How to Fix a Samsung TV with Sound but No Picture (Aka The Black Screen of Death!)

They call it, the Black Screen of Death.

If you’ve ever had a TV that makes noise but no picture, it’s infected your home and you know how frustrating it can get.

The last time my TV did this, I thought I was going to have to pay $400 just to get it fixed.

We scoured the entire internet looking for answers, and then we found a simple and easy fix!

In this article, I’m going to provide you with every possible fix you can make before tossing your hands up and throwing your wallets out the window.

How to fix a Samsung TV with sound but no picture

Here’s what you can do if your TV has sound but no picture. Reset your TV. Unplug it for one minute. While waiting, press and hold the power button for 30 seconds to drain the power from the TV, and then plug it back in and turn it on again.

I recommend performing this method first because it’s probably going to be the one that works.

However, if it doesn’t work, then here is every single method known and you can follow each one down the line from the easiest to the most difficult solution.

Make sure your TV’s display cables are connected

First, make sure that all your cables are connected securely. If you are using an HDMI cable to connect your TV to another device, try disconnecting it and plugging it into the TV directly instead.

This will ensure that there is no interference between your TV and the streaming device you are connecting it to.

Sometimes, your TV’s display ports may be a little worn out. It could also be that your cable itself may be worn out as well at the port.

This can create a very loose connection to the back of your TV and may also cause it to disconnect or fall off.

Try wiggling it in further or completely removing it and pushing it back into that port again.

If that doesn’t work, try a second display port if that’s available on your TV  To see if that will fix the issue.

You’re going to have to experiment a little and check to see which port works and keep a note about which one doesn’t.

Make sure your TV remote is working

Now, this might sound silly, but a lot of the issues that come out of a black screen TV initially come from having a TV remote that doesn’t function properly.

Some people believe that adding a fresh new set of batteries to your TV remote might help solve the issue

When your TV remote is out of battery and you’re pointing at the TV with it and trying to control it and nothing happens, you’re going to wonder if there’s something wrong with the TV instead of the remote itself.

In many cases, I would recommend testing to see whether your remote control is working first before assuming it’s the TV not displaying any images.

Again this could be an issue with the source input or some kind of setting that was accidentally triggered on your TV but the solution first starts with having access to your remote.

If it’s not working, then obviously you won’t have any way to navigate your menu other than from the side buttons on your TV. And nobody uses the buttons on the TV side anymore.

The TV cables are damaged

If the cable is dirty or dusty, this can block the connection and prevent the display from showing the image.

Check if you can bring up your TV menu. If you can see this, but not the actual video of what you’re trying to watch on TV, then it might be an issue with the connection between the TV and the media device you are connecting it to.

If this doesn’t fix the problem, check the HDMI port with a flashlight. If there is any visible damage debris, you’ll want to clean it out with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol.

You’ll also want to closely inspect the rest of the cable to make sure that there are no breaks in the insulated rubber. This could easily cause the electricity to run out and inadvertently not supply enough power between the TV and the device.

After removing any debris, try reconnecting your HDMI cable again.

If these steps don’t work, you may need to clean your HDMI port or buy a new cable all together!

The quality of cables for your TV does make a major difference. I would suggest not purchasing one that is of cheap quality.

Try to buy a decent one because that’s something that will last longer and save you from the headaches of buying yet another cable when the cheap one fails.

Look for HDMI cables that are specifically capable of transferring at least 18 GB per second worth of data, can support 4K resolution, and have a 60-hertz refresh rate.

These types of HDMI cables will usually set you back around $10.

Try plugging your TV into a different wall outlet

Sometimes, the reason might be that your TV is just not gathering up enough energy from a particular wall outlet that is either damaged or just doesn’t produce enough draw.

This may be the reason why you can’t see the image display but you can still hear the sounds of whatever is being displayed.

In this case, look for an extension cord or try to connect it to a different outlet in the house. If possible, you can even move your TV to the outlet itself.

If the issue ends up being that your wall outlet is not providing enough power, you may need to seek out a certified electrician to figure out why.

The source of the input may be the problem

If you struggle to find anything wrong with the cable itself, then the next thing I would look at is the input source.

The input source refers to where the visual image is coming from at this very moment. Many modern TVs will have multiple input sources. You have to select the right one for the movie or image to show up on your TV.

To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Look at the back of your TV where the DisplayPort is connected. There’s usually a name that correlates to that exact port. Make sure you notate this name.
  2. On your TV remote, look for a dedicated button labeled Input. If you don’t see one, then click on the menu button and then look for Input on the menu screen.
  3. You will now see a list of all the different ports that are available on the back of your TV.
  4. Choose the one that is closely associated with the connection behind the TV.

For example, if you plugged in your HDMI to the back of the TV, then you should click on input on your TV remote. Scroll to input 1 and click on it.

Your TV should start displaying the visuals now.

Some older TVs cannot detect which device and connection input you want when you are watching TV. Some of the newer ones can, but not the older ones.

These older ones won’t know which input you are referring to and that’s why sometimes you’ll need to go in and manually tell it what input you want to see.

Check to see if your Samsung TV’s backlight is properly working

The backlight is how your TV gets bright and is usually adjusted to be lower in well-lit environments and higher in dimly lit environments.

The easiest way to check to see if your blacklight is broken is to:

  1. Start with your TV turned on. You can tell it’s on if there’s an LED turned on at the base of the TV.
  2. Have a show playing even though the display doesn’t work.
  3. Grab a flashlight.
  4. Shine it across the screen and move it around closely.
  5. Look for any signs of movement.
  6. If you see some signs of movement then it’s likely the backlight went out.

To replace the backlights, you’ll need to unscrew and go inside the Samsung TV.

After you manage to get underneath and inside the TV, you’ll find these LED strips. These are the ones that need replacing since they have failed.

The process is very tedious and I highly recommend getting a professional to get the job done for you.

But if you’re still certain you can do it yourself, then be careful not to damage the display panel or any important parts of the TV.

Depending on the size of the TV, you may have a very difficult time making sure nothing breaks.

Your TV is set to power saver mode

When it comes to power-saving mode for a TV, you’re going to notice that your Samsung device will start to become a little dimmer.

That’s because the energy-saving feature on your Samsung Smart TV tries to adjust the brightness of your TV, which will help reduce its power usage.

This is a good thing because it can help reduce eye strain and fatigue.

However, sometimes this power-saving mode can be a bit buggy in that it will lower the brightness of your monitor down to nothing.

This will leave you with a completely black screen and sound still coming out of the TV.

You can try fixing this by:

  1. Grab your TV remote and hit the Home button.
  2. Click on Settings.
  3. Click on General.
  4. Click on Eco Solutions.
  5. Turn Auto Power Off

You could check the sleep timer on your Samsung TV

Similar to the auto-off feature, the sleep timer feature that’s a counter that when it reaches zero, will turn off the TV.

Is it possible that what you’re listening to is a TV that just fell asleep? I think we should fix that.

  1. Using the TV remote, press the home button.
  2. Navigate to Settings.
  3. Click on General.
  4. Click on System Manager.
  5. Click on Time.
  6. Click on Sleep Timer.
  7. Select Off.

Your TV’s firmware may be outdated

It’s really important to keep your Samsung Smart TV updated to the latest firmware whenever it’s available. The update helps keep your devices working at the most efficient level possible.

It exists for people who experience and encounter bugs while using their electronics and TVs.

Most Samsung TVs will have the ability to automatically update on their own. Samsung smart TVs will automatically download and save that information for installation.

If you believe that this automatic update option it’s not working right for you, you should follow up by checking for it.

  1. With your TV remote, click on Menu.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Click on Support.
  4. Then select Software Update.
  5. Make sure Auto Update is kept in the On position.

Updates usually take several minutes depending on the type and internet connection speed you have in your home.

The update won’t fully complete and show up until after you’ve turned off your TV and turned it back on, avoid turning off your TV because this may interrupt that process.

Your TV has a hardware failure

This is probably the absolute worst scenario in many cases. It might get even worse if you had your TV for a long. Of time and are out of warranty because unfortunately if there is a hardware failure, you’re going to need to get it repaired.

It can be several things inside a TV that are causing the display not to show.

I recommend first checking to see whether it’s the power supply board or not that’s no longer functioning properly. This part of the TV supplies the required power for two different components of your TV, including the display screen itself.

There’s no easy way to check whether or not this part of the TV unit is working. It’s honestly more difficult than not since you have to dismantle the back of your TV and find the power supply board itself to test.

Another piece of hardware that can often fail and malfunction is the backlight or the LCD and led components of your Samsung TV.

Whenever these things fail, there’s no way to repair them. You’re going to need to replace these components. There’s no easy and affordable way to do this so I would highly recommend that you talk to a Samsung support specialist for options on what to do.

Your Samsung TV needs a soft reset

A soft reset is usually a method carried out for troubleshooting a device that’s not acting the way it should. Performing a soft reset involves closing down running applications and clearing out any data in your RAM storage.

You’ll lose any data that you’re currently working on, but you won’t lose any custom settings.

For your Samsung TV, performing a soft reset is quite easy.

Using your TV remote, press and hold the power button until the TV turns off and then back on. This process should only take about five seconds.

Another method to perform a soft reset on your TV is by unplugging your TV from the electrical outlet for 30 seconds. Once that time is up, plug it back in.

These two methods will completely reboot the TV rather than just placing it on standby mode.

Make sure the TV’s settings configurations are correct

Using your remote control, I would look at every single setting on your TV. Scroll through each one and read through what each one is about.

This may be a long and tedious process but if you can pinpoint exactly what it is that pops out and looks funny, you may be able to find out why your TV is not displaying any image.

Many features and software options on electronic devices can seem a little odd, but there are particular reasons why they exist and why the manufacturer makes them an option.

You may need to use power management devices

In many cases, there is a chance that your TV isn’t receiving enough power from the outlet. You might even have multiple devices connected to that same outlet and it’s all fighting to share the electricity coming out of it.

The voltage all around should be balanced and equally shared amongst all the devices for everything to work.

If your TV is receiving either too much or not enough full-time from the outlet, you might be experiencing a black screen.

Using a voltage management device such as Voltguard or UPS can help you manage how much voltage to balance the power between all your devices connected.

These machines intelligently regulate the power of two different devices depending on their power needs. If a device doesn’t need so much power, it won’t give it as much. If another device needs a whole lot of power, then it will focus on providing that one with enough power to operate correctly.

Factory reset your Samsung TV if you can see the menu screen

If by some chance the issue is with the software side of your TV hindering the ability to display the image on the screen, then you can try doing a factory reset.

This is going to remove any settings, any accounts, and any information that you uploaded into your Samsung Smart TV when you were setting it up.

It’s telling it to start fresh from the very beginning. I hope when you opened it and took it out of the box.

Most of the time, I would recommend you try this method after you’ve drained all your other options away.

But if this is the final straw and you don’t have any other thoughts in mind, you can try a factory reset for your Samsung TV.

Now there are two situations you might run into. The first one is that you can still see the menu screen, and for some reason, it’s just the picture in the background that won’t show up.

If you have access to the menu options (hopefully you do), then you should first try this method.

  1. Using your TV remote, click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select All Settings.
  3. Click on General and Privacy.
  4. Find and select Reset.
  5. You might be asked for a pin,  but if you haven’t manually changed it yourself, the default pin is 0000.
  6. Click confirm to reset.
  7. And you’re done.

Give it a few minutes to let it erase everything it once learned or that you gave it information on. It will then restart itself and start from scratch. You have to redo the whole initiation process all over again.

Factory reset your Samsung TV if you cannot see the menu screen.

In nearly 30% of all cases, your Samsung TV might not show anything on display at all.

No matter what you do, and no matter how much you try, you just can’t get anything to display on the screen. Not the show that’s going on, not the menu options, nothing.

So is there an actual reset button on a Samsung TV? Yes, the process involves a combination of buttons so let me show you how.

This method may require the help of a friend because someone’s going to be doing something to the TV itself and the other person needs to handle the power cable.

To perform a physical factory reset, follow these steps.

  1. Have your friend unplug the TV from the wall outlet.
  2. You’ll need to locate the power and both up and down volume buttons.
  3. Press and hold all three buttons at the same time.
  4. Have your friend replug the TV back into the wall outlet.
  5. Hopefully, by now, you’ll see a reset menu pop up on the screen.
  6. Follow the prompts to reset your TV.

There’s a hardware issue with the device you’re streaming from

In many cases, there could be an issue with the streaming device that you have connected to your Samsung TV.

This device sends your TV images and sounds that it lays out to you. If there’s something wrong with the streaming device, then it’s likely the reason why your screen is black yet your sound is still playing.

There is an easy way to figure out whether or not it’s the streaming device. All you have to do is remove the streaming device and try to see if you can watch any TV on local channels from local stations.

If you can see your local TV stations, then it’s likely that it’s not the display that is having the problem. It might be the streaming device that is unable to send the image to your TV.

Once discovered, you can perform a factory reset for your streaming device.

Devices such as a Chromecast or an Apple TV can simply be reset it from your smartphone app.

Just open up your app that corresponds to the streaming device, look for settings or any type of cogwheel icon, and scroll until you see anything mentioning updates or reset.

In many cases, you’re going to have to go to the physical streaming device and press and hold a button back of the device until it either gives you a signal or a blinking light.

You can successfully restart your streaming device. You can test it out by running it back into your TV and seeing if you have an image displaying on your TV.

If trying to do a factory reset on your streaming device doesn’t work, then you may have to look into replacing that unit altogether.

You need to disconnect the One Connect Box

  1. Check the One Connect cable for any damages.
  2. Follow the HDMI cable to disconnect the One Content box.
  3. Or you can also disconnect One Connect Box from the wall outlet.

Your LCD/LED panel needs to be replaced

This is the most expensive option you can do. Honestly, it would probably be better if you’d just go out and buy a new TV. 

Finding a new panel, which takes several weeks to arrive, will cost you nearly 3/4 of the value of the TV alone.

Sometimes, if you’ve bought that TV for a major bargain, then the chances of you having to pay more to repair and replace the panel far exceed the value you’ll get out of it.

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