Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

How to connect a Bose soundbar to a TV: run an HDMI cable from the soundbar’s HDMI ARC jack to the TV’s HDMI port labeled ARC or eARC, then finish setup in the Bose app or switch the TV’s sound output to the soundbar.

That one cable carries the TV’s sound and lets the TV remote control the bar.

Plug it into any other HDMI port, though, and the bar sits silent while the TV keeps talking through its own speakers.

The exact steps depend on which Bose you own: the app-based smart soundbars set up differently from the simpler Bose TV Speaker.

Below you’ll find both, the optical fallback for TVs without ARC, and Bose’s own checklist for a bar that stays silent.

Which Bose Soundbar Do You Have?

That difference between models decides where you start, and Burton Acoustix’s Bose 550 vs 600 guide sorts out two bars that look alike on paper. Bose’s current bars fall into two groups:

Bose model How you set it up TV connection
Smart Soundbar, Smart Soundbar Ultra and other smart models The Bose app, over Wi-Fi HDMI ARC or eARC, or optical
Bose TV Speaker and Solo models No app: plug in and switch the TV’s audio output HDMI ARC or optical

The smart models can stream music over Wi-Fi and work with voice assistants, which is why they need the app. The TV Speaker is a simpler all-in-one bar, and our guide to choosing between Bose soundbars compares the range.

How to Connect a Bose Soundbar to a TV With the Bose App

The smart soundbars do their setup in the app, and the TV connection is one step in the middle. Here are the Smart Soundbar’s steps, from the Bose Smart Soundbar owner’s guide and, for the app permissions, Bose’s Smart Soundbar 700 setup page:

  1. Download the Bose app on your phone or tablet.
  2. Plug the soundbar into power. It powers on, and the light bar glows solid amber.
  3. Open the Bose app and allow its location, local network and Bluetooth permissions, or it can’t find the bar.
  4. Add the soundbar in the app and follow its instructions: select your Wi-Fi network, enter the password (it’s case-sensitive) and name the bar.
  5. Connect the HDMI cable from your TV’s HDMI eARC or ARC port to the HDMI (eARC) port on the soundbar.
  6. Connect any Bose bass module or surround speakers you have; the guide lists the Bass Module 500 and 700, the Surround Speakers and the Surround Speakers 700.

If you add one later, how to connect a Bose subwoofer to a soundbar afterward covers adding the bass module from the app’s Settings menu, plus the cable backup.

If the light bar isn’t amber, put the bar into setup mode: the same owner’s guide has you press and hold Mute and the Bose app button on the remote until the light bar glows amber.

What if the Bose app can’t find the soundbar?

Start with the three app permissions: Bose’s Smart Soundbar 700 setup page says that if you do not allow Location Service, Local Access Network or Bluetooth permissions, the app will not find your product.

The owner’s guide adds a few fixes for setup itself: turn on Wi-Fi on the phone or tablet you’re using, close its other open apps, and make sure the phone and the soundbar join the same Wi-Fi network.

If it still can’t see the bar, restart the phone and your router, and if the router runs both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, keep the phone and the soundbar on the same one. For a Wi-Fi problem that outlasts setup, our guide to getting a Bose soundbar onto Wi-Fi goes further.

How Do You Connect a Bose TV Speaker to a TV?

That app process doesn’t apply to the Bose TV Speaker, which needs only a cable and one TV setting. Bose says the original TV Speaker works with almost any TV that has either an optical output, using the optical cable included in the box, or an HDMI ARC port, using an HDMI cable you buy separately (Bose).

The TV Speaker (2nd Gen) is the exception: it comes with an HDMI cable, and Bose doesn’t include an optical cable with it.

Compact TV speaker bar under a TV with an HDMI cable and an optical cable as the two ways to connect

For HDMI, the cable must go into the TV port labeled HDMI ARC or HDMI eARC, because only that port can send the TV’s sound out. For optical, plug the cable into the TV port labeled Output or OUT, not Input.

Then open the TV’s settings, find the speaker option, and turn off the TV speakers or turn on the optical output, so the sound plays only through the Bose. With HDMI on a TV that supports HDMI-CEC, Bose notes you can keep using your TV remote for the volume.

Since the original TV Speaker doesn’t come with an HDMI cable, a short eARC-rated one like the Silkland 8K HDMI eARC cable is worth adding to the order.

Silkland 8K HDMI eARC cable

Silkland 8K HDMI eARC cable

Type: HDMI 2.1
Length: 3.3 ft
ARC: eARC supported
✓ Made for HDMI ARC and eARC connections✓ Short 3.3 ft length suits a bar under the TV✗ Too short if the soundbar sits far from the TV
See ratings on Amazon

Can You Connect a Bose Soundbar With an Optical Cable?

Yes, and for a TV without an ARC port it’s the answer. The Smart Soundbar owner’s guide lists HDMI eARC or ARC as the preferred connection and optical as the second option, and it says the Dolby Atmos surround-sound experience needs the TV’s HDMI eARC or ARC port.

Soundbar connected to a TV with an optical cable, a remote beside it for volume

What you lose is control. HDMI carries CEC, the signal that lets the TV remote run the bar’s volume and power, and optical doesn’t; Bose suggests turning on Auto-wake in the app so the bar still switches on with the TV.

Run the optical cable from the TV’s optical output to the soundbar’s optical input.

Does a Bose Soundbar Work With Any TV?

That HDMI-or-optical choice covers almost every TV made in the last decade, whatever the brand. The only catch is the name each maker gives to CEC in its TV menus, which the Bose owner’s guide flags: your TV may refer to CEC by a different name.

Samsung calls it Anynet+ (the steps for connecting a Bose soundbar to a Samsung TV give its menu path), Sony calls it BRAVIA Sync, and LG calls it SIMPLINK. Turn that setting on, and the TV and Bose bar can switch on together and share a remote.

If you’d rather use the Bose remote only, or the bar won’t respond to the TV remote, the Bose app has an Advanced CEC setting with several options, including Off.

Why Is There No Sound From the Bose Soundbar?

Even with the right cable, a bar can stay silent, and the troubleshooting table in the Smart Soundbar owner’s guide lists these fixes for intermittent or no audio:

TV, streaming box and soundbar with cables unplugged to reset the HDMI connection when there's no sound
  1. Try another source. Switch to a different source, or play audio from a different app or music service.
  2. Check the cable. Disconnect the HDMI cable from the TV’s eARC or ARC port and reconnect it, and make sure it’s in the port labeled HDMI eARC or ARC, not a standard HDMI port.
  3. Turn on CEC. Enable Consumer Electronics Control in the TV’s system menu, where it may go by a different name.
  4. Check the TV’s audio settings. The guide points you to your TV owner’s guide for them, and suggests restarting the TV and updating its software.
  5. Restart the bar. Unplug the power cords for the soundbar and any bass module or surround speakers, wait 30 seconds, and plug them firmly back in.
  6. Use optical if there’s no ARC. If your TV has no ARC port, connect the optical cable instead, into the TV port labeled Output or OUT.
  7. Check Advanced CEC. Try the Advanced CEC setting in the Bose app’s Settings menu.

If none of that works, the guide’s factory restore clears the bar’s source, volume and network settings, and you add it to the Bose app again afterward. Our walkthrough on resetting a Bose soundbar lists the buttons for each model, and Burton Acoustix’s Bose 900 reset guide adds that bar’s light signals and recovery mode.

How Do You Control a Bose Soundbar With the TV Remote?

Once the sound works over HDMI, the TV remote can usually run the volume too, through that same CEC setting. If it doesn’t, check CEC is on in the TV’s menu and try a different Advanced CEC option in the Bose app.

Over optical, there’s no CEC, so the volume comes from the Bose remote or the Bose app. If the remote goes missing, our guide to turning on a Bose soundbar without its remote covers the app and CEC routes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which HDMI port do I use for a Bose soundbar?

Use the TV’s HDMI port labeled ARC or eARC, and the soundbar’s HDMI ARC jack. Other HDMI ports on the TV can’t send its sound out to the bar.

Do I need the Bose app to connect a Bose soundbar?

For the smart soundbars, yes: Bose’s setup runs through the app. The Bose TV Speaker needs no app, only a cable and the TV’s audio setting.

Does the Bose TV Speaker come with an HDMI cable?

The original Bose TV Speaker doesn’t: Bose includes an optical cable and sells the HDMI cable separately. The Bose TV Speaker (2nd Gen) does come with an HDMI cable, and its optical cable isn’t included.

Is optical as good as HDMI for a Bose soundbar?

Not for Dolby Atmos: Bose’s Smart Soundbar owner’s guide says the Atmos surround-sound experience needs the TV’s HDMI eARC or ARC port, and it lists optical as the second option. HDMI also adds CEC, which lets the TV remote control the bar.

Why won’t my Bose soundbar turn on with the TV?

Over HDMI, turn on the TV’s CEC setting. Over optical, there’s no CEC, so turn on Auto-wake in the Bose app instead.