Q. My speakers on my TV haven’t been sounding right lately . The sound was too low even when I turned it up. And then yesterday, I got no sound at all. Any ideas what’s going on? Could the TV be dead? — Sherryann, Annapolis, Maryland. 

There are several things you can do to check your set’s audio connection and sound level. Sony.com’s Troubleshooting page has some useful tips and they are:

1. Turn up the volume of your TV.
If you can’t hear anything at all, make sure the set isn’t set on Mute. You can determine this by turning up the volume. If you aren’t getting a proper volume level, go to the next step, which is…

2. Check the headphones setting.
Make sure there are no headphones connected to your TV. Having headphones connected to your set can cause the same lack of sound as hitting the Mute button.

3. Make sure the set is on Stereo.
If you still don’t have a solution, then click on the Menu on your TV’s remote control and go to the Audio or Sound setting. Then, make sure the Multichannel sound feature is set at Stereo. If the show you’re watching is in stereo but your TV is not set for stereo, the sound could come from just one speaker, which would explain the low volume.

4. Make sure the speakers are set to On.
Still having a problem? Then, go back to the Sound/Audio feature in the Menu and make sure the Speakers setting is turned to On. It’s no uncommon for people to accidentally turn off the Speakers in their setting.

5. Check your audio connections.
After taking the above steps, if you still are having a sound issue, make sure all your connections from your set-top to your TV are secure. It’s quite possible that an HDMI cable is disconnected, or loosely connected.

6. Try another video source.
If nothing has worked by now, try connecting a different set-top/video source to your TV to see if that makes a difference. You could be having a sound issue with a cable set-top or a streaming device, for instance, so try connecting a DVD or Blu-ray player to see if the sound level improves. If it does improve, then you know the problem is with the original video source.

However, if you still don’t have sound coming from your TV’s speakers at this point, you basically have two options. Connect your TV to a sound bar or Surround Sound system or bring your TV in for a repair.

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— Phillip Swann
@swanniontv