Reset a Vizio Soundbar: Soft or Factory Reset + Troubleshooting

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A step-by-step guide to resetting your Vizio soundbar to troubleshoot audio problems

Co-authored by Jocotra Cathey and Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: August 10, 2024 Fact Checked

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Soft Reset

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Hard Reset

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When to Reset Your Vizio Sound Bar

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Are you having audio problems with your Vizio sound bar? Whether you suddenly can't hear sound or you're just rearranging your TV and speaker setup, resetting your sound bar is an important troubleshooting step. To soft reset your Vizio sound bar, just unplug it from the wall, hold the Power button for 30 seconds, and plug it back in. To restore your Vizio soundbar to its original factory settings, press and hold the Bluetooth and Volume Down buttons for 5 seconds. This wikiHow article will show you how to reset any Vizio sound bar and give you a few tips on when and why to reset it.

Things You Should Know

Soft resetting is usually the first step in troubleshooting issues. Unplug the sound bar, hold the "Power" button for 30 seconds, then plug it back in.
A hard reset will reset the sound bar to factory settings. This erases all custom settings that you've set up.^{[1]
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To do a hard reset, turn it on and press the "Bluetooth" and "Volume Down" buttons at the same time until the lights on the sound bar flash three times.

Section 1 of 3:

Soft Reset

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Turn off your Vizio sound bar and unplug it from the wall. If it's already off, just unplug your sound bar from the wall. You want to make sure it doesn't have access to electricity.^{[2]
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- A soft reset is similar to turning your sound bar off and back on again. You won't lose any settings in this process.
- Soft resetting is also known as power cycling or rebooting.
You'll want to hold this button for about 30 seconds while the sound bar is unplugged.

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Plug the power cord back in and turn on your sound bar. Now that you've reset your Vizio sound bar, try playing audio through your TV or computer to see if your audio problems are resolved.
- If your sound bar is still not working right, continue to the hard reset method.

Section 2 of 3:

Hard Reset

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Make sure your Vizio sound bar is on. If it isn't turned on, press the "Power" button to turn it on.
- A hard reset will restore your Vizio soundbar to its original factory settings. If you've made any customizations to your settings or paired the sound bar to a device, those settings will be lost.^{[3]
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Press and hold the "Bluetooth" and "Volume Down" buttons at the same time. This combination of buttons works on most Vizio sound bar models. Keep these buttons pressed at the same time for at least 5 seconds.
- You can let go of the buttons when you see the lights flash 3 times.
- On some Vizio sound bar models, including the VH215, you'll need to press Power + Volume Up on the remote control instead of using the buttons on the sound bar.^{[4]
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You'll need to manually adjust the sound bar's settings again since the hard reset changed everything back to default settings.

Section 3 of 3:

When to Reset Your Vizio Sound Bar

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If you don't hear anything coming from your sound bar, make sure the sound bar is powered on and properly connected to your TV, stereo, or other device. If it's set up properly, resetting the sound bar could fix the problem.
If you have a Vizio Wi-Fi compatible soundbar like the M-Series or V-Series, resetting your sound bar will often fix the problem.^{[5]
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If your sound bar won't turn on. If there are no lights on your sound bar, try a soft reset to see if that helps.^{[6]
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- If resetting doesn't help, try unplugging your Vizio sound bar and connecting it to a different power source. It's possible there's a problem with the power outlet.
There are myriad reasons for buzzing noises from your Vizio sound bar, but to rule out software issues, try a soft or hard reset. If you've reset the sound bar and still hear the buzzing sound, you've successfully eliminated the sound bar as the problem and can focus on physical and hardware fixes.^{[7]
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If the battery icon won't turn off. Many older Vizio sound bars display the battery icon in error, even if the sound bar is fully charged. You can get rid of this symbol by soft-resetting the sound bar.
- If the icon continues to light up, something may actually be wrong with your battery. Contact Vizio support for help at ttps://support.vizio.com/s/contact-us.
Sometimes, your sound bar will sound great with some apps but certain apps but not others. In this case, there's more than likely a glitch in the software. Restarting and resetting may fix this glitch.
If your speaker is flashing white lights, there's something wrong with the software and it needs to be restarted or soft reset.^{[8]
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