Gotechtor select and review products independently. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Sony TV Won’t Turn On? (Try these FIXES!)

Updated on

Writer, Smart Home

For years technology has been a big part of Gardy's life. He's an Android guy with a secret love for Apple products. When not at work, you can usually catch him drawing with a pencil. He is a writer at Gotechtor covering streaming media, TVs, and everything smart-home related. 

Gotechtor's Editorial Guidelines

Sony TVs, while being among the most popular TVs on the market, are notorious for not turning on.

You may panic when your Sony TV won’t turn on, but there are some easy remedies you can attempt to fix it.

Power cycling the TV can usually solve the issue. Simply unplug it and plug it back in to accomplish this. Other times, there can be a problem with a forthcoming software update.

In either case, there are a number of easy ways to try to solve this problem. Let’s briefly discuss how to resolve the “Sony TV won’t turn on” problem.

Check this out: How to fix Apple TV no sound issue

Sony TV Won’t Turn On

If your Sony TV won’t turn on, you need to factory reset it. Unplug your TV, wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in. The soft reset should help when your Sony TV is not turning on.

It is important to keep in mind that these steps work for other TV brands as well. Regardless of your TV brand, these troubleshooting tips should come in handy.

Unplug Your Sony TV

Although this is arguably the most used tactic in electronic fix manuals, it is nevertheless important to try it. Most issues can usually be resolved by turning everything off and back on again. Any computer or IT expert would start by carrying out this when troubleshooting any problems.

Although it is obvious that the “turned off” aspect is the issue in this case, power cycling any electronic device—including Sony TVs—can occasionally fix the issue.

Unplug Sony TV

You can power cycle your Sony TV by simply unplugging the TV from the outlet in the wall for around 30 seconds, then plugging it back in.

Next, turn on your Sony TV using the power button on the TV (not the remote control) once you have plugged it back in and its power indicator confirms the power is being fed back to it.

If this works, the problem might be with the remote. You can either replace the batteries or, in rare cases, replace the remote.

You can search many online marketplaces for a good deal or contact Sony with the specific TV model number to play it safe. 

Remove Batteries From Sony Remote

Sometimes the remote rather than the TV itself is the issue. If the batteries in your remote are about to expire or are entirely depleted, there is a good chance that your Sony TV won’t turn on.

remove batteries from Sony TV

It might be a good idea to remove the batteries if they were recently replaced. After holding the remote’s power button down for 15 to 30 seconds, replace them out and give it another go.

Check the Condition of Your Sony TV Power Cord

After performing a soft reset and checking the remote, if your Sony TV still won’t turn on, there may be a hardware issue. Check your power cable right away.

Check Sony TV power cable

Check your TV cable. It might be the culprit if there are any obvious signs of wear, particularly at the end that connects to your TV.

Just as you did with the outlet, look for dust or debris that may be hiding in the cracks. Try cleaning it out with a can of compressed air if there is a lot of dust.

If inspecting your TV’s power cord doesn’t fix the problem, there are a few more things you can try to resolve the issue.

Change Sony TV Input Source

When you try to turn on the Sony TV, does the red light come on? You may need to change the input settings if that is the case.

check Sony TV input source

Most TVs come with two HDMI or HDMI 2 input options at the very least. By glancing at the back of your TV, you can see which HDMI slot is active. Make sure that the TV has the correct input option selected.

There are two ways to do this:

Adjust Input Setting with Remote

  1. Turn the TV power on
  2. Press the input/source button
    1. If your remote doesn’t have this, check for a Menu button and find input/source from there
  3. Choose the appropriate HDMI option

Adjust Input Setting with TV Buttons

  1. Turn the TV power on
  2. On your TV, look for the Menu button on the side or the bottom
  3. To navigate the menu, press the volume up/down buttons
  4. Find input/source settings
  5. Select the appropriate HDMI option

Check Sony TV’s Power Source

Consider the light indicator mentioned in the previous suggestion. Your Sony TV will not turn on if it is plugged into a power source, but the light indicator is off, meaning it is not receiving electricity from the power source.

check Sony TV power outlet

So it is important to confirm that the power source is actually providing the power needed to allow the TV to turn on.

You can confirm that the outlet works by plugging in a smaller electronic that you can verify works in that outlet.

This can be anything small like a phone charger or a bedside lamp. If no change is detected, then you need to look into the reason for the power shortage. (Many times something caused the breaker to trip, and it just needs to be rebooted).

Check for Backlight Issues

If the power light comes on but the screen is still dark, chances are the backlight of your Sony TV is broken.

The images that you see on your TV screen are illuminated by the backlight. Your Sony TV won’t turn on without it. Let’s see if we can confirm that.

Turn on the TV first. Next, take a flashlight and point it directly at the dark screen. If images appear out of nowhere, your TV’s backlight is broken. Fortunately, you can replace the backlight.

Hiring a mechanic will run you between $100 and $150, labor included, to fix the damaged backlight. The decision will then be whether to spend money replacing your TV or spending money to fix it.

Motherboard Is Bad

The final reason a TV won’t turn on is that the motherboard may be defective. There are a few indicators that can assist you determine if that is the issue.

However, fully confirming that the motherboard is broken will require disassembly and a multimeter device. If you don’t feel confident handling this yourself, call a TV mechanic.

Signs of a Bad TV Motherboard:

The telltale sign of a broken motherboard is when a TV intermittently won’t turn on. In addition, if a TV turns on but can’t be turned off, you are most likely dealing with a motherboard that needs to be replaced. 

Check the Motherboard with a Multimeter

  1. Remove the back panel of the TV and set aside all screws
  2. Identify the motherboard, which is usually green and on the left-hand side
    1. Confirm this by checking the manual (or online)
  3. Use the multimeter to test each source of voltage
  4. Detect a dead voltage source to confirm a faulty motherboard

Factory Reset Sony TV

As with any electronic device, a factory reset will wipe out all settings and data.

After turning on the TV (either by unplugging it or removing the remote batteries), click the Home button on your remote.

Next, go to Settings > General > Reset. You’ll need to enter your security PIN (0000 is the default). Your TV will go through the reset process, and then you’ll see the initial setup screen.

This will restore your TV to the factory settings as if it was a brand new TV. We hope this helped fix your Sony TV.

Contact Sony Support

If none of the aforementioned suggestions help you, it might be time to get in touch with Sony customer service. The Sony TV’s technical support has probably encountered every problem.

It’s important to remember that tech support will likely try to guide you through the steps already discussed above first.

Technical support from Sony will provide troubleshooting steps if they determine that your Sony TV is experiencing an issue.

They may also recommend that an on-site technician come out and repair your TV or that you send your TV in for repairs. There are rare instances of these situations, but they can happen.

Final Thoughts on Sony TV Not Turning On

Sometimes, for no apparent reason, Sony TVs won’t turn on. By using the instructions in this guide, you may resolve the problem with your Sony TV not turning on.

When a Sony TV won’t turn on, a simple power cycle will usually solve the problem. Other times, you might need to follow each of the aforementioned suggestions in order until you find the solution that works for you.

In summary, here’re all the solutions we discussed to fix your Sony TV power problem:

  • Unplug the power and check the prongs
  • Look for damaged cords
  • Test the power strip/extension cord
  • Check the cords behind the TV
  • Change the input settings
  • Replace batteries in the remote
  • Clean the sensor on the remote/remove objects blocking the TV’s sensor
  • Check for a backlight issue and replace it if it’s broken
  • Do a factory reset of your TV
  • Check/replace the motherboard
  • Call your TV manufacturer

Did you manage to make your Sony turn on again? Did you find other ways to troubleshoot this issue? Share your ideas in the comments below.

Writer, Smart Home

For years technology has been a big part of Gardy's life. He's an Android guy with a secret love for Apple products. When not at work, you can usually catch him drawing with a pencil. He is a writer at Gotechtor covering streaming media, TVs, and everything smart-home related. 

Gardy Philogene

's latest stories

Leave a Comment

Be kind. Ask questions. Discriminatory language, personal attacks, promotion, and spam will be removed. Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.