Vizio sound bar HDMI ARC not working is an issue that has been frequently discussed over and over again across technical communities online.
Fortunately, the community members came up with several solutions that were proven and justified by people with the same issue as you.
In this post, we simplified everything to several simple methods that are highly likely to get your HDMI ARC working again.
Your Vizio sound bar HDMI arc might not be working because either your TV or soundbar is not ARC compatible. Ensure to check on this before you start troubleshooting as there would be no point considering that the devices won’t be able to transmit data through the ARC.
Our methods below include a restart, settings interference, updating, and even hard reset so keep reading to reveal how to apply them rightfully.
Without further ado, let’s start with our troubleshooting methods.
How To Fix Vizio Sound Bar HDMI ARC Not Working?
Our methods below apply only to devices that support ARC. You can check online if your devices support ARC and how to properly use it.
We recommend applying the solutions in numerical order and check if the HDMI arc is fixed after completing a step.
Let’s start with the simplest methods first:
Method #1 Inspect HDMI ARC Port
It is well-known that some Vizio soundbars have more than one HDMI input port, but not all of them are compatible with ARC.
Unfortunately, there is nothing that can tell you which exact port is compatible so you might have to check the specific model online.
Another way to ensure that you’re not using the wrong port is simply to try all of them. If there is no input, feel free to proceed with our next method.
If however, everything works when the HDMI is connected to that simple slot, congratulations, you’ve discovered the problem.
Method #2 Inspect HDMI Cable
Sometimes the sound bar HDMI arc issues are actually caused by the HDMI cable itself.
Try disconnecting and reconnecting both ends and if it does not seem to work, try using the cable connecting other devices.
If you cannot establish a connection even on devices that work with other cables, then you need a replacement.
In contrast, if the HDMI cable is just fine, then you might need to take further measures by continuing with our methods.
Method #3 Disconnect HDMI Devices
If your TV has more than one HDMI output attached to it, ensure to disconnect everything and then inspect your soundbar input.
Sometimes there is a formation of so-known “CEC issues” that are often associated with HDMI device conflicts.
By disconnecting other devices from the HDMI network leading to your ARC, you will most likely get rid of the possibility of internal conflicts causing your ARC not to work.
TIP:
Turn off TV > Turn off sound bar > Disconnect all HDMI devices > Connect only the HDMI to your sound bar > Test.
If now the soundbar HDMI ARC issue is gone, you can connect all else back in and there should be no issues.
If the issue appears again in the future, feel free to apply the same step again.
To solve your issue permanently (even if the soundbar now works), proceed with our next method.
Method #4 Enable CEC
Apply this method regardless if your issue has been solved in method #3. It is very important to enable CEC through your TV settings to ensure that the issue won’t be appearing again.
Most TV brands have different menu templates and creating a step-by-step tutorial might not apply to all of them.
In that regard, we are going to explain it as concisely as possible.
Navigate to your TV “MENU” and search for the CEC feature to enable it. Feel free to check online where this feature hides in your TV’s menu.
Then select HDMI ARC from the sound bar remote and run a scan in order for your TV to recognize and align with.
This way you will ensure that the HDMI arc not working on Vizio sound bar issue is gone forever.
But if you are still experiencing issues we will go further in our next methods.
Method #5 Up To Date
While it is a rare occasion, your TV or sound bar could be running an outdated software version. It is well-known for older firmware to lack the ARC support that you are looking for.
By updating both your TV and sound bar to the latest possible operating system, you will exclude the possibility of lacking some essential features.
Upon updating both devices ensure that they have been restarted during the process. If not feel free to perform a manual restart but unplugging the from the power outlet for at least 2-3 minutes.
Method #6 Hard Reset
This is the last but most effective way to get rid of any unfortunate glitches and bugs that could be causing the Vizio sound bar HDMI ARC not working with Vizio TV issue.
By hard resetting both the sound bar and TV, you will be able to cleanly set up everything and hopefully get your HDMI ARC working.
In this method, we will help reset your Vizio sound bar to default settings, but you might have to search how to reset your TV online as we already mentioned, all brands have different menus.
To hard reset your Vizio sound bar, follow the steps below:
- Turn off the Vizio sound bar for about 10 seconds and then turn it back on
- Press & Hold the [Bluetooth] and [Input] buttons for about 5 seconds until your sound bar restarts. If it does not work try again with our next step
- Press & Hold the [Volume Up] and [Input] buttons, again for about 5 seconds until the device restarts
This will hard reset your device and hopefully restore the HDMI ARC issue you’re experiencing.
Do not forget to perform a hard reset to your TV as well, as it is highly possible for the issue to be caused by the TV.
Vizio Soundbar HDMI ARC Still Not Working?
If you have applied all of our methods and your HDMI arc still does not transmit signal, we have tightened the circle enough to conclude that the issue is either in your sound bar or ARC itself.
To make sure whether the problem is coming from your soundbar, you can simply connect it to another TV or even a computer.
If your sound bar is just fine you might have to pay further attention to your HDMI ARC. It could be broken.
You can still test the ARC by connecting it to another workflow of devices, but at this point, there is really nothing else that could be causing any problems.
Bottom Line
We hope that our post was able to help you resolve the issue where the Vizio sound bar HDMI ARC not working.
Remember that before taking any further actions such as purchasing a new HDMI ARC, we recommend contacting the official Vizio support team.
They might come up with a solution that is still not online or provide you with recommendations on what exactly to purchase.
Read Next: Proven ways to fix Hulu buffering issues on Vizio TV.
