Diagnosis
An HDMI handshake failure between the TV and soundbar. The ARC channel isn't initializing.
How to Fix It
Force a fresh handshake by power cycling in a specific order.
- Turn off your TV and unplug the soundbar from power.
- Unplug the HDMI cable from both the TV and soundbar.
- Plug the soundbar back in, then turn on your TV and wait for it to fully boot.
- Reconnect the HDMI cable between the TV's ARC port and the soundbar's HDMI OUT port.
- Select the 'HDMI-ARC' input on the soundbar (press Input until it shows).
If That Didn't Work
Bypass ARC. Set your TV's audio output to 'Optical' and connect a digital optical cable from the TV to the soundbar. Set the soundbar input to 'Optical'.
Heads Up
Some TVs require you to manually enable the ARC port in their sound settings *and* set the TV speaker output to 'Off' or 'External Speaker'. Check both.