DAB Problem: No sound / Ensemble 1 - SOLUTION

[Olio]

I've experienced a DAB issue twice in quick succession. The first time it seemed to resolve itself, and yesterday, as it happened again, I decided to investigate a bit further.

The symptoms:
When selected DAB, all stations are displayed, but there is no sound. The is an additional entry at the bottom of the list indicating Ensemble 1, with a "no speaker" sign (see attached).
Rebooting MMI (long press on big button + top right + menu) does not clear it.
Every other source (including FM / LW / MW) works fine, which indicated to me it was less likely to be a reception issue.

SOLUTION:
I found a useful youtube video with someone having this problem on an A5. The solution is strangely simple and impossible to find...
REMOVE the USB charger from the 12V plug in the front central storage unit!
IMG_20170912_153418.jpgIMG_20170912_153507.jpg

Hope this helps!

[A6S]

Probably related to electronic interference.
In my old car if I had the phone charger in there will be static noise coming from the stereo and as soon as I unplugged it everything was fine. The charger was a cheapy eBay special. Got a better charger and that cured it.

[Olio]

Rather frustratingly (and annoyingly) the (intermittent) problem has come abck, without a USB charger in the 12v :/

So not quite solved after all.

[darich]

I get that occasionally.

I think it's dab reception issue. Other frequencies work ok for me too.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[A6S]

Could it be an issue with the aerial? The shark fin aerial is prone to get leaks and corrode away inside then stops working.
I know some have had problems with that from gps to radio not working.

[darich]

I suppose it could be leaks although there's no evidence inside. And when I last scanned my car I had no errors on vcds

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[tdw197]

Do you have no USB chargers plugged in at all? I’ve had this in quite a few other cars (non Audi too), DAB reception is always flaky for me if I’m using any usb chargers at all (charging via the MMI input always works fine)

[gav28uk]

Do you have any hardwired 12v to 5v converters that could be used to power dash cams or USB devices? I had one of these in a previous car and it knocked out all DAB and FM reception. I had to use a ferrite clip to recover the FM & DAB reception.

[Olio]

Well, nothing plugged in, and it does it sometimes.
I have read issues with the aerial could cause this, but the GPS works fine, and so do all other non digital radio frequencies.

I don't live in the stick, so would be surprised if there were issues with the emission at all, without making any noise on the internet.

It is regular, but infrequent, so I'll live with it I guess.

[johnsimcox]

Well, nothing plugged in, and it does it sometimes.
I have read issues with the aerial could cause this, but the GPS works fine, and so do all other non digital radio frequencies.

I don't live in the stick, so would be surprised if there were issues with the emission at all, without making any noise on the internet.

It is regular, but infrequent, so I'll live with it I guess.

GPS and phone aerials are on roof but the radio Aerials (DAB and FM are seperate) are in either the rear (saloon) or side (Avant) window. Could be the aerial amplifier playing up or a poor connection between lead and where it connecs with the glass