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Playbar suddenly not playing TV audio - Still works with streaming.

P
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My Playbar suddenly stopped working with TV audio this week.  I have an LG UK6570AUA using optical out.  This has worked without issue for 2 years.  If I go into the app I can play music.  It will not recognize the TV input.  I have this Playbar set up along with a sub and two surround speakers.  

Strangely when I try to use the volume up on the remote, the LED on the Playbar does not show anything.  But when I press volume down, the LED blinks.   Regardless if I go into the app it does not see that there is a TV source and raising the volume does nothing.  

So this happened for the first time last Thursday.  I reset all connections, power cycled a few times, and eventually the playbar came back.  Today (Saturday) same problem.  I cannot do the same kabuki dance with all the wiring again.  My wife is pissed.  I had to go back to the TV speaker.

I have seen other posts about this problem.  Seems like a silly issue to have.  

 

Please help ASAP.

 

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Best answer by Patrick Turner 23 August 2020, 17:43

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27 replies

Paul A
Userlevel 6
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Hi @Patrick Turner.

Welcome to the Sonos community and thank you for sharing your concern.

I would like to ask if you can replicate the issue or if the issue still persists, please submit a diagnostic so we can check what is going on with the Playbar. Since you have already confirmed and mentioned that the Playbar is able to play music, we have already isolated the issue that music works but not TV audio. Please try to replicate the issue and submit a diagnostic so we can check the status of the Playbar.

Please let me know if you still have further questions or concerns. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

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N
Userlevel 7
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Is there any possibility the tv has had a software update that has reset the audio out settings?

P
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Paul:

The issue still persists.  I submitted a diagnostic for my system.  The problem is now intermittant.  This morning I had no TV audio from the playbar, and later today the TV audio worked from the playbar.  I have had to change the TV audio out to include BOTH tv speaker and Playbar because otherwise my wife will kill me for having an expensive sound system that does not work.  

At first I thought this may be the TV, but two things do not make sense.  1) It works sometimes, and an update for the TV would have likely killed the audio output, and 2) When I use the remote control when the playbar is NOT working with TV audio, the volume up command does not result in Playbar responding with an LED confirmation.  When the playbar is working, the volume up on the remote does result in an LED confirmation from the playbar.  

I can see the volume going up and down on the TV so I know the command is working.  

 

Thanks

Patrick

 

 

 

Paul A
Userlevel 6
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Hi @Patrick Turner.

Thanks for submitting a diagnostic and for your immediate and detailed response.

I would like to share with you based on the diagnostic submitted, it indicated that the optical cable connection between the Playbar and the TV is not being detected. I would suggest trying to unplug and plug the optical cable from both ends (Playbar and TV) if the issue persists, try using a new optical cable and see if it helps.

Please let me know if you still have further questions or concerns. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

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P
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Paul:

I trid to unplug and replug the optical cable from both ends.  I will try it again and blow some air into the optical ports.  I will find out if I have another optical audio cable somewhere and if so, I will replace it.  

 

Thanks for looking at the diagnostic.  

—Patrick

 

Paul A
Userlevel 6
Badge +17

Hi @Patrick Turner.

Thanks for the update and immediate response.

Please let us know how it goes. It may just be a defective optical cable as the diagnostic clearly indicated no cable detected.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you still have further questions or concerns. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

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P
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Paul:

I swapped the optical cable with another I had.  It appears to be working well.  

I will advise if this is working over time.  

Thanks

Patrick

 

Paul A
Userlevel 6
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Hi @Patrick Turner.

Thanks for the update, immediate feedback, and for trying my recommendation.

Please continue to observe if the issue no longer re-occurs. 

Please let us know and keep us posted about the progress. We are always here to help out.

Thanks,

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P
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Paul:

Problem has come back.  The new optical fiber seemed to work, until today.  The PlayBar just crapped out again with the same issue.  No TV sound.  

In the Sonos app it does not recognize TV sound coming into the soundbar.  I can use the volume down setting on the remote, which provides a confirmation LED from the PlayBar, but the volume UP on the remote does not increase the volume and there is no LED confirmation from the PlayBar.  

I looked at the fiber itself, and there is light coming from the TV visible in the fiber.  So I believe the TV is properly outputting optical audio.  I had to turn the TV to use internal audio again.  

I jostled all the connections and still no TV audio.  

Then after about 10 minutes, it started working again without explanation.  

Please advise on next steps.  I am at a loss and I need the sound to work.  

Thanks

Patrick

 

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Hi @Patrick Turner 

Just read through the posts and what you and @Paul A have done thus far. My suggestion is to isolate the problem to either the Playbar or TV. To do so requires either another TV or another soundbar with optical connection.

Option 1

Connect the Sonos Playbar to another TV for a few days. If the problem does not occur with the Playbar connected to another TV then issue is with the LG. If the problem occurs with Playbar while connected to another TV then the issue is with the Playbar.

Option 2

Connect another soundbar to the LG.  If the issue does occur then it’s the LG; if not it’s the Sonos Playbar.

Hopefully, you can try one of the options.  

Cheers!

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
Paul A
Userlevel 6
Badge +17

Hi @Patrick Turner.

Thanks for the detailed and immediate response.

I would have to agree with the recommendations or @AjTrek1 to isolate the issue if it is going to be a TV issue or a Playbar issue. We may want to isolate the case further so we can narrow the issue to the respective device. 

Please let us know how the recommendations work and what is the outcome. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

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P
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Paul, AjTrek:

Of course doing a full frog of the soundbar with another TV is a great way to identify the problem.  But that assumes I live in a lab with no family and with an extra TV in a well used area along with an extra sound bar, and test subjects to watch and flag the missing audio.  

The intermittant nature is what is so baffling.  If I could reproduce the problem intentionally it would be less hassle.  This problem is simply maddening.  

Paul - does the Diagnostic say anything more specific?  I will send another one right now.  

 

Thanks

Patrick

 

 

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

Hi @Patrick Turner 

I understand your logic about not having an extra TV etc. No wants to spend additional money when they have already spent over $600. However sometimes spending additional funds may be necessary to resolve an issue. $30 optical sound bars can be had on Amazon to attach to your LG (if you are so inclined).

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
R

This might be a stretch but I had a similar issue with music streaming playing but no tv audio. Try to toggle the option for TV Autoplay On/Off in the Sonos app. 

AjTrek1
Userlevel 7

@Paul A 

I think @rskogl2 comment was a suggestion and not an indication of a current issue 🤔

Cheers!

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
J

I have the same issue and it resolves when I plug and unplug the HDMI from the cable box.  
 

huge pain in the neck 

P
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More information.  

1. This morning the Playbar did not work.  Same problem (when I press up on the remote, no LED, and no audio from Playbar). 

  1. I turned off TV Autoplay and back on, and it still did not work
  2. I unplugged and replugged the power to the playbar, and it still did not work
  3. I removed the optical audio input to the playbar to check that there was light from the LG TV - and there was.
  4. I took the optical audio output from the LG TV and moved it to my PS4 optical audio out port
  5. The playbar took a minute, but started to work!
  6. I put the optical audio output back to the LG TV and it worked fine???
  7. So the PS4 worked, but then the LG worked, so I am not sure if the playbar just came back to life as it has been doing or whether moving the optical cable to the PS4 did something. 
  8. I cannot ask my wife and kids to do this ever.  

This is driving me crazy.  Any thoughts?

-Patrick

 

Paul A
Userlevel 6
Badge +17

Hi @Patrick Turner.

Thanks for the detailed and immediate response.

Based on your provided information, I could only see one thing that might have been the issue, and what happened why all of a sudden it got fixed? The possible issue was a loose connection of the optical cable from the back of the TV and when you plugged it into the PS4 it worked and when you plugged it back to the TV it worked. I would suggest observing the situation for a good 24-48 hours to see if the issue re-occurs. If not, then our assumption was true and the issue is now permanently fixed. If the issue re-occurs, submit a diagnostic and take note of the confirmation number once the diagnostic is submitted so we can check what is going on with the Playbar.

Please let us know how the observation works out and what is the outcome. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

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P
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Update on the Playbar intermittently not playing TV audio. 

 

The Playbar worked for a couple days with TV audio.  Last night we tried to watch a movie and the Playbar did not work with the TV.  My family thinks I am an idiot for buying this expensive system.

So I changed the LG TV to TV internal speakers + optical audio out.  I used both TV internal speakers + optical so I could monitor in case the Playbar came back to life.  

After about 30 minutes, the Playbar started playing TV audio again.  I could tell by a slight echo due to a slight difference in timing between the TV and Playbar output.  No reason for the change.  We did nothing.  The Playbar just started to work inexplicably.  

This is not a loose connection between the TV and the Playbar.  

The only thing I can think of now is a factory reset.  Please advise if I should go ahead and do this.

Thanks

Patrick

 

Paul A
Userlevel 6
Badge +17

Hi @Patrick Turner\.

Thanks for the immediate and detailed update.

I would recommend submitting a diagnostic after 5-10 mins of the issue re-occurring and take note of the confirmation number once the diagnostic is submitted so we can check what is going on with the Playbar. I would not recommend factory resetting the Playbar since it may not resolve the issue and get things worst by removing all information stored on the device like playlist, remote control registration, Wifi credentials, Music services, etc. 

Please let us know how the observation works out and what is the outcome. We are always here to help.

Thanks,

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P
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OK.  The problem is occuring right now after working for 2 days. Time is 3:05 ET.   I submitted the diagnostic around 3:00 ET.  I have been playing television for 5 minutes and I just submitted a diagnostic.  

Please investigate the diagnostic and let me know what you see.  

 

To repeat some of the details:

The DOWN volume control button press results in an LED response from the Playbar

The UP volume control button press results in NO LED response from the playbar.  

From experience once the problem disappears, the volume UP button will come back to life.  

EDIT - 3:10 PM

I revised the sound settings to change from Optical to TV Audio - then back to Optical and now it works.  So when I switched back and forth the Playbar started to work.  

I will submit another diagnostic right now.  

 

P
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UPDATE on this problem.   I may have solved the issue.  

I purchased some compressed air and a brand new optical fiber cable.  I blew out each optical fiber port with air and installed the new optical fiber cable and confirmed that it snapped into place.  So far I have not had the audio failure problem.  

It is possible that either the optical transmitters/receivers were dirty with dust - and - it is also possible that one or both of the fiber cables I used was scratched just enough to fail from time to time.  

For now I think we are in good shape.  It would be helpful if the optical receiver could provide a singnal level of the input, because optical fiber input levels are very sensitive and if in fact the fiber was scratched or not seated, then the level would have been too low to properly receive.  But without this type of signal level information, I had to replace the cable, blow out the ports, and hope that maybe this is it.  

So for now we are back in business working fine.  For others having this problem, make sure you have blown air to clean out the optical ports and have a nice new cable with covered ends that has not been touched by kids dirty hands or left in a drawer.

Thanks

Patrick

 

 

Paul A
Userlevel 6
Badge +17

Hi @Patrick Turner.

Thanks for the immediate response and for the updates.

Thank you for sharing the resolution on what fixed the issue so others in the community that might have the same issue would find this topic and be able to apply the shared resolution path. I do hope that the issue no longer re-occurs for you to continue to enjoy your Sonos. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out or create a topic if you still have further questions or concerns. We are always here to help out.

Thanks,

Help others find useful content by clicking the like button and selecting the best answer to your question
N

My Playbar suddenly stopped working with TV audio this week.  I have an LG UK6570AUA using optical out.  This has worked without issue for 2 years.  If I go into the app I can play music.  It will not recognize the TV input.  I have this Playbar set up along with a sub and two surround speakers.  

Strangely when I try to use the volume up on the remote, the LED on the Playbar does not show anything.  But when I press volume down, the LED blinks.   Regardless if I go into the app it does not see that there is a TV source and raising the volume does nothing.  

So this happened for the first time last Thursday.  I reset all connections, power cycled a few times, and eventually the playbar came back.  Today (Saturday) same problem.  I cannot do the same kabuki dance with all the wiring again.  My wife is pissed.  I had to go back to the TV speaker.

I have seen other posts about this problem.  Seems like a silly issue to have.  

 

Please help ASAP.

 

Hi I had almost the same issue where everytime I turned my TV on my volume was at zero. And after a hour of looking through the sonos app I stumbled across a TV autoplay button that was off. I switched it on yesterday and it seems to have fixed the problem so far. 

R

Was there ever a resolution to this problem?  I’m all of a sudden experiencing the same issue with my Playbar.  I’m witnessing the same things with the Playbar LED status light while trying to control the volume up function.  I temporarily installed a Visio sound bar with the existing optical cable and it works.  I’ve reset the system and reconnected everything to no avail.  Playbar still won’t play any TV audio.  I’ll try a new optical cable, but from reading this thread it sounds like there may be something else going on.  Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated.  

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