Apple tv sound not working

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.

This is utterly ridiculous. I have the exact same problem and they are telling me the same thing - receiver configuration not set correctly. That makes zero sense.

-Didn’t touch setup before or after update

-can hook a gen3 ATV up to same hdmi and power and sound works fine

-can hook a rolled back gen4 up (non 4K) and it works fine

-hooked up a fresh 4K ATV up out of the box that hadn’t been updated to ios12 and worked fine then let it update to ios12 and no sound

But despite all that, apple says it is clearly the receiver settings. Are you kidding me?!

My 9 year old could deduce that this is clearly related to the HDMI settings in the ios12 update based on the facts above. For now I am just using a rolled back gen 4 (non 4K) that I accomplished with my laptop and a USB-C cable -Apple rep told me it was impossible to do this btw. Thankfully I have the internet to help when Apple won’t.

1) Download the Apple TV 4 tvOS 10.2.2 (https://ipsw.me)

2) Ensure that tvOS 10.2.2 is still signed before starting. Otherwise, your restore will fail and you will have to upgrade to the current firmware.

3) Connect your Apple TV 4 to your computer and open iTunes ( You will need an usb-c cable).

4) Hold down the shift key (Windows), or the option/alt key (Mac), and then click the Restore Apple TV… button.

The next step will wipe your device, and all your saved info and settings. It will have to be set up again as new.

5) A file browser will appear. Navigate to the tvOS 10.2.2 IPSW firmware file which you downloaded and select it.

6) Accept the prompts to restore, and wait until it completes before disconnecting your computer.

If it is a non-4K ATV with a usb-c port, you can roll back to iOS 11 as I did with you laptop and a USB-c cable. Search the web and you will find the file and instructions on doing this with iTunes. If it is a 4K model you are SOL

Two similar threads:

tvOS 12: No HDMI audio output available

seemed to have solved it by using a different HDMI port.

Apple TV 4K TvOS 12

has not been solved yet.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This is my exact scenario also, except I tried to roll back my non 4k and was unable to. Guess I maybe need to research the internet again and try a different file source since Apple seems to refuse to admit that their tvOS 12 update broke the HDMI audio source for older equipment.

So I was able to roll mine back originally and get this to work. Unfortunately my A/V guy came today to fix something else and did me the "favor" of upgrading my AppleTV to tvOS12.1!!!! Now I have a brick again and although I have 3 different versions of tvOS 11 still in my download folder, now I get an error any time I try and roll it back the way I did before with the USB-C cable. Apple needs to recognize this problem and find a fix. So frustrating.

I have an old plasma tv that i absolutely love. So the same Apple buggy software here. The only way to solve this was to downgrade to tvos 10.2.2. The sound works but a lot of apps don't. Unfortunately, tvos 11.4.1 is not signed anymore. Its a shame on Apple.