Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Wondering how to set up Sonos TV Audio Swap feature and how it works? Let us help.
Sonos announced its first headphones in May 2024 in the form of the Sonos Ace and while they don’t offer any extra features for most Sonos speakers, they do if you have a Sonos Arc, Beam (Gen 2) or Ray. Sonos TV Audio Swap is a feature designed to allow you to easily switch audio between your TV and your Sonos headphones.
Here’s everything you need to know about Sonos TV Audio Swap, including what it is, what Sonos products you need and how to set it up.
What is Sonos TV Audio Swap?
Sonos TV Audio Swap is a feature that was announced alongside the Sonos Ace headphones, allowing you to transfer audio between your Sonos Arc soundbar, Sonos Beam (Gen 2) or Sonos Ray soundbar, and your Sonos Ace headphones.
You need to have set the feature up in the Sonos app, after which you can either use the Sonos app or press and hold the Content Key on the right ear cup of your Sonos Ace headphones to switch audio between Arc or Arc Ultra, Beam (Gen 2) or Ray, and Ace.
If you use the Sonos app, you have the option to switch head tracking on or off, as well as Spatial Audio on or off, depending on your preferences.
What Sonos products is the TV Audio Swap feature compatible with?
The TV Audio Swap feature was initially exclusive to the Sonos Arc soundbar, but it arrived on the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and Sonos Ray at the beginning of August, expanding the capabilities to all the more recent soundbars in the Sonos portfolio.
The Sonos Arc Ultra also arrived in late 2024, and is also part of the TV Audio Swap party.
It is not the same as Sound Swap, which is is a feature on the Sonos Roam and Roam 2 that allows you to press and hold the play/pause button to switch audio from the Sonos Roam and another Sonos speaker as you come inside, though it’s a similar idea, just with TV audio instead.
What you’ll need
- Your smartphone or tablet
- The Sonos app
- A Sonos Arc, Arc Ultra, Beam (Gen 2) or Ray soundbar
- Sonos Ace headphones
The short version
- Open the Sonos app.
- Make sure your Sonos Ace headphones are turned on and in range.
- Go to System Settings.
- Select Sonos Ace.
- Tap on + Add TV Audio Swap.
- Select Set up.
- Choose your Sonos Arc, Ultra, Beam or Ray.
How to setup Sonos TV Audio Swap and use it
If you do have yourself a Sonos Arc, Arc Ultra, Beam (Gen 2) or Ray, and a pair of the Sonos Ace headphones, then setting up TV Audio Swap is nice and easy.
Once setup, control is easy. You’ll see a yellow button called ‘Swap Back’ on your smartphone or tablet screen in the Sonos app that will allow you to send audio back to your Sonos soundbar and a pop up will appear allowing you to set the soundbar’s volume.
If the sound is on the soundbar already, a white button appears saying ‘Swap’ which will enable you to transfer the audio to your Ace headphones. You can also use the Content Key to switch between the Arc and Ace, Beam (Gen 2) and Ray, but as mentioned, if you use the Sonos app, you have some extra control, including being able to turn head tracking on or off and turning Spatial Audio on or off,
Time needed: 5 minutes
- Open the Sonos app and head to System Settings
To get started with setting up Sonos TV Audio Swap, the first thing you’ll want to do is open the Sonos app and tap on System Settings (the settings cog in the top right corner of the Sonos home screen). From here, you’ll want to scroll down passed any Sonos speakers and soundbars you have installed to the Sonos Ace headphones and tap on them to access their settings.
- Add TV Audio Swap
Once you tap on the Sonos Ace from the settings menu, you will see a list of options. Scroll down until you find the TV Audio Swap section and tap on ‘+ Add TV Audio Swap’.
- Select Set up and follow the steps
Choose ‘Set up’ when the pop up appears and select your Sonos Arc, Beam (Gen 2) or Ray soundbar from the list, or press ‘Continue’ if you only have one Sonos soundbar in your home. It will take a few seconds and then setup will be complete and you can tap on ‘Continue’ again to finish the setup process.
That’s it! Once setup, you just swap sound in the Sonos app, or you press and hold the Content Key. As we said, you can use the Sonos app to choose between having head tracking on or off, as well as Spatial Audio on or off. You can also flick between the Noise Cancellation and Aware modes in the app, or use the small button below the Content Key on the Sonos Ace headphones themselves.
FAQs
Sonos TV Audio Swap was initially only compatible with the Sonos Arc soundbar. Sonos has now announced that the feature is available on Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and Sonos Ray however, with the update arriving on August 7, 2024. It also works with the new Sonos Arc Ultra
There are two ways to switch the audio back to your Sonos Arc, Beam (Gen 2) or Ray from your Sonos Ace headphones. You can use the Sonos app, or you can use the headphones themselves.
In the Sonos app, there will be a yellow button called “Swap Back” when the audio is playing through your headphones. Tapping this button will send the audio back to your Sonos Arc, Best (Gen 2) or Ray, and a pop up will appear allowing you to adjust the soundbar volume.
On the Sonos Ace headphones, there is a Content Key on the right ear cup. A long press of this button will also switch the audio back to your Sonos Arc, Beam (Gen 2) or Ray.
