Sony Bravia TV troubleshooting: The complete guide

Sony Bravia is one of the most advanced TVs you can find on the market today. It boasts of the best OLED technology to deliver premium picture quality for the ultimate viewing experience.

Furthermore, it has a broad color spectrum to reproduce more colors and analyses and processes data in every image so that you see it exactly as it was taken.

But from time to time, the Sony Bravia TV users experience some technical issues that make their viewing experience unbearable.

You can encounter different problems when using the device. For example, you will come across low audio quality, slow or unresponsive remote, random restarts, TV hanging or freezing, and even a black screen.

How to troubleshoot your Sony Bravia TV

Here are some common problems with the Sony Bravia TV and how to troubleshoot or fix them.

1. Wi-Fi or internet connection issues

If you are losing the internet connection or are experiencing Wi-Fi issues, here is a comprehensive guide to fixing the problem:

  • Ensure you have configured your wireless router or access point correctly.
  • Check if you can connect to your wireless network using another Wi-Fi-capable device, such as a smartphone or tablet.

If the above does not work, consider performing a network diagnostic:

  • Press the HOME button on the remote.
  • Select Settings.
  • Select Internet Network.
  • Go to Advanced Settings.
  • Select Network status.
  • Select Check Connection.
  • Under ‘do you want to check the connection’, select YES.

The diagnosis will begin. You will see your connection results after a few minutes. If everything appears as failed, do the following:

  • Press the HOME button
  • Select Settings.
  • Under NETWORK & ACCESSORIES, choose Network.
  • Select Advanced Settings.
  • Select Built-in Wi-Fi.
  • Switch to On.

Try testing the connection again. If you are using a wired connection:

  • Reset all of the network equipment (router or cable modem). Turn the devices OFF and unplug them for two minutes. Plug back in the power cords of the router or modem. Turn on the power supply. Wait for a few minutes until the router or modem finishes initializing.
  • Perform the connection diagnosis again.

If the above does not work, consider resetting your device.

Here is how to reset a Sony Bravia TV:

  • Point the remote control to the illumination LED.
  • Press and hold the Power button for about five seconds.
  • A Power OFF message should appear.
  • The TV will reboot automatically.
  • Wait for one minute until the TV turns back on.

The operation will reset your TV. At this point, try connecting to the internet to see if it has solved your issue.

2. The remote control is not working

When the remote is not working, try the following Sony Bravia TV troubleshooting steps to find a solution:

  • Check if the IR sensor works. Position the top of the remote in front of the camera of your cell phone. The IR sensor should illuminate.
  • Remove any obstacles covering the TV’s IR receiver.
  • Reduce the distance between the remote and the TV set.
  • Replace the batteries.

If the above does not solve the problem, perform a power cycle:

  • Unplug the TV power cord from the mains.
  • Disconnect any device connected to the TV.
  • Wait two minutes and connect the power cord back.
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Try turning back on the TV using the remote and see whether it works.

3. The TV won’t turn on

You can troubleshoot this issue by determining whether the LED light is flashing. If it is not:

  • Disconnect and reconnect the TV power cable.
  • Press the Power button again on the TV.
  • If the TV starts, your remote could be out of batteries, the batteries are inserted incorrectly, or the remote is not working.
  • Connect another electronic device to the same AC outlet. Check whether you can use it to confirm the issue is not coming from your AC outlet.
  • If your TV has the Energy Saving Switch, ensure it is ON.

If your TV uses an external power supply unit, ensure you have connected both ends of the cable between the power outlet and the external power supply unit firmly. It may be necessary to contact support to repair the TV if the above steps do not work.

In other cases, you may have turned off the TV. Consider checking the Sleep timer or Idle TV standby functions. That can also require you to turn off Standby mode.

Here is how to turn off standby mode on Sony TV:

  • Press the HOME button on the remote.
  • Select Settings.
  • Go to Power / Eco.
  • Select Idle TV standby.
  • Set to OFF.

If you want to set the Sleep timer to OFF:

  • Press the HOME button on the remote.
  • Select Timers.
  • Select Sleep timer.
  • Set to OFF.

The steps should solve your issue.

4. Sony Bravia TV keeps freezing or hanging

You can solve an issue with a Sony Bravia TV that keeps freezing or hanging by performing a reset (as explained in step one above).

If a reset does not solve the problem, consider downloading TV updates:

  • Press the HELP button on your remote.
  • Select System software update.
  • Select Check for a system software update or Software update.

Follow the instructions to download an update if available. If there is no update, consider resetting your TV to factory settings. Here is how:

  • Press the HOME button on the remote control.
  • Select Settings.
  • Go to Storage & Reset.
  • Select Factory data reset.
  • Select Erase Everything.
  • Enter the password if necessary.
  • Select Yes.

After the reset, try opening the previous program to determine whether you have solved the problem.

5. Sony Bravia TV is showing a black screen

A black screen is one of the many Sony Bravia TV LED screen problems you will encounter. In most cases, the TV shows a black screen when it enters standby mode to perform panel calibration.

A way of fixing the issue is to set the Picture Reset Mode setting to OFF. Here is how:

  • Press the HOME button.
  • Select Settings.
  • Select Device Preferences > Retail mode settings > Picture reset mode.
  • Or, Select Retail mode settings > Picture reset mode.
  • Choose OFF.

Once you’ve done the above, unplug your OLED TV power cord, plug it back in, and then turn it on. The calibration process will happen, thus fixing the issue.

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Another method that works is unplugging the HDMI cable. Here’s a video to guide you through the process:

6. TV is stuck on continuous reboot

If your TV is rebooting continuously or stuck in an endless restart loop, a forced factory reset may solve the problem. Note that a forced factory reset is different from a normal reset.

You should only perform a forced factory reset when you cannot access the factory reset screen from the TV menu. But if you can access the screen, follow the prompts in step four above. Otherwise:

  • Unplug the power cord from the electrical socket.
  • Press and hold the Power button on the TV.
  • While holding the button down, plug the power cord back in.
  • Continue to hold the button down until the white LED light appears. It will take about 10-30 seconds.
  • Release the button after the white LED light appears.
  • If the LED light does not turn white within 30 seconds, repeat the above steps.
  • Wait a few minutes for the forced Factory reset process to finish.
  • The TV will reboot twice.
  • If the TV does not turn back ON, press the Power button to turn the TV back ON.
  • The Welcome setup screen will appear.
  • Perform the setup.
  • If you do not see the Welcome setup screen, unplug the power cord and then plug it back in.

The above steps will work if your TV has one button. If it has three buttons, here is what you do:

  • Unplug the power cord from the electrical socket.
  • Press and hold down the Power and Volume Down buttons on the TV simultaneously.
  • While holding the buttons down, plug the AC power cord back in.
  • Continue to hold the buttons down until Erasing screen appears after about 30 seconds.
  • Release the buttons after Erasing screen appears.
  • If Erasing screen does not appear within 60 seconds, repeat the steps.
  • Wait for the Factory data reset process to finish.
  • The TV will reboot.
  • If the TV does not turn back ON, press the Power button to turn it back ON.
  • A Welcome setup screen will appear
  • Complete the setup.
  • If you do not see the Welcome setup screen, unplug the power cord and then plug it back in.

Repeat the procedure if the forced Factory data reset does not solve the continuous reboot.

7. Color distortion issue

If your TV has a reset function for its picture settings, do the following (these procedures will depend on the type of TV you are using):

  • Press the HOME or MENU button on the remote.
  • Select Settings > Display & Sound, Picture & Display or Display > Picture or Picture adjustments > Advanced settings > Reset.
  • Go to Settings > Display > Picture > Reset.
  • Select Settings > System Settings > Picture > Reset.

After the reset, restart the TV and check if you have solved the problem.

8. Red light flashing

If the red LED light on your TV blinks or flashes continuously, try to solve the problem as follows:

  • Turn your TV OFF and ON again using the remote or the power button.
  • Unplug the power cord and then plug it back in.
  • Turn OFF your TV and disconnect all devices.
  • Update the software of your TV to the latest version.
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If the light continues to flash, it may need repair. Contact a professional or a Sony agent for assistance.

9. Audio issues

You can troubleshoot audio issues in different ways:

  • Ensure you have set the sound output to TV speakers and not the Audio system. Press the HOME button on the remote, select Settings > Sound (or AV setup). The selected sound output should be TV speakers and not the Audio system.
  • Check the volume by pressing the volume button on the remote.

If you can hear a clicking, cracking, or rattling sound when the TV is on standby or playing content while you have muted the sound, the behavior should not worry you. If that does not work, perform a reset as outlined in step four above.

10. Fix firmware update issues on Sony Bravia TV

If the firmware update does not complete, do the following:

  • Unplug the power cord from the electrical outlet and plug it back in. Alternatively, perform a power reset.
  • Check your internet connection and try again.

If the TV does not work well after a firmware update, consider resetting the device and updating the software again. Ensure you have a stable internet connection before proceeding.

11. Sony Bravia TV won’t change inputs

If you are unable to select inputs, try the following troubleshooting steps:

  • Press the HOME button on your remote control.
  • Select Settings.
  • Select Preferences.
  • Choose Setup.
  • Select AV Setup.
  • Select Manage Inputs.
  • Set to Always.

When you select Always, your TV will display the input regardless of the connection status. If you choose Auto, the device will show the input name whenever you connect an external device. For Off, it will disable the input for the TV.

You can also try the following to solve the issue:

  • Press the HOME button.
  • Select Channels and Inputs.
  • Press Enter.
  • Select Manage Inputs.
  • Press Enter.
  • Select the input you are using currently.
  • Select Always.
  • Press Enter.

Repeat the steps above to change the setting of another input. It will fix the problem where you are unable to select one of the inputs on the TV.

Conclusion

If you own a Sony Bravia, you can troubleshoot most issues with the device by following the instructions in the Sony Bravia TV manual. You can fix some problems like freezing or hanging by restarting your TV and try again.

In some cases, updating the TV firmware will help you to solve many issues with the television. But if all the fixes do not work, contact customer support for further assistance.

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