Having Dolby Atmos lip-sync issues with your Apple TV 4K and AirPods? A fix is here

Apple HomePod 2 with Apple TV 4K
(Image credit: Future)

While it's quite rare these days, some people are having persistent issues with audio synchronisation between their Apple TV 4K and the HomePods or AirPods they're using for sound.

Thankfully, those issues seem to have now been resolved as part of the new tvOS 18.5 update (thanks for the heads-up, FlatpanelsHD), which has expanded the Wireless Audio Sync feature of the Apple TV 4K so that it now specifically includes Dolby Atmos audio.

The Wireless Audio Sync feature has been around for a while and is found in the Apple TV 4K's Video and Audio menu. It involves the Apple TV playing a series of sounds that are picked up by your iPhone's microphones so that any delay can be automatically adjusted for. It's really rather neat.

But while Wireless Audio Sync has always been able to fix most lip-sync issues with most signals, it didn't previously have a dedicated Dolby Atmos element to its calibration, and a small number of users were still having an issue with video and Atmos audio being out of sync when using a pair of HomePods or AirPods with Spatial Audio for their sound.

This update is aimed at fixing that, and while we haven't yet been able to test it (as mentioned, this is a relatively rare problem), early reports are that it has fixed the issue for many of those who were experiencing it.

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Tom Parsons

Tom Parsons has been writing about TV, AV and hi-fi products (not to mention plenty of other 'gadgets' and even cars) for over 15 years. He began his career as What Hi-Fi?'s Staff Writer and is now the TV and AV Editor. In between, he worked as Reviews Editor and then Deputy Editor at Stuff, and over the years has had his work featured in publications such as T3, The Telegraph and Louder. He's also appeared on BBC News, BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4 and Sky Swipe. In his spare time Tom is a runner and gamer.

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