Help - sound bar stopped working

Min

Joined
27 Oct 2003
Messages
291
Reaction score
7
Country
United Kingdom
Hi folks
I have a Majority Snowdon II sound bar, connected to a Hisense LHD32E130TUK TV (not a smart tv) with an optical cable.

It's been working fine for seven months, but now even though the sound bar is on, no sound is coming out.
Without another telly or sound bar, are there any diagnostics I can do to work out if it's the sound bar or the telly?

I haven't changed anything in the set up. The optical cable is fully plugged in each end.

If I can't get it working I'll have to get an hearing aid.

Thanks!

PS Pants and double pants. Six year guarantee on telly ran out on 26th June. You couldn't make it up!
 
Last edited:
First thing I would do - the soundbar appears to have Bluetooth. Pair it with your phone and see if it will still play music! :)
 
The Bluetooth option that @RandomGrinch suggests is good. It looks like you have a couple of other connection options too: Stereo RCA and 3.5mm jack. If the Majority web site is correct then the sound bar shipped with some leads in the box that would allow you to hook up a simple cable source such as the headphone out jack on a smart phone or MP3 player. That gives you some other options.

Basic troubleshooting:
* make sure the power supply is supplying power
* is the sound bar on?
* is the source selected?
* check the TV audio settings in the TV set-up menu. If the TV has had a firmware update then some things may have altered. Look for the audio signal format; is it PCM/Stereo (the appropriate setting for you) or has it changed to Bitstream/Dolby/DD/Digital/Dolby Digital? If so, change back to Stereo
* try an alternative source
* check and or swap the optical cable. It's not unknown for them to break when moved such as disturbing the back of the TV when vacuuming. Looking at the red light at the end of the cable at the TV end is no guarantee that the signal isn't being garbled by a fractured optical connection

There are also some TV settings that might disable the optical audio out on certain TVs. Troubleshooting that is more involved though. Try the above first and get back to us with the results.
 
Genius RandomGrinch - thank you.
Sound bar working fine.
Scrolling through the Input settings to get blue tooth working, realised sound bar had come off TV as source :oops:
I'd have RTFM if I could have found it.
Many thanks
 
Thanks Lucid - am saving those points for next time/pwer cut/firmware upgrade!
Helpful to know optical cable can fail yet still show red light at both ends.
 
Genius RandomGrinch - thank you.
Sound bar working fine.
Definitely not a genius! ;)
I missed the absolutely first simple check - what source is selected!
Easy to miss, when you don't think anything has changed.
Well done :)
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: Min
Genius RandomGrinch - thank you.
Sound bar working fine.
Scrolling through the Input settings to get blue tooth working, realised sound bar had come off TV as source :oops:
I'd have RTFM if I could have found it.
Many thanks
The manual is online at the Majority web site. It was the first thing I checked to see what other connection the bar might have. Took fewer than 10 seconds to find with a Google search, although it only lists it as the 'Snowden' rather than 'Snowden II', but glad you're all sorted.
 
Back
Top