Having sound issues with your Vizio sound bar can be quite frustrating and energy-draining especially when you are in the middle of a favourite show or movie. Many factors can be responsible for the Vizio sound bar not working such as signal not reaching the IR sensor on the Vizio sound bar, TV and Vizio soundbars are not ARC compatible, and so on. This article will help you solve all issues relating to the Vizio sound bar not working.
Once your sound bar is turned on, a light will be displayed on either the left-hand side or at the centre of the bar depending on your version. In case you don’t see any lights ensure the power cord is firmly connected to the outlet and the soundbar. You can double-check to confirm if the outlet has power (by trying a different device).
Simple troubleshooting you can try is to ensure that you point the remote directly at the front centre of the Vizio sound bar and you must not be further than 10 feet away from the device when pressing a button. You can as well disconnect the power cord from the soundbar.
Once it has been disconnected, long press the power button on the Sound Bar for about 5 seconds. Then, reconnect the power cable, and try powering on your sound bar. This should work, however, if it doesn’t ensure you read to the end to get the exact fix that solves the Vizio sound bar not working.
Vizio sound bar not powering on
Are you having issues turning on your Vizio sound bar? If yes, you can follow the steps below:
- Disconnect the power cord from the Sound Bar.
- Once it has been disconnected, long press the power button on the Sound Bar for about 5 seconds.
- Now, re-connect the power cable, and try turning on your sound bar.
- In case the power cord is connected in and the soundbar still won’t power on, you may need to power cycle the sound bar.
- Power cycling is done by unplugging the power cord from the outlet. Wait for about 30 seconds, then connect it back in.
- Finally, try switching on the sound bar again.
- That’s it! This should solve it.
What to do if Vizio sound bar is not working?
Are you experiencing no audio or intermittent Audio from Vizio Sound Bar? Then you can try the below:
- Ensure your sound bar is turning on.
- Check if the sound bar is connected to an “Audio Out” port behind the TV.
- Ensure the Sound Bar is set to the correct input.
- In case the Vizio sound bar is still not working, you can try a ‘factory reset’ on the soundbar.
Vizio Sound Bar Factory Reset
Factory resetting your Vizio sound bar deletes any custom Settings or preferences to their original factory settings. Follow the steps below:
- Long-press on the Bluetooth and Volume Down buttons simultaneously for about five seconds.
- All the 12 LEDs will flash thrice.
- Then the factory reset has been completed.
- This should solve the issue of the Vizio sound bar not working.
Vizio Sound Bar not working HDMI ARC
To enable an ARC-only CEC connection, it is best to update your TV to the most recent software version. To achieve this, follow the steps below:
Update to the latest Software Version
- Connect your Vizio TV to the internet and navigate to the Setting tab.
- Tap on update firmware.
- Most users experiencing the exact Vizio sound bar HDMI ARC not working issue solved it by updating their firmware.
- You can give it a try too.
Check HDMI ARC Port
Most Vizio sound bars come with two or more input HDMI ports but not all HDMI ports are compatible with ARC. Connecting to the wrong port can cause the sound bar not to work.
Although it’s not easy to tell which one is compatible or not. You should try to connect to each port to test run. An alternate way to know the right HDMI ARC port is to check the device model online.
If you discover all of the ports are not working, then you can use another HDMI cable for testing these ports.
You can connect using HDMI by following these steps below:
- Connect one end of the HDMI cable to the HDMI 1 (ARC) port behind the back of your TV.
- Now, connect the other end to the HDMI OUT (ARC) port on your VIZIO Sound Bar.
- That’s all! These steps should fix the problem of the Vizio sound bar not working.
Clear Cache and Reset your Soundbar
To fix the Vizio Sound bar not working HDMI ARC, ensure you clear cache and data on your TV device. Do a power reset on the TV and audio system by following the steps below:
- Switch off the TV and the audio system.
- Remove the power cords (mains lead) and the HDMI cable from both the TV and audio system.
Follow these steps to use the ARC feature to get your HDMI ARC to work:
- Connect one end of a high-quality high-speed HDMI cable to the TV-Out ARC connection of the receiver.
- Then, connect the other end of the HDMI cable to the HDMI ARC input on the TV.
- Set the HDMI Control setting on the receiver to ON.
- Set the Control for the HDMI setting on the TV to ON.
- That’s it! You have successfully set your HDMI ARC to work.
Vizio sound bar Blinking no sound
Wondering why the Vizio sound bar is just blinking with no sound? Don’t worry, simply follow these steps below to solve this issue:
- Ensure the Sound Bar is set to the correct input.
- Turn on the TV, and put on a show or movie (so an audio file can be playing).
The lights on the front will blink showing that the sound bar is cycling through all of the inputs to find the one the TV is plugged in to.
Your Vizio sound bar is just blinking with no sound because of the following reasons below:
- The sound bar is not properly connected.
- Some external issues are responsible for the Vizio sound bar flashing white lights so frequently.
- White lights will flash once you have a loose socket where the plug doesn’t fit well.
- In some cases, this implies that the soundbar is continually switching on and off.
- If you are using an analog connection, ensure the TV volume is turned up.
- If the TV’s analog audio output is set to “variable” and you are getting no sound from the soundbar, you can try turning the TV’s volume up.
- Once the TV has been turned down all the way, you won’t hear any sound even if the sound bar is set to the highest volume.
How to fix Vizio Sound Bar not Working
To fix the Vizio sound bar that’s not working, ensure the soundbar is set to the correct audio source. This is very important because you can also try to pair the sound bar again if you used Bluetooth or you restarted the soundbar. Follow the steps below to fix the Vizio sound bar not working:
Reboot Soundbar
The first thing to do is to reboot the sound bar.
- You can switch it off by clicking on the power button, and then disconnect the power outlet.
- Wait for about 10 seconds then connect it back again.
- You can also switch it off via remote control.
- Connect it again after a few seconds then tap the power button again to turn it on.
Make sure that everything has been connected, then test if the issue has been fixed already.
Check HDMI Cables
The problem might also be caused by damaged wires. To fix this, check the physical property of the HDMI cable first and ensure that it is free from folds and breaks.
- If the cable is physically in good shape, then try to connect it to other ports.
- In case it fails to establish a connection even after connecting it to a different port, then there might be an issue with it.
- Make use of the cable to connect other HDMI devices and if it doesn’t work, then that is the cause of the problem.
- You can try and use other cables to connect your soundbar to fix the problem.
Try Removing Other HDMI Connections
The next fix to try relating to any CEC issue is to remove other HDMI connections. This can be prevented if you connect just one HDMI wire from the TV to the soundbar.
- Switch off both your TV and Vizio sound bar.
- Then, remove all the devices that are connected to the TV via HDMI.
- This prevents other HDMI CEC devices from causing further issues.
- Reconnect only the HDMI wire between the TV and sound bar then switch them back on.
- Check out for the latest version/updates on Soundbar and TV.
Some TV brands with older firmware do not support ARC-compatible connections. It is best to update your TV to the most recent software version to enable ARC-only CEC connection.
To do this,
- Connect your Vizio TV to the internet and navigate to the Setting tab.
- Click on update firmware.
Users experiencing the same Vizio sound bar HDMI ARC not working issue solved it by updating their firmware.
- Switch on both devices and check if the soundbar can now deliver audio.
Enable CEC
Some devices still have problems even after they have updated firmware. In this case, follow the steps below:
- Get your remote and navigate to your TV’s settings.
- Enable CEC and select HDMI ARC connection.
Reset Soundbar and TV
This is the last resort in case the other fixes mentioned above did not work. To do this, follow the steps below:
- Switch off the sound bar for about 10 seconds.
- Long-press on the Bluetooth and input buttons for about 5 seconds or until the sound bar restarts.
- In case it does not restart, long-press the volume up key and input buttons for about 5 seconds or until it restarts.
- Perform the same process for your TV.
- Performing a hard reset will delete any hidden settings that might be interfering with the HDMI ARC.
- Finally, check the connection by powering on the devices and see if you can hear audio from the soundbar.
If all these fails, you can go ahead to contact Vizio support as the issue might be deeper than what can be fixed through any of these DIY methods.
Vizio sound bar Bluetooth pairing not working
If after following the steps necessary to pair the devices and they are still not pairing, you will need to disconnect the power cord for both devices, then connect them back in. Once both devices have been reconnected to power, you can try pairing them again. Some traditional sound bars do not have the option to reset.
To pair the Sound Bar with a Bluetooth device, follow the steps below:
- Long-press on the Bluetooth button on the Sound Bar or the Bluetooth button on the remote for about 5 seconds.
- Once the Sound Bar is in Bluetooth Pairing Mode, the LED Indicators on the Display Panel at the front of the Sound Bar will blink sequentially from bottom to top and back again.
- Once the device has been paired, the LED Indicators will stop flashing.
- Now, you can search for the Sound Bar light code (VIZIO SB3831) using your Bluetooth device (You can refer to the user manual that came with the device for more information.
- Play an audio file via your Bluetooth device.
- The volume can be controlled on your source device as well as the Sound Bar.
Vizio sound bar Bluetooth pairing should work now after following the steps above.
Vizio sound bar light codes
Interestingly, every flashing light on a Vizio soundbar has several meanings. The most common one is when there are wrong settings, which causes the system to malfunction. Other possible causes could be related to issues with audio sources or operating the soundbar in the wrong mode.
Some advanced sound bars are programmed to accept other IR to control them. You can also apply the TV volume IR to the Vizio SB. All codes reported working with the Vizio Soundbar are; VSB200, SB3820, VSB201, VHT215, and S3821.
Vizio sound bar not working with Samsung TV
In case you are using a Samsung TV and you discovered that there is no sound coming from the soundbar, then you will need to change another setting on your Samsung TV. Follow the simple steps below:
- Navigate to TV Settings >> Sound Settings >> Expert Settings.
- From here, change the HDMI/Digital Audio Output Settings to ‘PCM‘.
- This should fix the Vizio sound bar not working with the Samsung TV issue.
Why did my Vizio remote suddenly stop working?
At times, you just can’t find a reason why your Vizio remote suddenly stopped working especially when all things look well and fine. A Vizio remote may suddenly stop working because of the following reasons:
- Due to power drained device batteries.
- Blocked TV sensors.
- Power residue of remote and TV.
- Dirty power source.
- Stuck memory of the remote.
- Issues relating to the TV itself.
How to reset a Vizio sound bar
Factory resetting your Vizio sound bar may be the last resort solution but it’s worth the try. This erases any custom settings and/or preferences to their original factory settings. Follow the steps below to reset a Vizio sound bar:
- Long-press on the Bluetooth and Volume Down buttons together for about 5 seconds.
- Disconnect the AC power cord.
- Connect the AC power cord back in again and tap the power button to switch on the unit.
- All the 12 LEDs will flash three times.
- Then, the factory reset has been completed.
That’s it! I hope this post has answered all your lingering questions about how to go about fixing the Vizio sound bar not working. Feel free to drop your comments in the section below and let’s know the steps you followed that fixed your Vizio sound not working problem.