A modern smart TV offers a quality cinema experience.
You get a high-resolution screen with beautiful colors and a modern speaker design that fills the room with sound. But when there’s no sound coming from your TV, something’s amiss.
Your smart TV has no sound because your volume is set to zero, you’re using the wrong sound output device, there’s an issue with your HDMI device, or it’s a software bug. Fixes include increasing the volume, selecting the TV speaker for audio output, removing the HDMI device, and restarting your TV.
This article will go over all the different things that can cause your TV to lose sound. I’ll also explain how to fix all of them so that you can enjoy your smart TV to the fullest.
Why Your Smart TV Has No Sound
If you’ve been feeling wound-up because you can’t get your smart TV’s sound to work, don’t worry.
It’s usually a minor issue that can be fixed in minutes or even seconds.
Before we go over the different solutions, let’s briefly go over the reasons behind the issue so that you can avoid it in the future.
1. Your Volume Is Muted or Set to Zero
9 out of 10 times, when a family member called me on the phone to ask me why there was no sound coming from the TV, it was because they accidentally pressed the mute button on.
Although some smart TVs display a prominent mute symbol on the screen, old folks don’t know what it means.
Another common issue is that the volume is set to zero or super low.
Some smart TVs are inaudible until you turn the volume up to 20-30%.
2. You’ve Selected the Wrong Sound Output Device
Thanks to advancements in tech, smart TVs allow you to connect multiple sound output devices.
There’s a menu in the TV that lets you switch between a connecter speaker setup, Bluetooth devices, and the TV speakers.
Speaking of Bluetooth, you can’t hear the smart TV if you’ve connected a pair of Bluetooth headphones to it.
It’s a common oversight when you’re not the last person to use the TV.
3. Your HDMI Device or Cable Isn’t Working Correctly
HDMI is the most common connector type for connecting gaming consoles, streaming boxes, and TV transmitters to your smart TV.
In addition to carrying video, HDMI carries the audio signal too.
If there’s an issue with your HDMI output device or the cable itself, it won’t transmit audio correctly.
4. A Software Bug Is Causing Problems
Various software bugs and glitches can make the sound stop working on your TV.
If you haven’t updated your TV’s firmware for a while, there’s a high likelihood that this is causing your smart TV to have no sound.
5. The Speaker Inside the Smart TV Stopped Working
If you have an older smart TV model, the speaker can stop working suddenly.
It can happen to a brand-new TV too, after a few weeks of daily use.
If the speakers or the TV weren’t put together properly, the speakers could stop working.
Also, the speaker cable inside the TV can get loose over time and fall out of the main board’s connector.
I’m speaking from personal experience here.
6. The Settings on Your Smart TV Aren’t Configured Correctly
If you played around with the settings on your TV, perhaps you’ve accidentally turned on a feature that makes the speakers stop working.
Or maybe you enabled something that promises to improve your audio quality in certain situations only to find out the TV has no sound afterward.
TVs don’t have polished software in general. So, unexpected behavior like this isn’t surprising.
6 Easy Fixes for Smart TV No Sound Issue
Let’s now go over the various fixes that will make your TV speakers work again.
1. Increase the Volume on Your Smart TV
Use the volume up button on your remote or the TV itself.
You’ll see on the slider what level it is. Even if your volume is relatively turned up, try turning it up even louder.
Most TVs will disable Mute when you increase the volume. If not, press the Mute (crossed-out speaker icon) button to turn it off.
If you have more than one remote, for example, when using an HDMI device, make sure both volume sliders are turned up.
2. Select the TV Speaker as the Sound Output Device
You can find the sound output device menu on most TVs fairly easily.
Press the Home or Settings button on your remote and find the audio settings.
Look for an option called “Sound output device,” “Audio device,” or similar.
Ensure that you’ve selected your TV speaker as the output device if you want the sound to come from the TV.
If you’re using a soundbar or some other device, choose that instead.
3. Check if Your HDMI Device and Cable Are Working Correctly
The easiest way to check what device is causing audio issues is to independently play something on your smart TV.
Launch YouTube, Netflix, or some other app from the smart TV’s menu.
Play some content. If you’re getting audio from the TV now, it’s your HDMI device.
Try using a different HDMI cable with your console or streaming box.
If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to dive deeper into the device’s settings to find what the issue is. Your smart TV audio is working.
4. Restart Your Smart TV
Sometimes, a simple restart fixes all sorts of bugs.
Almost all smart TVs can be restarted using a similar process. Here’s how to do it:
- Turn your TV off and unplug it from the outlet.
- Hold the power button on the TV (not the remote) for 1-2 minutes.
- Plug the TV in and turn it on.
If this doesn’t help, check the manual to see how to restart your smart TV.
5. Have Someone Look at Your Smart TV’s Speaker
If you’re convinced that your TV’s speaker is broken or got disconnected during a repair, have a professional service check it.
Opening your TV and identifying the speaker’s cables is rather difficult.
Moreover, you can damage the TV. It’s best to leave this kind of stuff to the pros.
6. Reset All Smart TV Settings
If you can’t remember what settings you’ve changed in the menu, it’s best to reset everything.
You can find the Factory Reset (or just Reset) option fairly easily on most smart TVs.
Open the Home/Settings and look for it within the submenus.
If you can’t find it, check the user manual.
Final Thoughts
It’s usually a simple fix when your smart TV has no sound.
Turning the volume up, unmuting the speakers, and ensuring all settings are configured correctly is all you have to do in most cases.