A small but growing number of Rivian owners are reporting audio glitches after installing the 2026.03 software update, and the issues seem to be mostly hitting Apple Music users.
The complaints popped up on the r/Rivian subreddit, where user charden16, driving a Tri Motor Rivian, first flagged a brief but consistent audio cut happening every drive since 2026.03 dropped. Less than half a second long, but noticeable enough to be annoying.
A few other owners quickly chimed in with more severe problems. Random pauses mid-song. Dramatic volume jumps. Music toggling between crystal clear and, in one owner’s words, “sounding like mud.” One user noted their R1T and R1S are both affected, which rules out it being a one-off hardware thing.
The Dolby Atmos side of things seems particularly broken. Multiple owners say Atmos either fails to kick in at all or cuts in and out during playback. One workaround that kept coming up: hitting the back button to restart the track, which sometimes forces Atmos to re-engage.
Here’s what makes this interesting from a technical standpoint. The 2026.03 release notes actually include a specific Apple Music change: audio quality now automatically adjusts based on connection speed to reduce buffering. That feature, intended to help, might be the exact thing causing the sudden quality drops and volume swings people are experiencing.
The update also upgraded Rivian’s display software to Unreal Engine 5.5, a pretty significant under-the-hood change. One owner in the thread suspects the audio engine itself was changed as part of this release, which could explain why existing Apple Music behavior has gone sideways.
It’s worth noting this is not the first time a Rivian update has broken Apple Music. Similar reports surfaced back in 2024 during the 2024.27 update cycle, and Rivian has historically flagged these as known issues to be patched in future updates.
The good news, if you can call it that, is that charden16 mentioned a bug-fix version of 2026.03 is already rolling out. There’s no confirmation yet on whether it addresses the audio problems specifically, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
Are you seeing any of these issues on your Rivian? Drop your experience in the comments.
TechIssuesToday primarily focuses on publishing 'breaking' or 'exclusive' tech news. This means, we are usually the first news website on the whole Internet to highlight the topics we cover daily. So far, our stories have been picked up by many mainstream technology publications like The Verge, Macrumors, Forbes, etc. To know more, head here.
Dwayne Cubbins
1434 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
Follow Us
