Whether you own a TCL Android or Roku TV, a black screen can suddenly appear out of nowhere. While the issue might seem massive at first glance, there are some minor causes, like a power glitch and faulty connection, responsible for it.
You can often fix the black screen problem with a simple TV restart. However, other causes, like misconfigured power settings and outdated TV firmware, might need further exploration. Other than that, it can also happen because of a bad backlight panel and faulty T-Con board.
Whatever the cause, the fixes discussed in this article will help you completely get rid of the problem. So, keep reading!
How to Fix Black Screen on TCL TV?
Black screen on TCL TV is a hardware issue as long as the cable connections are good and everything is fine on the service provider side.
If the TV shows a black screen as soon as you try to access the TV settings, there might be a severe hardware failure. Probably one of the display components among the display panel, T-Con board, LVDS cable, or backlight inverter has gone bad. Please consult this article on how to replace the display components on your TV in such a case.
However, if you are able to access your TV’s menu and settings, we suggest you go through the 8 fixes discussed in this article.
Check Source Device and Connections
You certainly have a source device connected to your TCL TV for streaming. It may either be a set-top box from a cable operator, a gaming console, or a device like Amazon Fire Stick.
Sometimes, there is nothing wrong with your TV, but the issue on those source devices can cause black screens. Please inspect if the source device is correctly turned on and in a working state. You can also unplug and replug those devices to see if it solves the problem.
Moreover, the HDMI cables used to connect those devices to your TV can be faulty as well. So, it would help if you get a replacement HDMI cable and use it to connect those source devices. If you see that your HDMI port is broken, please consult this article on how to fix a broken HDMI port on TV.
Update or Uninstall Problematic Applications
If the TV does not support the applications you launch on your TV, it will end up with a black screen. So, if you are getting black screen problems while using particular apps only, please update or uninstall the app from your TV.
On TCL Android TV
- Open Apps menu from the TCL Android TV home screen.
- Launch Google Play Store.
- Move down and select My Apps.
- Under the Updates section, locate the app and open it.
- Tap Update button.
- Choose Uninstall if you wish to uninstall the app.
On TCL Roku TV
- Press Home button on your TV remote.
- Go to right and highlight the app that you want to update.
- Tap Asterisk key on the remote. It will show a list of options.
- Select Check for updates.
- Select Remove channel if you want to uninstall that app.
Turn Off Auto Power Save
Auto power save mode helps TV save energy when it is idle. This feature can also turn off the display of your TV when it does not detect any activity with the motive of reducing power consumption. You can try disabling this feature and see if it solves the black screen problem.
On TCL Android TV
- Open your TV Settings.
- Choose Device Preferences under General Settings.
- Move down to Screen Saver.
- Select Off on Put device to sleep.
On TCL Roku TV
- Launch Settings on your TCL Roku TV.
- Then tap System.
- Navigate to Power menu.
- Move to right and disable Auto power savings.
Turn Off Sleep Timer
When you activate the Sleep Timer feature on your TV, the TV automatically shuts down after a preset time. Maybe you have accidentally enabled the feature, and it is creating issues. Please check if you have a sleep timer activated.
On TCL Android TV
- Press Home button on your TV remote and open Settings.
- Select Device Preferences.
- Tap Screen Saver.
- On the screen saver window, tap Sleep timer.
- Select Off.
On TCL Roku TV
- Launch Settings from Roku home screen and choose System.
- Then select Time.
- Tap Sleep Timer under Time settings.
- Choose Off by moving to the right.
Turn Off Instant On Feature
The instant-on feature on TCL TV helps the TV load faster so that you can start streaming quickly. However, this feature is reported to prevent system files and drivers from loading. The missing system files do not allow the TV to operate smoothly and can cause black screens. So, you can disable it to check if it sorts out the issue.
On TCL Android TV
- Open TV Settings.
- Then navigate to Device Preferences.
- Choose Power.
- Toggle off Instant power on.
On TCL Roku TV
- Launch Roku home screen by pressing Home button.
- Navigate to Settings > System > Power.
- Click Fast TV start and check Enable ‘Fast TV start’ option on the right.
Update Your TCL TV Firmware
Outdated firmware can also cause TCL TV to behave unpredictably. There can be two cases when your TV is running over obsolete firmware. First, the firmware can contain a bug and cause issues. Second, the latest peripherals connected to the TV may not synchronize with outdated firmware. So, please check and update the firmware of your TV if any are available.
On TCL Android TV
- Open Settings > Device Preferences.
- Tap About.
- Choose System update. It will start checking for updates and install them if any are found.
On TCL Roku TV
- Select Settings from TCL Roku TV home screen.
- Select System menu.
- Choose System update.
- Tap on Check now.
Reset TCL TV to Factory Defaults
You can also reset your TCL TV as the last method to solve the black screen problem. Resetting often turns out to be helpful if any customized settings on the TV are causing the issue. After a reset, all the personalized settings will revert to the initial factory settings, and you should no longer face a problem.
On TCL Android TV
- Open Settings from the home screen or use Settings key on your TV remote.
- Tap Device Preferences.
- Go all the way down to Reset.
- Select Factory data reset on the next screen.
On TCL Roku TV
- Open Settings.
- Choose System on Settings window.
- Tap Advanced system settings.
- Select Factory reset on the right.
- Choose Start factory reset.
Tip: If you are not able to access the Reset settings on your TV, you can also use a RESET hole on the back panel of your TV. Take a paper clip and keep pressing inside the hole for about 12 seconds. Then remove the paper clip from the hole. It will complete the Reset process and power off the TV.
