What is going on with eARC update for the soundbar HW-Q90R?

[zhspence]

Hi everyone,

I need some clarification, as to be honest the Samsung support staff are hopeless with knowing anything about their own products. 

I was on chat with support enquiring about the eARC firmware update for this soundbar, he replies to me saying it doesn't have eARC?! 

the whole reason I purchased it was because of this update, I have the LG C9 which is eARC!

if they don't provide this firmware update to allow it, then this soundbar is going back for a refund. 

[GarySargent]

Firmware 1335.1 is out as of today for the Q90R TV on the Samsung UK support site.

Is this the eARC update? I'm not at home to check currently.

Suspect not as the changlog just says:

• An error has been fixed that could lead to freezing while zapping.
• An error in interaction with SKY Q (flickering) has been fixed.
• The automatic HDMI detection has been improved.
• An error that could lead to picture dropouts has been fixed.

[Clapton94]

I dont think so otherwise it d be out for soudbars as well 

[_oSo_]

I see this firmware update also available in the us site. However the description of the update differed a bit form the one to mentioned.

[_oSo_]

I see this update also on the US site, it appears as ver1335.0 available since nov 26-2019.
It appears to improve usability, browser performance and app performance and usability of input devices.
I ran a software update on my tv using the tv interface under the support section and the tv looks for an update but it can’t find this new Firmware. It shows that the tv already has the latest firmware which is ver1315 (the previous version before the one released this week). Not sure why the tv can’t find this new version.
Any suggestions.

[fjpadilla]

I had the same problem. The Tv did not get the update from internet. So I donwloaded it and saved to a pen-drive.
This time it worked. But I don't know if the TV used the online firmware or the one from trhe USB!!! LOL

[_oSo_]

Good. I guess I’ll have to do the same. When you check the tv info, does it show that it has the new firmware or the old one. And if it’s running now on the latest firmware, have you noticed anything different on the tv?

[fjpadilla]

Once updated, the firmware is the new one.

I'm running now on the latest, but I don't notice anything new. 

[Bkk]

This whole earc thing is p***ing me off. Willing to drop stupid money on a soundbar and it's not what it should be..still. Like some others here, I have the c9 and been eyeing the samsung bar but holding off on buying. Was planning to buy it this black friday thinking this issue would be sorted by now, it's freaking garbage. But looks like I'll wait some more or get something else. If samsung said this update was in summertime and still not happening close to end of year, i have no faith in them getting it done til it actually happens and confirmed. To my knowledge the only soundbars w dolby atmos, dts x, and earc capabilities are sony and sennheiser? Also don't understand why sony won't add rears to their bar, imo it would leave the others in the dust. Maybe next year, lol

[Bkk]

Also it's ridiculous how misleading it is around the web that this soundbar has earc. Fix this ***** asap, samsung.

[_oSo_]

It is very misleading. Most reviews refer to this soundbar as future proof. I still don’t know “future proof” how? Also they speak about this soundbar like the best companion for the Q90R tv, the most expensive tv in Samsung’s QLED line up for 2019, so expensive that it “can’t pass thru Dolby atmos o eARC features” from the Xbox to the soundbar. I don’t know what for I will need 3 more HDMI ports on my One Connect box if they are useless, I can’t enjoy the benefits of a top of the line game console or blue ray player if the tv won’t be able to handle some of the Benefits like Dolby atmos. So simple, all I want is to match a great quality video with a great quality sound. I though I could achieve this by pairing the Q90R line of Samsung tv and soundbar, I spent more than $4k and all I got is the same video and audio I could have gotten by purchasing something for a fraction of the price. As I mentioned before, this is the first time I purchase Samsung products and most likely the last one. I’m not rich to be changing a tv every 2 years so I guess I’ll have to stick with this one for a while until it breaks down but at least I know what to expect from Samsung. They lost a customer on their first sale, not sure if they care much about this. There will be many like me making the same mistake, Enough to keep making profits with false advertising. The next tv and soundbar will probably have this features enabled and it will be the best next thing, selling high end products that lack technology that came out 2 years ago.
I wouldn’t be surprise to hear in a few months lawyers looking to sue Samsung for this and make money out of this situation.