Troubleshooting: The Basics
There’s a few easy things you can do to troubleshoot if your TV screen isn’t working properly. First, unplug your television and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then, plug it back in and turn it on to see if it works again. If not, try plugging in another device (such as a DVD player) into that same outlet. If that device works and your television doesn’t, there may be an issue with the cable or power source coming into your home. If you have a backup set of remote controls for other devices in your home—such as a DVD player or game console—try using them on your television and see if they work before getting professional help to fix whatever’s wrong with your TV screen problem.
Don’t use your remote
When your screen goes black on your Vizio television, don’t automatically assume that it’s time to hit up customer service. Before you do anything else, make sure you’re not holding down any buttons on your remote and check to see if your device has a red light that appears whenever it’s powered on. If all of these things are taken care of and your television still isn’t turning back on, then there could be something wrong with your cable box or HDMI port—but most likely, you simply accidentally turned off the device without realizing it. Try flipping up and down through a few channels before trying again or re-pressing power. If none of those work, try unplugging your TV for 10 seconds and plugging it back in. If nothing happens after doing so, call up customer service!
Is it an HDMI cable issue?
The HDMI port on your VIZIO television is designed to transmit high-quality video from an HDMI cable to a display. You can connect your VIZIO television to an HDTV or other display device using an HDMI cable. If you see no image, check to make sure that your source device is connected and turned on. Also, check that any audio cables are connected and set up correctly. When there’s no picture, but you can hear sound through the speakers of your VIZIO television, it could be an issue with your input source or connections. If you recently moved or unplugged any of these devices, check your cords again to ensure they’re securely plugged in and set up appropriately for use with your VIZIO product.
Try plugging in different devices
If your sound appears to be working normally, you might have a problem with a different device that’s plugged into your HDMI port. To isolate the device having a faulty connection, plug in one at a time and see if your screen lights up or if you hear audio from any of them. If it does, then there’s something wrong with that one device and you can unplug it for now (though don’t forget to plug it back in once you’ve figured out what’s wrong). If none of them work, though, keep reading—your Vizio may just need some help booting up.
Reset your television
Sometimes a television just needs to be reset. This will help ensure that any black screen problems are due to something temporary and fixable. First, unplug your television from power and wait one minute. Then, plug it back in and turn it on with your remote control or physical button on your television itself. If you’re lucky, that’s all you’ll need to do! If not, keep reading for other possible solutions. If rebooting doesn’t solve your problem, try these next steps. Unplug your television again and disconnect anything attached to it, such as game consoles, DVD players, and external speakers (yes, even if they work independently of your television). After 30 seconds or so without a power supply attached, plug everything back in one at a time and see if anything helps—if so then it was likely that particular device causing the issue. If you have multiple devices connected to your TV via HDMI ports (such as Blu-ray players), change out those cables instead of using them all over again after they are unplugged. The same goes for any other connection type; there may be something wrong with those specific cables or connectors themselves causing problems when used after being disconnected temporarily.
Contact Vizio for help
This can be a simple fix. First, contact Vizio’s customer service team. Your TV may just need a firmware update, which you can get either from your service provider or from Vizio directly. It should take just a few minutes and will most likely solve your problem. If that doesn’t work, there could be more to it than meets the eye—may be something as serious as an electrical issue with your TV. In that case, it’s probably time to call a technician for help. They’ll run some tests on your set and figure out what needs to be done. They might even have parts in stock, so you won’t have to wait too long before things are back up and running. While you’re waiting for someone to come out, why not try plugging your set into another outlet? Sometimes a power surge or faulty outlet can cause problems like these. Just make sure it’s plugged into an outlet on a different circuit (you don’t want another malfunctioning appliance bringing down power in your home). If that doesn’t do anything, check all of your cords—make sure they’re plugged in correctly and firmly connected at both ends.
If your VIZIO smart TV screen goes black and you can hear sound, it might be an easy fix that doesn’t require a technician. The first thing to do is unplug your television for about 30 seconds. After that, plug in your VIZIO and try powering it on again. If nothing happens after following these steps, try unplugging all of your HDMI cables for about 30 seconds and then plug them back in. Once everything is plugged back in, turn on your VIZIO smart TV and see if there are any changes to its performance. If nothing seems different after these steps, you should contact a technician to fix whatever might be wrong with your VIZIO smart TV screen.
