Steve H.

Expert ★★★★★ 27,853 satisfied customers

Specialities: Smart TV audio diagnostics, no sound in streaming apps, HDMI audio working but built-in apps silent, eARC/ARC output checks, sound format.

Common reasons app audio stops while HDMI sound still works, and the safest checks first

Technician

Let’s keep this simple and safe first. I don’t want you changing a lot of audio settings at once, because that can make it harder to see what actually caused the problem.

One detail matters right away: when you say there is no sound in apps, do you mean built-in TV apps like YouTube, Netflix, or Prime Video are silent, but a cable box, console, or HDMI stick still has normal sound?

Customer

Yes, exactly. The picture is fine everywhere. HDMI devices have sound. But when I open apps on the TV itself, there’s no sound at all.

Technician

That’s a very useful symptom, because it usually means the TV speakers are not fully dead. Something is different between the audio path used by the apps and the audio path used by HDMI sources.

Before we guess, what changed around the time this started?
• a soundbar or receiver was connected
• eARC or ARC was turned on
• a TV update happened
• sound output was switched from TV speakers to another device

Customer

We do have a soundbar. I think the TV updated recently too. I’m not sure about eARC, but I remember seeing that setting.

Technician

That fits. This is common after updates, but we should rule out risks before touching advanced audio options.

Here is the simple logic:
• If HDMI has sound, the soundbar or speaker path may still work in general.
• If built-in apps are silent, the issue is often with TV audio output selection, digital sound format, or how the TV sends app audio to ARC/eARC.

Let’s start with the safest checks first: when an app is silent, does the TV volume bar still move normally on screen?

Customer

Yes, the volume bar moves. It looks normal, but there’s just no sound from the app.

Technician

Good clue. That usually means the TV is not frozen; it is just not delivering app audio in a usable format or to the expected output.

A couple of calm checks:
• Is the soundbar connected through HDMI ARC/eARC or optical?
• If you switch the TV to its internal speakers, do the apps stay silent too?

Trust moment: I don’t want you factory resetting the TV or the soundbar. We can learn a lot from output behavior first.

Customer

The soundbar is on HDMI ARC. I tried TV speakers once, but I’m not sure it really switched. HDMI devices still had sound either way.

Technician

That “not sure it really switched” part matters more than it sounds. Some TVs keep showing TV speakers selected, but ARC/eARC handshaking is still affecting app audio in the background.

Another possibility is sound format mismatch:
• HDMI source may be sending a format your soundbar handles easily.
• Built-in apps may be trying Dolby Digital Plus, passthrough, or auto mode, and that path may be failing silently.

Did the silence happen in every app, or only in one or two streaming apps?

Customer

It seems to be every app I tried. YouTube, Netflix, and another one too.

Technician

When several built-in apps lose sound at the same time, I start thinking less about the apps themselves and more about the TV’s shared audio settings.

The main buckets are usually:
Bucket A — Output confusion
The TV may be routing app audio to ARC/eARC differently than HDMI audio.

Bucket B — Format mismatch
App audio may be using a format the soundbar or TV is not negotiating correctly.

Bucket C — Update side effect
A firmware change can leave audio handshaking inconsistent until settings are reviewed.

Customer

That sounds possible. The soundbar and TV have both acted a little strange since the update.

Technician

That lines up with what many people see after software changes. We should also rule out one misleading issue: some apps keep their own last-used audio or language preference, and when that goes wrong it looks like the whole TV lost sound. But because all your apps are silent, that is less likely here.

Let me ask it a different way: if you unplug the HDMI cable to the soundbar, do the apps suddenly play sound through the TV, or do they stay silent?

Customer

I haven’t tried that yet because I didn’t want to make it worse.

Technician

That is sensible. I don’t want you to try something that could make it worse without a reason. But that one safe observation can separate a TV app audio path issue from a soundbar handshake issue very quickly.

Another low-risk clue: in the sound settings, do you see anything like Pass Through, Auto, PCM, or Dolby Digital Plus? If the TV is on Auto or Pass Through, app audio can go silent while HDMI still seems normal.

Customer

Yes, I’ve seen PCM and Pass Through in the menu. I think it’s on Auto or Pass Through now.

Technician

That is one of the strongest clues so far. Built-in apps often expose format mismatches sooner than HDMI devices do. A console or cable box may send steady audio the bar accepts, while streaming apps can trigger a silent failure if the TV is passing through a format the bar does not handle cleanly in that moment.

We are not picking a final fix yet, but the direction is becoming clearer: output selection, ARC/eARC handshake, and digital format are much more suspicious than speaker failure.

Customer

So this probably isn’t because the TV speakers are broken?

Technician

From what you described, broken speakers would be lower on the list. If HDMI sound still works and the screen is normal, the TV is still handling audio in some form. This feels more like a path or format problem than dead hardware.

Trust moment: that is why I would avoid buying cables or replacing the soundbar based on this symptom alone.

Customer

That’s good to hear. I was already thinking something expensive had failed.

Technician

It does not sound that way right now. The safest pattern to confirm is this:
• whether internal speakers can take over cleanly
• whether app audio returns when ARC/eARC is temporarily out of the path
• whether changing from Pass Through or Auto to a simpler format changes behavior

If one of those changes the symptom, you have a much cleaner answer than “the apps are broken.”

Customer

That helps a lot. I’ll start with output and sound format checks instead of doing anything drastic.

Quick answer: the accepted fix

Accepted first checks when the TV screen is fine but there is no sound in apps, only on HDMI:
• Confirm the TV is using the intended audio output and that it really switches between TV speakers and ARC/eARC device when selected.
• Review the digital sound format setting; app audio often fails on Auto or Pass Through when HDMI devices still sound normal.
• Compare app sound with the soundbar connected versus temporarily out of the audio path to separate TV app audio from ARC/eARC handshake issues.
• Check whether the problem began after a TV or soundbar update, since shared audio settings may need review after firmware changes.

FAQ

Sources

• Google TV Help — Fix sound problems on Google TV
• Samsung Support — Troubleshooting sound issues on your TV
• LG Support — TV troubleshooting for no audio
• Roku Support — Set up and troubleshoot audio on your Roku TV

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