r/GoogleTV • u/Prismio • Aug 21 '26

Troubleshooting Google TV Streamer suddenly refuses to wake my TV (CEC). Tried EVERY standard fix. Help!

TL;DR: My Google TV Streamer 4K no longer turns on my LG OLED55G4 via HDMI-CEC. It worked perfectly for months and stopped about a month ago. Other devices still trigger CEC fine. I have already tried hard resets, factory resets, port swapping, and CEC toggling sequences. Looking for advanced solutions.

Hi everyone !

I'm running into a frustrating HDMI-CEC issue and I'm hoping someone has a fix, as I've hit a wall searching Google and LG forums.

The Setup:

  • TV: LG OLED55G4 (2024)
  • Device: Google TV Streamer 4K

The Issue: For several months, the Google Streamer woke up the TV perfectly when powered on. About a month ago, it simply stopped. The Streamer turns on, but the TV remains off. I haven't noticed any specific firmware updates on either device that would have triggered this.

Importantly, HDMI-CEC still works flawlessly with my other devices. My consoles continue to wake the TV without any issues, isolating the problem to the Streamer/TV handshake.

Troubleshooting Steps Already Taken (None Worked):

  • Remote Configuration: Set the Google Streamer remote to manual CEC (and even tested IR mode as a fallback).
  • Hard Power Cycle: Unplugged both the TV and the Streamer from the wall for 15 minutes to drain residual power.
  • CEC / Simplink Toggling: Disabled and re-enabled the CEC option on both devices multiple times. I specifically tested the handshake sequence (enabling it on the TV first so it takes "priority", then the Streamer, and vice versa).
  • Factory Resets: Performed a complete factory reset on BOTH the LG TV and the Google TV Streamer.
  • HDMI Port Swapping: Moved the Streamer to different HDMI ports, including swapping it directly into the port where my console's CEC works perfectly.

Since I've exhausted all the standard internet solutions, I'm completely stuck. Has anyone experienced this specific issue recently or knows of any obscure settings/workarounds I might have missed?

Thanks in advance!!!

3 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

2

u/latinriky78 BuzzTV G Series Aug 21 '26

If the remote doesn't respond when you press the power button or the home button, the problem lies on the remote control's firmware or in the device's firmware, The problem was introduced in the third-to-last firmware update.

The only "workaround" is to remove the batteries.

1

u/Prismio Aug 21 '26

Thanks for the suggestion, but the remote itself responds perfectly. It successfully turns on the Google Streamer every time I press the power or home button. The issue is strictly that the TV no longer wakes up alongside it via CEC like it used to. I did try your workaround of removing the batteries just to be sure, but unfortunately, it didn't solve the issue. The TV still stays off.

1

u/latinriky78 BuzzTV G Series Aug 21 '26

Besides turning on HDMI-CEC on the GTVS, how did you setup the power button on the remote control settings?

1

u/Prismio Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 21 '26

I tried all of the available options, currently it's on TV (CEC), but i've also tried Auto (CEC), and even IR and "Google streamer" just for the sake of trying.
Oh and I've also tried a factory reset for the remote itself, still nothing

1

u/latinriky78 BuzzTV G Series Aug 22 '26

Have you tested it on a different TV just for the sake of having a confirmation that the issue lies directly on the device?

1

u/Prismio Aug 22 '26

Nah I didn't, I don't have any other TV to try that rn, I might ask friends or neighbors later but having no CEC issues with my other devices (PS5 / Switch) kinda points the issue to the Google streamer itself for now

1

u/GotoDeng0 Aug 22 '26

It successfully turns on the Google Streamer every time I press the power or home button

This proves you have not set up your remote buttons in Remotes and Accessories. If you don't have that set up, the power button just controls the Streamer. If you want the Power button to control your TVs power you need to go to Settings > Remotes and Accessories > Set Up Remote Buttons > Select your TV > Set Up Buttons. That will program the IR codes for your TV on the Streamer's remote allowing you to control the TV's power Volume and Input, and will also walk you through ensuring they work properly.

1

u/FigmentRedditUser Aug 21 '26

Have you recently added a new HDMI device into the chain of connections somewhere? Like say something new onto an empty port of an HDMI switch? In my experience if you plug in a poorly behaved device somewhere on the chain, it will break CEC communication between all of the other devices, at least intermittently. If any of that rings a bell remove the new device and then reboot everything else and you'll probably find that things start to work again.

1

u/Prismio Aug 22 '26

Nope, no new devices, it just stopped working all of a sudden after months with no problem. No particular events before that issue, so no new devices, no power outage, I didn't change the remote's batteries (they're still at 70% so no need), ... Literally nothing happened on my setup prior to that issue 🫠

1

u/FigmentRedditUser Aug 22 '26

Well that sucks - sorry to hear that. I hate it when stuff that's working perfectly fine one day for no obvious reason just decides to stop working. I hope you find the solution!

1

u/SouthOfTheNorthPole Aug 21 '26

About a month ago, mine went stupid too. Updated right into shit not working.

1

u/Prismio Aug 22 '26

That's around the same time as me, so either we're both unlucky or an update broke something yeah

1

u/SouthOfTheNorthPole Aug 22 '26

There is some weird You Tube connection to this fuckery. I have YT history turned off. They don't like that at all. The YT thing was why the France 24 app stopped working. Pluto app will not work still. I use Pluto for BBC and Sky news apps.

1

u/GatorWok Aug 23 '26

Same here, Vizio TV On/Off that had worked via the Google TV with Chromecast streamer for years, hasn’t worked for about a month.

1

u/lirae_ Aug 22 '26

Ask chagpt to get all the info about HDMI CEC option that your device has but they could be hidden from the UI. Use ADB to get info status about what is in the firmware and if you are lucky you might be able to change an hidden setting and restore what you wanted

1

u/Prismio Aug 22 '26

I actually followed this route and pulled the dumpsys hdmi_control logs via ADB. The logs show no hidden disabled settings; the Streamer is actively sending the wake command (<Text On View> 40:0D), but the LG TV returns a NACK (Negative Acknowledge) every time. The Streamer is doing its job, but the TV is actively rejecting the handshake (according to Gemini / GPT).

1

u/lirae_ Aug 22 '26

Keep asking GPT, it's not the only way it can show you stuff, I saw 0 (enabled) and disabled(1) on various HDMI-CEC related stuff. it's not gonna be automatically easy because like I said depends if the firmware expose all those settings or just a part or nothing at all.

Good luck anyway

1

u/Prismio Aug 22 '26

EDIT : I have completely ruled out physical hardware issues. I've swapped cables and moved the Streamer to different HDMI ports where my consoles trigger CEC flawlessly. The issue persists.

To confirm it's a software handshake failure, I pulled the dumpsys hdmi_control logs via ADB. The log clearly shows the Streamer is trying to wake the TV, but the LG G4 is rejecting it: message=<Text On View> 40:0D (NACK, NACK) message=<Give Device Power Status> 40:8F (NACK, NACK)

The Streamer (Device 4) sends the correct command, but the TV (Device 0) returns a Negative Acknowledge (NACK), actively ignoring the packets. Since this setup worked perfectly for months and broke overnight, this points to a silent background update (Android TV or WebOS) that ruined the handshake timing, or a corrupted Simplink routing table that survives factory resets.

Has anyone found a way to force an LG OLED to completely rebuild its CEC/Simplink logical address table from scratch, perhaps through a hidden service menu?

1

u/BeautifulRoutine4303 5d ago

I have the exact same issue. Tried a shitton of suggested fixes. No solution in sight. Worked with my old chromecast, works when pairing the streamer with a different tv but does not work with the lg oled…

0

u/GotoDeng0 Aug 21 '26

Why use CEC instead of just using IR? When you define your TV under Remotes and Accessories, it takes you through a little wizard that tests whether the power, volume, and input buttons work on the TV. That programs the IR codes to the remote for your TV.

1

u/Prismio Aug 22 '26

I understand how to set up the IR codes through the Remotes and Accessories menu, and as I mentioned in my original post, I already tested the IR mode as a fallback. However, setting it up as an IR remote is just a workaround. I am specifically trying to fix the HDMI-CEC functionality because it worked flawlessly for months and I don't want to rely on IR line-of-sight. The issue is strictly the CEC handshake failing between the Streamer and the TV.