8 steps to fix a TV with no sound

Vizio®, Roku®, Samsung®, Sony® – no matter the make or model of your TV, certain problems are bound to occur, including your sound not working. Unless you're hosting a movie night and bingeing on silent films, this issue can be incredibly frustrating.

At Asurion, our experts help our 300 million customers (and counting) get the most out of their favourite tech and resolve their device problems. Here are their tips for fixing the sound on your TV and making sure that it works like it should.

Why is my TV sound not working?

Whether it's incorrect settings or the wrong HDMI® input, there are several reasons why your TV may stop playing sound. Asurion Experts come across these issues the most:

• Extremely low or muted volume on the TV or external speakers
• Sound settings that are incorrectly configured
• External speakers or soundbars that aren't properly connected
• Media devices like the receiver, DVD player, or gaming console that aren't connected to the TV, due to unhooked cables, ports, or misconfigured settings
• Hardware failure of the TV's internal components, external speaker, or media devices

How to fix a TV with no sound

While smart TVs have similar features, their audio settings and the way you fix them vary slightly from brand to brand. But our experts' tips below should help you recover the sound on your device.

1. Increase the volume on the TV and/or your connected media device (streaming player, Blu-ray player, cable or satellite box, etc.).
2. Check the audio settings on your TV and connected devices.
3. Turn off and unplug your TV and connected devices.
4. Inspect the TV cables and ports, then check the ones on your devices as well. Are they connected correctly and firmly? Is there any dust or debris in the ports? If so, it may have been an issue with the HDMI sound not working on the TV.
5. Swap out the media device for another one, or change the TV's speaker output to the internal speakers to see if it fixes the sound.
6. If the problem involves one of your connected devices, check its audio settings. Turn it off and unplug it for at least 10 seconds. Repeat steps 4 and 5 on this device, then plug it back in, and turn it on. Install any software updates that are available, and if you still don't hear sound, connect this device to another TV or do a factory reset.
7. Check for and install any software updates for the TV, and then retest the sound.
8. Reset the TV back to its factory settings.