Yamaha RX-V685's USB not working

J

JohnnyGee

Enthusiast
Hello, all,

This is my first post to this forum, which explains any mistakes I make. For instance this post might be in the wrong forum on Audioholics.

My question has to do with why my Yamaha RX-V685 receiver won't make any noise when I try to play any of three USB thumb drives I've tried. I insert the drive into the USB port on the front of the receiver, press the USB button on the remote, and nothing happens. The thumb drives are all formatted to FAT32, and they all contain MP3s and the art (.jpg) files that go with each album.

There's no music, and the television (a 65-inch Samsung QLED) doesn't change. The display on the receiver switches from saying, "USB" to saying, "View On-screen," but thereafter nothing I've done seems to make any difference. In case it matters, the receiver plays the audio from the TV pretty much fine. (I say "pretty much" because sometimes there's about a one-second delay between when a sound appears to be made, such as during dialogue, and when the actual audio comes out of the speakers, but I'll worry about that later.)

I went around and around on a different forum, and now I'm turning here in hopes of a solution.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, any steps I haven't tried.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
You have input assignment set correctly? My avrs don't have problems with FAT32 formatted drives but I don't have lord Yammy, maybe @pcosmic can 'splain.
 
J

JohnnyGee

Enthusiast
loveinthehd, I don't know what "input assignment" means, and how would I know whether it's set correctly?

I don't know what "avrs" means, I don't know what "lord Yammy" means, and I don't know and haven't heard from @pcosmic.

Do you know what solution I should try?
 
pcosmic

pcosmic

Senior Audioholic
Hello, all,

This is my first post to this forum, which explains any mistakes I make. For instance this post might be in the wrong forum on Audioholics.

My question has to do with why my Yamaha RX-V685 receiver won't make any noise when I try to play any of three USB thumb drives I've tried. I insert the drive into the USB port on the front of the receiver, press the USB button on the remote, and nothing happens. The thumb drives are all formatted to FAT32, and they all contain MP3s and the art (.jpg) files that go with each album.

There's no music, and the television (a 65-inch Samsung QLED) doesn't change. The display on the receiver switches from saying, "USB" to saying, "View On-screen," but thereafter nothing I've done seems to make any difference. In case it matters, the receiver plays the audio from the TV pretty much fine. (I say "pretty much" because sometimes there's about a one-second delay between when a sound appears to be made, such as during dialogue, and when the actual audio comes out of the speakers, but I'll worry about that later.)

I went around and around on a different forum, and now I'm turning here in hopes of a solution.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, any steps I haven't tried.

If your drive is compatible and formatted in FAT32, when you press the USB button, it would just get into the root folder of the drive (wouldn't automatically start playing anything). You would need to navigate into any subfolders etc and press enter on the actual music file.

Have you tried using the musiccast app? Navigation should be a whole lot easier with the app on your phone.
 
J

JohnnyGee

Enthusiast
pcosmic, hello,

You've identified the problem, which is that nothing on the TV screen changes when I hit the USB button on remote. I don't know that I've got everything hooked up correctly, and I'm happy to photograph the back of the Yamaha RX-V685 receiver and the back of the television, with notes showing what's connected from one to other, but I was told in a different forum that such information would be useless, and if you agree then I won't bother.

(I can't help seeing you own Magnapan speakers. I too have a pair of Magneplanars, and I love 'em.)

Anyway, the problem is that when I hit the USB button nothing happens on the television screen. On the receiver "USB" changes to "View On-Screen." Do you have any idea what's going on?

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer.
 
pcosmic

pcosmic

Senior Audioholic
pcosmic, hello,

You've identified the problem, which is that nothing on the TV screen changes when I hit the USB button on remote. I don't know that I've got everything hooked up correctly, and I'm happy to photograph the back of the Yamaha RX-V685 receiver and the back of the television, with notes showing what's connected from one to other, but I was told in a different forum that such information would be useless, and if you agree then I won't bother.

(I can't help seeing you own Magnapan speakers. I too have a pair of Magneplanars, and I love 'em.)

Anyway, the problem is that when I hit the USB button nothing happens on the television screen. On the receiver "USB" changes to "View On-Screen." Do you have any idea what's going on?

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer.
Yeah, maggies are lovely (easier to move around too if you hoard too many speakers like meself ;) )

Try and toubleshoot it step by step

Try the musiccast app on your phone first and try to play the files from your usb drive through there. If it works, it confirms that your drive is functional/compatible or the receiver is not defective on that end...

You can troubleshoot why it's not displaying your operations (through the remote) on tv second. Does it say "no device" on screen? There's a chance it could be stuck on the "screen off" feature for that input. Did you get the receiver used? If you did, it is always recommended to do a factory reset (the dude who sold it used may have gone sky high into tinker town and messed things up). Either way, a factory reset can resolve any li'l glitches. But, you could figure out if your drive is actually functional/readable through the musiccast app (step 1)

app.png
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Are you trying to play a video thru the usb/avr (avr is audio video receiver)? All a avr typically will play is music files in the FAT32 format afaik. Should be specified in your avr manual as to what options you have via usb.

Input assignment was a brain fart, usb input wouldn't have options.
 
J

JohnnyGee

Enthusiast
pcosmic, I should have told you that two days ago I installed an app on my Android phone named AV Controller, and no matter what I did, i.e., no matter what buttons I pushed, nothing made the screen change so I could select a song and play it. Is there some special way the songs and albums and album art should be arranged on my USB thumb drives? The songs are all MP3s, and all three drives I've tested are formatted to FAT32.

A few minutes ago I also downloaded to my phone an app called MusicCast, but I'm not at home now, where the equipment is, so I don't know whether this app will work. Also, I don't know that either app I downloaded is the right one.

To answer the questions you asked, the receiver does not say, "No device"; it says only, "View On-Screen." Also, I bought the receiver new from Amazon.com, so presumably it was in factory-reset condition when I received it. I'm happy do a facory reset if you recommend it. After all, what's there to lose?

loveinthehed, I am not trying to play a video.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Does it have more than one usb port? I have Denons with two and I have the option of only using one at a time....
 
Mark E. Long

Mark E. Long

Audioholic General
How do you have the video set up in this system do you have an hdmi going from the avr - Reciever to the tv tell us how you get Vidio to display on the reciever to the tv sounds like something isn’t turned on or not set up in the video path also .
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
pcosmic, I should have told you that two days ago I installed an app on my Android phone named AV Controller, and no matter what I did, i.e., no matter what buttons I pushed, nothing made the screen change so I could select a song and play it. Is there some special way the songs and albums and album art should be arranged on my USB thumb drives? The songs are all MP3s, and all three drives I've tested are formatted to FAT32.

A few minutes ago I also downloaded to my phone an app called MusicCast, but I'm not at home now, where the equipment is, so I don't know whether this app will work. Also, I don't know that either app I downloaded is the right one.

To answer the questions you asked, the receiver does not say, "No device"; it says only, "View On-Screen." Also, I bought the receiver new from Amazon.com, so presumably it was in factory-reset condition when I received it. I'm happy do a facory reset if you recommend it. After all, what's there to lose?

loveinthehed, I am not trying to play a video.
A soft reset (just unplugging it for a bit) can clear up glitches sometimes and that doesn't erase all your settings, but a hard reset might well be in order.
 
Ponzio

Ponzio

Audioholic Samurai
Besides the USB stick being formatted in FAT32, make sure the music files are in a folder.
 
J

JohnnyGee

Enthusiast
Progress, I think. I tried the "soft reset" suggested by loveinthehd, and thereafter I was able, using the Yamaha RX-V685 receiver's remote, to scroll through the various artists, whose names appeared on the front of the receiver. Still no sound and no change on the TV screen, no matter which buttons I poke.

Then I unplugged the receiver and waited about ten seconds before plugging it back in. No change, that is, I was able to scroll through the artists' names but otherwise nothing.

If a factory reset of the receiver requires that I use the TV, keep in mind that so far I can't, i.e., nothing I do with the receiver's remote makes anything change on the screen.

Mark E. Long, I'm not sure how to answer your question, but I like the direction you're pointing, because I suspect, or at least would like to rule out, some sort of error I've made in hooking up the television to the receiver. Is there some way, which presumably I've failed to achieve, that suddenly, magically makes the TV show stuff from the receiver as it's supposed to?

Thanks for the continued interest.
 
pcosmic

pcosmic

Senior Audioholic
Progress, I think. I tried the "soft reset" suggested by loveinthehd, and thereafter I was able, using the Yamaha RX-V685 receiver's remote, to scroll through the various artists, whose names appeared on the front of the receiver. Still no sound and no change on the TV screen, no matter which buttons I poke.

Then I unplugged the receiver and waited about ten seconds before plugging it back in. No change, that is, I was able to scroll through the artists' names but otherwise nothing.

If a factory reset of the receiver requires that I use the TV, keep in mind that so far I can't, i.e., nothing I do with the receiver's remote makes anything change on the screen.

Mark E. Long, I'm not sure how to answer your question, but I like the direction you're pointing, because I suspect, or at least would like to rule out, some sort of error I've made in hooking up the television to the receiver. Is there some way, which presumably I've failed to achieve, that suddenly, magically makes the TV show stuff from the receiver as it's supposed to?

Thanks for the continued interest.
As i said earlier, you would need to try and troubleshoot step by step man (break down the issue into li'l pieces, process of elimination etc or whatever you wanna call it).
- A factory reset will indeed clear any lil glitches, if any
- If you tried controlling through Yamaha musiccast app (there's only one app you can install), you can atleast verify that your drive is working etc. It could also eliminate any issues you are having with the physical remote itself.

It's hard to do this on a forum but, when i keep reading this "no matter which buttons I poke", i'm wondering if it is something as basic (but maybe not obvious), as the following:
Does your physical remote have 2 buttons, "source" and "receiver". To operate functions pertaining to the receiver, you would press the "receiver" button first and then try pressing buttons. If the remote is locked to the "source", it would be trying operate any source components (blu ray player etc) that you may have programmed to operate with the remote.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Progress, I think. I tried the "soft reset" suggested by loveinthehd, and thereafter I was able, using the Yamaha RX-V685 receiver's remote, to scroll through the various artists, whose names appeared on the front of the receiver. Still no sound and no change on the TV screen, no matter which buttons I poke.

Then I unplugged the receiver and waited about ten seconds before plugging it back in. No change, that is, I was able to scroll through the artists' names but otherwise nothing.

If a factory reset of the receiver requires that I use the TV, keep in mind that so far I can't, i.e., nothing I do with the receiver's remote makes anything change on the screen.

Mark E. Long, I'm not sure how to answer your question, but I like the direction you're pointing, because I suspect, or at least would like to rule out, some sort of error I've made in hooking up the television to the receiver. Is there some way, which presumably I've failed to achieve, that suddenly, magically makes the TV show stuff from the receiver as it's supposed to?

Thanks for the continued interest.
Factory reset of the avr is generally just done via the front panel of the avr by pressing several buttons simultaneously....check your manual.
 
J

JohnnyGee

Enthusiast
lovinthehd,

I checked the manual last night and it does not appear there's any way to reset the receiver without the TV's cooperation, but I will check more carefully starting on page 138. If you know of a way to perform a factory reset on a Yamaha RX-V685 receiver without anything useful on the television, please let me know.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Agreed, can't find it in the owner's manual. However, searching the Yamaha site I found this mentioned a few times to reboot the unit: Hold down z (power) on the front panel for more than 15 seconds to reboot the unit. If the problem persists, disconnect the power cable from the AC wall outlet and plug it again
 
Mark E. Long

Mark E. Long

Audioholic General
Progress, I think. I tried the "soft reset" suggested by loveinthehd, and thereafter I was able, using the Yamaha RX-V685 receiver's remote, to scroll through the various artists, whose names appeared on the front of the receiver. Still no sound and no change on the TV screen, no matter which buttons I poke.

Then I unplugged the receiver and waited about ten seconds before plugging it back in. No change, that is, I was able to scroll through the artists' names but otherwise nothing.

If a factory reset of the receiver requires that I use the TV, keep in mind that so far I can't, i.e., nothing I do with the receiver's remote makes anything change on the screen.

Mark E. Long, I'm not sure how to answer your question, but I like the direction you're pointing, because I suspect, or at least would like to rule out, some sort of error I've made in hooking up the television to the receiver. Is there some way, which presumably I've failed to achieve, that suddenly, magically makes the TV show stuff from the receiver as it's supposed to?

Thanks for the continued interest.
What Iam wondering is if you have your hdmi out going to your tv mostly I believe you may have to tell the receiver which one to use . It may say hdmi out one or two in the receivers setup menu make sure all your setup options are turned on and correct in your receiver first then if those are correct try a different hdmi cable push usb on your remote and see if it displays on your tv . It seems odd the the display shows on screen on the receiver but not the tv itself that leads me to believe that something is not turned on in the setup .
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
I really struggle with the concept that the TV doesn't show video. The constant 'nothing changes' statement makes me wonder.

Do you ever get video out of the receiver on your TV?

The HDMI video output should be connected to your TV and you should see an on-screen menu and display from it all the time.

If you are not, then that points to a pretty significant problem with your Yamaha, a bad HDMI cable (which is certainly possible), or the TV itself having a bad HDMI connection. It could even be basic like the TV isn't on the proper input.

So, if you are connecting your receiver to your TV's HDMI 1 connection, make sure that the TV itself is actually on HDMI 1. Also make sure the cable you are using for this is a 18GB/s rated Premium Certified HDMI cable. Using a 'cheap' HDMI cable that you had laying around may not allow video to pass from the receiver to your TV. I am assuming your TV is a 4K model.

You certainly should be getting video on screen and be able to navigate using your TV screen. That's half the point of an audio/video receiver (AVR).
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
It sounds as though you are using ARC as you mentioned sound from TV being output from Yamaha. But, you may be using an optical cable.Connect the HDMI cable to the Yamaha's #1(ARC) output and into the TV's #2(ARC) input. When trying to use the on screen menu of the Yamaha, get your TV remote control and bring up the Smart Hub. Move over to the Source tile. It should bring up the HDMI input being used by the Yamaha. Select it. This will display the image from the Yamaha to the TV screen. You must be on this input to view anything from or connected to the Yamaha. If you enable HDMI control in both the TV and Yamaha, ARC is enabled and any activity from the Yamaha remote control should change the TV's input source selection to the Yamaha. Then, selecting a TV app will change the input selection of the Yamaha to the audio of the TV.
 
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