Recent update broke Apple TV 4K / Sony TV / Beam Gen 2 + Era 100 surround

Question

I am experiencing an audio routing issue with my Sonos surround setup that only started happening recently after a recent software update. Up until recently, this setup worked perfectly.

My Setup:

Soundbar: Sonos Beam (Gen 2) connected via HDMI eARC.
Surrounds: Stereo pair of Sonos Era 100s.
TV: Sony W800F.
Source: Apple TV 4K connected to the Sony TV via HDMI.

Whenever I switch on my TV, I need to manually go into the apple audio output option, select Sonos setup, and everything works great—audio plays perfectly through the Beam and both Era 100 surrounds.

However, the moment I press any button with the Apple TV remote (changing apps, volume controls, or pausing a video), the audio output automatically changes away from the Sonos system back to "Native/TV Speakers". Because the TV assumes the Beam is the native speaker, I still get front audio, but the Era 100 surround channels completely cut out, and I completely lose the ability to control the volume using my Apple TV remote.

To get surround sound back, I have to manually go into the Apple TV audio menu and select the Sonos system again, creating an endless, frustrating cycle.

Corry P · Answer

Hi ​@ssan89Welcome to the Sonos Community!I’m sorry to hear of this issue you are having with getting surround sound from your Sonos system, and with the Apple TV remote not always working.As far as I understand it (having no immediate access to an Apple TV), if you select “Sonos” as the output device in the Apple TV's settings, you are in fact using AirPlay to play to the Beam, which currently only supports stereo audio. Please ensure “TV Speakers” is selected there, then ensure the Sony TV’s own audio settings are set to use the Beam (“external audio device” or similar) and set it to Passthrough or Bitstream mode. This should solve all the issues you are experiencing.Should you continue to have issues after doing this,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.It was perhaps just the way you phrased it, but if the Era 100s are a stereo pair, then they cannot be surrounds. Looking at your system, however, it seems correctly configured. I do recommend that you never factory-reset your entire system, though, as that is nearly always never the answer to any issue, and it looks like you have done so multiple times. Always get in touch with the support team first if you feel tempted to do so again - it will save you a lot of effort.I hope this helps.

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