Features, settings & updates

[MattL2]

Hi. I have an LG 4K TV. I have a Yamaha sound bar that communicates with the TV over HDMI arc. HDMI-2 on my TV is the Arc input and the soundbar needs to be plugged in to HDMI 2.

Normally when I turn the TV on, the soundbar turns on simultaneously. And when I turn off the TV the soundbar turns off simultaneously. I can also control my soundbar volume with the LG remote.

I just bought a Roku 4k streaming stick on Amazon. The newest model. I set it up just fine, including controlling the TV with the roku remote. However, when the roku is plugged into one of the other available HDMI ports on my TV, the arc functionality between the soundbar and the TV stops working. Whether I turn the TV on with the LG or the roku remote, the soundbar stays off.

If I disconnect the Roku stick, the soundbar is able to talk to the TV again. But when the Roku is plugged in this won’t work.

What is going on and how do I fix it? The TV and the soundbar are up to date on their firmwares. I am on the verge of returning this thing.

[Tivoburkee]

If you can refresh the cec devices in your tv settings do it, if you can't try unplugging the power from soundbar for a bit, plug it back in and give it time to be recognized as cec device. 

[MattL2]

Hi. Neither of those solutions worked. I unplugged the Sound Bar for an entire hour and plugged it back in. I’m still having the same problem. I also went into the TV settings and turned off CEC, then turned it back on. This is the closest the TV has to a refresh.

Any other ideas?

[RokuAustin]

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@MattL2 wrote:

Hi. I have an LG 4K TV. I have a Yamaha sound bar that communicates with the TV over HDMI arc. HDMI-2 on my TV is the Arc input and the soundbar needs to be plugged in to HDMI 2.

Normally when I turn the TV on, the soundbar turns on simultaneously. And when I turn off the TV the soundbar turns off simultaneously. I can also control my soundbar volume with the LG remote.

I just bought a Roku 4k streaming stick on Amazon. The newest model. I set it up just fine, including controlling the TV with the roku remote. However, when the roku is plugged into one of the other available HDMI ports on my TV, the arc functionality between the soundbar and the TV stops working. Whether I turn the TV on with the LG or the roku remote, the soundbar stays off.

If I disconnect the Roku stick, the soundbar is able to talk to the TV again. But when the Roku is plugged in this won’t work.

What is going on and how do I fix it? The TV and the soundbar are up to date on their firmwares. I am on the verge of returning this thing.

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Hi @MattL2 ,

Thanks for reporting this issue, we'd love to take a peek and try to help.

Just to cover all bases, review this troubleshooting article here, and try anything listed there that may help. Also, ensure your Roku device is updated to the latest software (OS 12). 

Let us know...

• What you tried and what didn't work (like, turning CEC off and back on again, or restarting all devices).
• Make and model of your TV and soundbar.
• Roku Device ID (found under Home > Settings > System > About)

Awaiting your response.

[MattL2]

Hi. I took a look at the troubleshooting FAQ and I have already verified that CEC on my LG TV is turned on. Also, as for ARC, I have verified that sound output is set to ARC/HDMI and the digital sound setting is set to Auto. 

I have tried turning CEC off, then on again. This did not fix the problem. I unplugged the soundbar for a while and plugged it back in. This did not fix the problem. 

The TV model is a LG 43UM7300AUE and the soundbar is a Yamaha ATS-209. The Roku Device ID is S0J732AYVCCF. The TV, soundbar, and Roku are running their most recent firmwares.

I am wondering.... If I perform a factory reset on the Roku and do NOT set up the ability to control the TV with the Roku remote, if I would still have this problem. This would not be ideal, as I want this feature. But it is just a thought. 

[MattL2]

Just a note: After the TV is on, even though the soundbar does not "wake up" when the TV is powered on, if I manually turn the soundbar on with the soundbar remote, the soundbar works fine over HDMI. Until I turn it off. Then when I turn the TV on again the soundbar stays off and there is no sound. 

This, as I've mentioned, only happens when the Roku is plugged into the TV. If I unplug the Roku, the soundbar wakes up with the TV and turns off with the TV, as it should. Thanks, 

[HDMIGuy]

@MattL2 I don't have a solution but just a suggestion to try to isolate the problem.  What happens if you plug an HDMI cable not connected to anything into the TV?  Does the soundbar work correctly then?  If not this means the problem is with the TV and not the Roku.  If the soundbar works correctly with a blank HDMI cable it likely means the Roku is causing the problem.

[MattL2]

Up until I bought the Roku, I had a video game console plugged into the same HDMI port on the TV and I never had this problem. It was after I bought the Roku and unplugged the game console to make an HDMI port available that the problem started. So I think it's safe to say the roku is somehow causing the problem.

[Cman8686]

Was there ever any resolution to this? I just got an Ultra and I'm having the same problem. It worked perfectly with my fire stick. I wanted to switch over to Roku so I went with the top-of-the-line model and it's not working. My TV speakers are weak and sound bad so I got a Yamaha bar a few years ago. The bar worked perfectly with DirecTV and Fire Stick but Roku jacks up the ARC for some reason.

[MattL2]

Nope! No solution. I ended up calling Roku support. Was on the phone for 30 minutes, and they said it was an issue with my LG TV. So I called LG, was on the phone for 30 minutes, and... surprise! They said the problem was with the Roku. 

As of now, I am having to manually power on the soundbar every time I turn on my TV (so long as the Roku is connected.) It is not difficult, but certainly an inconvenience, especially given how much money we pay for TVs and audio equipment.