Why Your Vizio TV Might Be Stuck On A Black Screen (And A Few Fixes To Try)

One of the most surprising technology news of 2024 was that the TV manufacturer Vizio sold to WalmartThe main reason was that Walmart management thought it was a great way to expand the company’s advertising wing on smart TV. For years, Vizio had a solid reputation for making very good-looking TVs that delivered more value than similarly priced TVs from name-brand brands, although they’ve since had fewer claims to make in that segment of the market. TKL And Hisense have become major players in the high-quality budget television market. Time will tell if being owned by such a retail giant will allow Vizio to regain a more prominent place in the world of flat-screen TVs.

Advertising

While Vizio TVs are generally highly respected, they are still consumer electronics and can cause various problems as a result. One potential problem is that the TV appears to be on, the power indicator is visible, but there is no picture, just a black screen. This is likely a common issue with Vizio TVs, as Vizio includes the ability to “mute” the display when using music streaming apps. If you don’t know about this feature, you can quite easily end up in a situation where the TV seems to be broken because the sound is working fine but the screen is black. Let’s look at how to “turn on” the display and what else to try if that doesn’t solve the problem.

Advertising

Vizio has a few different troubleshooting steps that users can take if their TV is stuck on a black screen. Some are more obvious, such as checking to see if your TV is turned off or in standby mode, or turning your TV off and on by unplugging and reconnecting. The ability of Vizio smart TVs to turn off the display while using music streaming apps is less obvious, especially if it happened because a child or pet accidentally sat on the remote. So if you still hear audio on a black screen, this may be the problem. To “turn on” the display, press and hold the mute button on the remote control for five seconds, releasing it once the picture returns.

Advertising

Another way to fix the problem is to press the Menu button on your Vizio remote. If the menu appears, then there is nothing wrong with the display, but there may be something wrong with the external source device, the cable connecting the external source to the TV, or the physical port to which the cable is connected. In this case, you must ensure that the cable connections are secure and that the external source device is turned on. It’s also worth looking into rotating the HDMI ports to see if a particular port isn’t working. You should also check to see if you have the latest firmware and software updates, but if the Vizio menu is working, then the most likely culprit is the external device you’re trying to use, its HDMI cable, or your TV’s HDMI port.

Advertising