ST300 HDMI ARC issues with Samsung Q7F

[Farinasaur]

I bought the product on December 28 as a gift for myself. Arrived on January 7 and I was using it flawlessly untill last night... The TV sound was mute (not working through ARC) and I had to change audio output to TV Speakers.

It is a brand new Samsung QLED Q7F 55", it was working previously with my old Home Theater system through the ARC connection. Then, I came to Bose Community and found what I didn't wanted to: plenty of topics complaining about the same issue with multiple TV's brands and models.  I've disconnected everything, reset the TV and the Soundbar and reconnected everything. It worked for like 2 hours and stopped again.

I don't believe there still no solution for that problem. What the ST300 users did? Returned the device or kept it believing in a solution soon enough before they get regretful about it? Thanks!

[Zerolab]

Bose, another day, another post about HDMI/ARC issues. If you don't like the alternative of using optical (when I use optical I have drop-outs from my media box), I would highly recommend returning the unit. Sony has a new soundbar which is pretty good.

[Joel_D]

Hello Farinasaur,

I apologize you have been dealing with this issue for a while. There is some troubleshooting I would like you to try before I escalate this to engineering for you.

• Try performing a a full 1 minute power cycle on your TV and SoundTouch 300
• Check and please let me know what the software version is on your TV
• Try a different HDMI cable between the SoundTouch 300 and the TV

Let me know the results.

Kind Regards,

Joel - Bose Support

[Joel_D]

Hello Zerolab,

Thank you for posting, I have answered your question HERE.

Regards,

Joel - Bose Support

[Farinasaur]

Thank you for answering Joel,

1) Didn't work, I need to shutdown everything and wait at least 20 minutes to HDMI ARC work as intended. If I turn off and on the TV using the Samsung Remote instead Bose Universal Remote, the Bose Soundtouch 300 won't turn on. I need to turn everything off using Bose Universal Remote then on again.

2) Software version 1151

3) I'm using the cable sent with the Bose ST300. Using a Monster Cable HDMI 2.0 had the same effects.

[SkyYYZ]

That's what I read on another forum regarding ARC and Samsung TVs.  Someone discovered the same thing you did on his own following a firmware update that 'broke' ARC functionality.  He disconnected the HDMI (ARC) cable on both ends, unplugged both devices (didn't mention how long) and to his surprise, ARC functionality was restored.  Samsung frequently updates firmware, so I committed that to memory in case it happens to me.

It's worth noting that ARC can be tempermental across multiple brands of TVs, soundbars, AV receivers, etc.  By no means is it a Bose or Samsung or LG or what-have-you specific issue.  Using HDMI ARC is ideal but if the bad outweighs the good, then the alternative is Optical.  There are Dolby Digital and DTS limitations when using Optical though.

Apparently HDMI 2.1 (a technology not yet available) is expected to solve many ARC issues.

[Joel_D · Accepted solution]

Hi Farinasaur,

Thank you for the update with the results. I know i stated to try a power cycle on both the TV and SoundTouch 300. Did you unplug them both from power or just turn them off? I would like you to test by unplugging them from power. Another thing I would like you to test is by changing the CEC setting on the SoundTouch 300 to "Alternate On". 

• In the SoundTouch app, select Menu > Settings > Speaker Settings > [select the system] > Advanced Setup > HDMI-CEC.
• To change the current setting, select the empty circle next to the preferred option
• Default On Enables CEC
• Alternate On: Prevents unintended source switching and may fix CEC inconsistencies
• Off: Disables CEC
• Press the X in the upper right to close the window

If the above does not resolve the issue, please perform a factory default. Also try powering your devices on in this order:

• Power on the SoundTouch 300 first
• Follow this by your peripheral devices
• Final, power on your TV.

Let me know if this helps.

Kind Regards,

Joel - Bose Support

[Farinasaur]

Unplugging both from power worked. CEC was already configured before since I searched for a solution on other topics in this forum.

Thank you, I just don't know for how long they will continue in sync.