Sony began rolling out Android 8 Oreo to select TVs late last year but later suspended the auto-update due to a sound issue. The company has now resumed the roll-out in the US and Europe.
Android 8 Oreo for Sony TVs
Android 8, also known as Android Oreo, brings an entirely new home screen to Android TVs, so many users had been eagerly awaiting the update. After long delays, Sony finally started rolling our Android 8 late last year in the US and in early 2019 in Europe.
Some weeks later, Sony suspended the automatic update and said that it was due to a sound issue with soundbars or receivers connected through HDMI ARC. Owners could no longer use the built-in update section on their Sony TV to update to Android 8 but the update was still offered as a manual update from Sony's support pages. The company also published a support page about the sound issues.
Sony has now resumed the automatic update to Android 8. In the US, it began rolling out in late April and in Europe it began rolling out this week. It should be available to everyone with a compatible TVs (see table at the bottom) within some weeks.
- "We’re pleased to announce that the automatic update to Android 8.0 Oreo has been resumed and will be rolling out to eligible TVs over the coming weeks. For users that have already downloaded firmware v6.5830 (Android 8.0 Oreo), this firmware will bring further improvements while resolving the issues detailed in our previous announcement," said Sony Europe.
The company says that users who already have already installed the previous Android 8 update should update to the new firmware (v.6.6510 in Europe and v6.5850 in the US). Besides the HDMI ARC issue, it also fixes a couple of other problems.
Unlike Samsung's Tizen and LG's webOS, Google and TV makers provide updates to select Android TVs, albeit slowly. However, firmware updates to Android TV from Sony and other manufacturers have proven problematic on several occasions. Some previous updates have been pulled due to bricked TVs. Many owners are saying that they now prefer wait updating their TV to be sure that no issues are present.
The company has not yet commented on a timeline for the Android 9 Pie update.
Sony's new Android 8 Oreo firmware should be available now or in the coming weeks from the TV's built-in update section. Sony USA has published a support page here and Sony Europe has published its own here.
Sony Android 8 Oreo update
For users that have already downloaded the previous update (Android 8.0 Oreo), this firmware (v.6.6510 in Europe and v6.5850 in the US) will bring further improvements while resolving the issues detailed in our previous announcement:
- Improves the user experience of the channel list presets
- Resolves sound issues via the ARC port connected to your Sound Bar, A/V Receiver or Home Theater System when switching on the TV from standby
- Resolves sound issues playing some specific file formats using the internal video player app
- Restores the Program Guide’s Search by title function
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Compatible models
Europe
Sony 2016 Android TVs: XD70, XD75, XD80, SD80, XD83 and ZD9 Series
Sony 2017 Android TVs: XE80, XE83, XE85, XE90, XE93, XE94 and A1 Series
Sony 2018 Android TVs: XF75, XF80, XF83, XF85, XF87, XF90 and AF8 Series
Sony 2019 Android TVs: AG8, XG80, XG81, XG83 and XG90 Series
USA
Sony 2016 Android TVs: X800D, X750D, X700D, and Z9D Series
Sony 2017 Android TVs: A1E, X940E, X930E, X900E, X850E, X806E, and X800E Series
Sony 2018 Android TVs: X780F, X751F, X750F, A8F, X900F, X851F, X850F, X830F Series
Sony 2019 Android TVs: A8G and X800G Series |
