TV remote does not control the Sonos Arc volume with an HDfury Arcana
Everything else works, but the volume buttons on your TV remote do nothing. There is a specific mechanism behind this, and once you know it, the diagnosis takes about a minute.
Does this match your symptoms?
- The volume buttons on the television's remote do nothing.
- The television's own speakers are not muted.
- The source's remote does control the volume, but the television's does not.
Fix it in this order
- Look at the television's own speakers. As long as they are not muted, the television has not entered system audio mode and the remote will not control anything external.
- Turn the television's CEC off and back on, or run a CEC scan, and allow a moment for detection.
- Unplug and replug the HDMI cable to the Sonos Arc. That forces the Sonos to reintroduce itself, which is what issues the command.
- If that fails, run the full sequence: television off for a few minutes, power cord out and back, CEC off and on, HDfury Arcana and source off and on, then Factory Default.
- Use infrared learning as the dependable route. The Sonos Arc can learn your television's remote, independent of CEC entirely.
Which model do you have?
HDfury Arcana (18Gbps). Identical on both models, because the mechanism sits between your television and the Sonos Arc. The Arcana forwards CEC volume commands but cannot put the television into system audio mode — only the Sonos Arc can issue that command.
HDfury Arcana 2 VRR (40Gbps). Identical for the television's remote, for the same reason. This model does add CEC control from the display at TX0 back to the source at the input, so your television's remote can also reach the source — but that is source control, not sound system volume, and it does not change anything about the Sonos handshake.
The mechanism, which almost nobody explains
For a TV remote to control an external sound system, the television has to enter a mode called system audio. Note that this is a different mode from audio system, which is what a device calls itself when the TV asks — the two terms are easy to confuse and mean different things.
A television can only enter system audio mode by receiving a particular CEC command. And here is the part that explains most of the frustration: the only equipment that issues that command is the Sonos Arc itself. No other device in the chain can put the television into that mode — not the HDfury Arcana, not the source.
So if your TV remote does not control the volume, it means either the Sonos Arc has not yet issued that command, or the television has not yet reacted to it. Nothing you change on the source side will alter that.
How to tell in ten seconds
Watch the television's own speakers. As long as the TV has not muted them, the remote will not control the external system, because the TV has not entered system audio mode.
That is the whole test. Muted TV speakers means the mode is active and volume control should follow. Speakers still playing means it is not, and that is what to fix.
It also means this is worth checking before anything else: if the TV speakers are still on, you may additionally be hearing an echo without realising it, because the soundbar sits right below the screen.
The fixes, in the order the manual gives them
Turn the TV's CEC off and back on, or run a CEC scan. Some televisions take a while after CEC is enabled before they detect connected equipment, so give it a moment rather than concluding immediately that it did not work.
Unplug and replug the HDMI cable to the Sonos Arc. This forces the Sonos to reintroduce itself, which is what triggers the command in the first place.
If neither works, go through the broader CEC recovery sequence: television off for a few minutes and back on, the TV's power cord out and back in, CEC off and on with sources added one at a time, the HDfury Arcana and source powered off and on, and a Factory Default from the FW/RESET sub-menu as a last resort.
This does not apply to the source remote
The manual makes a point of separating the two cases, and it matters. Everything above is about the television's remote. Controlling the volume with the source's remote — an Apple TV remote, for instance — is a different path, and one the HDfury Arcana handles directly by forwarding CEC volume commands from the source to the connected sound system.
If you have been trying to get the TV remote to work and the source remote does the job, that is a perfectly reasonable place to stop.
The fallback that always works
The Sonos Arc has infrared learning. You can teach it to recognise almost any remote, including your television's or your source's, which gives you single-remote volume control without depending on CEC at all.
It is worth reaching for this earlier than most people do. CEC quality varies enormously between manufacturers, some combinations never work reliably however correctly they are configured, and firmware updates on either side can change the behaviour. Infrared does not care about any of that.
Frequently asked
What should I do if I have an HDfury Arcana (18Gbps)?
Identical on both models, because the mechanism sits between your television and the Sonos Arc. The Arcana forwards CEC volume commands but cannot put the television into system audio mode — only the Sonos Arc can issue that command.
What should I do if I have an HDfury Arcana 2 VRR (40Gbps)?
Identical for the television's remote, for the same reason. This model does add CEC control from the display at TX0 back to the source at the input, so your television's remote can also reach the source — but that is source control, not sound system volume, and it does not change anything about the Sonos handshake.
Why does my TV remote not control the Sonos Arc?
The television has not entered system audio mode. Only the Sonos Arc can issue the CEC command that puts it there, so either the Sonos has not sent it or the TV has not reacted.
How can I tell whether system audio mode is active?
Watch the TV's own speakers. As long as they are not muted, the mode is not active and the remote will not control the external system.
What is the quickest fix to try?
Turn the TV's CEC off and back on, or run a CEC scan, and allow a moment for detection. If that fails, unplug and replug the HDMI cable to the Sonos Arc.
Is there a way that does not rely on CEC?
Yes. The Sonos Arc can learn an infrared remote, including your television's, which gives single-remote volume control independent of CEC entirely.
Related
- CEC volume control not working
- Switching between TV apps and the HDMI input
- Audio echo, or an unsupported format banner
Does an HDfury Arcana or HDfury Arcana 2 solve this?
This applies to the television's remote. Volume from the source's remote is a different path and one the Arcana handles directly.
Checked against the official HDfury Arcana and HDfury Arcana 2 manuals and against firmware 0.88 and 0.25, August 2026.