happened to me a couple of times with Beam connected to Samsung ks7000 via optical cable.

Pulling the power fixes it, it doesnt happen 99% of the time - v odd

I have the same issue after updating Sonos. LG TV, YouTube, loud buzzing. It has been continuous. Tried disconnecting and also turned off the Quick Start option as mentioned, but buzzing still happens. 
 

Diagnostic confirmation - 1686699081

I can confirm that as well as seeking backwards in the Prime app on my TV triggering it, I too get the issue when using the YouTube app.

Today my wife and kids resorted to simply unplugging the Beam and not using it. It's turned into a rather expensive ornament.

The Beam is the only Sonos product I own, so there's no tangible benefit (as far as I can see) to me using S2. Is there a way of simply rolling it back to S1 firmware? I suspect that'll fix it.

I'm now also getting issues with the sound not playing when I turn my tv on. I have to pull the HDMI Arc cable then reconnect it. This has happened 6 times in the last 10 days. 

Also, it seems Sonus have turned their backs on this issue for the time being as I've not had an up date in over a week. Over £600 spent on Sonus equipment since last Christmas and all the problems started after the S2 update.

Same issue here, started when using YouTube App on Samsung TV, unfortunately disconnecting and reconnecting does not resolve the issue, even temporarily

Hello all,

I’ve looked over the submitted diagnostics and have this to offer:

If you have only a Beam and no bonded surrounds, make sure that your TV is set to output PCM rather than Dolby Digital or “Auto”.

If you have bonded surrounds, make sure that it is not set to “Auto” but to either PCM or Dolby Digital. 

If this issue is only occurring on certain sources e.g. PBS content or YouTube (or Netflix or Prime) check to see if you can adjust the audio format for that account or streaming app.

If you have a Samsung TV, does switching to the provided optical adapter change anything?

Have you fully rebooted your TV since this issue began (unplug completely from power then plug it back in)

In most cases this issue has entirely to do with the audio format that the TV is passing on to the Beam and this is reflected in the diagnostic data as well.

If all suggestions in this thread have been exhausted, please reach out to us directly for one-on-one support. 

Hello Jean, 

If this is the case why has it only happened since the Sonus 2 update. I never experienced any difficulties before the update.

@Vosabhoy,

It is possible that the update may have reset the CEC connection between your TV and the Beam but the only change consistently reflected in the data is the formatting of the signal coming into the Beam from the external HT source.

Other than that, I could not say.      

I'm not happy about setting my tv out put to PCM  as the quality is not as good. I'm still feel the update is to blame here. I repeat there was no issue before the update. 

Hello @Vosabhoy 

I completely understand your frustration, unfortunately your TV doesn’t allow us to lock in the audio format to anything other than PCM/Stereo.

With your set-up I would like to see you up and running with full 5.0 surround. 

Way back in the beginning of this thread, when you were using the optical adapter, the buzzing behavior and the LG TV were the same?

Do you have another device with an HDMI/ARC or Optical audio port that we can test with your Beam?

Do you have another HDMI/ARC cable that we can switch out so we can eliminate the cable itself as a source of this audio issue? 

Unfortunately I don't have another hdmi arc cable or alternative tv with this port.

@Vosabhoy 

Do you have a DVD/DVR/Game System that has either and ARC or an Optical port?

This is clearly a Beam firmware issue (bug) and it’s very sad that Sonos fails to admit that.

As many have confirmed before - once Beam enters this “buzzing” state, HDMI input won’t work normally no matter what you do - rebooting TV, changing settings or connecting HDMI to other device will result in buzz.

There is no way to get it back to normal behaviour besides doing a powercycle on Beam itself.

As a software developer myself I know that there are those cases when bug occours in specific circumstances and can be very hard to track down but denying that there is a problem in Beam software and blaming TV’s is not going to solve this.

I'm inclined to agree. This is definitely a firmware issue on the Beam itself. The S1 firmware did not have this issue. Rebooting the TV does nothing. Even after the TV has been rebooted the problem persists. Only a hard kill on the Beam fixes the problem.

As my first Sonos product, I'm less than impressed that the solution appears to be force my TV to output in a format that doesn't sound as good. 

The Beam is definitely receiving and processing something that gets it stuck in this error state. No matter what signal it subsequently receives, it'll remain in this state. My suspicion is that the diagnostic logs are incapable of capturing this, and simply report it as receiving a normal valid signal. A TV reboot would ensure that it is receiving an error free signal, yet the error persists. The issue is 100% on the Beam side.

If it helps any diagnostic work. My experiments to date seem to show that the error happens when the Sonos app says the Beam is receiving Dolby Digital 2.0. So in my case, we're generally witnessing the issue in the Amazon Prime Video app. However a programme outputting Dolby Digital 5.1 can be seeked backward and forward with no issue. A programme outputting in Dolby Digital 2.0 will cause the Beam to go bonkers if I attempt to seek backwards/ forwards through the programme.

I am also having this issue, and would like to add to the above (Samsung Smart TV, Beam + 2 surrounds connected via HDMI). The only thing that has changed in my system is the S2 update so I’m pretty sure its related.

Watching Channel4 OD in the UK via the TV app - buzzing in right channel occurs only while the main programme is playing but not when the adverts are on. I assume this is due to the audio format of the playout being different for ads. When it first happened using input from a Google Cast it was very loud like a swarm of angry wasps. It was much quieter (though still audible) when it happened using the 4 OD app.

I did raise a support case but currently having to go through the usual “try a different HDMI cable” , “turn your router off and on” troubleshooting is a bit frustrating. I am not keen on the idea of nailing the TV output to PCM as I enjoy the surround sound (when it works properly).

Prior to this I was very happy with my Sonos setup.

Same issue for me. (Samsung Smart TV, Beam + 2 surrounds connected via HDMI) It is a pity. I really hope that Sonos will solve this via a software upgrade. Before the S2, it worked fine.

When are Sonus going to do something about the S2 update issues? Things are going from bad to worse. I've lost all my speakers from the the app took me over an hour of deleting then re installing the app pulling cables the reconnecting. I'm now experiencing loss of sound from time to time. I have to reseat the hdmi Arc cable to get the sound back. Nearly £700 spent and since the S2 update it's been a nightmare.

Same problem here.

LG OLED TV using ARC.

Switching to PCM makes the buzzing higher pitch and much more unpleasant.

Rebooting the Beam help for sometime but it does reverts.

Happens both on apps and live TV.

Hi Morten, don't expect much from Sonus. This thread has been going on for months and it seems now we're getting ignored.