Your Vizio TV offers you a lot of versatility in watching your favorite content. Most TVs are no longer just for watching broadcast or cable programming – you can stream Netflix and connect to the internet on them too. Sometimes, things don’t work as well as they should, making a reset necessary.
You can reset your Vizio TV in two ways – a power cycle and a hard reset. Resetting your Vizio TV will help if you experience issues with its display and freezing. Alternatively, you may consider resetting your Vizio TV if it appears to be slow or won’t turn off.
Whether your TV displays annoying ‘no signal’ messages, is painfully slow, or won’t turn on or off, resetting it is the easiest way to fix Vizio TV problems. In this article, I’ll discuss some issues that necessitate resetting your Vizio TV and how you can solve them.
Why You’ll Need To Reset Your Vizio TV
A Vizio TV can receive and display content from the internet and other devices. Probably the best feature of a Vizio TV is that it has integrated WiFi.
There’s no denying the convenience of streaming content through your TV, but sometimes, you’ll run into various problems, and you might need to know how to reset the TV. Resetting a device is a common way of troubleshooting issues, as you’ll see here in this article about resetting a Fire TV Stick.
Before we get into the methods of resetting your TV, let’s look at some possible causes that indicate this reset needs to be done in the first place.
Display Issues
If you have a Vizio TV, you’re probably aware of the company’s reputation for providing high-quality televisions at affordable prices. Their TVs are an excellent value for the price. But like many products, sometimes their functionality decreases with time.
The most common issues that Vizio owners encounter are screen problems. Screen problems can range from a faint line running through the middle of the film on your TV to a complete loss of picture.
You should check for screen burn-in symptoms if you have trouble with your TV. Screen burn-in occurs when images on television become permanently imprinted on the screen. This happens because of a combination of image intensity and persistence factors.
Image intensities are typically high when the TV is running at maximum brightness, and this can cause some images to burn into the screen over time.
Image persistence occurs when a still image stays on-screen for too long. Certain screen areas will remain lit while other parts will gradually dim as different images flash across them.
If your Vizio TV doesn’t contain any screen burn-in, you’ll most likely need to reset it to fix the problem. While most screen problems are easy to address and, if needed, relatively cheap to fix. They usually don’t mean you have a lousy TV.
Screen Freezes
It can be frustrating when you’re watching TV and the screen freezes. It’s confusing and spoils the mood of whatever show is on. Screen freezing is also a common problem. It happens when your TV starts to lag or the picture stalls entirely, and you can’t control it in any way.
When this occurs, your TV may even turn off by itself. Whatever the case, it’s not the best thing for your TV and usually indicates that there is a problem you’ll need to attend to.
Screen freezes are often a result of the user not having their devices overloaded with data or that they were not in the best shape to start with.
However, there are many reasons for TV screens freezing:
- You may have an old TV. Old TV models don’t have the same compatibility abilities with newer technology as new models.
- Faulty Wi-Fi or interference from nearby devices. Consider having your Wi-Fi checked by your internet service provider. You can also avoid using other devices on your home internet while trying to use the TV.
- The TV’s software needs to be updated. Sometimes, you need to manually update your TV’s software for its functionality to improve. Many manufacturers have an update automatically option if they detect an available update. You should look through your settings and make sure automatic updates are enabled.
For the most part, you can often fix this problem by resetting the TV. Alternatively, if everything is in working order and the software is updated to its latest version, you may need to reset your TV using a hard reset method.
Slow Functionality
Nowadays, we get used to our smartphones and tablets, which are lightning-fast, but things are a little different regarding our TVs. We have all experienced the irritation of being unable to change the channel or adjust the volume because it takes forever.
As TVs have gotten more advanced, they’ve become more complex, and they’ve started to have the ability to perform multiple tasks at once. These functions are helpful, but sometimes they interfere, causing the device to become gruelingly slow.
You can slow down your Vizio’s functionality by leaving multiple streaming applications and browsers open. Think of it as your TV has thousands of things to process but not knowing which task to tackle first.
Hard resetting your device will give the TV a clean slate by erasing previous data that has proven too much for it to handle. Essentially, you’ll be erasing all the data on the TV so that it operates like it did when you first bought it.
The TV Won’t Switch Off/On
When you press the power button, your TV should turn on, right? In a world full of consistent products, this would always be true. However, in the real world, it’s likely at some point, you might find yourself with a TV that won’t turn on or switch off when you press the power button.
Fortunately, you can take several possible steps to address this problem:
- Check your TV’s remote and ensure it’s working correctly. If the remote isn’t working, it won’t be able to send commands to the TV to turn it on or off. A solution may be as simple as changing its batteries.
- Check the TV power cords. Cords generally last, but sometimes they can cause your TV to malfunction. Before jumping to any hasty conclusions, it’s better to test all the power cords to see if they are working correctly.
- Check the power outlet. Sometimes your power outlet will go out without warning and make your TV useless. This can also happen due to surge protectors during a storm.
If none of the above issues seem to be the problem, then the best solution would be to reset your TV. However, if you’ve tried everything and done all the checks and it still doesn’t work, there’s probably something seriously wrong with your television.
Luckily, Vizio has a support page where you can request assistance by entering your TV details and the issue you’re experiencing.
3 Ways To Reset Your Vizio TV
Resetting your TV might seem intimidating, but it’s not as complicated or scary as you think.
So what does resetting your TV actually do?
By resetting your Vizio TV, you’re clearing out temporary glitches that may have built up in the system over time. It’s similar to restarting a computer (which most people probably do about once a week without even realizing it).
For example, any time something interrupts the flow of the picture, like an electrical surge from an appliance or a lightning storm, it can cause problems with how the TV processes essential functions. When this happens, even if everything looks fine on the screen, it can be missing critical information that tells it how to function correctly.
You could be watching a movie or playing a video game, and your TV could suddenly shut off, freeze, or start becoming slow. This is most likely associated with the TV missing this vital information.
Whatever the cause, you need to know how to reset the TV, and there are a few different ways you can do this.
1. How To Reset the Device
To reset the device you’ll need to complete a power cycle.
A power cycle is essentially a simple reset for your TV and is an excellent way to clear out any glitches or problems that could be causing picture issues.
If your television begins to look pixelated or distorted, is slow to respond to commands, or for some reason, won’t turn on/off, this is an excellent way to address those issues.
If you’re having issues with any of the above problems, you can:
- Unplug all the chords from your TV to its power source
- Wait for 1-2 minutes
- Hold the power button for 20 seconds
- Plug the chords back in.
This will reset your TV and eliminate possible problems affecting how it functions and how you see its display.
If this reset does not fix your problems, unplug the cords again and try using different ones to reconnect to the power source or device you’re trying to operate with your TV.
2. How To Reset the Settings of the Device
Resetting the settings of the device is a simple task, and its completed through a process called a factory reset.
A factory or hard reset is a fast way to restore your TV to its original state. It’s like rebooting a computer or restarting a phone by erasing all of its data.
Gizmo Geek Guide posted this on January 10, 2023 as the original owner of this article.
When you’re thinking of doing a factory reset, remember that it will remove all of the apps and settings you’ve added to your TV since you bought it.
You should know when to use a factory reset because it’s not ideal to have to redownload all your apps. Whether or not you need to use a factory reset depends on what caused your troubles in the first place.
Sometimes, a simple power cycle will fix what ails your screen. But in other cases, a fault struggling to be resolved with a power cycle will require more.
Here’s how you can execute a hard reset on your Vizio TV:
- Press the Menu button on your remote
- Navigate to ‘system‘ and press ‘OK.’
- Select ‘Reset & Admin,’ then press ‘OK.’
- Select ‘Reset TV to Factory Defaults’
- Enter the parental code you chose when you set up the TV. If you did not make one, input 0000 when asked for it.
- Select ‘Reset.’
- The TV will then turn off by itself.
- After a couple of minutes, the TV will switch back on, and you can set it up again.
This is essentially a way of wiping out all of your TV’s settings and restoring it back to its default state. It erases your personal data and preferences, so you’ll have to go through the setup procedure again when you’re done.
Gizmo Geek Guide uploaded this as an original article on January 10, 2023.
Please be aware that this action is not reversible – once you’ve done a factory reset on your device, it cannot be undone.
3. Reset Without a Remote
You have options if you’re having problems with your remote and need to reset your Vizio TV. Remote controls tend to die with little warning, and Vizio has taken on a good idea to have the plan to assist you with resetting your televisions when your remote has packed up.
There are two ways to reset your TV without a remote.
The first and most apparent reset would be to complete a power cycle. As explained earlier, this entails unplugging your TV from its power source, waiting a couple of minutes, and pressing the power button on your remote for 20 seconds before plugging it back in.
The second option would be to perform a manual hard reset. To do this, you’ll need to:
- Look for the power button on the back of the TV and press it.
- Using the buttons on the back, press and hold the input and volume down buttons simultaneously for at least 20 seconds.
- A prompt on the TV screen will appear and ask if you want to complete a hard reset.
- Press the input button to confirm.
- A hard reset will begin, erasing your data.
Final Thoughts
One of the easiest ways to address common problems with your Vizio TV is to reset it. Whether you perform a power cycle or hard reset, it’s bound to help you immensely. If the problem is not resolved, you can contact Vizio’s customer support for assistance and fixes.
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Gizmo Geek Guide published this original article on January 10, 2023.