Vizio makes some of the best soundbars in the business and helps transform your home cinema audio experience. These great soundbars solve the common issue of bad in-built speakers in your TV while still keeping the simplicity and compactness of these super-slim TVs. Some Vizio users have reported issues with their soundbars cutting out. Here’s a few troubleshooting tips to help you identify and solve the issue of your Vizio soundbar cutting out.
Why Does My Vizio Soundbar Keep Cutting Out?
Many users have reported that their Vizio Soundbar keeps cutting out for a few seconds. The frequency of these cut-outs varies from person to person, with some commenting their soundbars cut out every 15-20 minutes, whilst for some, it’s a constant & regular issue. There are a few possible causes for why your soundbar may be cutting out.
Check Your Vizio Soundbar Input Connection
One possible cause why Vizio Soundbar keeps cutting out is the audio on your soundbar could be the wired or Bluetooth connections between the soundbar and your source device.
For set-top boxes and games consoles connected by HDMI, check that your cables are connected properly. If you’re using HDMI as your audio input source, this isn’t likely to be a problem unless you’re also experiencing issues with the video feed from the video pass through provided by the soundbar.
If your picture goes black at the same time as your audio keeps cutting out, there may be an issue with the HDMI cable you’re using. Unlike analog signals, HDMI is a digital interface and therefore will only have two states: on and off. If your video doesn’t suffer, this probably isn’t your issue.
For users using a digital optical cable as their input, check to see whether the cable is damaged in any way. If you’ve connected the cable correctly and it still doesn’t work, the optical cable may be damaged. Try swapping it out for a brand new cable or try a different input source.
If you’re using a 3.5mm aux input as your input, make sure your cables are plugged in correctly. If your audio sounds tinny or sounds like it’s only coming out of one side of the soundbar, check to see whether the aux cable has been fully inserted into the aux port. Try swapping the cable out for a new one to see whether this fixes the issue. A faulty 3.5mm audio cable may cause cutting out issues perhaps accompanied by static noises and poor sound quality.
If your source is connected by Bluetooth, there may be issues with the wireless connection that could be the root of your problem. Make sure your Bluetooth device is close enough to your soundbar to work. If you’re trying to connect a mobile device, make sure your device is less than 10 meters away from the soundbar. If your phone is far away – for example in the other room – you might hear your audio cutting out as the soundbar struggles to stay connected to your device.
Another reason for issues with Vizio soundbar keeps cutting out when you’re connected by Bluetooth could be wireless interference. Bluetooth uses the same 2.4GHz frequency as Wi-Fi, wireless telephones and baby monitors. Try moving any wireless devices that may be affecting your Bluetooth connection away from the soundbar. If you’ve put your soundbar under a metal or thick wood TV stand, try placing it outside of any enclosure that might block the Bluetooth signal.
If your device is close enough to your soundbar and you’re still suffering from your sound cutting out, test to see if the issue persists with a different device. If you get the same problem with another phone or tablet, it may be an issue with the soundbar’s Bluetooth receiver. Contact Vizio Support if this is the case and the sound only cuts out on Bluetooth mode.
Solve Vizio Soundbar Over Heating Issues
Some older Vizio Soundbars suffer from overheating issues. For devices that are kept permanently on, it would be a good idea to turn it off once in a while. When the device gets too hot, the soundbar shuts down its amplifier to protect the board from any damage. This may be a reason why your soundbar is cutting out.
To solve this overheating issue, turn off your soundbar and let your soundbar cool down. After a couple of minutes, turn it back on and see if the problem is fixed. If this solved your problem, there are a few steps you should take to avoid overheating. Make sure your soundbar has enough room around for cooling. If you keep your device in an enclosure, try placing it outside of it to allow more air to cool the device.
Another reason the device might be overheating is a possible build-up of dust and dirt impacting the cooling performance of your soundbar. If this is the case, you can use some compressed air to lightly clean out the insides. If you’re confident in cleaning electronics, you may want to open up your soundbar and use compressed air to clean out the dust from the inside.
How Do You Reset A Vizio Soundbar?
A possible fix to this problem can be to reset your soundbar. You can do a soft reset or a hard reset.
A soft reset is a fancy name for a reboot of the device. This won’t solve the issue if it’s ongoing but may help to resolve any random glitches you may have. If this is the first time you’re experiencing this cutting out problem, try turning the soundbar off and wait five seconds before turning it back on.
If this doesn’t work, it may be time to hard reset your Vizio soundbar. This is also known as a factory reset and this aims to reset all the settings back to how it was when it came out of the factory.
How to perform a factory reset on your VIZIO soundbar depends on your model. To find the correct procedure, search your model number on the VIZIO support website.
Try these procedures until you find one that works:
– Press the “Input” and “Bluetooth” buttons down simultaneously for 5 seconds.
– Press and hold the “Input” and “Volume Down” buttons together for 5 seconds.
– Press and hold the “Input” and “Volume Up” buttons together for 5 seconds.
The above procedures will restore your Vizio soundbar’s settings to its factory defaults.
Many users from the Vizio community comment. Don’t enable Wi-Fi when you set up the soundbar again. If the initial factory reset doesn’t work, try disabling Wi-Fi on your next go.
Update Vizio Soundbar Firmware
If the issue that’s causing your soundbar to keep cutting out is due to a software bug, a possible fix might be to update your soundbar to the latest firmware. This is to apply any patches and fixes the engineers at Vizio have included in their updates to fix your issue.
To check whether there’s an update available to your soundbar, go to the Vizio support page and search your device’s model number to check. If you’re not sure of the model number, you can find this information in the soundbar’s settings menu. Simply hit the “Menu” button on your Vizio remote and navigate to “Help or System”. Select “System Information” and you should be able to view your system’s model number.
If there’s a firmware update, select the latest one to open its article page. For newer Vizio soundbars, firmware updates can be installed over-the-air using the Vizio SmartCast app. You can use the app to check for new updates.
If your soundbar is older and doesn’t connect to WiFi or if you don’t have it connected to the smartphone app, you can install the updates manually yourself.
There should be on this page an option to download the firmware update directly to your PC and instructions on how to install it.
Once the update file has been downloaded to your computer, transfer it onto a USB memory drive. You will then be ready to install the update.
Power on your soundbar and while it is on, go to the back of the soundbar and unplug the power cable. This will force the soundbar to go into recovery mode when you next power it on.
Plug in the USB drive into the USB port on the back of the soundbar. Then, plug the power cable back into the soundbar.
On the front of the soundbar, there are four LED lights that can be illuminated. When you plug the cable back in, you should see the first two LED lights illuminate. Then, the first, third and fourth LED light will light up. This indicates the update is in progress.
When all the lights disappear, you will know the update has completed. You can safely disconnect the USB drive and start using the soundbar.
Contact Vizio Support
If none of these fixes works, you can get in touch with the manufacturer directly for help resolving your issues. You can get in touch with them by web chat, using text messages or giving them a call on their helpline. Beware, their phone lines can be very busy and call wait times have been reported to be pretty long.
You can also speak to the retailer you purchased the soundbar from if you believe it is faulty. If your product is still under warranty, the seller may be able to arrange a repair or even a replacement for you.
