What does the app say it is playing when you experience this? I suspect a settings change on your TV.

The app says “Dolby 5.1” audio is playing when watching TV. I’d be surprised if something changed on the TV but I am willing to try anything. This whole setup (Sonos, TV, Apple TV) has been the same for three years. I just lost surround and sub this week. 

Hi @imataco 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

Sorry to hear of this issue you are having with your surrounds and Sub not playing audio when they should.

As the Arc tells the other speakers what to do, please first try a reboot of the Arc - unplug it from power for a moment, then plug back in.

If that does not help, please try removing the surrounds and Sub from the Arc, then adding them back on again:

Remove surround speakers

Remove a Sonos Sub

Add surround speakers to a Sonos home theater

Set up your Sonos Sub

If you still see the same issue after that, I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and what it reports.

I hope this helps.

I am having this problem on my Playbar+Connect:Amp+Sub system, and my Playbar+2xPlay3 system. Super annoying.

There are some DD 5.1 test videos on YouTube, try those.

For me the test videos work, but actual content that I want surround audio on does not, despite the app showing 5.1.

After reading everything this is the primary issue now. Inconsistent surround performance. I am wondering if things on Hulu for example are falsely representing that they are 5.1.

Hi @imataco 

I can’t speak for what Hulu say about the formats, but if the Sonos app says you are receiving 5.1 audio (in the Now Playing screen for your Arc), then you should be getting sound from the surrounds (not all the time, but during certain scenes). You should always be getting sound from the Sub.

Please note that YouTube does not support 5.1 unless you are watching paid-for content, though they may make exceptions for test videos - I don’t know.

Testing sources other than Hulu might be worth a try, though - that other speakers play when playing music suggests that they are working as expected, though there may be something going on that we don’t yet understand.

I encourage calling in to our technical support team.

Just as a random note about Hulu, and 5.1 from last night, NBC and the Sunday Night Football broadcast was not in 5.1, including the ads. I was getting nothing from my Sub or surrounds. Changing to TBS (East), which was showing Thor: Ragnarok confirmed that my Sonos was working properly, as all speakers engaged. In another thread, I was chatting with a user who was watching on YouTube, and noticing the same non 5.1 issue, I can only assume NBC itself was the source of the problem, and not Hulu’s local channel feed. 

Lesson learned for me, always check at least two sources ;)