Fix Your LG TV That Turns on but the Screen is Black

What do with an LG TV black screenWhat do with an LG TV black screen

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It can be annoying to finally sit down to relax and watch some TV but instead you’re met with only a black screen. We’ve all unfortunately been there before, lets run through the all the ways to fix this.

  1. Unplug the TV for 60 Seconds & Plug it Back in
  2. Check If Power Cables are plugged in
  3. Update Your TV Firmware
  4. Power Cycle Your TV
  5. Move the HDMI Cables Connected to Your LG TV
  6. Check Your LG TV’s Connection Placements
  7. Reset Your TV to Factory Settings

Some of these options require us to access the menu. We put together another video at the bottom of this article explaining how to do this with a black screen.

As you can see, there are plenty of solutions to try, but don’t worry! We will start with the most common solutions and even included a YouTube video we made!

Fix the Black Screen on LG TV by Unplugging it

We know it sounds silly, but the most common solution is unplugging your TV for 60 seconds and plugging it back in. This will solve a majority of the black screen problems people are facing.

You’ll want to make sure your TV is turned off first and wait the full 60 seconds.

Unplugging a Plug in an Outlet

Here are the steps to fix a black screen on your LG TV:

  1. Turn off your TV
  2. Unplug your TV for 60 seconds
  3. Plug your TV plug back into the outlet

Hopefully that fixed your issue, and if not, no worries – we’ve got plenty more fixes!

Check If the Power Cables Are Plugged Into Your LG TV

Checking for any loose power cables could be the easy solution to a black screen on your LG TV.

Back of TV Plug

Check all your cables between your TV and other sources, such as cable boxes, VCR, or connected devices such as an Amazon Fire Stick.

Power Cycle Your LG TV

Power Cycling your LG TV is a lengthier solution but at this point, you probably don’t have much to lose. Power cycling will help because it full fully shut down all power related to your TV inside and out.

Here’s how you power cycle your TV:

  • Unplug the TV from the outlet
  • Wait at least 10-15 minutes before turning it back on. 
  • To turn the TV back on, hold the power button at the bottom of the TV for at least 10-15 seconds. 

Move the HDMI Cables Connected to Your LG TV

back of tv hdmi cable

When all your power cords have been checked, moving any connected HDMI cables to another HDMI slot can be attempted to troubleshoot the input and ensure it is working properly. 

Flip through the different sources on your remote to see if this is an issue everywhere. That particular HDMI slot might have decided it didn’t want to work anymore.

Check Your LG TV’s Connection Placements

When the TV has a connected component, checking to verify that the correct cables are connected in the proper sequence is essential. 

Ensuring that the red, blue, and green cables are connected in the correct order on both devices is essential. If you have made any changes, resetting the connection can be done by unplugging for a minimum of 30 seconds and plugging back in. 

Turn on Voice Guidance

Our screen is black, but we still have audio. Let’s try to use that to our advantage. Voice guidance reads elements on screen, which is what we need right now.

Some TV’s have voice control. You can access it by pressing the microphone icon on your remote. From there, you can say “Turn on Voice Guidance,” which will then enable you to hear menu options on the TV. You can skip the video below and move on to checking for updates and resetting.

Full disclosure, my main TV at home does not have this option. When I press my voice control button on the remote, it opens up Google instead. So, I made a quick video of the steps needed to access the voice guidance sub-menu. We will need it to work through the next troubleshooting steps.

Now, your TV is (hopefully) reading out your TV settings and menu options.

Update Your TVs Firmware

Updating your LG TV’s software could be the solution but if your screen is black, that might be difficult . The alternative method is using a USB drive which LG outlines here. If we have the voice guidance on and working, we can check this by:

  1. Select “Settings” then “All Settings.”
  2. Scroll down to “Support” then click the arrow on your remote
  3. You should hear “Software Update”
  4. Select OK on your remote
  5. From here, scroll down until you hear “Check for updates” and click OK

Steps may vary by TV, but the goal here is to get to the Support and Software update sub menu by listening to the menu options.

Resetting an LG TV Back to Factory Settings

After trying all the above possible solutions and you still have a black screen showing, it might be time to complete a factory reset on the device. This process will erase any custom settings you have and require you to add them back in after the reset. This solution often works for a TV with a temporary glitch or an issue that can sometimes arise from backlight settings. 

Follow these steps to reset your LG TV back to its factory settings on WebOS 3.5 and below:

Reset LG tv
  • Step 1: Access settings and choose All Settings.
  • Step 2: Locate the General option and select it.
  • Step 4: Select System
  • Step 3: At the bottom, you will hear Reset to Initial Settings. Choose this.
  • Step 4: Your TV will complete the reset process.

Follow these steps to reset your LG TV back to its factory settings on WebOS 4.0 and above:

Support and reset on lg tv
  • Step 1: Access settings and choose All Settings.
  • Step 2: Locate the Support option and select it.
  • Step 3: At the bottom, you will hear Reset to Initial Settings. Choose this.
  • Step 4: Follow the prompts

But since the screen is black, is there another way to reset your LG TV? Absolutely! In our other article, you can check out how to reset an LG TV when the screen is black.

Check The Backlight And Power Supply Board 

If your TV has an LCD screen, which most do, you should check this out to see if it’s the root of your problem. The backlight is what enables you to see images on your TV. If this stops working then your screen will go black and you won’t be able to see anything on your TV. To fix this issue, you should:

  • Shine a flashlight onto the TV screen
  • Look to see if you can still see the images on the TV even with the flashlight shining.
  • If you can see them with the flashlight, the LCD screen is broken and a new TV is needed. 

Troubleshooting Help with a Black Screen on your LG TV

After attempting the possible solutions and finding that you still have a black screen, you will need to contact LG for support options with your TV. 

Visit the home page for LG Support here. From this support homepage, you can get assistance with in-warranty and out-of-warranty repair, access manuals, and connect directly with LG customer service to get personalized assistance for your TV by phone, chat, or email. There is also an Ask the Community section to find solutions from other LG TV owners experiencing the same issue with their devices.

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