Controlling Vizio Soundbar

I just swapped out one Bolt for another through Tivo's replacement program and now I can't get the new remote to control the sound bar. I've been round and round with Tivo support, both chat and on the phone and they've given up and passed the buck to Vizio...insisting I should call Vizio and get a new programming code!

Here's the configuration: Vizio 70" TV (D70-F3) and an older Vizio Sound Bar (VHT215) connected with optical cable. Tivo Bolt with Spectrum cable card and newer IR/RF remote. The Tivo settings menu says use code 1180 for AV control but I've tried that and a host of others. All I know is the previous remote worked fine but what I don't know is actually how things were set up. Was the Tivo remote controlling the TV and the sound bar independently or was it controlling the TV which was passing the commands to the Sound Bar? Would it matter which TV code I entered into the Tivo for control of the TV for it to do that? I just realized I recently changed TVs and made no changes to the Tivo remote so that rules out that the TV is controlling the sound bar.

I realize the TV can control the sound bar if connected with analog cables but it's always been optical and not sure I want to give up on that. One Tivo support person seemed to believe the problem was that the sound bar needed to be connected to the Bolt, not the TV! I've tried it both ways with no difference although I can't say I tried every possible programming code while the sound bar was connected to the Bolt.

I've also tried scanning possible codes by entering the 1999 code after pressing and holding the Tivo and the mute buttons until I got the red programming light, then pressing channel up every two seconds for forever! I gave up after about 30 attempts.

Any ideas?

 

I probably spent 5 -10 minutes pressing the channel up button while I had the Tivo service tech on the line the first time. Let's see, at 20-30 attempts a minute, that would have been over a hundred codes. And there is the chance I could miss it but you bring up a point...what am I looking for to happen? The sound bar was muted the first time I did this so I guess I was looking for it to un-mute but if that's not it, what does happen?

 

I gave up on scrolling through codes by the method above. I retrieved the older remote which I originally thought wasn't both IR and RF but discovered I had never fully paired it with the Bolt. Once I did that, I had all the functions and now I can control my sound bar. I'd love to find what code I entered into it all those years ago in case I ever have to do that again.

 

Sorry no. I wish there was a way to actually retrieve a code. All I 'retrieved' was my older remote which turned out to be the same model as the newer one. It's all very confusing because either Bolt only offers one code for Vizio sound bars but I had no problem programing the first remote years ago.

An interesting aside is that I just purchased a new Firestick and to program it for the sound bar was beyond simple! I selected the sound bar brand and then pushed the volume up buttons a couple of times and that was it!

 

When I was on the phone with Tivo, I was told that I should hook the soundbar directly to the Bolt. I was surprised that was an option but it still made no difference.

I wonder if this problem is limited to Vizio soundbars? I also wonder if there's not a procedural error of some kind where entering the same code number now either isn't completed at the same point in the whole process or that the software in the remotes has changed in some way that's making the Vizio code invalid.

 

I didn't mean to imply that, but most of us are dealing with newer remotes that may have newer code.

 

Thanks, those are not codes I've seen elsewhere and I'll save them for future reference. For now, I have my older remote that works fine but some others may benefit from what you've shared.

 

New remote? If so, that would fit my suspicion that the remote firmware has changed.