Forum Discussion

JonathanSN's avatar
JonathanSN
Channel Surfer
8 months ago

Roku Streambar sound cutting out while using HDMI

Hello,

I, like many others here, am incredibly frustrated with the constant audio cutouts (randomly, at least 2-3 times per hour, sometimes 2-3 times every 5 min) while using HDMI sources connected to the TV. This issue is beyond annoying — it's a total "show stopper". (no audio cutout observed when using roku OS, although not using it a lot).

I've gone through all the usual "troubleshooting" steps: swapping HDMI cables, power cycling the Streambar, etc., yet the problem still persists. When I use another soundbar from a different brand with the same TV and cables, it works perfectly — no issues, for years.

What is even more frustrating is reading this issue has been ongoing for years with no real solution. Roku’s typical response of "we will contact you separately" is just lip service — it does little for the community at large, the expected purpose of this site.

If this doesn’t get fixed very soon, I’ll be returning this product while I’m still within the return window. It's a shame because when it does work, the bar offers great value, but this constant audio dropout is unacceptable.

 

My model 9102EU | SW 13.1.4.1515 | device ID 2E1288XXXXXX

Audio
Audio quality
Audio Support
Roku Smart Soundbar
Support
  • RokuEmmanuel-D's avatar
    RokuEmmanuel-D
    Community Moderator
    8 months ago

    Welcome, JonathanSN.

    Thanks for sharing it here in the Roku Community!

    We understand you're experiencing an audio issue with your Roku Streambar intermittently cutting in and out. Rest assured that we'll work on this together so you can quickly get back to uninterrupted streaming. 

    Have you tried it on a different TV to see if the issue persists? Also, will you please try to do a factory reset on your Streambar and let us know if that resolves the issue? 

    We recommend trying these steps and getting back to us on what you find out. 

    Regards,
    Emman

    • JonathanSN's avatar
      JonathanSN
      Channel Surfer
      8 months ago

      Hello, thank you for your answer and suggestions.


      I did perform a factory reset (you or your tech team should see the logs), and made sure to make 0 settings adjustments.
      Same behavior: in less than 10min of video playback through HDMI I get the sound cuts.

      I don’t have another TV to test the soundbar, but I would expect that if a type of TV is incompatible with the bar it would be well documented (TCL Google TV 43QLED770 from 2023, it seems you are also collaborating to offer TCL Roku TVs) ?

      Also, I forgot to mention in the first message that on top of different cables, I also tested with different HDMI sources (Mac, windows laptop, fireTV stick) and on different HDMI port of the TV.

      Please don’t put the issue as “resolved/solution” as soon as you offer a troubleshooting step, as it is not fixing the issue raised (same for other posts, when new joiners expect to see a solution in the "solution" link while in fact it's just a common troubleshooting step suggested, not necessarily solving the issue).

      • RokuEmmanuel-D's avatar
        RokuEmmanuel-D
        Community Moderator
        8 months ago

        Thanks for keeping us in the loop, JonathanSN!

        We truly understand that the above-suggested steps did not resolve the issue. We'll surely take note of the reminders about the posts marked as fixed; we appreciate your feedback. 

        Since we've exhausted all the possible troubleshooting steps available, we'd like to bring this one step higher and thoroughly review the problem you're currently running into. To do that, will you please supply the following details below: 

        • Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and OS version. (these can all be found in Settings > System > About)
        • Tracker ID (when you see this issue occur, press the Home button five times, followed by the Back button five times, and provide us with this ID).

        We are dedicated to getting you back on streaming, and having to provide this information will help us kick-start the investigation process. 

        All the best,
        Emman

  • SuziQ2025's avatar
    SuziQ2025
    Newbie
    4 months ago

    I am also having the same issue with my practically brand new Roku sound bar. It is very frustrating and annoying that I have to restart my show or restart my Roku or unplug my Roku just to be able to watch my shows. I gave up my cable because I had heard good things about Roku and as far as the Service it is great but the sound bar is leaving much to be desired. I hope that there’s a solution and a resolution very quickly or I may be switching to another service.

    • RokuHaz-M's avatar
      RokuHaz-M
      Community Moderator
      4 months ago

      Hi SuziQ2025!

      Welcome to the Roku Community!

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We get that you're having problems with your Roku Streambar where the sound cuts out when you're using HDMI. To help us dig deeper into this, could you please tell us: 

      • What steps have you taken so far to resolve the issue?
      • Is this issue occurring across all of your channels, or is it isolated to just one?
      • When did you first encounter this issue?
      • Could you please provide the version of your OS?

      Looking forward to your response.

      Regards,

      The Roku Community Team

      • JonathanSN's avatar
        JonathanSN
        Channel Surfer
        4 months ago

        Hello,

        Indeed, my fix was to send back the roku bar while still being elligible to refund from my shop.

        The permanent fix is sadly to go with another brand, as this forum pages show clearly the blatant lack of interest to fix the issue(s).