Some Apple TV Users Complain of Dolby Atmos Audio Issues

A cluster of Apple TV owners over the last several months have been complaining about several issues when using external speakers with the ‌Apple TV‌ and attempting to listen to Dolby Atmos audio.

apple tv 4k design triad
A thread on Apple's support forums, which started in September 2021 and has over 25 pages of users sharing complaints, chronicles how users are experiencing issues with their ‌Apple TV‌ and Dolby Atmos. According to users, when listening to Dolby Atmos content, audio will sometimes either completely cut out and go silent, goes out of sync with the videos on the screen, or is choppy and stutters.

While there are some users who are experiencing the issue across ‌Apple TV‌ apps, a large portion of the complaints come from when users use the Netflix app. Some users have found that changing audio settings and disabling Dolby Atmos entirely solves the issues. Apple released tvOS 15.4.1 last month and that update does not seem to have addressed the bugs. Are you experiencing similar issues? Let us know down in the comments.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
apple intelligence black

Report: Apple's AI Strategy Could Finally Pay Off in 2026

Tuesday December 30, 2025 9:01 am PST by
Apple's restrained artificial intelligence strategy may pay off in 2026 amid the arrival of a revamped Siri and concerns around the AI market "bubble" bursting, The Information argues. The speculative report notes that Apple has taken a restrained approach with AI innovations compared with peers such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta, which are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data...
apple fitness 2026 1

Apple Teases 'Something Big' Coming Soon to Apple Fitness+

Tuesday December 30, 2025 2:11 pm PST by
The Apple Fitness+ Instagram account today teased that the service has "big plans" for 2026. In a video, several Apple Fitness+ trainers are shown holding up newspapers with headlines related to Apple Fitness+. What's Apple Fitness+ Planning for the New Year? Something Big is Coming to Apple Fitness+ The Countdown Begins. Apple Fitness+ 2026 is Almost Here 2026 Plans Still Under ...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Users Report Static Speaker Noise While Charging

Tuesday December 30, 2025 10:39 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max owners are having trouble with the speakers of their devices, and have complained about a static or hissing noise that occurs when the iPhone is charging. There are multiple discussions about the issue on Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and Apple's Support Community, where affected users say there is a noticeable static noise "like an old radio." Some people report...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With a Rough iPhone Fold Mockup

Monday December 29, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple is rumored to be introducing a foldable iPhone in September 2026, and since it will bring the biggest form factor change since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, curiosity about the design is high. A 3D designer created an iPhone Fold design based on rumors, and we printed it out to see how it compares to Apple's current iPhones. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
Mac Pro Feature Blue

What's Happening With the Mac Pro?

Wednesday December 31, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Mac Pro since 2023, and according to recent rumors, there's no update coming in the near future. In fact, Apple might be finished with the Mac Pro. Bloomberg recently said that the Mac Pro is "on the back burner" and has been "largely written off" by Apple. Apple apparently views the more compact Mac Studio as the ideal high-end pro-level desktop, and it has almost...
macbook air march 2020

Apple Says Final Intel MacBook Air and Apple Watch Series 5 Now 'Vintage'

Wednesday December 31, 2025 8:39 am PST by
Apple today added the final 13-inch MacBook Air powered by Intel processors, the Apple Watch Series 5, and additional products to its vintage products list. The iPhone 11 Pro was also added to the list after the iPhone 11 Pro Max was added back in September. The full list of products added to Apple's vintage and obsolete list today: MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) iPhone 8 Plus 128GB ...

Top Rated Comments

WilliamG Avatar
48 months ago
I’ve been experiencing this for months - cutouts and choppiness to audio. I have 2x Apple TV 4K and both do it. One is hooked up to a Denon receiver and the other to a Sony soundbar.

Apple has shown a complete lack of care with the Apple TV for years, so this doesn’t surprise me (it took years for them to enable proper 24.000hz playback instead of playing said media at 23.976hz, causing frame stutter).

Yes, in the meantime switching off Atmos “solves” the problem (even for NON-Atmos content!), but that’s a real shame, of course.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Robert Coggins Avatar
48 months ago
YES this is a nightmare and its not just NETFLIX. Sonos. I have to reboot my APPLE TV just to get audio back.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unggoy Murderer Avatar
48 months ago
Yup, it's been something that I've noticed a lot too. Audio seems to be unbalanced, loudness isn't consistent (like it can be at 50% and fine one episode, then next it's crazy loud so back down to 15%). Doesn't seem to affect specific apps, it's all content as far as I can tell.

Audio can also sound "off", like a speaker is occluded or something. It randomly fades back to normal sometimes too.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sciomar Avatar
48 months ago
I have experienced the sync issues, reminds me of the old Kung Fu movies! Luckily no full cut out issues yet.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ZzapDK Avatar
48 months ago
Yes, I have recently started having sound issues where the sound cuts off on external speakers. I figured it was my receiver, so I'm currently considering upgrading that. Perhaps I should wait for a tvOS bugfix instead :-/
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac4Brains Avatar
48 months ago
Knowing Apple, they will say the devices are fine and it is an issue generated by the users.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)