How to stop HDMI Information Banner on KD-49XG9005 using Android 9 latest firmware???

[warlord01]

I wish to stop the information banner from being displayed at random times whilst watching TV etc on my XG9005.

After searching around, I found out that prior to this latest update (v6.7140) that you could enter the menu: 

Home > Settings > Channel Setup > Info Banner > OFF  and disable the notification.

There must be a way to achieve this under the latest firmware, as it is spoiling my viewing experience and is becoming a major annoyance!!

Any suggestions gratefully received 😀

[Kuschelmonschter]

I am maintaining this bug-tracker. There are lots of reports concerning this issue. I can't reproduce it myself with an Apple TV 4K, most probably because it is not connected via an AVR?

Anyway, in order create a bug ticket on my tracker, I need some more information. Is anybody with this problem not connecting the output device via an AVR or soundbar? Can someday take and share a logcat which documents the issue? This requires you to put the TV in developer mode. Then you need to download ADB (see here) and execute these commands to start the logging. Stop the logging after the problem has occurred so that it is pretty much the last thing of the log.

[CosmicCat]

Thank you for taking the time to respond Mchaggis.

Unfortunately it seems the same software update that introduced this problem also removed the option to turn the banner off on my model: KD-49XG9005. I'm reliably informed the same model from the previous year (KD-49XF9005) does still have the option. Very frustrating.

Most of my sources, most notably my Virgin Media box, are switched through my AVR (also a Sony) connected to HDMI 3 on the TV. This setup has worked perfectly for 8 months until I installed the most recent firmware at the end of January.

I have a PS4 connected to HDMI 2 and must admit I only see the info banner when I expect to on there.

The wiring is not very accessible but I'll try my Virgin box directly connected to the TV with audio via ARC and see if that helps any.

Many thanks.

[CosmicCat]

Mchaggis you are a star. I moved the virgin media box from the av receiver to hdmi 4 on the TV and had the first evening of uninterrupted viewing for 3 whole weeks. For me this issue unequivocally occurs with sources routed through av equipment on hdmi 3. My receiver is also Sony so they can hardly claim it's a compatibility issue (plus the fact it worked perfectly for 8 months prior to this firmware update). So it would seem I have to connect everything directly to the TV to avoid this problem. That would just about be ok if I hadn't run out of hdmi ports already. I have a lot of Sony kit but I've seriously lost faith over this. I won't be blindly accepting any more software updates that's for sure.

[Mchaggis69]

Good to hear.

But as you've stated - its not a solution but a workaround. It should still be fixed by Sony.

When I was having issues with HDMI3 and dolbyvision, I switched to HDMI2 which cured the Dolbvision issue but there is no ARC on that port on the AF8 TV so it wasnt satisfactory. A software upgrade sorted things and I'm back to HDMI3 working fine.

For info, I only ever use one hdmi direct to my TV.

My amp has 7 (I think) HDMI inputs and passes everything through to the hdmi3 connection on the TV. i.e. I can connect games consoles, media players, any other external source, but they ALL go through my AMP.

The TV firmware changes have been buggy.

I've had days and weeks of doing my own research to fix 3 issues. Happily all done now. Sony support tried to be helpful, but they dont seem to know much about anything outwith their scripts.

[bajones01]

A further workaround that I have found mentioned (sorry I can no longer find the link) is as follows:

1.  After switching to the external device (HDMI 3 in my case as everything else is connected via a Sony STR-DN1080 receiver)

2.  TV - Action Menu

2.  Choose Speakers

3.  Switch back to TV Speakers and wait for the picture to return

4.  Repeat but this time switching the speakers back to the Audio System - wait for the picture to return

This seems to suppress the irritating on-screen banner from appearing for a number of hours.

Not a workaround that should be necessary for a £1000 18-month old TV of course.  Sony please take careful note!

[dognbones]

Hello.

I'm so pleased I found this thread. I have a KD-49XG9005 (running the latest software) and yesterday we upgraded our Sky+ HD box to a Sky Q box (a 32C0 model). Since then while watching anything on Sky, live, recorded or on-demand, the Info bar pops up every 1 minute, then 2 minutes (the intervals alternate on after the other) and the sound drops out for a few seconds, which obviously makes watching anything virtually impossible.

I've tried all sorts to sort it including changing the audio output to 'Normal' on the Sky Q box, changing HDMI ports, updating sky software to latest version etc but it's made no difference. It's so annoying as it never happened with the old Sky+HD box.

I'm not sure what to do now as it looks like it's a TV issue rather than a Sky one. The only thing I can think of is maybe ask Sky if they could send me a newer Sky Q box to see if that makes any difference – or if Sony can sort the firmware, but how long will that be???

Anyway, I guess it's nice to know I'm not the only one experience this issue.

[EUSupport_EN]

Hi,

We're sorry to hear that so many of you are facing this issue with your Sony TVs, we're still investigating this issue with the utmost urgency as we understand how inconvenient and distracting this can be.

We've released an update for some models on the 24th of last month, we recommend making sure your TV is up to date.

We'll be sharing more information soon.

[molufc]

Dear Sony,

Can you please issue a fix for this problem ASAP now.

It's been far too long this has been going on and surely someone in the technical software development team would have found the problem and the fix for it, and it should have been rolled out in an update now, even if it's a just small minor software update to solve this single problem.

Watching tv tonight and the banner just keeps on appearing randomly every few minutes and it's really really annoying now. I've been patient long enough for a few months now enduring this pesky banner watching tv every single day.

If you can't fix this problem via a software update anytime soon can I please have my tv replaced for the latest equivalent model? I still have 4 and a half years left on the warranty for this tv.

Thanks

[jonH68]

Spoiler

Spoiler

I am in exactly the same situation re: warranty - it’s frankly ridiculous how long this is taking to resolve - caused solely by a firmware update, so surely a fix should be as simple to administer. Maybe despite all the promises of how this is being looked into as a priority, Sony just don’t care. I would happily be proved wrong !

[bajones01]

A response that I received from Sony UK on the 10 Mar regarding a software update:

"Timeline is mid April, although as you are aware, nothing is definite in terms of sw release dates."

Considering this fault was introduced by a software update at the end of 2020 it's a long time to be living with such an annoying fault.