No audio after tvOS 15.1 update from 15.0

Me again, I got down to the underlying TV setting's audio last night, and found that it was not set to use its own speakers. I reset that and then the tvOS audio came out the TV speakers again. I have not idea how the underlying TV's audio settings got messed up, but it all works now.

I had the same issues as everyone else. After following a few suggestions, I just happen to press the volume button and it solved all the problems. It appears that the 15.1.1 update turned the volume all the way down on my ATV 4K.

From MacRumours - "Apple today (December 13, 2021) released tvOS 15.2, the second major update to the tvOS operating system that first launched in September 2021. tvOS 15.2 comes more than a month after the launch of tvOS 15.1, an update that introduced SharePlay support."

Fixed my audio problem. Thanks Apple.

I think I found the problem. I have 15.3 HomePods and 15.4 appleTV 4K.

had constant issues with either using the HomePods (zero sound) or patchy sound with the tv speakers sometimes.

changed the chroma back down to 4.2.0 and reconnected to the HomePods and it works fine straight away.

so the default HDMI cable is not high speed enough to cope with 4.2.2 over any long term or update to the device.

mill be buying a quality high speed hdmi and switching back to see if it’s all sorted tomorrow on the higher chroma 4.2.2.

This seemed to fix the problem for us- go to settings > video and audio > audio format > set new format to “Stereo” instead of Dolby digital 5.1

Ok, so I had this same issue happen and was able to get some information that may be helpful.

I have two Apple TV units, a 4K gen 1 and a 4K gen 2. The Gen 2 unit updated itself to tvOS 15.1.1 yesterday. At that time the Gen 1 unit was still at 15.0. I lost all audio on the setup that updated to 15.1.1 despite making no other changes and that setup having worked perfectly for years. So, here’s the setup that’s affected:

Apple TV 4K Gen 2 (and now the Gen 1 as well)

Tendak 4x1 4 Port HDMI Switcher with Audio Out (digital audio is sent from the Tendak to the Bose using RCA cable)

Bose Lifestyle 28

Sanyo PLV Z5 projector

I tried all combinations of audio settings on the Apple TV but none of them produced any audio. It had been just running defaults prior, without issue. I also tried all the usual power cycles of all equipment, and swapping cables and input ports, to no avail. I get audio from other sources with all cables on all inputs, so I know my hardware is good.

I then tried moving the Apple TV to two other Insignia televisions I have in other rooms, one of which has the same model Tendak HDMI switch, but I am not using the audio extract feature there. In both cases the audio works perfectly. So, I know that the Apple TV hardware is not broken.

Next I installed the Gen 1 Apple TV 4K, still running tvOS 15.0 on the setup above, and now I have sound, again confirming that there is no issue with my setup.

so, what has been confirmed is that in tvOS 15.1 or 15.1.1, Apple introduced an error into the audio stream that didn’t used to be there, and is incompatible with some audio equipment. For those with newer audio equipment, it may be possible to get a firmware update to that device which will resolve the issue. For at least some of us, that’s not an option, and Apple needs to fix this regression, even if it only affects a small number of users.

I recommend that anyone who has this issue and finds this thread, please post which specific TV or audio equipment you have where you are getting no audio, and hopefully Apple engineers will see this and be able to use the information to develop a fix.

As a side note, I bought the 2nd ATV 4K because several months ago a software update to my Roku media player similarly killed audio output in my home theater setup, though in that case it produced an ear splitting whine. I just checked and Roku appears to have corrected the issue. I hope Apple sees fit to do the same.

p.s. I neglected to disable updates on my second AppleTV, so it updated itself and is now producing no audio. Looks like Roku gets its spot back in my living room.

i had this same symptom after tvOS auto updated to 15.1.1. No sound. However, then I tried to play a dvd and also no sound. I rebooted my receiver and voila sound to the DVD player and sound to Apple TV. I have an older Apple TV (4th gen).

I have the same problem. I lose the sound whenever I select "Put all devices to sleep" from the screen menu. The sound comes back when I either restart the Apple TV HD or disconnect then reconnect the HDMI cable. Very inconvenient.

One Apple TV HD attached to a Samsung PN51E530 TV and one to an LG 42CS570 TV.

Lost audio on the Samsung after the Apple TV updated itself to 15.0 and then 15.1.1.

If I start the Samsung TV before I start the Apple TV the audio works. I lose the audio as soon as the Apple TV sleeps or is put to sleep.

Same problem. After update from 15.0 to 15.1.1 no sound from AppleTV 4k (1. gen.) connected as one input to HDMI 2x4 Matrix switch with Toslink sound extractor. Direct connection to TV works, but is no option, since I need the Toslink connector for my old Bose system, and I'd like to switch HDMI sources just like before the update, and I normally use a projector which has no own sound output anyway. Tried various sound settings on AppleTV, no success. Contacted manufacturer of HDMI switch (EZCOO Inc., great support!), luckily the HDMI switch offers at least a workaround: Switching sound output to 2ch via dip switch. Of course this is no real solution, since I'd like 5.1 sound as worked before the AppleTV update, and which is configured in AppleTV.

Checked my other AppleTV (FullHD), everything just the same.

Contacted also Apple support when I realised there is a problem, and wrote to them via their feedback web page. Strongly hope they'll fix it...

So I’ve had a similar problem when first using this update, but I’m able to resolve my issue by restarting whatever stream I may be watching, but it often takes repeated attempts. Seems completely random which streaming service causes a problem and how many times I have to restart. I haven’t had the patience yet to check if 4k or 1080p causes the problems more. I also noticed I always seem to get the cursor/navigation noise as I move around the home screen or whatever app I’m using. Based on the randomness and that the sound works on the home screen my conclusion is that the issue is SW and it is a HDCP synch issue of some sort. Crazy that Apple didn’t do enough testing on this to confirm that it wouldn’t cause such common headaches.

Interestingly enough, I use an Toslink output connection on my Samsung (2021) TV connected to an Onkyo receiver (that I don’t always use but is always physically connected) and I wonder if that is the issue as it seems to be a common configuration issue.

Hope this helps some of you and maybe helps Apple find the real bug.

I am seeing the same issues since updating. I’ve noticed that it will sometimes break just after logging in. And then I noticed that it will sometimes fix itself if I reset my Apple TV device. It will work for as long as I have the device on, then the next day be broken again. The strange thing is, not always resetting works so I’m really not sure why it suddenly starts to work sometimes.

Use 15.2. It will fix the problem.

Replied as well.

serious problems with 4K HDR

No sound

It is randomly fixable by either restart Feintech Audio Extractor or switching Apple TV formats.

I am annoyed

Setup:

Apple Tv 4K bought last year

Xiaomi 4K Beamer

Sonos Arc

Feintech