If your Optimum cable box no sound all of a sudden, there is no reason to be worried or concerned.
Many people just like you have been struggling with the same issue and we have found how they managed to resolve the issue and gathered it all at your disposal in this post.
The issue depends on whether your cable box lost its sound or your TV. You can easily identify this by watching some Optimum free channel or media platform on your TV. If there is sound when using your TV standalone, that the issue is within the cable box.
If you can’t hear a sound whatever you do, keep reading and by the end of this post, all your sound issues should be in the past.
Before we can jump right into the solutions, you need to have a clear understanding of the possible causes preventing your system from emitting sound.
In that regard, this is what we are going to discuss next.
Why is the Optimum Cable Box No Sound Suddenly?
There are quite a few possibilities in which your sound will be completely lost. The very first and most common reason is leftover mute commands.
Go ahead right now and check if your Optimum cable box or TV is muted. You can do that by taking your remote and pressing the mute button located in the middle of the pad.
If this is not the case, another possibility would be a faulty HDMI connection or a loose cable.
Later you will learn how to fix those issues and even prevent your devices from having any power outages, which could be the real reason you don’t have sound.
Lastly, your sound could be entirely gone because of outdated software, either on your cable box or TV.
These are the most common reasons and without further ado, let’s jump right into our troubleshooting steps.
How To Fix Optimum Cable Box Has No Sound?
These steps are designed to identify the issue and hopefully resolve it if followed in order.
We shall start with the easiest steps first and build our way up to more complex solutions if the issue is still there.
In that regard, the recommendation here would be to test your audio after the completion of each step to make sure that you are not wasting your time in unnecessary efforts.
Step #1 Reboot ALL Devices
The very first and most important step would be to restart all devices involved in the workflow.
We ain’t just restarting the devices, instead, you are going to learn how to perform a power cycle that will exclude several possible causes.
Note:
If you are using any audio bars or external devices related to the sound of the system, please apply the above-described steps for each device.
Here is how to perform a power cycle:
- Turn off the device (if possible).
- Plug out the cable from the power outlet.
- Wait for 3 to 5 minutes (do NOT skip)!
- While waiting, disconnect all cables and reconnect them accordingly.
- Reconnect everything from scratch.
- Test if there is audio output from your cable box.
A power cycle is significantly easy to apply and you should have no issues doing so for all devices involved.
If now there is a sound, the reason might not be revealed. The problem could have been a temporary glitch that was resolved by a restart and it may never appear again.
Step #2 Update ALL Devices
This is probably the easiest step to apply so it is worth the shot. Simply go to your TV’s settings and navigate to the Update tab.
From there select check/scan for update and if a new firmware is found, feel free to download and install it right away.
Unfortunately, you cannot update your cable box as it is not running an updatable firmware. But make sure to update any devices in between your cable box and TV, such as a personal computer.
Once you performed the updates, feel free to go back to step #1 and perform another power cycle. Lastly, test if the sound is there.
Step #3 Check Power Supply
It might sound silly but most of the Optimum cable box issues are usually related to the insufficient power supply.
Make sure to remove any power strippers or power devices from the wall outlet and connect your Optimum cable box directly.
If audio is still not there, connect the cable box to another standalone wall outlet, perform a power cycle (in step #1) and check for audio again.
If this does not work, we can safely conclude that there is a connectivity issue, so let’s take a closer look at our next step.
Step #4 Check Cables
To identify if your Optimum cable box no sound through HDMI we will need another (working) cable.
It will be necessary to check if the issue is related to the cables or the cable box itself. Simply take the other cable, connect it accordingly and check four audio.
If audio is now available, well, the problem is with the cable, obviously. If however, there is still no sound you might be dealing with a hardware port issue or something else.
Another way around would be to connect the HDMI cable you’re using for your cable box to another proven-to-work device and check if there is audio.
No audio means a problem with the cable and if there is audio, that could mean one out of two things:
- Faulty cable box HDMI port
- Hardware Issue
Step #5 Contact Support
If nothing so far helped, then you would have to reach out to Optimum customer service for additional help.
If there is an outage on their end you will be informed, which is actually the best outcome you can hope for.
Otherwise, you might want to share with them that you have tried in this post so they won’t provide you with the same troubleshooting techniques.
Either way, you won’t be left without an adequate answer, and in the worst-case scenario, you might have to pay for repair or buy a new cable box.
Tip:
Don’t forget to check if your warranty is intact.
Read Next: How to troubleshoot Optimum Cable Box?
Bottom Line
We hope that now you know why the Optimum cable box no sound and that you were able to resolve the issue at home.
If not, customer support should be able to help or at least guide you in the right direction.
Either way, we wish you luck and if you’re interested in posts like this one, you can find many solutions for your smart home at our blog.
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.