Why has my TV screen turned black?

“Why has my TV screen turned black?” We’ve all been there. Sitting comfortably watching our favourite show or movie, or playing the latest game, only for the screen to suddenly go blank.

It’s a frustrating situation that can happen with even the best TVs, but it’s usually an issue that can be easily and quickly resolved.

Why has my TV screen turned black: Are you sitting on the remote?

Sometimes the answer is this easy. “If your TV screen has turned black the first thing to check is whether it’s actually on,” says resident TV expert Stephen Withers. “Never be embarrassed to consider the most obvious reason first, because believe me even the most experienced video professional has accidentally sat on the remote or left the TV unplugged.”

If someone has joined you on the sofa, or you’ve wriggled around to find a new, more comfortable position, there’s a chance the remote has been trapped and the power button accidentally pressed, plunging your TV’s screen into darkness.

Even if the remote isn’t directly under someone, it may have slipped between the cushions or dropped to the floor and been pressed by an errant foot.

Locate your remote and press the power button. If there’s no response from the TV, put a fresh set of batteries into the remote, as the current ones may have gone flat. If you use a remote that’s charged via USB-C, like the one supplied with the Philips OLED809, top it up before trying to power the TV on again.

Either your TV screen will turn back on, or you’ll need to move to do some further exploration into what’s causing the issue.

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Why has my TV screen turned black: Check your home’s power

If your TV screen has turned black and the remote has been left undisturbed on the coffee table the whole time, it’s time to check the power.

Does the rest of your home still have power? Do the lights switch on, does the fridge still work and is the oven clock still showing the almost right time? If nothing electrical is working, you may be experiencing a power cut.

First, start by checking the fuse box in your home. An electrical surge may have flipped some of the fuses off – or the entire circuit. Flipping the switches back to the on position should restore power to your TV and you can continue watching.

If the fuse box is unaffected, but there’s no power in your home it’s most likely a power cut. There’s not much that can be done here, other than sit tight and hope the energy company can quickly resolve the outage.

“While a power cut will probably be obvious, other common explanations are faulty wiring to a tripped fuse box,” Withers says.

Why has my TV screen turned black: Check your TV’s power

Sometimes the ‘unplug and plug it back in’ method works. For an unresponsive TV, simply unplugging it from the mains and waiting 30 seconds can kick things back to life. We have experienced this a few times over the years, and a quick disconnect and reconnect to the mains power has done the trick.

If the TV power is working, but the screen is still not showing the content you want, you can skip to the next section.

If your TV screen is still black, check if the TV itself is getting power. Is the red light which tends to be on when in standby mode, illuminated? If not, this could be a sign your TV is no longer receiving power.

First off, start by checking your TV’s power cable and run through the following checklist of questions:

• Is your TV’s power cable properly inserted into the socket?
• Is the power socket switched on?
• Is your TV’s power cable properly inserted into the port on the back of the TV?

If your TV still doesn’t have power, check if the outlet it’s connected to is delivering power by plugging in a device which will give you an instant indication – such as a lamp or a phone charger. If possible, plug the TV power cable into a different outlet to see if it delivers power.

On occasions where you’ve followed the above steps and it still seems no power is being delivered to the TV, the fuse in the power cable’s plug head may have blown, in which case it will need to be replaced. This is an easy and quick process and could have your TV back up and running swiftly (although you may need to go out and purchase a fuse if you don’t have any spares at home).

If your TV isn’t powering on, please jump to the “Still not working?” section below.

Why has my TV screen turned black: Check your connections

For those times when your TV has power, but your desired channel or service isn’t showing on screen, it’s time to check the connections to your television.

“Modern TVs have smart systems, menus and streaming apps, all of which you should be able to see,” Withers explains. “If you can bring up the home page but not a specific input then make sure that particular source is also on and check for any loose HDMI cables.”

• Check HDMI cables are properly inserted into the back of the TV
• Check HDMI cables are fully inserted into external devices e.g. set-top box
• Check your third-party device is powered on
• Check your TV is connected to Wi-Fi (if trying to use smart features or streaming services)
• Check your TV is set to the correct input – i.e. have you told the TV you want to use the set-top box plugged into the first HDMI port, or is it still set to the second HDMI port which is connected to a games console? Look for the button on your remote labelled ‘Input’ or with the icon of an arrow pointing into a rectangle, to cycle through your input options

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Why has my TV screen turned black: Still not working?

If your TV’s screen is still black after following all of the above steps, it’s time to contact the manufacturer, the retailer you bought it from or a repair company.

If your TV is still under warranty, and no accidental damage has been incurred, you may be eligible for a free repair – although it’s worth checking the warranty terms and conditions.

For TVs outside of their warranty period, you can either contact the manufacturer about organising a fix or contact a TV repair company. Unfortunately, any work will be a cost you will incur.