Apple tv sound not working

I have the same issue. I was on the phone with Apple for an hour yesterday with no resolution. The rep I spoke to said they would pass the issue on to engineering, so we shall see. This was definitely an issue created with the latest firmware update.

Exactly, no option for HDMI in audio settings. My Apple TV is running through an older receiver. Prior to the tvOS12 update the audio worked just fine. Prior to the update my receiver showed HDMI as the audio source. After the update I do not get any audio and my receiver shows analog as the audio source for the Apple TV. It is definitely something to do with the audio format in the tvOS 12 update that makes it non compatible with older audio equipment. Hopefully the support rep I spoke to and sent information to will get back to me on Monday. I even bought another Apple TV two days ago to make sure it was not my current Apple TV having an issue. The audio worked just fine on the new Apple TV when it was tvOS 11.4 out of the box. However, shortly thereafter it auto updated to tvOS 12 and once again no audio through my receiver.

I have the same issue using an older A/V receiver. Everything worked fine until the tvOS 12 update. I tried every HDMI port on my receiver and still nothing. I have called Apple on this but no resolution. I also called the A/V receiver manufacturer and they no longer provide firmware updates for the receiver. This is really going to suck if I have to buy a new receiver just to be able to use my Apple TV.

I'm in the same boat. I have 2 Apple TV 4K devices. Both were updated to tvOS 12. The Apple TV for the basement is part of a full surround sound system. The sound is working without issue.

However, the Apple TV for the family room - which has a sound bar - is no longer working. I tried different HDMI ports and swapping the HDMI cable. Nothing worked.

I noticed the audio output settings no longer lists HDMI as an option. It only lists the other Apple TV in the house.

Clearly a fix is needed from Apple. Please post if a workaround can be achieved and/or when Apple releases a fix for the issue. Thank you.

We are having the same issue and have contacted support multiple times including getting a replacement apple tv. We were excited about ATMOS since we have an ATMOS audio system. here is our setup and what we did but still don't have it working:

Appletv 4k w/Rotel audio receiver

updated to 12.0 and no sound on any apps or airplay

Our Roku works fine w/Rotel

The Audio Output is blank

Support had us restart, reload the software, still not working

Support had us send in the Apple tv and we were sent a new one

New one was on 11.0, so we confirmed all the sound was working fine

Updated to 12.0 and now there is no sound again

Called support back again and basically told us there is nothing they can do

We are big apple fans but this has been frustrating. Not sure what the next step is but wanted to let you know we have a similar situation.

i experienced this no audio problem when I turned my 4th generation on this morning v 12.0. Found that a new update to 12.0.1 was ready and solved the problem.

This however is becoming representative of a very crappy company. Whether it’s this ATV glitch or the XS signal problem issues, Apple seems to be issuing products with more SERIOUS software and hardware bugs then ever before and refuses to acknowledge their problems or keep us informed on any kind of progress. And they some times don’t stand behind their product damage. I just bought an ATV 4K to replace a 3rd generation that started pulsing audio in and out after an update. Their best offer was a $50 trade for an equivalent. Today, after fighting poor signal on my iPhone 7 for 15 months im taking it in for a ”secret” extended warranty for a “no service” issue on the phone Hidden deep in the Support pages. Apple could have notified us of the problem, but instead they bury it and hope we don’t notice, and perhaps just buy a new phone. My surprise for Apple is that (1) I was preparing to but a new phone, but a Samsung, and (2) if I couldn’t get this ATV working I would be buying an Amazon replacement. I have already told my wife to not purchase any more movies on iTunes, now just buy 4K UHD Blue Rays. I can see it’s not going to be hard, really, to leave their prized precious ecosystem. Last week I upgraded my mid-2012 MacBook Pro Retina to a 480 gig SSD and the thing is like new. When they stop support, to the point it gets useless it will load Linux just fine. That’s one great laptop, perhaps the last generation they made that was close to perfect. Yep, sick of Safari and Apple Maps. Tired of not being able to use my purchases as I desire. Tired of things not working.

We appreciate the updates also! Unbelievable that so many of us have this problem - there are multiple redundant threads with others that share the issue. It doesn't seem to matter if you have old equipment or new equipment, expensive equipment or inexpensive equipment, sound bar or full home theatre, this last software update was a massive fail for us all. Speaking for ourselves, we were very much looking forward to this update adding Dolby Atmos to the capabilities, as we have the full 7.1.4 Atmos home theatre system using the Rotel SAP-1580 A/V receiver for our audio, going into an LG Oled tv - it would seem the very kind of system the 4K Apple TV was meant for! But not if it doesn't work! My wife and I also both use an iPhone, iPad and Apple watch, and use airplay ALOT to stream through the ATV. We miss being able to do that very much - not much good without audio! We'll keep watching this thread and add any additional info when we get any. Thanks all.

BTW no one is talking about the fact that the 4kHDR option is no longer listed either for video output. I have a similar setup to yours. I was enjoying the Dolby Vision since 12 update now that is gone as well. Do you still have 4K HDR settings?

Ok tech support called today and the rep tried to tell me that engineering stated I did not have my receiver inputs selected correctly. I assured them I did and that prior to tvOS 12 my audio worked just fine. I also assured them that I did not touch anything on my receiver before or after the tvOS 12 update, nevertheless my audio stopped working. After my phone call I again verified that my receiver settings are correct and all other HDMI devices connected to the receiver function as they should. I am 100 % confident that the tvOS 12 update which added Dolby Atmos support screwed up the audio communication with older equipment. My receiver is 5 years old and does not support Dolby Atmos, but it does support Dolby Digital, DTS, etc, and is THX certified. There is no way that it should not be able to play audio from the Apple TV 4 or 4K.

I am going to call my assigned tech support rep tomorrow and try to get to the bottom of this.

hello everyone

I have lost audio and all 4k HDR output settings. I spent hours trying many software and hardware changes and updates. So, I unplugged the HDMI from my receiver and plugged it into the TV directly and everything worked. This was a recommendation from Apple support. I was told Apple TV isn't really made to be plugged into AV systems which seems incorrect, anyway. So I now know the problem is with my receiver, which has up to date firmware and software. So I'm now working with Rotel to try and solve the problem.

Well, I have not had a return phone call from the Apple Rep since the 4th. I did leave a message for a call back but nothing so far. I hope Apple did not just stop trying to resolve this issue with tvOS12.

Nope. Last week they called but I missed it so I called back. I talked to a rep that was not the one assigned to my case and he started to read a response from the engineers. The response was basically and excerpt from my receiver manual explaining audio set up. They were trying to claim that my audio was not set to HDMI because my receiver showed the audio signal as analog. I explained to them that my settings were in fact correct (set to HDMI) and the tvOS 12 update caused the audio signal to show as analog. I left a message for my assigned rep to call me, but as of today he still has not called back, it has been a week so far. I will try again on Monday, this has been extremely frustrating!

Trust me, it is driving me up the wall too! I spoke to the rep a couple days ago and once again the engineers tried to say that I did not have my receiver settings correct. Once again I explained that the issue is not on my end and can confirm that my equipment is set up correctly and the issue is 100% on their end with the tvOS 12 update. The rep stated he would go back to the engineers again. So, we continue to wait for them to realize and admit that it is their coding on the audio signal and they need to resolve this ASAP!

Still nothing back from Apple support. Their tvOS update broke the audio and they still have not responded with a solution. In my opinion if they can't fix the issue they should let us roll back to tvOS 11.4 since the audio worked just fine prior to the tvOS 12 update. Otherwise, we just have an expensive paper weight.

It has been over a week and still no follow up calls from Apple support. I was told they were conferring with the engineering team. The latest tvOS update to 12.1 did not resolve any of my audio issues, so still have an expensive paper weight!