Samsung Q85 (QE65Q85RATXXU) sound popping and cracking on external devices

[Rich12]

I’m currently on my third Q85 television set and before I pack this one up and send it back I’m hoping someone can help.

I have a Samsung QLED Q85 (only available in Europe I believe) connected to an Apple TV 4K, fire stick 4K and a PS4. The sound is fine when watching terrestrial tv and using apps through the tv itself, however when watching anything through any of the three external devices the sound pops, breaks and cracks. It’s intermittent, and sometimes there’s no problem at all, but if I notice it on one device, when I switch to another I am hearing the same problem. 

I’ve called Samsung several times and they have suggested it’s a compatibility issue which I find hard to believe given the popularity of the devices I’m trying to connect (I should also say the tv has no problem recognising the devices and is able to set the correct settings on the smart remote). I’ve changed the cables (even though I was already using high spec high speed hdmi cables), tried switching devices in different ports, performed factory resets on all devices, and ensured all software is up to date but it’s still happening. It was the same issue I had with the previous television (that I got replaced) so unless this is a known fault it can only be something I’m doing but am out of ideas.

I’ve made several adjustments to the setting such as turning anynet on/off. I only have the option of selecting PCM as the output. I have the tv connected to a sonos soundbar on a 5.1 setup via optical cable, however I also get the crackling when switching to the tv speaker so i’m confident it’s not the sound system.

Finally, samsung have performed several tests,

and have remotely reset the HDMI ports which temporarily resolved it but low and behold an hour later and it was back.

So all in all I’m pretty confused and all the basic troubleshooting steps I’ve found online don’t resolve the issue.

Samsung have escalated my recent issue with their technical support team, so I will post a response if they’re able to fix it. If anyone knows of anything else I might be missing and should try in the meantime, please let me know.

I love the picture and the tv itself so really hoping I can find a fix. Thanks so much in advance.

[Digidavy]

I reported the fault within 30 days and refund of the purchase price or an upgrade to a different set has been offered to me. My concern of just putting up with the temporary cure is that the fault could get worse over time.  I do not know what would be the legal situation if the supplier could not repair it say after 6 months to a year. I would assume they would have to either put it right or replace it if they cannot cure it. I wish someone from Samsung or one of their service agents would come out and check the TV but no one will do that. I will sleep on it tonight and try keeping the set on a non HD channel and see if it works for my product.  If not will probably with sadness return it.

[Littledj]

I’ve posted this link to them on twitter, maybe a bit of social media public attention might bring it to the forefront.

I’ll also be reporting mine as a fault through their repair service tomorrow once I get the serial number (annoys me how I can’t just pick my registered product or find it anywhere under my account).

I think until it’s made to be seen to be a big issue there is no reason for them to figure out how to fix it

[Digidavy]

I will tomorrow contact Richer sounds and see If i can extend my return period for a few days and see if I can get through to Samsung somehow other than using the web chat method, was on3 hours the other day and he or she was as much use as a bucket with a hole in it.

[Andyjt]

Most people on this thread have confirmed the two methods solve the issue. You must change to an sd channel everytime BEFORE you change to a HDMI source.  Myself  I went a different route an bought an AV receiver and route all my HDMI devices through that, so a different way to solve the problem but I wanted Dolby Atmos and DTS sound. Kind of an expensive fix, but I can ignore the manual fixes.   

I will say Samsung have completely ignored this thread/issue. So the next time I'm looking for a new TV  it's going to be Sony or Panasonic.

[GeezW]

I too am now in the process of getting a refund. I've spoken to their customer support on two separate occasions (for a total of well over 4 hours!) about this, as well as a few other problems I've encountered, and they just don't seem interested.  So I'll almost certainly be avoiding Samsung in the future.

As others have mentioned these workarounds do work, but having to carry out extra steps every time you want to watch something on an attached device isn't something the end-user should have to do.  And they certainly shouldn't have to buy extra expensive kit, like an AV Receiver, to bypass the problem!

A lot of people here seem to be going the Panasonic route.  I'd be interested to hear what model Panasonic you're going for, and how it compares to the Samsung QLED in terms of picture quality and Operating System.

[Menacesco]

Previously I have always bought Panasonic products and still use three in my house. The model I have chosen to replace the Samsung is the TX-55GZ950B. Its actually £100 less than the amount I paid for the Samsung (being credited by JL) and has the benefit of an £100 e-voucher as well. I will let you know what I think after I have installed it next Thursday. I am not expecting the picture quality to be quite as good as the Samsung (I may be surprised according to some reviews I have read) but I am willing to accept that if it works without other compromises.

[Outlander]

I agree with the conclusion that to resolve the sound issue from HDMI devices with 2019 QLED television is to ensure you are first watching an SD channel before changing the source.  Yes, for some there are other preferred workarounds, but for me the SD channel option is the simplest.  Besides my wife doesn't partially like the picture from HD channels (don't go there), so for me this isn't a real issues.  Well at least when we a watching the television together!

I appreciate for some of you this is a real bug bear and are now thinking about getting you money back for another manufacturer.  I too was a fan of Panasonics, but went for the Samsung QE55Q70R because of the reviews I read online (I think they missed this issue).  I am happy with the Samsung, despite the sound issue when switching to an HDMI device.  For now I can live with it given the quality of the rest of the television.  Still waiting for a reply from Samsung and Team Knowhow after my main board was replaced?  This is a software issue, so why isn't Samsung releasing a firmware update?

What has really disappointed me is Samsung's customer service given that so many of their users has highlighted this sound issue!  What's the point of Samsung Community if it's just down to us to resolve these issues?  Why isn't Samsung monitoring these posts, making comments and taking action to ongoing issues?  Samsung's customer service seems non-existent.  I tried the built-in Request Support, but everytime the reply was there are no appointments.  Phoning customer service is waste of time - gave up after waiting for 45mins.  Sent them several emails, but still no reply?

Samsung your customers are important!  We have all spent a lot of money on these televisions and so expect more for our hard earned cash!  Come on Samsung, take note, just fix this sound issue and we will go away happy.  If you don't, your going to lose customers for good!

[Menacesco]

Hi Outlander,

What a very considered and logical your response is. I also considered using the SD channel workaround and putting up with this inconvenience because the tv is, otherwise, so good.

However, on reflection I thought "why should I have to".  To spend £1300 on a tv and then have to explain to your wife, family and friends why you have to change the tv channel to SD before viewing a recorded programme (or whatever else people use peripherals for) is extremely embarrassing and makes my choice look ill informed. My real beef is with Samsung though. This forum has convinced me that they are not even willing to accept there is a problem, let alone consider providing a fix. 

Samsung have certainly lost me as a future customer, irrespective of how good their products are.

The mark of a good brand is how well they respond to fixing issues. Samsung have failed, John Lewis have excelled. 

[Menacesco]

I gave Samsung the link to this thread via Messenger from their FB page and have received the following response. Maybe they will pick up on this issue now and do something to solve it. I hope so for all you guys who want to keep your sets. 

"Well, we appreciate the heads up, Denis. We've had a quick read through of the thread, and we're going to flag it with one of our admins so that we can begin assessing the feedback that you, and a couple of our other customers have given. It goes without saying, that we are driven by customer feedback, and we are always looking to improve upon our products. We're sorry to hear that your TV is going to be returned! ^GA"

[Tedson]

Great work 👍 I have had this TV since release, June 2019 in the UK and have put up with the issue ever since. By the way SAMSUNG if you are looking to fix this finally it's an issue with all Q models from Q60, Q70, Q80 (my model), Q85 and Q90. So please make sure you address this as an update on all of them. Thanks