Samsung TV 65" S90C OLED 4K Smart TV (2023) and Samsung HW-Q930C Q-Series Soundbar (2023) eARC Problem.

[Dennar]

I have just taken delivery of a Samsung TV 65" S90C OLED 4K Smart TV (2023) and Samsung HW-Q930C Q-Series Soundbar (2023).

I keep losing the connection to the Samsung Soundbar via the HDMI (eARC) connection.

If I disconnect everything, then just connect the TV to the Soundbar via HMI eARC, it will work for a while and I can select Q Symphony so the TV speaker and the HDMI eARC setting is enabled and active, and the audio output changes to reflect the use of the TV Speakers as well as the Soundbar, but when I then turn off the TV via the Samsung Remote and turn it on again, it does not find the Soundbar and I am left with TV Speakers only.

If I power off, disconnect then power up again it will eventually find the HDMI eARC before dropping our again after I turn off the TV. YAWN.

This is sooooo frustrating with brand new equipment that is meant to seamlessly integrate.

Very, very disappointed.

I have a Panasonic DVD on HDMI1 and an Apple TV on HDMI2 with the Samsung Soundbar of HDMI3 eARC.

Dennis

[Dennar]

Update:
I performed the following:

• Disconnected the HDMI1 (Panasonic Blue Ray DVD), HDMI2 (Apple 4K TV) and Samsung Soundbar (HDMI3 eARC) cables from the rear of the Samsung TV.
• Used the Samsung Remote to power down the system.
• Turned all the equipment off at the wall socket.
• Waited for the recommended 30 secs.
• Connected the Samsung Soundbar (HDMI3 eARC) cable to TV and Soundbar.
• Powered on the TV and the Soundbar at the wall socket.
• Pressed the Samsung remote power button.

RESULT: the Q Symphony and eARC function worked.

I then pressed the power off button on the Samsung Remote.

When I returned a few hours later and pressed the power on button on the Samsung Remote, the Q Symphony and eARC function worked again.

I then added the following:

• HDMI1 - Panasonic Blue Ray DVD (with VIERALink disabled on DVD Unit).
• HDMI2 - Apple 4K TV

The system appeared to be stable as I navigated between these additional devices and I was able to enjoy some moments of relaxed TV watching – at last.

I then pressed the power off button on the Samsung Remote.

When I returned a few hours later and pressed the power on button on the Samsung Remote, the Q Symphony and eARC function did not display and the Samsung TV had defaulted to internal TV Speakers only. Grrrr.

I navigated to the System Menu and selected the Audio option.

HDMI Receiver and eARC Bluetooth were available, but no TV Speaker+eARC to enable Q Symphony.

It appears that the system is quite unstable and every time you power on the TV the unfortunate end user is doomed to spend several minutes trying to get TV Speaker+eARC working to enable Q Symphony.

Can this really be happening on brand new 2023 Samsung equipment, am I expecting too much?

[Dennar]

I should add that the HDMI cable between the Samsung TV HDMI3 eARC Port and the Samsung Soundbar HDMI eARC Port has the following specifications:

• No compromise, ultimate performance certified Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1 cable for demanding environments and mission critical systems.
• Supports resolutions up to 10240x4320 4:2:0 12bit.
• Full metal 24K gold plated housing, 24K gold plated connectors and contacts.
• Low attenuation triple shielded cable, corrosion resistant, high performance OFC 30AWG conductors
• HDMI 2.1 Ultra High speed Certified: 3D, 4K, 48Gbps, HEC, ARC, eARC, CEC, Dolby® True HD, Dolby® Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X; HDMI ATC certified; 25 year warranty.

Purchased from LINDY.

[Dennar]

I am still having problems with the unreliability of the HDMI3 eARC functionality.

I power off the Samsung TV and Samsung Soundbar via the Samsung remote, which I assume places the system in a stand-by mode.

I have noticed that when I power on the system, sometimes a TV Splash Screen (two lines of text, “OLED” “Secured by Knox”) displays momentarily before the picture displays.

It looks like when this Splash Screen displays, I can access the HDMI3 eARC Soundbar and link it to the TV Speakers for the Q Symphony sound experience.

When I power on the TV and the Splash Screen does not display, then the TV defaults to TV Speakers and I struggle to enable HDMI3 eARC. When I run the HDMI Troubleshooter, it always comes up with the diagnosis that I need to replace my HDMI cable, which is an HDMI 2.1 Ultra High speed Certified: 3D, 4K, 48Gbps, HEC, ARC, eARC, CEC, Dolby® True HD, Dolby® Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X; HDMI ATC certified; 25 year warranty cable.

So, it appears that the HDMI troubleshooter is finding a fault with the HDMI3 eARC connection but is not able to diagnose the core problem, so defaults to a generic “replace the cable” message. I have replaced the cable with a second copy of the certified cable, and still get the same “replace the cable” diagnosis.

What is of interest is when the TV powers on from the stand-by mode, why does the “OLED” “Secured by Knox” splash screen sometimes display and then sometimes does not. Although I have not logged the occurrences of this event, I tend to think that when the splash screen displays the Soundbar connects okay, but when the splash screen does not display, all I get are the TV Speakers.

Why would software behave like this?

[Dennar]

Well, after a few hours of some welcome HDMI3 eARC stability today, and good sound, the TV/Soundbar system fell over again this evening and I lost the HDMI3 eARC connection once more, after a simple power off/power on using the Samsung TV remote. Also, the “OLED” “Secured by Knox” splash screen disappeared, so it appears that there is some initialization or communication problem, who knows?

In the end, I purchased an Optical Cable and upon connecting it, I was able to navigate to the TV + Soundbar Q930C (Optical) option and select it. Phew, so much unnecessary work and trouble in the first week of ownership.

I would caution anyone who is thinking about a Samsung TV/Soundbar System to consider the experience I am having with what appears to be a flakey HDMI eARC connection.

Is this an unfortunate one off issue, am I being dumb and doing something wrong, has there been a recent Solar Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) with the large expulsions of plasma and magnetic energy corrupting my system, or is it a wider issue.

This experience has definitely put me off considering Samsung for any future purchases, as I have not encountered such problems with previous Panasonic, Sony and LG products over HDMI, to 3^rd party soundbars and OEM home theatre systems.

[kajz3reczka]

Hi, my yamaha soundbar work the same 😞 it works until I turn off tv, then only solution to fix connection is unpluged the tv from power. Tv is Q80B

[Dennar · Accepted solution]

Samsung Support have been responsive with replying to my e-mails and suggesting problem resolution procedures such as cold booting the TV, clearing the memory cache and resetting the TV back to factory settings.

However, after a few hours of some welcome HDMI3 eARC stability, the TV/Soundbar system fell over again after less than a day when I lost the HDMI3 eARC connection once more, after a simple power off/power on using the Samsung TV remote. Also, the “OLED” “Secured by Knox” splash screen disappeared, so it appears that there is some initialization or communication problem, who knows.

In the end, I purchased an Optical Cable and upon connecting it, I was able to navigate to the TV + Soundbar Q930C (Optical) option and select it. Phew, so much unnecessary work and trouble in the first week of ownership.

This experience has definitely put me off considering Samsung for any future purchases, as I have not had such problems with previous Panasonic, Sony and LG products over HDMI, to 3^rd party soundbars and OEM home theatre systems.

After spending over 8 hours trying to fix this, in the 1^st week of ownership, I decided that I was not going to live with the uncertainty of thinking “will it” or “won’t it” function correctly every time I power up the Samsung system, especially for an entertainment system that should provide daily entertainment rather than daily disappointment.

So, in the end, I gifted the TV to a close friend who is struggling to replace their U/S TV and have replaced it with a Sony TV and Soundbar due to be delivered later this week.