[470.57.02] Nvidia 30-series HDMI audio stops working when switching from 60Hz to 120Hz

I just installed the beta driver 495.29.05 and I’m still experiencing the same issue.

On login, the refresh rate of my display is set to 60Hz despite using a Xorg config with 120Hz set.

Then, I attempt to set it to 120Hz using nvidia-settings and it seems to change for a few seconds. It then reverts back to 60Hz. Setting the refresh rate a second time seems to work, but I then lose sound via HDMI.

Here is my bug report after setting the refresh rate to 120Hz the second time with no HDMI audio output:
nvidia-bug-report.log.gz (369.2 KB)

Anyone found a fix for this, I have the same issue.

RTX 3080ti anything above 60hz audio drops out (still works through headphones)

On driver 496.49

Same issue happening on the latest driver release 496.xx. Audio plays fine on 60hz, once you switch to 120hz audio stops playing. This is on a RTX 3090. Happening in both Windows and Unix based systems…

Imagine being nvidia and not testing their cards with audio on 120hz. Its the default on 70% of consumer TVs and monitors these days LOL. Their executives are posting the highest earnings of their lives and then they fired the QA team.

Two months I’ve been struggling with audio issues and yesterday after a few clean installs (PopOs 21.04 and 21.10) thought I’d try dropping the refresh rate to 60Hz. What do you know? Everything works… I thought that this can’t be just the drivers, because so many of the HDMI 2.1 cables claim to be “8K” and “120Hz” and whatnot compatible, so I bought a 2 meter cable with a proper HDMI certification to make sure the connection between the display and the computer is not the issue. Problem solved? No, sound is still as broken…

So, the only way I can use my system is either dropping the refresh rate down to 60Hz or by falling back to the latest driver in the os repo that works (460.106).

If only I’d discovered this thread earlier… Would have saved a lot of time.

Used hardware, 3080 and LG C1. No issues whatsoever with 2080Ti + DP->HDMI2.1 converter and a Q95T Samsung, running 4k@120 just fine.

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I have the same issue, selecting anything above 1920x1440 with 120Hz results in no audio, and this is the only site I could find about this issue.

My hardware:
ASUS GeForce RTX 3080 Ti TUF‎ (90YV0GU1-M0NM00)
LG OLED65CX9LA

How is there no solution for this yet?

I had the same issue and fixed it by uninstalling the driver using DDU then reinstall latest driver version.

Wow, can you share instructions? I thought DDU was some Windows thing :/

Everyone else, please tell me, am I having the same issue or unrelated? I use HDMI out for a big TV and said TV drops sound for 3 seconds every time anything happens (like frequency change). I had a Z390/9700K system, upgraded to Z690/12700K, with the same RTX 3080 (and you all say it’s a 30-series issue), and with nothing but the motherboard and CPU swapped, I need to stop touching anything if I play a video on the HDMI output, otherwise sound drops.

I’ve tried downgrading PCIe bus to 3.0 (which it worked at with Z390, was worth a try), didn’t help. I’ve disabled the on-board sound card in the BIOS (because it uses the same hda-intel driver, also worth a try), but unfortunatelly, neither of those made a difference.

I literally can’t even move my mouse over some windows or the sound will drop for 3 seconds. Worst offender is Steam, where I can get into a loop of silence by just moving the mouse over icons (or not doing anything if I let it to compile shaders in the background).

So, is this the same issue, or am I experiencing something else? Someone please tell me :(

(My display works at 60 Hz but it’s super sensitive to sound drops, so I’m still not sure)

I am able to duplicate issue locally which will help team now to debug issue further.
Shall keep updated on the status.

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Yes thank you!

This bug has been most annoying and one way to partially fix this is to use a DP to HDMI 2.1 converter which gets me sound, HDR, 4K, 120Hz but no G-Sync support.

Please update this thread in here once the software is finally fixed. Thank you!

I’m having the same issue. 3080 here.
Connected to a Sony Bravia with the 120hz update.
I get sound with 60hz, but no audio when switching to 120hz

Some times I can get it to work , as mentioned above, by switching to 120hz while sound is playing. Kind of like a signal piggy back situation.

Tested HDMI cables and they have passed with 4k 120hz using a Denon Receiver.

Also have this issue using the following:
Zotac Trinity 3090
Sony Bravia A80J
Audioquest 48Gpbs Cinnamon HDMI cable

Under 4K 120Hz works perfectly.
At 4K 120Hz produces either no sound, or the weirder normal sound, then the audio distorts and almost crinkles and tears within itself, then eventually reverts to normal. Issue happens with multiple 48Gpbs cables that are tested successfully for 4K 120Hz. Does not occur when headphones are plugged in (within the headphones themselves).

All drivers are totally up to date. Has never worked perfectly on any version.

Just an idea: does enabling MSI for the snd_hda_intel driver work around the distorted sound?

Verified these issues still exist, no sound playing Assassin’s Creed 2, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Assassin’s Creed Origin on 4k 120hz, but on 60hz audio is back. However, other games and browser video streaming are fine with the audio, such as bioshock remastered, bioshock infinite, bright memory infinite, etc

Also strangely, this seems not bundled with the HDMI 2.1 bandwidth nor the cable, since I played 8k 60fps of Mudrunner, the audio is fine. The assassins creed 2 on 8K 60fps is fine, but assassins creed 2 on 8k 120hz (although internally the game engine is only 60fps capped) still has no sound. So this might be related to 120hz specific.

P.S: However, I tried 1440p 120hz with Assassins creed unity today, the sound is back.

P.S+2: Found many people had the same problem with RTX3XXX and TV setup here: [RESOLVED] [PC] Missing audio / sounds in-game | POST HERE | Ubisoft Discussion Forums

P.S.3: Found a workaround, I went to open the assassins creed origin, then go to nvidia panel to disable the gsync then back to game, and out to enable gsync again, the sound is back. Wierd…

Spec:
RTX3080ti, Win11, using HDMI2.1 to LG C1, Gsync enabled, driver 511.23

I had enable_msi=1 originally, tried enable_msi=0 as well combining it with power_save=0. No change for my symptoms (drops at 60 Hz when other programs do some graphical things).

And again, since my TV can’t do 120 Hz, I can’t really confirm the “sound constantly off” symptom, I “only” experience sound dropping for 3 seconds every now and then. I’m convinced the underlying cause is the same, but I can obviously be wrong.

And again, same 3080, same TV, same OS, same everything worked fine until a motherboard+CPU upgrade. It’s X-Files.

I got a Club 3D CAC-1080 (so not a 4K model, but supposed to be a good active converter), that did not help. I’m not investing even more money to check such expensive work-arounds for a problem apparently caused by drivers :)

As of today, I installed the latest new driver for RTX3080ti, it doesn’t fix the previous no sound issue for Assassins creed unity and origin. And worse, it breaks what’s previously has sound, Bioshock remastered.

Really, it’s worse and worse.

Reverted to the original driver release in 08.21. Such a crap the new drivers these days

Hi everyone,

Any update on this? I’m running a EVGA 3080TI on Manjaro Linux and switching to 4K 120hz completely disables audio on my LG C9 TV.

4K 60hz works fine. 90hz also kills the audio though.

My NVIDIA driver version is 510.47.03

I’m having this issue on windows for like a year now on 3070, lg cx.

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Guys, I found a solution for my case.

I ended up reinstalling Win10 rather than Win11 and using the driver version 472.12 for my RTX3080ti. Baaaannnng! Everything is perfect now. Not only do I get all the sound I didn’t get previously, like in AC unity and Origin, the feel of the smoothness when playing the game is much much better. Previously, playing at 90fps feels like playing at 40fps. So this leads me to wonder it’s the combination of the Win11 and Nvidia driver that ends with a wrong input and output when gaming, it’s like the game will be thinking it’s not on a 120hz screen but the GPU is still outputting 120fps.

So my suggestion is no more Win11 since that messes the game’s understanding of your output screen’s REFRESH RATE.

p.s. It could also be the Gsync not only 120hz is not fully supported by Win11 and Nvidia driver on that

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Are you aware this is a Linux thread?

What is it about those Windows people invading the thread? (Also, they seem to actually play games through HDMI, is this some new fetish I don’t know about? I just want to watch video on my TV without sound dropping half the time ;))

Windows person here (@Lamieur :)), reporting the same issue in Windows 11 with 511.79 drivers. However my AV setup is slightly different:

NVIDIA GTX 3080 HDMI out to Denon AVR X6700H using the 8K port that supports 4k120, which goes out to a LG G1 TV. Same behavior as OP:

  • When I use Ultra HD, HD, SD 4k x 2k, 3840 x 2160 (native) @ 60hz, my receiver plays audio

  • When I switch to PC 3840 x 2160 @ 120hz, no audio.

I have an Xbox that is doing 4k120 with atmos. I also have an AppleTV doing 4k60 with no issues.

I have another NVIDIA machine with a 3090 but running Windows 10. I’ll try giving that a go just to have the info.

Edit: Tried 3090 + Windows 10 with 511.65 and everything works. 4k120hz, 5.1, Dolby Atmos, all over HDMI.

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