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.

[hector015]

Hi guys I have been getting same problems popping sounds while watching through external players , what i have found that fixes the popping sounds is go into settings/intelligent mode and turn off adaptive sounds or turn off intelligent mode , i then turned them functions back on later 30mins and its disappeared for now 3 hours now not heard a pop. I have samsung q80r .

[Suzanne71]

The TV repair service is coming out to replace a board in my Samsung TV hoping that will fix the issue with the sound cutting out. I will update after the service

[J0n35y]

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@Suzanne71 wrote:

The TV repair service is coming out to replace a board in my Samsung TV hoping that will fix the issue with the sound cutting out. I will update after the service

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Not sure if you have read the previous posts but people have already tried to have repairs done there's no fix apparently. Only temporary fixes via button presses. It's a software issue not hardware. 

[Tedson]

As numerous people have commented on this thread and others. It won't make any difference... it's a software issue not a hardware issue 

[Menacesco]

I agree. I don't think Samsung will do anything for these 2019 sets. I would be interested to know if the 2020 versions suffer the same problem? I've already given up with Samsung, got my money back and bought a Panasonic set which I am very happy with. Unfortunately I will never trust Samsung again. 

[Outlander]

Hi Suzanne71

Not sure if your TV's sound cutting out is the same issue most owners are experiencing with their 2019 models?  As already stated, if you hear a popping and cracking sound when switching to an external HDMI source then I am afraid what others have said are correct, it is a software issue and the most popular user fix is to ensure you are first watching an SD channel.  I've had the main board on my QE55Q70R replaced, but it made no difference whatsoever!  All we can do is hope is that Samsung release a firmware update that fixes this issue, but to date they have shown no interest in the customers who purchased these TV's.  I too would like to know if this same issue exists with their 2020 models (QE??Q70T...)?  If not, once the 2020 models price drops to a similar price I paid for mine I may demand a replacement.

[Digidavy]

Hi again. I have decided to keep the TV mainly because of the excellent quality picture. I am using my external sat box less and less and have found that the TV does record programs reasonably well abeeit in Samsungs own file system. I found just holding down the on off button and letting it restart seems to clear the fault. Not ideal but I have the backup of Richer Sounds guarantee so if it gets worse I will ask them to repair it. I hope that Samsung will provide a fix sooner than later!

[Digidavy]

I think Samsung has possibly updated the software since I am no problem with the sound on my set using my Humax box for the last few weeks. I wonder if yours is ok now.

[Outlander]

Hi Digidavy

You might be right, my Samsung has been automatically updated to software version 1361.0 and it does seem the popping and crackling has gone on my Humax too?  I will test it over the next few days with my other connected HDMI devices.  If you too can do the same, I'm sure everyone will appreciate our findings. Let's hope this update has finally resolved the sound issue. 

Thanks for for letting us know. 

[Digidavy]

No problem . I am pleased that everything seems to be sorted now. The picture is out of this world with HD transmissions.

Really Happy

Cheers for all who helped to get Samsung to take note and sort it.

Dave