Bose Soundbar 700, 500 and 300 Not Connecting to TV

Have you Bose soundbar 700, 500, or 300 that is not connecting to the TV? Our guide will help you get things working back.

There could be several reasons behind the problem. A few suggestions will help you if you have a Bose 700, Bose 500, or Bose 300 soundbar.

This guide will work especially for these soundbar models of Bose and may help you if you have any other model.

The problem varies depending upon the model of TV you are using if there is an issue on the TV side.

Here are a few solutions to this problem:

Table of Contents

1. Confirm Soundbar is Working

Your Bose soundbar may experience some issues with its settings. You should try connecting it to your mobile phone.

Once you have connected the Bose soundbar to your mobile phone wirelessly, play audio and check if everything is fine.

Moreover, make sure the soundbar is connected to an electrical outlet and has power. Connect it to a different power outlet to ensure adequate supply.

2. Power OFF and ON the TV

Sometimes Bose soundbars lose ARC connection with the TV. It happens with some models of the TV like Samsung.

The problem is not big if it does not occur frequently. The simple solution is to unplug the power from the TV for a few minutes and then turn it back ON.

If this is the problem with you, you will need to reboot the system every time you face the issue.

3. Check the HDMI-CEC Settings

Bose soundbars have an HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) feature that enables the two devices to transmit signals via HDMI.

The CEC options should be enabled in your soundbar settings. Otherwise, it will not work with your TV. Here is how to do it:

Open the Bose Music app on your smartphone.
Make sure the smartphone is connected to the soundbar and the device is added to the app.
Open the “Settings” in the app and find the CEC option.
If it is disabled, turn it ON and vice versa.
Then, connect the soundbar to the TV and check again.
Check that you have changed the TV audio output to HDMI ARC.
On your TV, select the correct HDMI output as the Input/Source to which the soundbar is connected.

4. Reset The TV

As your soundbar is working fine with your phone, there could be a problem with the TV settings. You should first reset your TV and create a connection again with your TV.

The method to reset is slightly different for various models and brands. However, the reset options are available in the “Settings” menu.

5. Connect Using Optical Cable

No one prefers connecting through the optical cable when ARC is available. However, it could also be a good alternative if the ARC connection fails after trying all the ways.

Due to a conflict between ARC and CEC compatibility, the HDMI may not work sometimes. Hence, using the Optical cable is a good solution as it does not have any CEC requirements.

6. Use A Different HDMI Cable

Another method to resolve the issue is to use a different HDMI cable. Grab another cable around you and try connecting both devices. If it worked, the previous cable was faulty.

If the cable is damaged, it can cause connecting issues. You can change the cable if another is available or test this cable on any other system.

You should also try using a high-quality HDMI cable. Because a low speed or too lengthy cable cannot transmit the signals perfectly.

7. Update Firmware

Sometimes it happens that everything is working fine and then such a connection problem persists. System updates also cause such issues.

Remember if you updated anything recently when it started. Also, make sure both the TV and soundbar are using the latest firmware.

You can update your Bose soundbar through its mobile application.
Open the Settings in the app and go to the “System” tab.
Navigate to the “Update” section and find if any updates are available.
Install the latest firmware version and restart your soundbar.
Finally, reconnect it with your TV and see if the device works.
If any update has caused an issue, you can contact their support regarding it.
Likewise, you can update the firmware on your TV through Settings>System>Update.

8. Reset the Soundbar

After resetting the TV, if the Bose soundbar still fails to connect using HDMI ARC, you should also try resetting the soundbar. This will erase all the settings and data but will resolve the software issues.

For resetting your Bose soundbar, apply the following steps, they apply to all three models including the Bose 700, 500, and 300 soundbars.

Step 1: Remove the Soundbar from the Bose Account

Remove your Bose soundbar from the Bose account.
Open the Bose Music App on your smartphone.
At the top right corner of the app, click the “My Account” option.
Choose the “Manage Products” option and then “Edit”.
A circle will appear to the left of your Bose soundbar icon in the app. Click this circle and it will turn red to remove the product.
In the top left corner, click the “delete” button and finally confirm the action.

Step 2: Reset the Soundbar

Now, grab the remote control of your Bose 700 soundbar. Hold down the “Power” and “Skip Forward” buttons at the same time.
For the Bose 500 soundbar, press and hold the “Power” and “Skip Forward” buttons on the remote control.
For the Bose 300 soundbar, press and hold the “Play/Pause” and “Volume decrease” buttons on the remote control.
The light bar on the device will blink twice and it will restart.
You will see an amber light glowing when the reset is complete and the device is in setup mode.

Step 3: Setup the Soundbar Again

Now, you need to connect the soundbar to the smartphone and the TV like you did for the first time.
Then, you can add your Bose soundbar again to the Bose account via the Music app.

9. Final Solution

If the above solutions do not work for you, try this last one.

Check that Bose soundbar 700, 500, 0r 300 is running with the latest software. Also, check for your TV.
Disable CEC on your soundbar from the Bose Music App
Power off both the TV and soundbar and then disconnect the power cords.
Unplug the HDMI cable from the TV. Wait for 1 to 2 minutes.
Connect power cords to the TV and soundbar.
From the Bose Music App, enable the CEC that we turned off in 2nd step.
Connect the HDMI cable back to the TV and select “TV Source” on the Bose Remote.
Your soundbar and TV should be connected at this point. Check if audio is playing from the soundbar.
If it still shows any problem, turn off your TV for 30 seconds and then turn it back ON using the TV remote.

10. Contact Customer Support

If after doing all this, you face any issues and your Bose soundbar is still not connecting to the TV, contact Bose support and let them know your problem with the model of your TV.

Related: Best Bose Computer Speakers

Final Words

In this way, you can fix your Bose soundbar 700, 500, or 300 if any of these models is not connecting to your TV. This guide has listed all the potential solutions.