Forum Discussion

GuitarMan's avatar
GuitarMan
Roku Guru
4 years ago

TCL 55S535 not recognizing ATMOS/5.1 soundbar - Vizio M512a-h6. Says only Stereo is available.

So I have a TCL 55S535 and just bought a Vizio M512a-h6 for it.   For some reason, every time I turn off the TV, when I turn it on again it no longer recognizes that Atmos or 5.1 are available and just puts out stereo from the soundbar.  I can confirm this by going into the TV's Digital Audio Output settings and it will say that only Stereo is available.  

But, if I go into the TV's HDMI input settings and toggle back and forth between Auto, Standard, and Compatibility, then go into the TV's Digital Audio settings and toggle between any of the settings (Auto, Passthrough, Custom set to Dolby Digital+ and DTS), it will then start saying ATMOS, 5.1, and DTS are available and it will play the correct audio format .

Both the TV and soundbar are up to date with the most current firmware.  

What can I do so every time I turn on the TV I don't have to go through a million steps to re-enable 5.1 and Atmos?  It's like the TV doesn't recognize the soundbar as being 5.1, DTS, or Atmos enabled and just defaults to only Stereo being available.  But when I toggle the HDMI and Digital Audio settings on the TV, it recognizes the soundbar's capabilities correctly. 

Is this an issue with the TV or is the soundbar defective?  Mind you, I don't have to change anything on the soundbar.   Just by toggling the HDMI and Digital Audio settings on the TV it then recognizes the soundbar correctly.  So I'm thinking the TV is the issue here.  

4 Replies

Replies have been turned off for this discussion
  • t3hbutt3rs's avatar
    t3hbutt3rs
    Binge Watcher
    4 years ago

    I have the R635 and same soundbar. Worked great until my TV updated to 10.5. I just made a post about this a few minutes ago. (Sorry, it said nothing similar was posted) But I've tried everything and the same things happening to me. Didn't know if I should RMA my soundbar and/or TV. Hopefully we hear of a fix soon.

     

    Edit: For now, if you unplug the HDMI cable from the soundbar, and plug it back in, it shows Atmos again instead of Stereo if thats quicker than the options for now.

    • t3hbutt3rs's avatar
      t3hbutt3rs
      Binge Watcher
      4 years ago

      After a few days with the Google R646, I returned it. The Roku R635 is better in many ways, even with the broken 10.5 update. I've learned to live with "refreshing CEC devices" every time I turn on my TV. Even bought a new soundbar just to rule that out, and same issue. So again, Roku reps, if your reading this, send this to the software team. We've troubleshooted more than we've like to admit. Let us roll back the FW, or push our a fix.

      • GuitarMan's avatar
        GuitarMan
        Roku Guru
        4 years ago

        Well, a month later and still no fix.  TCL sent a tech to my house who also couldn't fix the problem and confirmed it in writing.  After their tech said it couldn't be fixed I emailed them and asked TCL to replace it with one of the Google OS sets or just refund my money.   Their reply was to send them a picture of the Tracker ID again.  I replied and reminded them I had already sent them this.  Their response was to ignore me for a week and ignore four emails I sent them asking for a status update.   

        It was only after in my fourth email I reminded them that California law requires them to either fix it, replace it, or send me a refund within 30 days that they bothered to reply and say that they can try to replace it with another identical model.  I don't want that.  I'd be trading my new set for a refurb that will have the same  problem.   They also seem to think that sending them a picture of the same tracker ID again will somehow give them new info.  

        Lets see how long it takes them to reply.  If I don't have this fixed, or at least a promise to fix it and exactly how they plan on making it right, I will be filing a complaint with the California AG's office.  

        As I've said before, all manufacturers have problems with their TVs but the difference is how they respond and address the problems.  TCL is the worst I've encountered and because of this I can confidently say that I will no longer buy a single TCL product.