Apple TV 4K 3rd generation eARC sound issues, no problems with Apple TV 4K 2nd generation

It broke with TVOS 17.0. Previous to 17.0, the Apple TV 3rd gen could distinguish between Dolby, 2 channel and 5.1 channel audio via the 'Auto' setting. Now - just as you said, if you want to listen to Atmos or Dolby 2 channel audio - use Auto. If 5.1 (the majority of TV programming), you have to force the audio to 'Change Format - 5.1 audio' in the audio settings. It will not work otherwise. Yep - I brought this up to Apple in September. I have heard no acknowledgement of it as an issue. It showed up in early TVOS 17.0 betas prior to it being released.

I have this exact same problem.

AppleTV 4k 3rd gen, Sonos Arc(+surrounds&sub), LG G2.

It started with tvOS17 and did _not_ get fixed with 17.2 yesterday.

When I use a few of the apps - such as Peacock or Prime - I will get everything that should be center channel erroneously coming out of the rear right, all the music and background coming out of the center, and nothing coming out of the sub or rear left.

I can fix it by going into the AppleTV app and playing something that has Atmos. The TV displays "Atmos" in the top right, the sound plays OK in the AppleTV app, then I can *usually* switch back to the offending app and sound will work correctly. This works 8 out of 10 times, occasionally I need to do it two times for it to take hold.

This is incredibly annoying.

The reason I *know* it is something to do with Apple's device (although to be fair it could be bad app code *on* the device - so it could be the developers for Prime or Peacock or whatever) - is that it works OK in some apps and not in others. If it were LG or Sonos - then none of the apps on the Apple TV should work. But since some of the apps work OK, and it is also able to correct itself with fiddling - it HAS to be something in the Apple TV somehow.

Now - if it is a library or framework that the app developer uses, or maybe the app developer does something out of order or whatever - it only started in tvOS17 so the OS definitely had some sort of impact here - and maybe it is a little bit of shared responsibility. But the OS can definitely fix it because it worked fine in ios16 ...

I know this is not helpful really to all of you - but I wanted to make sure that it was shared that I too have the same problem and it's not rare. This happens literally multiple times a day!

Also - like others here - I am an IT professional with years of experience with AV setups and software configs, so its not like I have no idea what I am doing and am accidentally plugging my HDMI cord into my blender or trying to set my TV to a nonsense config. I have done all of this for years and this setup worked great before the os17 suite of things came out (although the os17 versions of stuff fixed the mess that os16 was with HomeKit so its kind of a bittersweet problem here).

I’ve got the same problem. 3rd Gen 4K ATV, with LG C3 and Bose Soundbar connected to eARC.

Dolby Atmos and 2.1 plays sound, but I have no sound on 5.1.

started recently wasn’t there earlier.

this seems common with many people.

Apple should acknowledge.

I seemed to have fixed this issue for me (I have an LG G3 TV, Apple TV 4k 3rd gen, Firestick 4K Max and LG GX soundbar) by connecting the ATV directly to the HDMI in on the LG GX soundbar. I can enable e-Arc on all, can switch between ATV and other inputs and get Atmos , 5.1 etc through all. Got to admit it's a bit beyond me these days but i was in to all this stuff a while ago but until this i was contemplating getting rid of the ATV just to simplify things. 100% it is an issue (and an annoying issue) with the ATV but just wanted to pass on my findings cos it works for me.

I found this (not sure if i can post links so will post the text on anaother thread:

'The recommended configuration for connecting an Apple TV to a sound bar is outlined at Set up Dolby Atmos or surround sound on Apple TV with a sound bar or AV receiver:

1. "Make sure that you connect your Apple TV 4K directly to the HDMI input on your sound bar or AV receiver with an HDMI cable. Most televisions don't support Dolby Atmos pass-through to sound bars and receivers.*
2. Plug one end of an HDMI cable into the HDMI output on your sound bar or AV receiver. Then plug the other end of the HDMI cable into the HDMI input on your television"

and:

"Apple TV 4K uses a high bandwidth form of Dolby Atmos that doesn’t work over ARC connections."

If your sound bar does not offer input HDMI, you may need to consult with your TV manufacturer to determine if it supports Dolby Atmost pass-through and if so how to configure that in the TV itself.'

hope that helps someone.

You are not alone. I am an IT guy of 28 years and also a serious audio/video guy in my spare time. I have a LG 65" C2 OLED hooked up to a Sonos Arc soundbar with rear speakers.

Prior to IOS17, everything worked fine with audio being detected as Atmos or 5.1 content. eArc is enabled on my TV. Never an issue.

After IOS17, if I have auto/atmos on, it plays fine for Atmos content, but 5.1 content will play in the back right surround speaker only. Messed with the sound settings all over and it WILL NOT WORK. This is an Apple bug, and I entered a support ticket with Apple and told them my audio/video configuration and just how to replicate it. They supposedly opened up a ticket and I haven't heard from them since.

Solution = Leave auto/atmos on for all Atmos content. If playing something that is 5.1, force the audio settings back to 5.1 and it works fine. Just cannot trust Apple IOS 17 to sense and play properly. I am using more of my Roku on HDMI 4 right now - which plays without issues on either.

I sure hope Apple is aware and owns up to the issue than pretends it's not there as they often do. You and I are not in the minority with LG TVs and Sonos Arc setups...

It's not the Arc, Apple!!! I made no changes to my Arc. I have a 2nd Gen AppleTV 4k as well, with no issues. My Apple TV 4k 3rd gen was working fine with auto mode listening to 5.1 or Atmos content prior to TVOS17. After it's exploding 5.1 audio in the back right corner surround like Alex_716 says. Since you have two documented people having the same exact issues - it's the TVOS guys. BTW, I have not applied any updates to my LG C2 OLED in the last two months - so can't blame that either.

[Edited by Moderator]

I know that shutting eARC setting was making it work.

But once I power cycled the Bose soundbar, shutting eARC now shuts down all sound, so now I have to keep eARC on all the time. (Don’t know the reason for it).

So now just using with eARC switched on with TV native apps and PlayStation. Disconnected the Apple TV.

If any update from Apple makes it right, will be happy to connect it back. Or will just sell off the Apple TV.

Adding in because I am having a similar issue with a similar setup.

TV: LG C3 65"

Soundbar: Vizio M Series Elevate (M-512e-K6)

Apple TV 4k 2nd gen

Soundbar is connected to the tv through the eARC port, ATV4K and cable box connected to tv through other HDMI ports. Volume control works totally fine on cable box, but having issues on the Apple TV. In certain apps (Netflix and Max tested so far), the volume on the lowest setting is extremely loud, and if lowered further it mutes. The volume graphic on the TV shows up when the volume buttons are pressed, but it doesn't actually lower the volume (until it's completely muted).

Tried restarting and factory resetting the Apple TV, tried unplugging and replugging every combination of HDMI connections, factory restarting TV, changing every possible audio setting on the TV, all to no avail. The only workaround I have found was changing the audio setting "Change Format" on the Apple TV to change the audio format to Dolby Digital 5.1, which also disables Dolby Atmos. This is obviously not ideal as one of the benefits of this soundbar is the pseudo-Atmos output which is no longer possible with these settings.

Quite frustrating, but hopefully someone else has a suggested fix or we can get a software update fix implemented.

I’m having the same issue. LG C2, eARC to Samsung Q930B. Apple TV will randomly mix up channels and everything starts coming out of the rear speakers, or rear right only, or sometimes other random configurations. This has never happened in 2 years using this gear and WebOS. It only happens using the Apple TV 4K. Also while I’m here, please add a way to remove the volume OSD that was just added. It is so annoying that it pops up sometimes and not others. My soundbar shows the volume and the OSD doesn’t!

6 Foot. Same cable to Sonos from TV works 100% with audio for same programs using same streaming services (HBO/SHO/PEACOCK/HULU on other devices connected to TV (Firestick 4K) as well as the internal "Smart TV" apps on the G2 as well as on the GEN 2 ATV 4K. It has absolutely nothing to do with the cable.

It worked fine for almost 2 years until I replaced Gen 2 for Gen 3 ATV. Nothing else has changed other than the ATV Box and TVOS 16 or higher. Something about specific audio encoding on the shows that have no audio. In fact you can watch the TRAILER on the same screen and it's fine but the actual show has no audio.

As I said, turning OFF eARC switch on the G2 SOUND->ADVANCED menu fixes it 100% for every show. Probably repeated this 20 times over the length of this topic. :D. For now I'm just going to cruise along with that option OFF and keep checking every time the G2 or SONOS or ATV get updated. It does not SEEM to have any negative affects only positive because the sound works.

Eventually it will get fixed as I know from here & Reditt I'm not alone with this issue. Problem is it seems one has to have all 3 common items (G2 ATV 3 & Sonos Arc) which makes it harder for Apple to see. the issue. Maybe the Apple TV 4K Gen 4 will fix it.

While it isn't clearly stated in the TITLE of the thread this is basically about the SONOS ARC soundbar (I also have a Sonos SUB FWIW) which has only a single HDMI input and no passthru port. The only way I have been able to resolve this without annoying workarounds is to turn OFF eARC support in my LG G2 settings. Now there is no "no sound" problems and the sound difference between eARC on and off to my 76yr old ears is ZERO so I am not sure what purpose the eARC on/off switch serves. All 4 HDMI ports on the G2 are used and everything else works fine.

What exactly am I supposedly missing with eARC disabled on the LG G2?

Hi rmartin7me,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities! We would suggest the guidance in the following resource that may help:

Use HDMI ARC or eARC with your Apple TV 4K

1. Set up your single or stereo pair of HomePod or HomePod mini speakers as the default speaker(s) for Apple TV. 

2. Go the Home screen on Apple TV and select Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Output. 

3. Under Default Audio Output, make sure that the room with HomePod or HomePod mini is selected. 

4. Under Audio Return Channel, select Play Television Audio. You'll know ARC or eARC is turned on when it says On (ARC) or On (eARC).

If HDMI ARC or eARC isn't working as expected

* If you can't set up HomePod or HomePod mini as the default speaker for Apple TV, make sure that your HomePod or HomePod mini and Apple TV are added to the same room in the Home app. Then try to set up your HomePod or HomePod mini as the default speaker for your Apple TV again. 

* Make sure that your TV supports ARC or eARC. You can check by seeing if there's an ARC label next to your HDMI port, or you can contact your TV manufacturer.

* You might have to turn on ARC, eARC, or HDMI-CEC in the settings of your TV. Check with your TV manufacturer for details. 

* Unplug the HDMI cables from your TV and Apple TV. Then plug the cables in again and try to use ARC or eARC. 

Hope this helps!

Have a great day.

I have the same problem with the setup:

• LG 65G3
• Apple TV 4K 3rd 128 ethernet
• Sonos Arc with 2 era 300 rear and sub gen 3

If I turn on my Xbox on another hdmi port I wont have 5.1 sound at all on my apple tv as soon as I shut down the Xbox it works but Sonos app shows Multi Channel PCM 5.1. If I turn off eArc on my TV all the problems are gone however the Sonos app then shows Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. I dont know if there is any quality difference between those two specs. I think multichannel pcm means without compression but for my ears with DDP 5.1 it sounds way better.

For those worrying about less sound quality with eArc off. You dont have to since Apple TV and generally streaming services like netflix, prime etc doesnt support the Dolby TrueHD codec for dolby atmos but instead the compressed Dolby Digital Plus codec for which normal arc is sufficient so eArc is only imporant if you watch from bluray discs which come with TrueHD.

So in my case I could just disable eArc and it would work but the problem is that my Xbox only supports dolby atmos if eArc is activated so that means I would always have to turn eArc on and off when switching from apple tv to console or other way which is too annoying.

I hope that Apple at least tries to fix it and doesnt ignore this huge problem.