Apple TV won't stop changing volume control settings by itself

My 3rd gen Apple TV 4K constantly changes the remote's volume control without permission to "auto via hdmi" from "IR". No matter how many times I manually change this it just will not stop and it causes the remote to be useless for volume on a constant basis. It should not be switching anything unless it is set to "auto".

this behavior has gotten to the point where I am ready to junk my 5.1 soundbar and deal with tinny sound because of this issue that cannot seem to be fixed.

This issue does not exist on the 1st gen 4k with a nearly identical setup in another room.

How do I disable this auto switching? All it does is waste time having to dive into settings several times a day just to adjust the volume.

[Edited by Moderator]