Sony TV Won’t Turn On? Here’s EVERY Possible Fix…

If your Sony TV won’t turn on, you’re in the right place. We’ve created an extensive resource that covers all of the possible causes we’ve been able to discover, and the best course of action for each one. We’ll help you troubleshoot exactly why your TV isn’t turning on, how to fix it, and whether it’s worth going to a repair shop or not (and how to decide for yourself).

The good news is that you may not need to get your TV repaired at all, it’s usually a quick fix that you can do yourself, at home, with a little bit of troubleshooting. And we always start with the easiest, fastest, and most likely fixes so for most people reading this, you’ll have the problem solved in just a few minutes from now.

The bad news is that sometimes the fast and easy fixes aren’t enough, and you have to do a bit more digging to find out exactly what’s wrong. The very bad news is that sometimes, your Sony TV will actually need to be taken to a repair shop or replaced. Before taking your TV into the shop and paying for expensive diagnostics, try the following things and you could save yourself a bundle.

Fixing a Sony TV That Won’t Turn On – Try THIS First

Resetting your TV can fix all sorts of problems. In this specific case, where your TV won’t turn it, it’s not as effective as it is for other issues (it’s not often the fix here). None the less, in going through the process we’re about to describe to reset your Sony TV, you’ll also be unplugging the TV and plugging it back in, which helps to ensure the cables are connected securely, so it’s still worth doing a reset.

1. When your TV is off, UNPLUG it from the wall power source and also unplug the power cable from the back of the TV. (In some cases, the power cable doesn’t disconnect from the TV, that’s okay if that’s the case, still unplug it from the wall).
2. When the TV is unplugged, PRESS and HOLD the power button for a few moments in order to fully discharge any electricity that’s stored in the television.
3. WAIT a few minutes.
4. PLUG the power cable back into the rear of your Sony television.
5. PLUG the other end of the power cable into the electric socket.
6. POWER ON your TV and see if it works yet.

Typically when you reset a TV, you would just unplug it from the wall, not plug the whole power cable. The reason we’re unplugging it from the TV as well, in this case, is because one of the other troubleshooting steps is to check the connection to ensure that it’s secure. If you’ve tried the above steps and your Sony TV won’t turn on yet, don’t worry, there’s lot more for us to troubleshoot.

Check The Power Sources

Now that we’ve reset the TV and ensured that the power cable is properly connected, there’s a few other sources of power that we need to check.

First of all, we want to ensure that the wall socket is working correctly. To do this, simply try plugging anything else into the outlet that the TV is plugged into.

1. UNPLUG your Sony television from the wall outlet or surge protector that it’s plugged into.
2. PLUG a known-working device into the outlet, such as a lamp or a Blu-ray player.

Is your second device powering on, when it’s plugged into the same outlet that the TV was plugged into?

If YES (the device is receiving power), then we can conclude that the problem is with your television’s own power supply, or there’s some other electrical fault with your television.

If NO (the device is not receiving power), then it’s likely your TV is actually fine and that the problem isn’t with your TV at all. If other devices that are plugged into the same electrical outlet as your television are working, and the TV isn’t working, then we’ve likely identified the issue. To fully confirm, try plugging your TV into another outlet (you can do this by using an extension cord, or moving your TV if it’s not too heavy). If your TV works when it’s plugged in elsewhere, then it’s time to call an electrician to have them check out your outlet and why it stopped working. There could be a short circuit or another problem that can be serious and dangerous, so make sure you get this checked out.

Check The Remote For Your Sony TV That Won’t Turn On

You won’t believe how many times we’ve had people reach out with a TV that won’t turn on, only to discover that the only problem is that their remote control batteries are dead.

If you’re trying to turn on your Sony TV with a remote, and it won’t turn on, try replacing the batteries in the remote.

To troubleshoot this very quickly if you don’t have a set set of batteries nearby, simply walk up to the television and press the power button. If it turns on, then you know there’s an issue with your remote. If replacing the batteries doesn’t fix it, then you may need a replacement remote.

You may be able to get a replacement remote directly from Sony if you reach out to them, otherwise any universal remote should work just fine. Furthermore, some cellphones (namely Android) will have a built-in IR blaster, which means you can program them to function as a remote control for your television using an app. iPhones don’t have the IR feature, however they may be able to connect wireless over your WiFi network, or via Bluetooth, to another device that’s connected to your TV so you may still be able to use your iPhone as a remote.

Check The Cables of External Devices

We already checked the power cable in the first step, but it wouldn’t hurt to check the rest of the cables that are connected to your TV.

How could this possibly be the problem? Well, for instance, if you typically use a remote to turn on your TV and it connects through your cable box, but your cable box isn’t properly connected to the TV, then this could explain why your TV isn’t turning on. The first quick way to troubleshoot is to press the power button on your TV itself, and after that, try re-connecting any additional peripherals and devices that are connected to your television.

1. Ensure that all cables and devices are CONNECTED securely to your television.
2. Try UNPLUGGING and reconnecting any peripherals.
3. UNPLUG any USB drives that are connected to the TV.

Sometimes, extra peripherals or devices that are connected to the TV can cause issues.

Check The Backlight

Oddly enough, we haven’t seen this fix for a Sony TV That won’t turn on mentioned in too many other places, but this is definitely worth considering.

Sometimes, the TV actually is turning on, but you just can’t see the picture because the backlight is malfunctioning or just burnt out.

The way to test this is to simply turn the TV on, and then look for an opening on the back of the TV and shine a bright flashlight into it. Can you see any of the light shining through the front of the TV, and if so, do you see any images on it? You may need to remove the back plastic from the TV in order to gain access to an area where the light will shine through.

1. Find a strong flashlight and SHINE IT behind your TV.
2. LOOK closely to see if you can see images on the screen of your TV.
3. Also CHECK if there’s a red/blue/green power indicator on the front of the TV that lights up when you turn it on, even if you can’t see any picture on the screen.

There’s a bright light behind your TV screen. It lights up the screen, and that’s why we’re able to see the pictures on a TV. If that light is broken, it just needs to be replaced. It will likely cost around $200-$300 to have it replaced at a TV repair shop depending on the size, make, model, and age of the television, along with your local market and where you take it to get repaired. Don’t be afraid to call around and get a few quotes!

What If Nothing Worked?

If you’ve tried all of this troubleshooting and your Sony TV won’t turn on, your next course of action will depend on how the troubleshooting went.

The most clear-cut sign that your TV is broken and the issue isn’t something else, is when you’ve confirmed that the TV’s power outlet is working fine and the TV still won’t turn on.

From there, if you’re very comfortable with electronic devices, you could open up your TV and check that none of the capacitors have burst and that there isn’t any clear signs of physical damage.

If you determined that the issue isn’t the backlight because you don’t see anything on the screen when you shine a light on it, then it’s time to think about either repairing your TV or replacing it. Even if the backlight is the problem, it’s not always worth it to get the TV repaired, unfortunately…

Should You Repair Your Sony TV or Get a New One?

Sony TV won’t turn on? You’ve already done all the troubleshooting? Thinking of getting it repaired?

A simple fix for a Sony TV will probably cost at least $100, in the best-case scenario. If it’s a more complex fix or you need to replace major parts, then you could be looking at hundreds of dollars for the repair.

Whether or not this repair is worthwhile depends on how much it would cost to replace your TV without something similar. If your TV is already 10 or 15 years old, the technology has advanced a lot and newer TV’s are larger for less money, with much better picture quality and smart TV features, and they’re also a lot lighter to move around. In the case where fixing your TV would cost only a little bit less than getting a new one, you may as well upgrade to a newer TV because it will have a lot more features and likely have much better picture quality.

If it’s just a cheap fix, and you have a newer or a high-end television, then it is probably worth it to get it fixed. It will be a hassle to drag it to the repair shop, but some companies offer in-home fixes.

Closing Thoughts on Sony TV Won’t Turn On

In conclusion + bonus tips: Straighten out your HDMI cable and power cord, try a different HDMI cable, try a different remote, try a different power outlet, try shining a light through the TV screen to check for picture…

When your Sony television isn’t turning on, there’s a handful of things that could be causing this issue. Hopefully, the above fixes and tips for troubleshooting have helped you out. And if not, hopefully the additional information has helped to point you in the right direction when a Sony TV won’t turn on.