Troubleshooting
Soundbar has no sound over HDMI ARC or eARC: how to fix it, step by step
By the Brendel Electronics editorial team · November 10, 2026
A soundbar connected to the TV with one HDMI cable should play everything the TV plays: its own apps, the antenna and whatever is plugged into the TV’s other inputs. When it stays silent, the cause is almost always one of five things, and they are quicker to check in this order than at random.
Before you start: have the TV’s and the soundbar’s remote at hand, and know which HDMI port of the TV the soundbar is in. Most of these steps take under a minute.
1. Use the TV port marked ARC or eARC
Only one HDMI input on most TVs can send sound back out. It is labeled ARC or eARC next to the socket (often HDMI 2 or HDMI 3). On the soundbar, the cable goes into the port marked HDMI OUT (TV-ARC) or HDMI eARC, not into an HDMI IN.
If the cable is in any other TV port, the soundbar will get nothing, however the settings are set. Samsung’s own support page puts this first for the same reason: the TV’s ARC port and the soundbar’s HDMI OUT are the only working pair.
2. Switch on HDMI-CEC on the TV
ARC depends on HDMI-CEC, the control channel that lets the TV and the soundbar talk to each other. Each brand gives it its own name:
| TV brand | Setting name | Where it usually is |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung | Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) | Settings > General > External Device Manager |
| LG | SIMPLINK (HDMI-CEC) | Settings > General > Devices |
| Sony | BRAVIA Sync / HDMI-CEC | Settings > Channels & Inputs > External inputs |
| Others (TCL, Hisense, Vizio, Roku TV) | HDMI-CEC, CEC or “HDMI control” | Settings > System or Inputs |
Menu paths change between model years; if yours differs, search the TV’s settings for “CEC”. On the soundbar, CEC is usually on by default, but some models have it under a setting called HDMI control or TV remote control.
3. Tell the TV to send sound to the soundbar
With CEC on, the TV should switch its speaker output by itself. If it does not, set it by hand: in the TV’s Sound or Audio output menu, choose Receiver, HDMI ARC, Audio system or External speaker (the wording varies), instead of TV speakers.
Then set the soundbar’s input to TV ARC, HDMI ARC or D.IN (Samsung uses D.IN for both optical and ARC). Some soundbars take a few seconds to lock on after the input changes.
Check: if the TV makes sound through its own speakers when you switch back, the source works and the problem is in the link between the two.
4. Restart both in the right order
CEC handshakes fail quietly after power cuts, firmware updates or a change of input. A clean restart fixes many of them:
- Turn off the TV and the soundbar, then unplug both from the wall.
- Wait one minute.
- Plug in and turn on the soundbar first, then the TV.
- Play something with sound on the TV’s own app (not a set-top box) to test.
5. Try a different HDMI cable
A cable that carries a picture can still fail on ARC, which uses different wires inside the cable. Swap in a cable you know works, ideally a short certified one. For eARC, a certified Ultra High Speed HDMI cable is the safest choice: an older cable can carry a perfect picture and still fail on eARC. If a new cable makes the input switch to TV ARC, the old one was the problem.
6. Check the audio format the TV is sending
Sometimes the soundbar gets a signal it cannot decode and plays silence, often only with certain apps or inputs. In the TV’s sound menu, find Digital audio output (or “Digital sound out”) and try Auto first, then PCM. PCM is plain stereo that every soundbar accepts; if sound comes back with PCM, the soundbar did not support the format the TV was passing through.
It also helps to know what each link can carry:
| HDMI ARC | HDMI eARC | |
|---|---|---|
| Stereo (PCM 2.0) | Yes | Yes |
| Dolby Digital, DTS (5.1) | Yes | Yes |
| Dolby Digital Plus, including Dolby Atmos in DD+ | Yes, if both devices support it | Yes |
| Multichannel PCM (5.1/7.1) | No | Yes |
| Dolby TrueHD (Atmos from Blu-ray), DTS-HD Master Audio | No | Yes |
eARC arrived with HDMI 2.1. Both the TV and the soundbar have to support it; otherwise the pair falls back to ordinary ARC. HDMI Licensing Administrator lists uncompressed 5.1 and 7.1 audio, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS:X among the formats eARC carries, at up to 192 kHz and 24-bit.
7. Narrow it down with a second device
If none of the above works, find out which side is at fault:
- Connect a phone to the soundbar by Bluetooth. If that plays, the soundbar’s speakers and amplifier are fine.
- Connect the soundbar to another TV’s ARC port, or another soundbar to your TV. Samsung’s troubleshooting guide uses the same test: whichever device fails twice is the faulty one.
- As a temporary fix, connect an optical (Toslink) cable from the TV to the soundbar. Optical carries stereo PCM and compressed 5.1 (Dolby Digital, DTS), so you lose Atmos but get sound.
When to contact the manufacturer
If the soundbar stays silent on a second TV with a known-good cable, or the TV sends nothing to a second soundbar, contact the maker of the faulty device. Before you call, update the firmware of both devices: TV makers regularly fix ARC and CEC bugs in updates.
Sources
- No sound from Samsung soundbar, Samsung US support: ARC port, Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC), D.IN input and cable checks.
- Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC), HDMI Licensing Administrator: formats and channels eARC carries.
- HDMI 2.1 specification overview, HDMI Licensing Administrator.
- Our HDMI bandwidth calculator for picture problems on the same cable.