Discussions

[Louis_Nenda]

I'm trying this again since for some reason my original post was marked as spam and removed after I provided all relevant details about the affected TV. Aside from that, I also have more information about the problem now than I did at that time.

We have a recently-purchased WalMart Onn 32" TV.  At first it worked fine with no issues, but after the latest firmware update on June 7th the sound began to periodically garble, sounding like it's under water, for a few seconds at a time. It is most noticeable when changing channels, but will also sometimes occur in the middle of a program.

Through testing I have found that this problem only happens when the external speakers are plugged into the headphone jack. The internal speakers are not affected. Also the external speakers are not affected if plugged in via an optical converter instead of the headphone jack. However, when the optical audio is used the remote control cannot control the volume or mute the sound, so that's not a good solution.

Has anyone else seen this problem or come up with a solution?

[Anonymous]

@Louis_Nenda 

This is a guess but sounds to me like the standard audio cable has a problem.  It maybe disconnecting for fractions of a second at a time. You can test this by slowly turning or "jiggling" the plug that goes into the TV. If that results in static or messed up sound, The speakers audio plug could be shot. The plug is difficult or impossible to change. Other than that some try some basic trouble shooting. Try plugging something you know is OK into the TV. If that works, your speakers have a problem. If the known good does the same as before the TV is the problem. Hope this helps.

[Louis_Nenda]

@ mop_891 Thanks - that's what I thought at first as well (problem with speaker connection), but further testing indicates that's not the case.

The garbling happens only with broadcast, over-the-air television. It is not a problem with streaming channels. I tried other speakers connected to the headphone jack with the same results. As mentioned, if the speakers are connected to the optical audio output there is no problem, however since that output is always on full volume and is not controlled by the remote it's not really a solution.

Wiggling the speaker connector around while connected to the TV's headphone jack does not trigger the problem. In fact I just now tried it on a streaming channel, tugged at it pretty hard, and the audio did not skip a beat.

Although it may be coincidental it is suspicious that this issue started immediately after the TV was updated to firmware version version 13.0.0 (build 24062) on June 7th.

[Anonymous]

@Louis_Nenda  You are making me think! (joke). Yeah it very well could be the 13.0 update is messed up. So, if audio is OK thought optical, the audio is getting there OK. My guess, since it is only broadcast, I check you TV antenna and everything that goes with it. Could be as simple as a loose connection somewhere. check starting at the back of the TV. OK, tool time, You'll need a 7/16th inch open end wrench. That fits The connectors. Gently, turn the wrench clockwise. If it moves at all, connection might be loose. Loose connections on today TV signals can do strange things. It's what I'd do in your situation.

[CaptainJack]

Hello -- I have a 6-month old Roku TV (Model 43R4A5R).  The output from the built-in headphone jack on the back of the TV has stopped working.  My mother was listening through her Sony wireless headphones this morning, and when she came back after lunch, there was no sound through the headphones.  I plugged another set of headphones into the jack, and did not hear sound through them either.  I do get sound from the headphone output on the remote, but that is not a good long-term solution.  My mother is hearing-impaired, and uses her Sony headphones for many hours each day.

I tried unplugging the TV for a few seconds (but maybe not long enough for a full power cycle); also turning the TV off and on several times; plugging and unplugging the headphone cable multiple times, etc.

Is there any other trick or setting that I might try, before concluding that there's a hardware issue? Maybe a Factory Reset? Thanks!

[Louis_Nenda]

The television's firmware was updated this morning to version 13.1.4, build 1505. This appears to have fixed the garbled audio problem. Changing channels and pausing live TV quite a few times after the update did not result in the symptom, which only yesterday was happening practically every time a channel was changed or pause resumed.

This was a really bizarre problem since only headphone jack output was affected, and only antenna broadcasts. Like most modern devices instead of having a simple mechanical switch in the headphone jack itself the TV's audio is probably routed via software, which opens up a rats nest of possibilities for strange and obscure bugs.

[Al0916]

Same exact thing happened to my dad today; headphones were working from 1 to 4:30. After shutting the device off and returning at 5, no sound came out of the jack.

It's a 9-month-old 3-Series.

[Tivoburkee]

Are you sure you're using headphone jack? Some Roku tv's have two 3.5mm jacks,  one is for headphones the other AV-in jack. 

[Al0916]

🤦‍♂️ Although the jack did stop working for some unknown reason, when I unplugged and replugged the 3.5mm to try to "reset" things, I must've started to plug it back into the AV jack during testing on the TV and on other devices.

Plugging it into the headphone jack returned the audio to the headphones—thanks!

[Al0916]

Before @Tivoburkee fixed my issue, I was researching possible fixes, so here are what I came up with:

1. First, see if just unplugging the 3.5mm connector and plugging it back in (making sure to plug it into the headphone jack—it's black on our device—and not the AV jack—it's yellow on ours—if your TV has both).
2. If the 3.5mm jack is still the issue, I believe the only other option is the Optical (Audio) port; it's the weird one that has a square-with-a-rounded-side shape. The following two wireless headphones have that type of connection:
   1. Insignia from Best Buy (Insignia™ RF Wireless Over-the-Ear Headphones Black NS-HAWHP2bestbuy.com)
   2. Sennheiser from Amazon (and others, like B&H Photo Video) (https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-RS-175-Wireless-Headphone/dp/B00SLUI5SA/ref=sr_1_3?crid=U6O1KCT2GY...)
      1. There's a 195 model as well, but it's about $40 more.
3. If you have a mobile device with a 3.5mm jack (you'll likely need an older device; the most recent Apple device that still has one is the iPad 9, I believe), you can also download the Roku app to your device.
   1. Open the app and pair it to your TV.
   2. Plug in the 3.5mm plug into the mobile's jack.
   3. Go to the Remote tab.
   4. Tap the Headphones circle to enter Headphone Mode.

Hopefully, it's just a case of unplug and replug to reset the connection, but if not, maybe one of the other two options will work for you. The mobile app is obviously the cheaper option, but it's not as wireless as one would like—you still have to connect the headphone transmitter to a phone or tablet—but you can still move around unattached to anything.