How to Fix YouTube When You Have Sound But No Picture on Your Smart TV

You hear the audio on your YouTube videos, but your screen remains completely black. You can resolve this issue by following a few simple troubleshooting steps.

1. Fully exit the YouTube app to restart it, making sure you aren’t just backing out of the current video [1:19].
2. Power cycle your TV or streaming device by unplugging it from the wall for 60 seconds to reset the internal video processor [1:35].
3. Open the YouTube settings menu and lower the video quality to see if the image reappears [1:49].
4. Check for and install any available updates for both the YouTube app and your TV’s operating system [2:15].
5. Navigate to your TV’s display settings and disable features like HDR or Dolby Vision [2:22].
6. Delete the YouTube app from your device and then reinstall it from your app store.
7. Swap your HDMI cable or try using a different HDMI port on your television.

Ninja Tip: Check your TV’s ‘Picture Mode’ or ‘Energy Saving’ settings, as some TVs automatically dim or disable the backlight for certain streaming formats, which can look like a video decoding error.

If the problem persists, perform a factory reset by navigating to Settings > System > About > Reset.