Vizio TVs are usually praised for being reliable. But sometimes, they might face mechanical or technical hiccups that stop them from fully turning on.
Fortunately, in most situations, this is not due to a broken component, and the problem can be easily fixed by walking through some easy troubleshooting steps.
Reasons Why Your Vizio TV Is Unable to Turn On
Here are some of the most common reasons why your Vizio TV is experiencing difficulties in turning on, according to Vizio users.
Issues with the remote control: First, check the remote and see if it is the root cause of why the TV isn’t turning on. Most users overlook the remote control as part of the problem and focus on the TV instead.
Power supply issues: Without regular maintenance, the internal components of your Vizio TV will probably collect dust and dirt. The dust collecting inside the circuits can cause damage to the components over time. Occasionally, insects and rodents can also nest inside and wreak havoc.
Power issues on the electrical wiring: There can also be issues with the electrical wiring in your home that could have affected the power supply that is connected to your Vizio TV. Defects in the power outlets, exposed cables, loose connections, and faulty switchgear can all lead to issues that will affect the performance of the TV.
Wrong input selection: Sometimes, selecting the wrong display mode can cause a black screen. So, a black screen doesn’t necessarily mean the TV is not on.
Software glitch: Finally, if all hardware-related issues are not present, the only remaining problem could be a bug in the firmware of the Vizio TV itself.
Quick Fixes
Before you rush into performing a factory reset or dismantling the TV, there are several quick and easy fixes that you can try. These are guaranteed to resolve the problem half the time and a hard reset should always be your last resort.
Soft reset: You can conveniently perform a soft reset by disconnecting the TV from the wall socket and letting it sit for 60 seconds.
Resetting the remote control: Another thing you can try is to perform a soft reset on the remote control. Take out the batteries and after doing so, keep pressing the power button for around 15 seconds. After that, pop the batteries back in and power up the TV.
Use a different wall socket: The electrical wiring of your house can also be the culprit, and therefore, we recommend that you try switching out the wall sockets that power up your Vizio TV. Unplug the power cord from the usual wall socket and plug it back into a different socket. Avoid plugging it back into surge protectors. Now, directly connect it to a socket on your wall and try switching the TV back on.
Check the warranty: Finally, before rushing in to dismantle the TV or perform a last-ditch hard reset, we recommend you check if your Vizio TV’s warranty is still active. If so, you can get your TV repaired or even replaced free of charge. It’s worth a shot, and Vizio provides in-home services. They will respond quickly and be able to figure out what’s wrong as soon as they take a look inside your TV.
Replace the power supply: Unfortunately, if your warranty has expired, and all the resets you performed did not yield any good results, you will have to replace the power supply of the TV. However, before you dismantle the TV, confirm that the power supply is defective by checking if the indicator/standby LEDs light up.
How to Perform a Reset on Your TV
If the hardware-related power issues do not seem to fix the problem of your Vizio TV not turning on, then the last option is to perform a hard reset on your TV.
We do not recommend you do this frequently since it deletes all customized settings and saved user data. You will also always have to go through the trouble of setting up your accounts and settings after a successful reset. Therefore, if the issue keeps persisting, we recommend that you seek out professional help instead of resetting the device all the time.
The first few steps will show you how to perform a full reset if your TV manages to turn on, at least for a little while. If your TV doesn’t switch on at all, begin with step 7.
- First, switch on the TV.
- After that, tap on the Menu button.
- Then, go to System.
- After that, select the setting called Reset & Admin.
- Then, select the command to Reset TV to Factory Settings.
- You will be asked for a code. If you haven’t set up this code before, the default value is 0000.
- For performing a factory reset without the remote, follow the instructions given from this point on.
- First, look for the TV’s power button. The button might be on the right side, left side, or even on the bottom of the back of the TV.
- Switch the TV on and while it is powered on, hold the volume down button and the Source button at the same time.
- After running this for a few seconds, the TV will present a notification (at the top of the screen) asking you to hold the Input button. If you cannot see the display, just time your presses for around 3 to 5 seconds. Release these buttons and start to hold the Input button for around 10 seconds or so.
- After that, another notification will pop up displaying: Memory is cleared, the display will reset shortly. If you cannot see anything from the display, just let go of the input button after 10 seconds.
- Finally, give it a minute until the TV completes the reboot and restarts itself.
How to Check the Power Levels of the TV
As mentioned previously, the main reason why your Vizio TV won’t turn on is due to a hardware-related power issue. These power issues can range from a defective power supply unit in the TV itself to an issue in the power cord.
In this following guide, we will show a step-by-step troubleshooting guide on diagnosing power issues and how to resolve them properly.
There are four separate sections in this guide:
* Diagnosing the TV’s power supply
* Diagnosing the TV’s remote control
* Checking the power cord for damage
* Running a power cycle on the TV
With that being said, let’s move on to the guide.
- First, try to switch on the TV and keep the appliance plugged in and switched on.
- After that, look for the LED indicator light. If it lights up in red, the TV is on standby mode. If it lights up in blue, the TV is working and is supposed to be switched on. Finally, if the LED indicator doesn’t light up at all, the power supply unit of the TV is defective and needs replacing.
- If that seems to not be the issue, we shall skip over to the remote. First, make sure that the batteries on the remote are not dead and try replacing the batteries with a new set. If that won’t resolve the issue, take out the batteries.
- After that, press and keep holding the power button on the TV remote for 15 seconds to let the capacitors fully discharge.
- Then, reinstall the batteries and try to power on the TV using the remote.
- If that doesn’t fix the problem, disconnect the TV from the wall socket and look for any damage/deformations on the power cord.
- Also, try plugging the TV into a different wall socket, avoid surge protectors, and plug the TV directly into a wall socket.
- If that doesn’t work, the final step is to run power cycling on the TV. Start by unplugging the cord.
- After that, keep pressing the power button for 10 seconds to drain the reserve energy.
- Finally, switch on the TV and check if the TV switches on correctly.
Updating the TV
After you’ve managed to turn on the Vizio TV by following the troubleshooting steps or reset guides laid out in the previous sections, you might also run into software-related issues such as:
* TV frozen and not responding to the remote
* TV switching on/off automatically
* TV lagging or having stutters/delays when operating
If you are facing any of the issues mentioned above or any other software-related problem, the following guide will help you troubleshoot these and fix them.
- First, let’s make sure the firmware on your TV is updated. Start by switching on the TV and launching TV Settings.
- After that, open System and select the option called Check for updates.
- A window will pop up and it will show a setting to confirm the update. After you’ve confirmed it, let the device run its updates and don’t switch off the TV while it is updating.
- The second section deals with disabling the sleep timer. This could be one of the reasons why your TV switches off without a warning. Go back to TV Settings.
- Open Timers and disable the sleep timer.
- After that, set the Auto Power Off setting to Never.
- The third section is disabling the CEC (Consumer Electronics Control). This particular setting allows other devices that are connected to the TV HDMI ports – devices such as gaming consoles and cable boxes – to be able to control the TV using their remotes.
- To disable this setting, launch TV Settings and select System.
- After that, select the option CEC and disable this setting.
- Do the same for the device on the other end.
- The easiest fix for disabling the TV from switching on automatically is to change the power mode setting on the TV. First, launch TV Settings.
- After that, go to Power Mode and select ECO Mode to disable the TV from switching on automatically.
- After that, confirm the changes by pressing on Switch.
Other Fixes and Solutions
If none of these options are successful, don’t worry. There are still some methods you can try to resurrect your device. Here are some of our recommendations.
CEC’s Turning on/off all devices setting: This setting is for users with other HDMI devices such as gaming consoles. It is similar to the CEC setting shown in the previous guide. To change these settings:
- Go to TV Settings.
- Select the settings for the gaming console or XBOX. It is located on the left side of the general tab.
- After that, select General TV & A/V Power Option.
- Enable the setting called Console > Turn on other devices.
- Also, enable Console > Turn off other devices.
Setting the IR delay to Slow: This is also another setting that will help resolve issues when the power module of the TV gets interfered with by other devices, specifically remotes that are not meant for the TV.
- First, go to the General TV & A/V Power Options menu on your TV.
- After that, open the TV & OneGuide settings.
- Head on over to the tab called Troubleshooting.
- Set the IR delay to Slow.
- Finally, restart the gaming console/device.
Vizio SmartCast app: If the TV keeps switching on automatically, even after you’ve enabled the TV to run on ECO Mode. There are several extra steps you can take to prevent this from happening:
- Check if there is another remote that is interfering with the TV. Sometimes, there might be a remote control dedicated to another device that might be causing this issue either intentionally or unintentionally.
- If third-party remotes are not the issue, the Vizio TV might be getting screencast automatically. You can resolve this by downloading the Vizio SmartCast app.
The Vizio SmartCast app allows you to use your smartphone as a remote and helps you block unwanted interference caused by other remotes. Also, don’t forget to keep the TV running on ECO Mode.
Common Questions Relating to Vizio TV Unable to Turn On
What are the main reasons why a Vizio TV will not turn on?
The primary reason that many users have faced is mainly due to power issues. Secondary to these, it could also be caused by software-related issues such as outdated or corrupted firmware.
How do I diagnose a bad power board?
The simplest method is to check the LED status indicator on the Vizio TV.
If the LED lights are blue: the TV is supposed to be on and working. However, if the light is powered down, the TV is not receiving any power.
Therefore, if you have confirmed that the wall socket and the power cord have no defects and the light on the status indicator is still powered down, this may indicate a faulty power board/power supply unit on the Vizio TV.
Why does my Vizio TV turn on automatically?
There can be several reasons why a Vizio TV would turn on without any user input. The most common ones are a third-party remote control interfering with the signal or another user casting onto the TV. A simple fix to this would be to configure the TV to run in ECO mode and avoid such problems.
The Verdict
A Vizio TV that doesn’t turn on when you want it to can be frustrating. If you don’t know how to troubleshoot the problem as soon as possible, it can affect plans made with friends and family to enjoy a movie night!
There are numerous reasons why a Vizio TV won’t turn on. However, most of them are power-related hardware issues that can be quickly resolved with a quick change of batteries, by reconnecting to a different wall socket, or even by performing a minute-long hard reset.
In the end, knowing how to reset your Vizio TV that won’t turn on is a simple skill that requires no extra tools and only takes a couple of minutes out of your day.