Summary: If your Siri Remote power button intermittently fails to wake your Samsung TV with HDMI-CEC enabled, try using a voice command via a HomePod. The remote communicates with Apple TV over Bluetooth, whereas the voice command goes over your local network. In over 90 days, the voice route has never failed for me.
The Problem
Pressing the Siri Remote power button always wakes my Apple TV and Sonos sound system, but it frequently fails to turn on my Samsung TV.
The Workaround
Say "Turn on the TV" to a HomePod. This successfully wakes up everything at once: the Apple TV, the Samsung TV, and the Sonos system.
The Difference Between the Two Methods
- Voice Command (Network): The HomePod sends the request to the Apple TV over your home network, and the Apple TV then sends the HDMI wake command to the TV.
- Siri Remote Button (Bluetooth): The remote tells the Apple TV over Bluetooth, and the Apple TV then sends the HDMI wake command. This specific Bluetooth-to-HDMI path intermittently fails to wake the Samsung TV.
Required Settings
- Apple TV: Go to Settings, then Remotes and Devices, and turn Control TVs and Receivers ON.
- Samsung TV: Go to Settings, then Connection, then External Device Manager, and turn Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) ON.
- Audio: Sonos Arc connected to the TV's eARC HDMI port.
- HomePod: Must be on the same network as the Apple TV with Siri enabled.
My Setup: Apple TV 4K (3rd gen), HomePod and HomePod minis, Samsung 4K OLED TV, Sonos ARC Ultra 5.1.