M213ad-k8 Firmware

[Thomas Merino]

Werecently purchased a Vizio soundbar (M21d-H8) and hooked it up to our Vizio TV(E60-F3) thru the ARC..No issues until about two weeks later. We use our fios remote to control the tv and now no matter what button we push on the remote the volume with turn up or down depending on the last way you pushed the volume button. So..changing the channel, pausing etc will mess with the volume. Also the tv will randomly turn on after we have turned it off... I spoke with Vizio and they were no help, told me to contact Verizon. Anyone had an issue like this??? I have not gotten in contact with Verizon just yet.

Update: Vizio has come out with a firmware update for M21d-H8 soundbar (1.2.0.5) that has seemingly fixed the MUTE CEC issue that I found. My workaround configuration seems to work fully now for me with the Fios remote. Thanks Vizio!

I have a Vizio TV and Vizio sound bar, and we've had this current set up with out STB for probably close to 4 years. Today I noticed that when I was browsing the channel guid the volume on the sound bar kept decreasing. In fact every single button press on the cable remote takes the sounder volume down a peg. I've scoured the internet and can't find anything about this. I've unplugged the STB, and the sound bar and nothing has changed.

If this is with the new voice remote try going into the voice remote settings, restore factory settings for remote, then manually add your TV and sound bar back in. Go to Menu > Settings > Voice control > Fios TV Voice Remote > Program Voice Remote > Manual Setup

Sounds like a recent Vizio update that changed the remote coding in some way. The Newer voice remote and the older remote you have both use the same codesets, so it has to be the soundbar since the codes in your remote can't be updated. Only other thing would be to try disconnecting the HDMI cable to the soundbar and see if the volume still changes. That would rule out CEC and ARC issues and would place the blame on the soundbar itself.

BLUF: Vizio soundbar enters mode where it will partially acknowledge FIOS remote commands with the effect of 'repeating' the previous soundbar command action on FIOS remote button push

Hardware: Vizio m21d-h8 connect HDMI ARC with CEC enabled to 2018 PQ65-F1 Vizio tv. FIOS remote is a p265v5 for an older QIP 7232 FIOS HD STB

Workaround (this worked for me YMMV)

1)FIOS remote: Resest remote to factory. Program with FIOS TV code.

2) Soundbar: Reset to factory settings. Put soundbar into 'Disable use of VIZIO TV remote' mode. This will make the soundbar ignore volume adjustments with your VIZIO TV remote and FIOS volume buttons..but those actions will be accomplished through the Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) interface. The soundbar will still accept remote commands from the Vizio soundbar remote.

3) Enable CEC on Vizio TV. TV should discover soundbar...volume adjustments will work with FIOS remote or Vizio TV remote..and other FIOS remote keys should not change soundbar settings/volume/etc.

Issues: Soundbar seems to ignore 'MUTE' over CEC when commanding TV. TV goes to MUTE but not soundbar. This would indicate an incompatibility with the TV CEC firmware and the soundbar firmware (please fix VIZIO!). There is a workaround but it brings to bear the original issue. You can use the Vizio soundbar remote, or 'teach' the soundbar the IR code for MUTE command from your FIOS remote. However this creates the bad behavior with repeat command. A MUTE press on the FIOS remote commands the TV AND soundbar (IR) with MUTE command. Somewhere in the handling of the CEC command and the IR command the soundbar gets into a mode where any further FIOS button presses (channel up, last channel, play, pause etc) with make the soundbar repeat the last command it handled (ie a MUTE in this case, or a volume change that most others have experienced.) For some reason the soundbar is at least partially accepting FIOS IR codes and interpreting the code as a 'repeat previous command' action. To get out of this bizarre mode...send a valid CEC command from the TV (ie volume up/down in my case..as I only taught the soundbar to recognize a MUTE IR command and ignore others.)

First take the batteries out of the remote for 5 minutes and put them back in. You'll probably have to re-program the remote. Next go to settings>Audio and video>video settings and disable video input control.

We have a Vizio Sound Bar for the TV. We have paired the remote. However, the volume changes when pressing any button. I have tried rebooting the Fios box, re-pairing the remote, re-pairing the Sound Bar, etc. Not sure where to go from here!

I'd start by taking the batteries out of the remote for 5 minutes, then erasing its programming and trying again. Sounds like it had a hiccup when programming. If you have another remote for a different box, you could try programming that one for the TV and Vizio and see if that works.

I had this same issue! However, I use a Harmony remote (I had to change the setting for command repeats on the Arris box to zero), not the Fios remote. So unfortunately I can only offer you a suggestion. My suggestion would be to unpair the Fios remote from the soundbar and use the soundbar remote to change volume.

I just replied to someone else with this same issue. I have the same soundbar as you with the same problem. I never got it fixed with my Fios remote. But since I use a Harmony remote (which also had the same issue, but I was able to fix it), no harm done. My suggestion to him/her was to unpair from the Fios remote and just use the Vizio remote to change volume.

I don't think it's cec. I unplugged my hdmi arc from the vizio m21 soundbar and it still responds to fios button presses increasing or decreasing the volume based on most recent volume change (I see the soundbar leds change). I think vizio is responding to fios IR codes which is incredulous... but that doesn't explain why for two weeks things were working for the original poster.

My remote is not a voice activation remote, it is the VZ P265v5. I noticed if I put the volume where I want and then shut off the tv and fios box and restart without touching the volume I can then use the remote without the volume either increasing or decreasing. This is definitely not a solution

This is looking more and more like a problem with the Vizio soundbar itself. No one else with any other brand has reported this issue. The fact you are using the P265 remote, which can't be software upgraded and it is not functioning correctly shows it is not the remote itself. as I said, has the soundbar had a firmware update recently? Which APR version does your Fios box have? Did you try turning the Fios box off and seeing if the remote correctly controls the soundbar volume?

My APR is version 7.5, I've tried shutting off the box and it still acts up. If I shut it off and then turn it back on without touching the volume button it works great, once I adjust the volume the issue starts. So strange.

Just for fun, try adjusting the volume with the Vizio remote first and see if the soundbar does the same thing. Sounds to me Vizio messed up their firmware. You should contact them and ask for a fix. This actually happens more frequently than you would imagine.

I'm not sure what the volume leveling option is. As far as audio options for the TV, it has Surround Sound, Balance, Lip Sync, Digital Audio Out (PCM and Bitstream), Analog Audio Out (Fixed or Variable), and Equalizer. My PS4 has Audio options for Linear PCM, Bitstream Dolby and Bistream DTS. I've tried switching these up to see if it would help but to no avail.

As far as custom settings, I've reset the TV to factory default settings but still experience the issue. With the input options, I only have access to HDMI, though I have an older E series Vizio that doesn't go through this issue.

Your sound problem is possibly eco friendly related ? my speakers cut out at low volume, very annoying, was told it is this eco management on devices in which if there is low or no sound, it cuts out, to be in line with laws concerning power saving etc. Eco Save the Planet ETC. like a TV doesn't receive a signal it will turn off after a certain time, that makes sense. but when I'm listening to my classical music relaxing at a low 3-4 setting, off it goes. Got no satisfaction when I returned my Harman/Kardon speaker set. !

I have the same issue on the exact same model of TV d40n-e3. The volume leveling feature is missing from the audio settings. I spent quite a lot of time searching for a firmware update but came up empty handed. Has anyone been able to solve this issue?

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