Samsung TV With Sound But No Picture (Quick FIX)

by Michael Xavierupdated on February 3, 2023February 2, 2023

If you own a Samsung TV that still has sound, but you can’t get an image to appear on the screen, there is a simple solution that doesn’t require you to take apart your TV.

When this happened to me, I immediately assumed my TV had a hardware issue that would require a technician to repair, but the fix turned out to be much simpler than that.

Here’s exactly what I did to get the picture back.

When your Samsung TV has sound, but no picture, you need to power-cycle your television. Start by unplugging your TV from its power source. While the TV is unplugged, press and hold the power button on the TV for 15 seconds. Then wait another 30 seconds before plugging your TV back in.

Contents show

Power-cycle your Samsung TV

This step usually gets skipped because people think it’ll never work, but power-cycling your TV should always be the first step you take whenever you encounter technical difficulties.

The term power-cycle simply means turning a device OFF and then back ON again. We are going to do something similar, but with a twist.

1. Start by unplugging your TV from the wall.

NOTE: Make sure your TV isn’t plugged into a surge protector, these are notorious for causing power issues!

2. While the TV is unplugged, locate the power button on your TV. Once you find it, press and hold it in for about 15 seconds.

Make sure you use the power button on the TV itself and not the remote! Your TV has capacitors that store excess power, even when the TV is unplugged. Pressing and holding the power button helps drain those capacitors allowing your TV to fully reset.

3. After the 15 seconds are up you can release the power button and then wait another 30 seconds or so before plugging your TV back into the wall.

In most cases, these 3 simple steps will resolve the issue. But if your picture is still not working on your Samsung TV, read on.

Check every Samsung TV connection

If power-cycling your Samsung didn’t work, the next thing I want you to do is double-check all the connections to your television.

1. Start by disconnecting everything from your TV, wait 30 seconds, and then reconnect everything. Make sure that each and every connection is snug and secure!

These days, folks typically have at least 2-3 external devices connected to their Samsung TV. Maybe it’s a streaming device, like Roku, Firestick or Chromecast, a game console like Playstation or X-box, or just a cable box.

Loose connections to any of these devices, or from these devices to your TV, can cause display issues.

2. Another thing worth trying is connecting your external device to a different HDMI port on your TV.

While not all that common, HDMI ports can fail over time. If you’re using a cable box and it’s connected to “HDMI 1”, for instance, try plugging it into “HDMI 2” and see if you still have display issues.

3. I would also check each and every cable/cord, and make sure they are not damaged.

If you suspect you might have a faulty cord, see if you have another cord of the same type lying around and try that instead. For example, if your cable box is using an HDMI cord, try using a different HDMI cord and see if that resolves the issue.

4. The last thing to do, is make sure your Samsung TV is on the correct input/source channel if you are trying to use an external device.

These days, external devices typically connect to your TV via HDMI. Each HDMI port on the back of your TV has a corresponding number.

If you’re cable box is connected to the “HDMI 1” port, but your TV is on the “HDMI 2” channel, you won’t get an image on your screen.

Simply press the input/source button on your remote and toggle through each channel until you find the right one.

Try using a different external device

Something else to consider is that the cause of this issue is an external device, and not your Samsung TV.

So if you’re trying to use a cable box, or a game console for example, and you get sound, but no picture on your television, do the following.

1. Disconnect the external device you’re having issues with, and try using a different device. Or just try using the TV as is.

If your picture returns after disconnecting the external device in question, then that’s a pretty good sign that your TV is fine and the device is at fault.

Samsung TV hardware issues

If you tried all the fixes above, but your picture is still not working, it’s likely that your Samsung TV has a hardware issue.

Here are a few ways to diagnosis exactly which type of hardware issue your TV is experiencing.

1. Shut off the lights, and power on your Samsung TV. Look at the back your television and see if you notice any light shining through the back vent. NOTE: Not all Samsung TV’s will have a vent to look through. Unfortunately for these models you will have to take off the back panel of the TV.

If you see light, that means the “backlight” of your TV is still working. In this case you probably have a bad T-Con board or main board (mother board).

Normally you would have to take a guess, and replace them one-by-one to figure out which one is the culprit. But since your TV still has sound, I would replace the T-Con board first, as that is almost always the solution.

2. If you did NOT see any lights in the previous step, that means your backlight isn’t working. In that case, turn off the lights again, make sure your TV is “ON” and bring up the TV menu. Take a flash light and shine it on the screen and look for signs of the menu.

You’ll want the keep the flashing light just a few inches from the screen and move it all around. You should eventually be able to make out a faint image of the TV menu.

If you do end up seeing an image, it’s likely that your T-Con board and main board are perfectly fine, but your inverter or LED driver are broken.

NOTE: Many Samsung TV models come with the inverter / LED driver built directly into the power-supply board. In those cases you’ll have to replace the power board.

If the inverter / LED driver aren’t broken, then it’s likely that the LED strips are. All it takes is a single broken light, and the entire strip will stop working.

Unfortunately, each and every one of these hardware issues will require you to take your TV apart in order to fix it.

Contact Samsung support

If you weren’t able to get your Samsung TV’s picture working, I suggest reaching out to Samsung support before throwing in the towel.

Samsung offers a handful of different support options, from in home repairs to mail-in service.

Obviously a key consideration here is cost. Usually a Samsung technician will be able to diagnose the problem for you and present you options before paying.

Unfortunately these days a lot of TV repairs are more costly than buying a new TV.

Check your Samsung warranty

You can also go online and see if your Samsung TV is still covered by warranty.

Unfortunately most of these warranties only last 1 year, but it’s still worth looking into.

Conclusion

Here’s what to do if your Samsung TV has sound, but no picture:

Power-cycle your Samsung TV
Check all your TV’s connections
Try using a different external device
Replace the T-Con board
Replace the main board
Replace the power-supply board
Replace the LED strips
Contact Samsung TV support
Check your Samsung warranty

Hopefully one of these fixes worked for you. Were you able to get the picture back on your Samsung TV? If so, let me know how in the comments below!