How to Troubleshoot: Apple TV No Sound

Having used Apple’s much-anticipated internet streaming device, the Apple TV, since its launch, one of the most persistent frustrations I’ve had to deal with on a daily basis has been the sheer amount of audio issues it has encountered so far.

There are some days when the video continues to play in the background, but the audio is interrupted, and other days when there is no audio at all or when the video stops completely. Please believe me when I say that it is a complete pain.

Having become obsessed with smart homes, I’m on a mission to create the most convenient Smart Home possible. As part of my efforts to achieve this aim, I’ve been attempting to make the most of my Apple TV by enabling it to interact with HomeKit and utilizing AirPlay to reflect my iPhone onto it.

Everything you’ve done would be for nothing if the gadget didn’t produce any sounds. Consequently, I began working. After hours of study on support forums and technical literature and a great deal of consideration, the most complete solution to this otherwise dangerous problem has been assembled.

Please know that you have arrived at the correct location. It’s just a matter of making sure you follow the methods outlined below for both simple and complex troubleshooting techniques for “No Sound” on the Apple TV, and you’ll be OK.

2021 Apple TV 4K with 32GB Storage (2nd Generation)
  • Dolby Atmos for immersive, room-filling sound
  • A12 Bionic chip gives a big boost to audio, video, and graphics, for even better game and app experiences
  • 4K High Frame Rate HDR with Dolby Vision for fluid, crisp video
  • Apple Original shows and movies from Apple TV+
  • The latest hits from Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and more

How To Fix Apple TV No Sound?

When it comes to troubleshooting an Apple TV problem, checking and tightening wire connections, ensuring you’ve selected the correct speaker system in the Audio and Video tab of Apple TV, ensuring Audio Mode is set to Auto (or sometimes 16bit, depending on your TV), and checking for updates should usually suffice.

If this is the case, go to Menu ->Settings->Audio and Video->Audio Format->Change Format->New Format and change it to Stereo from the default.

Now, using your TV remote, go to the Audio/Sound settings on your television: set AUDIO OUT to Optical; then, under Optical, pick Digital Sound Out PCM> from the list.

Apple TV No Sound: What does this mean?

The Apple TV is a flexible streaming device that is updated on a regular basis and has unquestionably improved in quality since its first debut.

Having said that, the Apple TV is not invincible to audio issues, even in its current state. It happens every now and then that the audio from the Apple TV is abruptly switched off without warning.

Whatever you try, there are occasions when the audio just will not function at all. Yes, there are instances in which your external speaker system, or even the audio on your television, may be at fault in certain situations.

This is very dependent on the external sound system you’re utilizing as well as the audio output from your television. Even if it doesn’t, we’ll walk you through some troubleshooting processes to ensure that the problem is resolved.

Steps to Fix No Sound Issue on Your Apple TV:

STEP 1: Using your Apple TV remote, go to the Menu button.

STEP 2: The second step is to go down to the Settings option in the window jack that opens on your screen and click it.

STEP 3: Navigate to the Audio and Video section of the settings menu and choose it.

STEP 4: At this point, you will be directed to the Audio and Video settings menu. Here, scroll down and choose the option titled Audio Format from the drop-down menu.

STEP 5: Select the single accessible option, Change Format, from the drop-down menu.

STEP 6: At this point, your Apple TV software will offer you a dialog in which you should pick Change Format once again.

STEP 7: You will be sent to the previous browser window. Select the option New Format and then toggle it to Stereo from the drop-down menu that appears.

STEP 8: Using your original television remote, go to your television’s Audio/Sound options.

STEP 9: Select the Audio OUT option and change it to Optical in the Audio OUT dialog box.

STEP 10: Make certain that the Digital Sound Out PCM option is selected under Optical.

Apple TV No Sound 1

Still Unable to Fix No Sound Issue on Your Apple TV? Troubleshooting Tips

Among the other troubleshooting techniques that you may attempt include restarting the whole Apple TV streaming system, as well as any audio gear that is attached to the Apple television.

All of the HDMI wire connections should be checked and tightened. Also, make sure that the correct speakers are chosen in the Audio and Video settings option in the Apple TV menu and that the Audio Mode is set to Auto (although certain TVs may need 16 bit).

Furthermore, it is usually preferable to utilize the most recent version of the Apple TV program, so be sure to upgrade your system if you haven’t already.

In the sections below, I’ve given a full description of how each of these troubleshooting approaches might be applied:

Rebooting the Apple TV system:

It is recommended that you reboot your Apple TV system on a regular basis. Rebooting your computer is an excellent technique to resolve certain small technical difficulties that may arise on a regular basis in your system.

This is due to the fact that when you reboot your Apple TV, the RAM is cleaned, which prevents your RAM from being extremely congested.

A reboot also guarantees that any applications operating on your Apple TV system come to a complete stop, giving your system the opportunity to start again from the beginning. Perhaps a simple reboot will be sufficient to resolve the problem in question.

To reset your Apple TV, press and hold the Menu button and the TV button at the same time for about six seconds on your Apple TV remote.

Ignore the sleep dialog box that appears as a result of doing so. After the power is turned off, you’ll see that the LED in the Apple TV device begins to flicker. This is normal.

When this happens, it means that the system is restarting. If you were unable to connect to the device, please see this page.

Rebooting the Hardware Connected to The Apple TV System:

Audio issues might occur as a consequence of external sound systems that are connected to your Apple TV at times.

It’s possible that the problem is not with your Apple TV. In order to avoid this, we suggest that you turn off and unplug any external audio hardware systems that are connected to your Apple TV, wait for at least 30 seconds to one minute before turning them back on, and then reconnect them to your Apple TV again.

Audio difficulties may frequently be caused by small connection errors with HDMI cables, so be sure to check and tighten all of your HDMI cable connections. We suggest that you verify and double-check that all of the HDMI cable connections between your Apple TV system and any external sound systems, such as a soundbar or television audio system, are properly and securely connected and tight.

Ascertaining that the appropriate sound system has been allocated to your Apple TV system, You must ensure that your Apple TV recognizes the appropriate speaker system that is attached to it as its Audio Output. These are several processes that are often overlooked by users, despite the fact that they are quite vital.

Let’s go through the stages to doing this:

Step 1: Using your Apple TV remote, press the Menu button once.

Step 2: Scroll down to and pick Settings from the menu that displays on the screen (click here if your main Menu is blank).

Step 3: The Settings menu appears on the screen. Select the Audio and Video option from the drop-down menu that appears.

Pick Audio Output from the newly appeared menu that displays on your screen and select the appropriate sound system.

Check for Updates:

Apple TV system software is polished and enhanced as a result of system software updates. The performance of your system improves with each update, and it is thus a recommended habit to upgrade your system as soon as a new version is released.

Most of the time, the most current updates resolve the majority of the difficulties that the user is experiencing. The following are the actions to take in order to check for an update on your Apple TV.

Step 1: Using your Apple TV remote, go to the Menu button and hit it.

Step 2: Navigate to the Settings option in the menu window and choose it.

Step 3: Select Software Updates from the Software Updates drop-down menu.

Step 4: If there are any available updates, a dialog box will show on your computer screen. To begin the update process, choose Download and Install from the menu bar. While the update procedure is in progress, please be patient and do not unplug your Apple TV from the network.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, it turns out that audio problems with the Apple TV are not an unusual fault to encounter. Its troubleshooting methods are likewise quite simple and need little time to complete.

I hope that the information included in this post has been of use in resolving the different audio difficulties you have encountered.

It is our hope that this article has covered almost every potential troubleshooting process; but, if you continue to have the same issues over and over again, I urge that you contact an authorized service facility for assistance.

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-our editorial board has reviewed this article and has been approved for publication according to our editorial policy.

Last update on 2024-03-26

Lance Ulanoff is a renowned tech journalist, commentator, and on-air expert with over 36 years of experience. He has held esteemed positions including Editor in Chief of Lifewire and Mashable, where he delved into the impact of technology on daily life. Lance's expertise has been featured on major news programs globally, and he has made appearances on Fox News, CNBC, and the BBC.