How To Fix a TCL TV with Black Screen

Few things are more frustrating for movie and TV lovers than settling down in front of their TV, only to find a black screen staring back at them when they press the power button. Sadly, that’s a problem you may occasionally run into if you have a TCL TV, though it’s one that often has a straightforward solution.

If you get a black screen when you power on your TCL TV, these techniques may help you to resolve the problem so you can watch your movie or TV show.

Note: Methods 5, 6, and 7 below depend on whether you can break free from the black screen. Sometimes, it is a temporary occurrence, like with an Android phone. The methods also help you prevent a black screen by following the steps before encountering one, which is also why they are mentioned.

Method 1 – Restart Your TV

TCL TVs are Smart TVs, meaning there somewhat similar to computers. And as any computer tech will tell you, a quick restart is often the proper fix for minor issues that cause a device not to work as intended.

If you encounter a black screen, turn your TCL TV off and unplug it from the power socket. Wait a few minutes (about 10 or 15 minutes if you’re patient enough) before plugging the TV back in and turning it on.

This technique essentially “resets” your TV, allowing it to boot up cleanly without worrying about whatever minor issue caused your black screen. Unplugging the TV clears any residual electricity inside the device as a side benefit. That electricity can mess with the connectors, memory, and cache inside a TCL TV, leading to the black screen issue.

Method 2 – Check for a Mechanical Issue

Unfortunately, mechanical issues with your TCL TV mean you’ll need to replace or send it off for a costly repair. You can check for these issues using the LED light at the TV’s base. Depending on your TV’s model, this light may be in a different position, though it’s always somewhere along the bottom edge.

When your TCL TV is turned off, or in “standby” mode, you should see this LED emit a solid white light. The LED turns off when the TV is on, though it blinks whenever you press a button. So, turning the TV on and pressing a few buttons on your remote should show you a blinking light, indicating that the TV is receiving power. If you don’t see the light, your black screen is likely caused by an electrical fault inside the TV that you may need to have a professional repair.

Method 3 – Check Your Cable Connections

Though the lack of a blinking light may be a cause for concern, the fix could be surprisingly simple. One of the cables connecting the TV to a power source (or a device to an HDMI port) may have come loose.

Check all your cables to see if any wiggle or fray around the ends. Every cord should slot firmly into place, with any wiggling suggesting it isn’t plugged in correctly. Reaffix every cable and try to turn the power on again.

Method 4 – Power Cycle Your Remote

Turning your TCL TV off and on again, with a brief wait in between, power cycles the television to eliminate any excess electricity in its circuits. However, many people don’t know electrical issues can happen with their remote. If your TV turns on (check the LED light) but nothing happens when you press buttons on the remote, try the following steps:

1. Remove the batteries from your remote.
   
2. Wait for about two minutes.
3. Place the batteries back in the remote or replace them with a new set if you suspect your batteries may be running out of juice.
   
4. Try the remote again and look for the flashing LED light on your TCL TV whenever you press a button.
   

Method 5 – Update Your Firmware

Your TCL black screen problem may be based on the device’s current status or where it is in the menu, app, or something else. A black screen doesn’t always mean it’s for everything. Although this scenario is rare, it does exist. Given that TCL TVs are essentially computers that run software allowing you to access various apps, you may find out-of-date firmware at the heart of your black screen problem.

TCL TVs use the Android operating system, which receives regular updates to firmware. You may have experienced your Android phone not turning on due to broken firmware, or it was simply black when it was just on and stuck. It is no different with a TCL Google OS/Android TV. A quick check that your TV has all the software patches it’s supposed to have may bring it back to life. However, this process depends on if you can get out of the black screen lockup.

If your TV is just stuck and playing around with the remote (pressing home, stop, hot buttons like Netflix or Disney+) appears to release the app lockup or whatever it was and gives you a display, you can move forward with updating the firmware and troubleshooting the OS/apps/settings so it doesn’t occur again.

Do the following to check for any TCL Android firmware updates you may have missed:

1. Press your remote’s “Home” button and navigate to the “Settings” menu.
   
2. Select “More Settings.”
   
3. Tap on “Device Preferences,” followed by “About.”
   
4. Scroll down and select the “System Update” option before selecting “Network Update” from the resulting box.
   
5. Wait for your TCL TV to check if there are updates available.
   • If there aren’t any pending updates, your TV should inform you that its firmware is current.
   • If an update is available, your TV should download it automatically. Press “OK” when it’s done.

Your TCL TV must be connected to the internet to run these update checks. Furthermore, please don’t turn the TV off or mess with its power supply during an update download, as either action could corrupt the update and potentially brick the television.

Method 6 – Disable Fast Start

The Fast Start feature built into TCL TVs is helpful because it allows you to use your voice to “wake” the TV, after which you can tell it what you want it to display. But in some cases, the Fast Start feature can cause issues with performance, including temporary black screens. So, turning it off may solve your problem, but you must first get out of the black screen.

Just like the firmware issue, you may be able to break away from the black screen by fidgeting around with the remote, or you can try unplugging the TV and holding the power button on it if it has one.

If you break away from the black screen, you can disable Fast Start to prevent future problems.

Use these steps to turn off Fast Start on your Android-based TCL TV:

1. Head to the “Settings” menu and choose the “Power” option.
   
2. Toggle the “Power On” setting to off.
   
3. Restart your TV.

Alternatively, follow these steps if you have a TCL Roku TV:

1. Press your remote’s “Home” button and head to the “Settings” menu.
   
2. Select “System,” followed by “Fast TV Start.”
   
3. Use the toggle to turn off “Fast TV Start” and restart your TV.

Method 7 – Try a Factory Reset

If everything else fails, resetting your TCL TV to its factory default settings may resolve your problem. This option is a last resort because it resets everything, including passwords or individual settings. It sends your TV back to how it was when it came out of the box.

Once again, being able to reset your TV depends on if you can get out of the temporary black screen. Try fidgeting with the remote or unplug the TV and hold the power button if it has one. Hopefully, that resets the temporary black screen problem, and then you can proceed to prevent it from happening again.

Use the following method to factory reset an Android TCL TV:

1. Navigate to “Settings” via the “Home” screen or press the “Settings” button on your remote.
   
2. Head to “More Settings” then “Device Preferences.”
   
3. Select “Reset” and choose “Factory Data Reset.”
   
4. Choose “Erase Everything.” Your TV should ask for a PIN, so enter yours and click “OK” to start the reset process.
   

Those with TCL Roku TVs follow a slightly different method:

1. Press your remote’s “Home” button and navigate to the “Settings” menu.
   
2. Select “System” from the options, then choose “Advanced System Settings.”
   
3. Click on “Factory Reset.”
   
4. Choose “Factory Reset Everything” and enter the code on the screen to reset your TV.
   

Break Through the Black Screen Darkness

So many issues can cause a black screen in a TCL TV, from a simple cable or software issue to mechanical faults, such as faulty connectors or a broken backlight. The techniques in this article allow you to run several tests, culminating in a complete factory reset, to potentially solve the problem of your TCL TV displaying a black screen.

Would you recommend this brand to other people? Why did you choose a TCL TV ahead of other brands? Let us know your thoughts about TCL in the comments section below.