The backlight is on, but your TCL TV is black; there is no picture. The black screen of death on a TCL TV is quite annoying, especially when it occurs on a brand-new TV.
Fortunately, I’ve discovered various tested solutions to remedy it, and this problem is typically only a short-term one.
I am pretty convinced that one of these ideas will work for you if you attempt each and every one of them.
TCL TV Black Screen
- Resetting your TCL TV is necessary if it has a black screen. Wait 60 complete seconds after unplugging your TV. Press and hold the power button for 30 seconds with the TV unplugged. Reconnect your TCL TV’s power after the 60 seconds have passed, and it should function.
Power cycling a TV nine out of ten times will fix the black screen of death.
Of course, there are occasions when the aforementioned fix does not work. The issue in that situation is typically a hardware one.
There are a few more useful and simple troubleshooting techniques you should try first, though, before we troubleshoot the hardware.
Unplug TCL TV from wall
Even though it may seem obvious, the most frequent solution to your black screen problem is to unplug your TCL TV from the wall outlet (power-cycling).
The most important thing is to wait the FULL 60 seconds. Before plugging it back in, be a little patient and wait until it has been at least a minute.
Locate and hold the power button on your TCL TV for 30 seconds while it is unplugged. Ensure that you are pressing the TV’s power button and not the remote control.
This will enable the TV to soft reset itself and assist drain any remaining power in the device. This is not the same as just turning the remote on and off!
After the 60 seconds, you can plug the TV back in and it should power back on without any issues.
Check all HDMI connections
The very next thing you should examine are your HDMI connections if power cycling your TCL TV didn’t solve the problem.
Make sure the connections are secure if you have anything HDMI-connected to your TV. That entails disconnecting them before firmly plugging them back in.
More TCL TV users are reporting black screens of death as HDMI streaming devices like Roku and Firestick gain popularity.
And it’s often due to a bad HDMI connection.
Bad HDMI connections come in a few forms:
- HDMI connector is loose.
- defective HDMI port
- a poor HDMI cable
- Check again to make sure you are on the correct input channel once you have checked the connection is secure.
Find the HDMI port you’re using by looking at the back of your TV. The HDMI port number should be marked above the HDMI connection with a label or other writing on your TV.
After that, take out your TCL TV remote (NOT your Roku or Firestick remote, if you’re using those) and select SOURCE (or INPUT). You’ll probably need to switch this on and off multiple times until you locate the appropriate input on your TV.
I would try connecting to a different HDMI port if the connection is safe and you are on the right input.
TCL TVs sometimes contain several ports, even up to four! Try a different port to see if you can retrieve the image.
If that doesn’t work, your last resort is to try replacing the HDMI cable you’re currently using.
Issue with TCL TV backlight
If the power light on your TCL TV is green and you can hear sounds but there is no picture on the screen, one of the LED power strips on the backlight is probably broken.
Make sure the TV is turned on, and then shine a flashlight—or the one on your phone—near the TV’s screen to try to identify the problem. To make it simpler to view, I advise turning off every light in the room.
On the TV, a very faint image will be displayed if the screen is functioning.
Check to see if the TV responds to commands by using the remote. I advise checking the remote’s input and volume buttons as well.
To locate the TV’s user interface on the screen, you might need to adjust the light. It’s likely that you’ll also notice a hazy image if you hear audio cues.
It’s good news if you can operate the TV with the remote even when the image on the screen is dull when you shine a flashlight on it. It indicates that the T-CON and mainboard of the TV are operating properly.
In that situation, the LED backlights on the TV are most likely the source of the issue.
Although some TV parts are inexpensive and simple to replace on your own, dismantling a TV is likely to breach its warranty. If your TV is still covered by warranty, I advise getting in touch with TCL for more help.
Replacing TCL LED Backlight Strips
TVs’ backlights are made out of LED light strips. The complete light strip will not function if only one of the LEDs in it breaks.
Changing out the complete strip is simpler than changing out a single broken LED light. For your specific TV model, you can get a set of LED backlight strips online.
Because there are numerous screws to remove and all of the bezels must be taken off, replacing the LED backlight strips can be a pain.
The glass panel, which must also be removed, is brittle and highly expensive to replace.
In other words, unless you have experience disassembling TVs, I wouldn’t advise replacing LED backlight strips.
Although it will cost more, you can hire a TCL expert or TV repair shop to complete the task for you if you don’t want to do it yourself.
Depending on how many strips you need, replacing the LED lighting strips typically costs between $100 and $200. Depending on the size, certain TVs may feature more LED backlight strips than the average 9 to 12 strips.
Your TV’s LED backlight strips need to be replaced, which is a hazardous undertaking but one that could resolve the black screen of death and help you avoid paying hundreds of dollars for professional repairs.
(It’s also a fantastic choice if your TV only has an image on one side or if the screen is extremely dark.)
Replacing the T-CON Board
Your TCL TV’s T-CON board is probably damaged if you can’t see anything on the screen, even with a light shining straight onto it.
The image displayed on a television is produced by the T-CON board.
Although it can initially look difficult, changing the T-CON board on a TV is a simple DIY project.
By entering the model number of your TV in online auction sites like eBay or Amazon, you can discover new T-CON boards. T-CON boards are inexpensive, typically costing less than $100.
Fortunately, changing a TV’s T-CON board is significantly simpler than changing its LED backlights. Just take off the TV’s rear panel, unplug the ribbon wires from the T-CON board, take out the screws, pop the old one out, and set the new one in its place.
It simply takes a short while. Only four screws and two to three ribbon wires are often used to attach the panel.
TCL TV support
You can also give the TCL television support line a call at 1-877-300-8837. Their operating hours are as follows:
- Mon. – Fri. 9 a.m.–12 a.m. ET
- Friday through Sunday ET 9 AM to 6 PM
- The TCL support team has undoubtedly dealt with many such “black screen” complaints in the past and is trained to handle television issues like these.
If this is something you can fix yourself or if you genuinely need to send it in, they ought to be able to lead you through some troubleshooting steps.
You can rest easy knowing that you did your best to remedy it by at least performing this action.
TCL TV warranty
- If all else fails, it could be worthwhile to check to see if your TCL TV is still under warranty.
- Here is all the warranty information you’ll need if you do decide to look into this.
- For the first year after purchase, the majority of TCL TVs are protected by a limited warranty.
- Defects in materials or workmanship to the original purchaser of this TCL product when purchased as new from an Authorized Dealer are covered by the warranty.
- In essence, they will pay to have your TV fixed or they will purchase you a new one if they determine that the problem is covered.
- Your TCL TV has probably been in your possession for more than a year, but if not, it might be worth a try!
Conclusion
Don’t panic if your TCL TV has a blank screen; there are various tested remedies you can try to get everything working again:
- Restarting your TCL TV
- Verify each HDMI connection.
- Verify the status of the backlight on your TV.
- The screen itself may be the problem.
- Broken T-CON board OR broken backlights
- Call TCL TV customer service.
- Look over your TCL warranty.
- I hope one of these solutions was successful for you. On your TCL TV, were you able to resolve the black screen of death? If so, please explain how in the comments section below.