Problems With Flatscreen TVs? 12 Common Issues (Solved)

Own a flatscreen TV? Chances are, you’ve encountered some issues that can be annoying, and you want to find a permanent fix to it.

If that’s the case for you, here are 12 of the most common problems on flatscreen TVs.

Table of Contents

LED TV screen goes blank.

There may be times when you turn on the TV but the screen remains black.

Assuming you don’t have any signal issues with the devices hooked up to your TV, you are most likely experiencing a power supply failure inside the TV.

Power supply issues usually happen when power surges hit your TV and damage components such as capacitors.
This damage will be evident when you notice a capacitor bulging and or leaking.
The fix here is fairly simple, and you only need to replace the damaged components. A technician can easily do this.

If you don’t have any skills in repairing electronic devices, you are better off leaving the repairs to a professional.

LED TV only displays a blue, green, or black screen.

You might encounter cases when your TV only flashes a blue, green, or black screen.

This problem is often attributed to the TV being unable to get a signal on the screen.

Make sure your TV is set to the right input source.
If you are on the right source, you may want to check for any loose connections. Chances are there’s a faulty cable that is causing the problem.
If you are watching live TV, the issue is with your cable or satellite subscription. It would be good to coordinate with your provider to help in troubleshooting.
For free broadcast TV, you’re getting a weak signal, which means you need to tweak your antenna.

Image is breaking up or pixelating.

You may encounter pixelation now and then when you watch content on your TV.

This issue is rooted in a weak signal.

If you are watching satellite or cable, this issue happens because of problems between the broadcast venue and the TV station. Unfortunately, there’s nothing much you can do. You may try lowering the sharpness, but the problem is still with the broadcast.

On the other hand, if this issue happens with video streaming services, such as Netflix and YouTube, it is most likely because your TV is not getting the best Internet speed.

This issue is common when multiple devices are connected to a single local network and Internet source.
You should check for unnecessary devices that are connected to the Internet but are not in use. Disconnecting these devices reduces congestion and should allow your TV to stream decently.
However, sometimes, your network provider might be the one having connection issues, causing the lowered streaming quality. This could happen when your provider undergoes emergency repair or maintenance.

The screen of the TV is grainy.

The issue of grainy screen quality usually happens when a TV is brand new.

Fixing this issue is straightforward: All you need to do is reduce the sharpness on the screen and set it to zero. Then set it back to a level that looks good on the screen.

TV does not display high-resolution content properly.

If your TV is not displaying high-resolution content properly, there are two issues to look for.

If the TV is new and the screen looks bright and colorful yet contains blurry details, there’s a good chance that the TV is set to vivid mode.

Vivid mode is used by retail outlets to attract people from afar to check out their wares. That’s why there are pixelated or blurry details, as the TV was designed to entice people as they pass by.
The fix here is quite simple. All you need to do is go to the picture settings and set it to Movie/Cinema or Game if you will use the TV for gaming.

The second issue has to do with the video source.

If you are attempting to view something in 4k resolution, your video source must be at least HDMI 2.0 to handle the resolution size.

The image on the TV is out of proportion.

When you plug a device or watch a video on your TV from external media, there are times when the video is out of proportion.

This issue is rooted in the resolution settings.

There may be something wrong with the aspect ratio or other related features, and you need to make some adjustments to get the image correct.
Usually, you can set the screen to Direct or Just-Fit, wherein your TV will display content based on the resolution of the video.
For older devices, such as older video game consoles or DVD players, you should set the video to 4:3 resolution. If you don’t set it, the TV will default and stretch the screen to the modern 16:9 resolution.
For those using the TV as a computer screen, you need to disable Overscan to prevent any unusual resolutions on the screen.

Horizontal lines appear on the screen during start-up.

Sometimes a horizontal line may appear during the boot-up of your TV.

This issue happens because of a weak cable box signal.

Newer TVs need a more powerful input signal. The only way to solve this is to ask your cable or satellite provider for an updated box that matches your TV.

No Sound Output on the TV.

Turned on the TV, but no sound available?

Here are a few troubleshooting tips.

Unplug your TV from the power outlet, then press and hold the power button on the TV for ten seconds.
Wait for a minute, then plug in the TV once again and press the power button once.
Check other sound outputs for any issues.
Try plugging the TV into other speakers to check where the issue is. If there is sound, there’s a problem with the TV’s speakers.
But if there’s no sound with the external speakers, then the issue likely originates in the audio IC chip of the TV. You’ll need a technician to replace this component for you.

Check Also: Data on user demographics and stats for broadcast tv users.

TV does not connect to the Wi-Fi network.

Not connecting to Wi-Fi is one of the most common issues with TVs today.

Regardless of the brand, there’s a chance that a Wi-Fi issue may arise, but should not be seen as a defect: It’s just the way of the Internet!

To troubleshoot:

If the TV connects to the Wi-Fi but cannot access the web, there’s a chance that there may be issues with the router or network.
Check the proximity of the TV and Wi-Fi router. It should be close to the TV, or you should use a Wi-Fi extender.
You can check with your provider for any issues.
If there are no issues on the side of your provider, you may need to check if your router has firmware updated. If there are pending updates, and install them.
If it does not solve it, then you may have to do a factory reset for the router.

Video and Sound are not in sync.

There are cases when video and audio do not play in sync, which can be annoying, but luckily the fix here is quite simple.

Open the audio setting on the TV.
Adjust the audio delay until it synchronizes with the video.
After finishing the affected video, you may want to check with other videos to see if they are affected by the adjustments so that you can get the best settings.

Echo during playback

You may encounter echoes when using external speakers.

This issue is not a software issue but rather hardware-related. You will encounter this issue when both the TV and external speakers are playing together, which causes an echo effect.
In this case, you ought to disable the speakers of your TV so that everything is played on the external speakers.
To do this, you will need to set your sound settings to play with your external speakers.
If there’s independent control, set it to mute so that everything is played on your external speakers.

Lines or cracks appear on the screen.

This problem is quite serious, as the repair may cost a lot if you don’t have an extended warranty.

The first thing to do is check if the lines or cracks appear when you refresh the screen. (A good way to refresh is to simply open the TV menu.)
Should the lines disappear with the menu is up and only appear when a certain screen is flashed, you just have to restart your TV by unplugging the TV and restarting the TV. That should be good enough to fix the issue.
But, if the lines or cracks still appear after doing a refresh of the screen, such as on the menu, the panel of the TV needs to be replaced.
An extended warranty will help you, as this will entail a replacement of the actual TV with a newer unit.
Should the screen be cracked, unfortunately, it won’t be covered by the warranty, and there is no fix to this.

Image Retention on the screen

There are two kinds of image retention that may happen on TVs: temporary or permanent.

Temporary Image Retention happens when a static image stays too long on a screen and leaves an imprint. This problem is only temporary and can be fixed by cycling different images on the screen, which will eventually remove the imprinted image.

On the other hand, Permanent Image Retention, also known as burn-in, happens commonly with OLED TVs.

Just like the previous situation, it happens when a static image stays for too long on the screen.
But unfortunately, the effect is permanent.
As long as you continuously change images on screen, then permanent image retention won’t be a problem.

General Pros and Cons of Flatscreen TVs

Advantages of Flatscreen TVs

Flatscreen TVs have higher contrast and better color saturation and different resolutions.
Images are more realistic and are much more vivid.
Flatscreen TVs have better light handling, unlike older non-flatscreen TVs. No matter what lighting condition you choose, flatscreen TVs still perform consistently or just better than their non-flatscreen counterpart.
They also take up less space, as flatscreen TVs are slim and have the option for a base stand or wall mount.
Flatscreen TVs also have better viewing angles. You can watch at almost any angle and the image will still be better than non-flatscreen TVs.