HDMI-CEC Input Switching with Series S (and X)?

Buddy Rich · Nov 5, 2021

Just got a new Series S and so far love it.

One thing I haven't figured out, or perhaps its just different from the PS4/5 and AppleTV I also use is HDMI-CEC Input Switching.

I think Ive got it all setup correctly via TV and Xbox settings as it does work, just not how I expected.

Setup is basically:

Xbox (HDMI1)/ATV4K(HDMI3)/PS5 (HDMI4)->LG B6 OLED->Sonos Beam on ARC HDMI2...

The good news is that everything works correct if everything is off.

Hit the Guide Button on controller and Xbox and TV and Sonos turn on, switches to HDMI1 that Xbox is on... Power down Xbox and everything turns off so that much is good.

If I turn on my AppleTV lets say, it will turn the TV on as well and switch to HDMI3. Power down turns everything off. Same with PS5 (though annoyingly PS5 will not turn off my TV).

My issue is when hitting the Guide button the Xbox does not switch the HDMI input to the HDMI1 input the Xbox is on, if the Xbox is already on. Both my PS5 and ATV, I can hit the playstation button with PS5 already on and it switches input to it, and hitting a button on the ATV remote switched it to ATV input, so its easy to switch back and forth between them.

The Xbox only seems to send an input switch command if its turned on from being powered down; hitting the Guide button with the Xbox already on, doesn't send an input change via CEC like the PS5 or ATV... it makes it less useful.

CEC is flaky at the best of times because of various vendor implementations and mine works fairly well all things considered but assuming this is by design this would be an easy change to make, I think holding the guide button should sent an input change command independent of a power on command if its already powered on. This would allow you to switch inputs via CEC as well as power on and off.

:)

BioMercenaryG

Not sure if you had a question here, only question I could pull from this is "Why doesn't Xbox send a HDMI switch command when on"
There's no manual way to do it once the Xbox is on, It sends it at bootup but after that i believe there is no way to trigger it again, same way a wired controller would turn the Xbox on when plugged in but only while its off. Outside of that this seems more of a discussion topic or a suggestion kind of deal.

Ricardo Lechuga

Hi TexasMaster9351! My name is Ricardo an independent advisor ready to help you with this situation!

HDMI-CEC is supported only on Xbox One X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X. You must also enable HDMI-CEC on your TV.

Xbox Series X|S consoles can use an HDMI feature called Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) to send commands to and from CEC-enabled devices (such as TVs and AVRs) that are connected to the console.

This feature can be turned on and off via the TV & A/V power options settings screen. Press the Xbox button  to open the guide, then go to Profile & system > Settings > General > Sleep mode & startup > TV & A/V power options.

under_scored

I believe the Xbox one/360 line should be updated to support CEC

Not happening. IR only.

Minor workaround: plug a device with CEC into your Xbox's HDMI input. When you turn it on, your CEC supported display(s) should change inputs.

basedbystar

It’s nice to hear I’m not the only one! I get annoyed when it’s made out to be my other hardwares fault cos I had a One X briefly and that didn’t have this issue when plugged into exactly the same setup.

I’m wondering if it’s a bug that needs fixing or if it’s a deliberate way of making you stick to Xbox only lol

Seez_311

I have the same issue. Funny but it was working a year ago. Ms must have broke something lately.

HDMI-CEC Input Switching with Series S (and X)?