Apple TVs are a hugely popular item with smart TV fans, but the brand is known to have audio issues that can hamper the viewing experience.
Just imagine settling down to have a good time watching a highly anticipated movie or your favorite TV show until your Apple TV sound fails.
Luckily, many issues with no sound on Apple TVs are caused by setup and installation issues.
So before you call a pro and shell out big bucks for simple repairs, check out this list of solutions for Apple TV no sound problem.
We’d love to know it saved you time and money. Let’s see how to fix an Apple TV that has no sound.
Make sure your Apple TV is not muted
Sometimes people give up on the most obvious solutions thinking that there’s just no way the problem could be that obvious.
The TV can simply be muted or reduced to a minimum volume, which makes the sound inaudible.
Before taking any of the more advanced steps, just make sure your volume is at a normal level that you’re used to watching your shows and movies. Sometimes the answer is as simple as that.
Check the HDMI cable
Often it is the connection that is the problem. Often the hardware connection of the HDMI port ends up not fully transposing all the intended signals, such as the audio channel.
Incorrect audio connections may be due to a problem with the HDMI cable itself or its connection to the TV. Before replacing the HDMI cable, a recommended tip is to disconnect the cable from the TV and then reinsert it.
If that doesn’t fix the problem, disconnecting the HDMI cable on both sides and reversing the HDMI port connections may also do the trick.
If not, it might be a good idea to just completely replace the HDMI cable. Make sure the replacement is a new wire to avoid any old issues with the wiring being used.
Restart your Apple TV
If turning off and on again doesn’t do the trick, nor does the set of HDMI troubleshooting tips, the problem may be due to a recent audio driver installation or other firmware changes that occurred during the Last update.
If these changes haven’t had a chance to process properly, the best solution is to restart the Apple TV itself.
This involves navigating to the system menu and going down to the “Restart” option. This action will restart the TV and include refreshing all apps.
Set your Apple TV’s audio mode to Auto
One thing people often forget is that their TV is hooked up to a home theater system or soundbar. When these devices are set to default, the TV may not output sound because these devices are turned off.
If not, in some cases, the audio streaming itself may require a particular bitrate to stream the audio.
The TV can detect the best audio mode if one were to navigate to the video and audio settings section, and set the audio mode to “Auto” after verifying that the desired speakers are the correctly selected audio.
Change your Apple TV audio format to stereo
It is also possible that the TV is not picking up an adequate signal to output the audio, in which case go to the Settings menu and select the Audio and Video option, then set the Dolby Digital Out setting to “Off”.
This should allow the signal to be stronger. Some firmware versions offer the option to select a format type from Dolby Digital 5.1 to “Stereo”.
Change your Apple TV’s audio output to PCM
If after changing the audio format of your Apple TV, you still get no sound, you will change the audio settings to PCM.
PCM stands for Pulse-Code Modulation and is the standard form of digital audio in computers.
Here’s how to change your Apple TV sound to PCM.
- Hurry Settings on your TV remote control.
- Go to the Sound Settings option.
- Select audio and access audio format.
- Choose the PCM format.
Keep in mind that these steps may be different depending on your TV brand. Either way, it should be easy to find the PCM option on your TV once you go to the audio format settings.
Soft reset your Apple TV Box
If turning something off and on again isn’t your first attempt at troubleshooting a technical issue, you’re troubleshooting it wrong.
Most problems are easily fixed by simply turning off the electronics in question and turning them back on a few seconds later.
This extremely simple action takes care of a vast majority of common issues with the Apple TV, including any audio issues it might experience.
To reset your Apple TV, turn everything off, then unplug your Apple TV box from the wall outlet.
Wait about 60 seconds before plugging it back in. If your Apple TV still does not play sound, you may need to perform a hard reset. Follow the next section for step-by-step instructions.
Hard reset your Apple TV Box
Please note that a hard reset will reset your Apple TV to its original settings and erase all data, including your accounts and configuration.
Make sure to keep your Apple TV plugged in and have an uninterrupted internet connection until the hard reset process is complete.
1. Select Menu on your Apple TV remote.
2. Enter the Settings application.
3. Scroll to System.
4. Then click on Reset under Maintenance.
5. Then select Reset and update.
6. Finally, select Reset and update to reset your Apple TV.
This will return your Apple TV to its factory settings and also update it to the latest version of tvOS.
After the reset process is complete, make sure to set the audio format to Stereo.
Contact Apple Support
If at this point you still can’t hear sound from your Apple TV and you’ve tried all the suggestions above, it might be time to contact Apple Support.
They may have other tips or steps for diagnosing and fixing audio issues. If they can’t fix it, you might want to find a reputable TV technician.
Many electronics stores have a support team that will come to your home and fix your TV.
You can let them know about all the steps you’ve already tried to make their service visit as efficient as possible and save everyone time.
Final Thoughts on Apple TV No Sound Issue
As you can see, fixing your Apple TV with no sound problem is not rocket science provided you know what to look for.
Usually, a simple power cycle can fix the problem when your Apple TV is not working. Other times, you may need to follow all of the tips above in order until you find the solution that works for you.
We hope you found the troubleshooting tips in this guide helpful in resolving sound issues on your Apple TV.
Let us know if this helped resolve this issue. If you managed to do anything else, leave me a comment below!
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