Technology has no doubt come a long way over the years and continues to advance rapidly. Of course, it is far from perfect and there are a number of things that can go wrong with any given household appliance or gadget. There are some very impressive televisions on the market these days. Vizio, for example, offers an array of LCD, LED, and plasma models in all sizes. Any of these common Vizio TV problems may arise at any time throughout the life of the set.
Watch Related Repair Videos:
- Faulty Power Supply on a Vizio SV420XVT1a LCD Flat Screen
- $1 Fix for a Vizio E601i-A3 E-Series 60” Razor LED Smart TV
- Vizio E550i-B2 or M550i-B2 Issue: Has sound but no pictures
- How to Fix the Notorious Vizio Black Screen of Death
- Vizio Main Board Symptoms
Perhaps the most common complaint regarding Vizio TVs is the appearance of a blank black screen even when the set is switched on and the indicator light is glowing. The screen may still light up in some instances, but in either case the screen remains blank. This issue is usually corrected by replacing the power board, but there are several other things that could be the culprit, like the backlight converter, the T-con board, or even just a faulty screen itself. If a repair shop does not have all of the LCD TV parts that could possibly be causing the problem readily available, they may need to order them all in order to single out the guilty part, which can get rather pricey.
Faulty remotes are another common issue. This is one of the much easier and inexpensive Vizio TV problems to fix. Usually this is due to a bad IR sensor or a loose wire and the parts can generally be found online for less than 20 bucks. If the cause is unknown, just replacing the remote altogether is also fairly easy and of course less expensive than dealing with a problem with the TV itself.
Commonly reported Vizio TV problems also include sound-related issues. This may be a matter of faulty speakers or disconnected wires, which are both easily remedied. If it is an issue with the main unit, then it will be a little more difficult and expensive to fix.
There are many shops offering LCD TV repair services. Purchasing an extended warranty is usually advised to cover the cost of potential expensive repairs and replacements but you will need to rely on your judgment on whether the price of the extended warranty will truly be worth it (most of them are quite pricey).
Sources:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/home_electronics/vizio.html
http://www.amazon.com/forum/vizio/Tx1D1GJG19EOP3Q
Matthew says
My 55 inch Vizio was purchased about 8 years ago and has been great. I have Direct tv, and use there remote. Here recently my problem is when I turn my Vizio on, I have sound but no picture. Then about 30 to 45 minutes later I turn it off and on again and have a picture with no sound. Once I have a picture with no sound, I have to leave it that way for 15 minutes, turn it off again, then back on and it’s fine. I have to repeat this process everyday. Any suggestions?
Otis says
Hello all had my Vizio 60″ model E600i-B3 for nine months,the first time I got it it was working fine,till it keep turning off by it self,and had to keep turning it on with the remote, one it cut off again.And when I try to turn it on,it came on but turn off again, and when I try to turn it on never came again. Can any one help me Thanks
Raquel says
We bought a Vizio in Nov 2013 less than two years old, the screen went black. Repair will cost about $380.00. Paid about $600.0. Lesson: Stay clear of Vizio brand TV.
Joe M says
Based on other comments/research regarding your problem, and the meat of the above article, you are not alone ! It seems like the “black-out” condition isn’t an uncommon one. My repair, although still under warranty, didn’t even solve the problem completely. Hopefully, the warranty replacement one won’t have the same problem.
LinOzz says
Our issue we are having with BOTH our Vizio TVs (flatscreen HD 33Inch) is that the wires get cross, when pressing input it instead turns the volume up. When pressing the power button it instead changes the input or just has to be pressed really hard to turn off the TV. This happens frequently with BOTH our TVs.
Cassie says
My Vizio 48 inch flat screen smart tv has always got really dim and then gets brighter. From the first day that I got my TV it’s always done this. I’ve only have had my T.V for 1 years exactly today. Is this normal for this tv?
bob says
my vizio had an ambient light sensor that made it do this. i could change the settings for it, but it reset when unplugged, so i just put duct tape over the sensor.
LBE says
My 55″ almost 2 years old started showing vertical bright lines across the screen. has anyone had that issue before?
Gene says
My 2010 HDTV led was working fine until the hdmi1 would no longer get a signal. I switched to hdmi2. It receives a sigbal for a minute then it says the TV does not support the contene.
Susan says
My Vizio tv was working fine until I exited out of Netflix this morning. Then the remote would not turn up the volume so I tried to turn it up manually but found that the buttons on the side of the tv didn’t work either. The set will not even turn off.
Royce Kelly says
I can,t remove the “closed caption” from my TV screen. When I go to menu and try to click on CC it will not go there.
Sandra says
That happened to me too. Did you turn on the cc using the tv menu?? Or did u do it through the cable/Directv/dish etc. ??
Perhaps you turned it on with the cable and are trying to turn it off Thru the tv. I hope this helps you.
Tommy yang says
I have a huge problem!!!it just happen last night,my TV have a black line in the middle and the top look fine,the bottom same as well…
Jeff Strickland says
My 42″ Visio started today to black out for a couple of seconds then return to normal. Sound is on steady. I was looking at menu settings, and they went black also. I have not tried moving my settop box to a different input, but since the menu screens also go black, the settop box itself is not the problem. While the screen is black, it seems to be lit.
L. Escovedo says
I bought a 47″ two years ago,never had any problems with it until lately, now this doesn’t happen all the time but anytime I get any interference on the screen well just a little frustrating, I get these little spots on the bottom of the screen started with one now I get two or three,there square kind of with a red dot in the middle,can you tell me what’s happening here, I do have an extended warranty but only good for three years,can you please tell me if this going to get worst.
Roberta says
I bought a 50″ smart vizio tv exactly 6 months ago. This past few days it’s been showing a black screen. Many of the other complaints are pretty similar to mine. Looks like I got robbed. I’ll never buy vizio again. Now off to contact customer service to see how far I get with them.
Kenneth says
I have a 48″ vizio that shows green pixels or squares in the dark areas of the tv screen(shadows, dark hair, clothes, etc.). Does anyone have the same experience and maybe knows what to do about it? Talked to vizio and they suggested the unplug and hold down power button method but that didn’t work.
dawn howard says
Have a 55″ for 3 yrs it now shuts itself off and then back on again but only while watching cable doesnt do it while watching dvd. Does anyone else have similar problems
David says
Vizio 32 inch Smart TV purchased from Costco 2 months ago just started to turn on by itself. The remote will not power it off and the power button on the back also does not work. We have to unplug it from the wall and wait and then plug it back into the outlet to get it work again. Think this is going back to Costco for a refund/exchange. Should have bought a Samsung…grr
marshall says
The picture on my 70″ Vizio flat scree went out.it will power up but the screen is blue.then shorty later the audio went out..the fuse is good on the power board but it looks like small burned spots around some copacitors..suggestions would be greatly appreciated. .thanks
marshall says
I purchased a 70″ vizio flat screen in Sept 2013..the audio and video went out within 8 months..any suggestions why?
marshall says
I purchased a 70″ Vizio flatscreen in September 2013.It will power up but all I get is a blue sc
Jay says
Our 42 inch visio LeD is having problems,it started with lines barely visible throughout whole screen and needing to “warm up” before it worked correctly, then it started going dark then coming back on over and over again, all info on screen looked blurred and smudged?? Now it seems dead, I’m a fixer so I was curious if there is any thing to be done that’s reasonable in price .Or if I should just use it for target practice, I really want to shoot it with 12 gauge;) lol Any idea’s
Ed Morrison says
My 42″ vizio flatscreen tv’s screen ‘flickers’ when I turn it on…..other than that it works fine. What’s the likely problem & can I fix it myself ?
candise says
Did you find out what was wrong mine does this too
Dawn says
Our 55″ Vizio has a lot of snow. It is visible on every channel, some worse than others. We have another flat screen (from a different manufacturer) that has a crystal clear picture. Has anyone experienced this problem? I’d appreciate any suggestions on correcting the problem.
Michael says
Bought a 50″ 4k Vizio on Thanksgiving Thursday of 2014 and by July 10th it was dead. About 8 months from out of the box to dead as a door knob. Called up support and was told no problem it will be fixed within 6 days and someone would call within 3. Waited 3 days, no call. Called them back and was told they didn’t have the parts and had no idea when they would get them. My guess? Right after the warranty expires. So now I get to sit around with no TV because I was ignorant enough to buy a Vizio.
Gene says
Did you get your TV repaired I am having the same problem with mine I was just wondering what you’re end results turned out to be I bought mine in April 2015 and now it is dead.
Leo says
Same sort of thing happened to me..TV lasted 11 months before it died and Vizio said they’d take care of it, no problems. 4 weeks later they sent a repair guy with the proper parts and he couldn’t fix it. No problem they say, we’ll send a new TV and have a guy deliver and install it for you…great. Total of 6 weeks after reporting the problem I have a brand new Vizio TV hanging on my wall…and it doesn’t work. Thanks Vizio, a job well done!
Donnie Robertson says
“So now I get to sit around with no TV because I was ignorant enough to buy a Vizio.”
A dumb statement – period. VIZIO’S are rated quite good; any set can fail. If he had a Samsung and it crapped out he’d be sayin’, “So now I get to sit around with no TV because I was ignorant enough to buy a Samsung”.
Warranty expiration or not – it’s been reported so they’ll fix it. Parts come in WEEKLY so stay on their butts.
Carlos says
i got a 40 inch vizio smart I have the problem that when I press channel up it goes continuously up is the same for the volume and menu options. I turn off the tv and didn’t work I change batteries on remote and nothing. I also reset the TV that took me 10 minutes because it moves by itself when wanting to choose an option. I thing that is the TV cause I try also using a smartphone as a remote and is the same.
Alex Shockley says
If the problem doesn’t occur when you use the buttons on the TV try replacing the IR board within the TV. Its the tiny board with the IR receiver for the remote control on it. Locate the little black/purplish looking little window on the front of the TV, that is the IR receiver. There will be a small board attachted to it on the inside of the TV.
Simone says
I have had my 50″ Vizio for 9 months and for the 3rd time it has scared me almost to death because it keeps powering on by itself. I called the warranty company and they told me to call Vizio because it is still under manufacturers warranty. Doing that now.
Terrell Richards says
I have a 50″, it’s only 6 months old. It wouldn’t turn on over a month a go, I called Visio and they actually asked me to take pictures and send them in. Ever time I called back, I got a different person from a different state and they all laughed that I had to take pictures of a blank screen. They finally set me up with a service call and it’s been a month. When I call HD to find out the status of my call, I get a very disrespectful girl who only tells me they haven’t received my parts yet. I asked how would you know what parts you need and she says from my description of my issue. I told her that it’s not cycling anymore and that it doesn’t do anything now. I called Visio again and asked for a new TV, he told me he had to send an email to see if they would approve it.
This is by far the worst customer service I’ve ever received. I’ll never buy Visio again and highly recommend that everyone else do the same.
Devin says
I’ve had 2 vizio tvs and both of them had black spots pop up in several different places.I called the company and they wanted to sale me a TV for $500. I told them I wouldn’t buy it for 50 cents. I don’t recommend anyone to buy a VIZIO TV there no good!!!
Tom says
Had a 50″ LED. WI-fi connection never worked properly and the reason I bought
the TV was for the Smart TV feature. Was sent a “new” TV after 6 months of fooling
around and the problem was totally corrected, i.e. functioned the way it should have from day 1. 6 months later TV now won’t turn on (black screen) but audio is
Ok- I can hear the program but not see it! Then the next day it might work fine. I
was told I need a new backlight converter. Really? set is only 6 months old and is
on maybe 15-20 hours per week. And since my warranty started with the original
purchase and carried over to the 2nd one, the 6 month old TV is out of warranty!
Should have kept my 12 year old Samsung plasma- never gave me any trouble, but
wasn’t a smart TV.
tae says
What was wrong with your TV? mine is out of warranty and it powers on itself. when I hit any of the buttons on the remote or TV….it turns off and powers back on again
Michele Henson says
My 55″ vizio is just barely 5 yrs old and yet the tv repair man is on his 3rd trip today to my home.
It’s cost me almost $500 to replace the ‘mother board’ & I’d STRONGLY recommend buying something else!
Anthony says
I am experiencing this blank-screen issue with my Vizio 39″. A few years old. Seems more likely to happen when I turn TV on manually. Usually, switching it off & back on fixes the problem, but lately I’ve had to do this more than once. Your article was informative but you neglected to mention the expected cost of the various repair options. I know you can’t give exact amounts, but “ballpark” figures would be helpful in deciding if repair is a viable option at all. I’ve come to expect that in most case it’s usually cheaper to throw the appliance out. Nothing worse than spending 50% of the value of a used TV only to have something else go on it a couple years later.
Arlene says
My 39″ HD TV is less than a year old and all of a sudden a thin green line is roving all over the screen from top to bottom in a real fast motion! Makes it hard to watch! What could be wrong?!
Roy says
My Cisco 37 on lcd TV I bought back on 2006 and no problems at all now I turned on and picture went to a total blue screen. Then when I turn it on from remote or on the tv it ties off within 5seconds
Georgia says
My Visio LCD 8 years old was great till it just went black screen. What went wrong??
Pete says
My problem is same as Georgia says. Turns on fine but afte 2 minutes goes black.
Help. What is the cause?
Donnie Robertson says
“My Visio LCD 8 years old was great till it just went black screen. What went wrong??”
“What went wrong?” This might be a good place to discuss matters, but it sure as heck is not a MAGICAL place where “What went wrong” will result in a diagnosis.
A good laugh at best! 🙂
Bill C says
Day one, out of the box, turned our Vizio piece of crap on and 30 seconds later turned it self off. Turned it back on and after 2 minutes turned off again. No rhyme or reason or set amount of time, it gets tired and says see ya. After reading all the complaint comments here, I have to determine that Vizio sells an inferior product, with all kinds of manufacturer failures. Don’t buy this tv.
Jim Meidinger says
All app icons flash repeatedly on their own at the bottom of the screen whenever the set is on. ??
Jim Carroll says
Mine started doing the same thing this week! Also, the “boot-up infobar” would come on and off, too. Then they both just stayed on. Unplugged the TV and turned it back on. Took the batteries out of the remote. Neither worked. Please share any fixes with me.
Jim Carroll says
my Vizio seems to have corrected itself. Has me wondering if it got interrupted or “stuck” in an automatic update. I hope yours does the same.
Michelle says
My TV is trying to update. My remote isn’t working. I try to go to menu screen with the actual remote for TV and the TV keeps going back to whatever I might be watching. Also I keep getting the netflix,twitter,Facebook ticker on the bottom of the screen. Please help I’m afraid my TV is dying.
Jeff Wagner says
My vizio is 3 mths old and its a 42 inch and at the bottom of the screen is keeps popping up searching for data and loading wth is wrong with it?
Brenda GOdlove says
my 42 inch visio is 7 years old and a year ago it started looking like a strobe light and it turns itself off. its still doing it any ideas how to stop it