Plug-and-play is an exciting way to receive entertainment at home or in the workplace. But the whole thing can be frustrating if the device fails to work correctly. In case you’ve tried to use your Vizio soundbar, but it won’t connect to your TV, this guide contains helpful tips that you might consider using.
Vizio Soundbar Won’t Connect
The main thing that can deter your soundbar from connecting to TV is when the power is off. This problem can happen for many reasons, but it can be associated with a power breaker most of the time.
Check the box to see whether one of the breakers is not in line with the rest. Also, if you see red color, that implies that the breaker is not in position, and the soundbar will not connect to your TV until you’ve fixed the problem.
You can turn it off and then power it back on again to set the breaker. Suppose it keeps tripping, unplug all other devices within the circuit, and see if the problem is eliminated. If the issue persists, then you should have the breaker replaced.
While power strips are convenient, they are not the best thing to plug in your Vizio soundbar. Try to plug in your Visio soundbar directly into the receptacle instead of the power strip. This might as well solve the issue.
Do you have many electronic devices sharing the same circuit with your soundbar? If so, the chances are that you’ll run into trouble. This is a common issue when all your entertainment devices are crowded in the same place. Try to space them out and give each one of them a unique circuit to operate on.
Be careful not to overload the circuit, which would deter most of your devices from working properly.
Lastly, check to confirm that the receptacle is in its condition. Although this might not often happen, use a light to check if the receptacle is working.
Check The Wi-Fi
If you have not checked the Wi-Fi, be sure to do so. If the power is stable, but the device is still failing to connect, this might indicate that the internet connection is unavailable or is weak.
It’s also possible that the Bluetooth cables are not working properly. If you can, you need to replace them and ensure that they’re plugged into the right ports.
Suppose you’ve tried to connect the Wi-Fi, but it still won’t work, check out the following steps to fix the problem.
- Check home network: The Visio soundbar and the devices you’re trying to connect it to should all be on the same home network. Therefore, it’s inappropriate to use a hotspot or guest network as the connection will not work
- Check the network: You need to ascertain that your Wi-Fi is up and running. Do this by trying to log in using a different device. This could be a phone or a laptop
- Check the Ethernet: Are you still struggling to get the Wi-Fi connected and working? If so, check to ensure that the problem is not entirely with the internet. Try to plug the Vizio Soundbar router into an Ethernet cable and see if it works
Suppose your problem lies with Bluetooth, this can be due to a number of issues. It’s worth noting that while Bluetooth is convenient, it comes with some limitations.
For instance, for two Bluetooth devices to connect and work together, they should be within 33 feet from each other. Also, there shouldn’t be any barrier between them. If the signal is quite weak, you want to move the devices closer to each other to see if that resolves the issue.
In case you’re trying to connect the Bluetooth from a mobile device to the Vizio soundbar, make sure the bar is in pairing mode. To do that, press the Bluetooth button and hold it until the light begins to flash.
In some cases, you might need to reset the entire system so that it works as expected. Try to reset the devices one at a time by removing them from power sources and leaving them that way for at least 60 seconds before plugging them back.
Vizio Soundbar and TV not Connecting: How to Fix
A Vizio soundbar relies on an HDMI cable to connect to a TV. In most cases, you need an HDMI cable that is also ARC compatible for the connection to succeed.
Therefore, to complete the connection, you need to unplug all the available cables and then try the steps below;
- Go for an HDMI ARC cable and find the HDMI ARC port on your TV. Suppose you’re using older cables, they need to be upgraded
- Insert the cable into the HDMI ARC out port. It’s labeled HDMI 1. The other end should go into the right port on the Vizio soundbar
- Go to the sting menu of your television and move to the audio settings. You need to be using the Bitstream or Dolby Digital
- While it’s not a must to enable the CEC and SAC functions, you should consider doing so. These settings can be enabled from the system menu
- While at the CEC menu, select Device Recovery to make the soundbar sync with the television, and will work properly
Check The Power
If you have any issues with the power, you can notice that when no lights will be on the soundbar. You want to check the breaker, cables, and receptacles and test things well. Ensure that you only use the power button on the soundbar and not the remote to troubleshoot it.
Check the Input
Both the soundbar and TV have input settings, and you need to use both of them. On the soundbar’s settings menu, check to confirm that you’re only using the correct input for the bar.
Go to the TV and confirm the same. Unless the right input and output are used, the soundbar will not work.
Use Soft Reset
To perform a soft reset, you need to unplug the TV and Vizio soundbar from power sources. Also, do not forget to disconnect the HDMI cable. Let them remain that way for around five minutes, and then plug them back in.
The soundbar not Connecting to Bluetooth
If your Vizio soundbar is not connecting to Bluetooth, the problem might be that the two devices are too far apart. For them to work properly, you need to make sure that they’re around 1 foot from each table. Otherwise, the devices will not discover other Bluetooth-enabled gadgets in the same room.
After the connection, the two devices should not be more than 33 feet apart. If they’re too far apart and you place obstacles between them, the Bluetooth signals will not be transmitted.
If you have done all that and the devices are still not connecting, unplug them from power sources and wait for 60 seconds before plugging them back in. This should solve the issue, and the Bluetooth devices will start working again.
Soundbar not Connecting to Wi-Fi
Is the device refusing to connect to Wi-Fi or any other internet source? If so, then the problem might be with your home network. If you made any changes to the network in the past few days, such as changing passwords or renaming the Wi-Fi, make sure you run the setup one more time on the soundbar.
If the internet is down for some reason, it might deter the soundbar from connecting to the internet source in your house. Check the router and then try to connect the internet with other devices, such as a phone or laptop.
For the best experience, the internet speed should be around 10Mbps, albeit it can be slightly lower than that. If the internet speed is lower, the connection can still happen, only that it’ll tend to be spotty. In that case, you need to upgrade your internet.
Are you running many devices on the same internet? If you answered yes, try to reduce the number of the devices and see if the problem is solved. It helps to understand that too many devices on the same internet might cause congestion.
If congestion happens, the internet speed will plummet and the soundbar will not connect to your TV. Once you’ve made sure that the problem is not with the internet, try to plug in the Vizio soundbar to an Ethernet and see if it works.
Final Thoughts
We hope this piece helps you deal with issues related to the Vizio soundbar HDMI ARC not working. As you can see the methods and straightforward and quick. You can apply as many of them as you can. We’re certain that if you perform the process correctly, the Vizio soundbar won’t fail to connect to your TV. If you have any questions, you can ask us in the comments. Our team will get back to you with the necessary details.
Denis is an article/blog and content writer with over 7 years of experience in writing on content on different niches, including product reviews, buyer’s guide, health, travel, fitness, technology, tourism. I also have enough experience in SEO writing.