Are you having issues with the screen on your TCL TV? Is it flickering, flashing black, or just strobing on either the left or right side of the screen?
Although it works fine, turns on without issue, and the sound is also coming, the irritation caused by the flickering makes it unwatchable. I’ve experienced this with my TCL TV, so I am familiar with how annoying it can be.
As I was troubleshooting the issue on my TV, I found it to be quite common and that other users have reported the screen on their TCL TV flickering oddly or flashing black every now and then.
It has been reported that the flickering of the screen is either caused by faulty backlights, loose or faulty power cables, software glitches, or HDMI cable conflicts. You need to check each one of these issues to get the problem resolved.
In this guide, I will explain why your TCL TV screen is flickering, how to fix it at home and how to determine whether it is a hardware issue or a software issue.
Why Is My TCL TV Screen Flickering?
Irrespective of whether your TCL screen is just flickering, flashing black, or glitching on one side, if you’re wondering what causes it, here is why.
The main cause of screen flickering is the backlight of your TV, power fluctuations, a faulty HDMI cable, and a system conflict.
The flashing or flickering black or white on your TV does not always occur because of a backlight problem. For example, if your TV’s power board or the TCON board isn’t providing enough power to each unit of the backlight, some flashing or flickering may occur.
Our first instinct is to think it’s a hardware fault and to check the TV warranty and if it has already lapsed, find a technician. But that’s not always the right approach because as reported by TCL users, you can fix it yourself.
The first time I encountered this and my TCL TV’s screen went black, I did a normal power cycle, then changed the HDMI cable and it fixed the problem, but in your case, it might be a different issue, and here is a complete guide to help you fix it.
How To Fix the Flickering Screen on your TCL TV?
Whether the half screen flickers, flashes black, or only a portion of the screen is glitching or pixelating, the troubleshooting steps and flowchart to fix the problem are similar, but you must take your time to reach the root cause and also solve the issue.
Now let’s get to the troubleshooting part on how you can fix it and make sure you follow each step.
Power Cycle
A minor internal flaw on your TCL TV can sometimes cause display flickering, and if it is the first time you have experienced this problem, I would recommend performing a proper power cycle, and once the TV cools down, reconnecting the power cable and turning it on.
A power cycle will clean all temporary settings from your TV along with cooling the mainboard and T CON boards so that they can be reset. Here’s how to do it.
- Turn off the TV.
- Remove the power cable from the wall socket.
- Wait for 5-10 minutes, let it cool down.
- Replug cables tightly and switch on the TV.
You may notice that after doing this your screen will be stable and you won’t experience any flickering if the issue persists due to any internal settings conflict. If it doesn’t resolve the issue, please proceed with further troubleshooting.
Hard Reset TV
After a power cycle is completed, a hard reset is highly recommended to rule out any software conflict that may have been caused by half downloaded applications, outdated firmware, or outdated television software.
You can perform a hard reset in a couple of ways, here are the steps:
- Turn Off the TV.
- Remove power cable.
- Press and hold the power button on the TV through which you turn it on manually for about 20 seconds.
- Remove batteries from the TV and press each button once on your remote.
- After that, plug in the power cable of the TV and switch it on.
Alternatively, you can restore the TV to factory defaults by going into the settings and selecting the “Restore to factory defaults” option.
Replace HDMI and Power Cable
When you complete the above two steps and you still see flickering or flashing black screens on your TCL TV, chances are that software doesn’t have any kind of issue, so you can rule out a software issue and move on to hardware troubleshooting.
If your TCL TV is connected via HDMI cable, it is likely that the flickering is caused by a faulty cable and you should inspect it carefully and, if you have another cable handy, use it instead.
Switch the Power Socket
As opposed to a TV’s backlight or hardware issue, screen flickering usually occurs when not enough power reaches each unit of backlit to sustain it.
That may be caused by a faulty power cable or if you are using a surge protector remove it and plug the TV’s cable into another power outlet that is in good condition.
Well, you have tried all of them, but there is still an issue. You should call a technician, but wait before you do that, you need to do the last troubleshooting.
Clean TV Mainboard and Tcon Board
If your TV overheats and the screen flashes black or flickers, the TV’s mainboard has become glitchy due to the heat.
In this case, proper cleaning of your TV by removing it from the wall and plugging it in on its display side, and thoroughly cleaning any vents and inside parts can solve the problem.
Leaf blowers and hair dryers can be used to clean the inside of your television, and then you should let it stay for a while before putting it back on the wall and switching it on.
Wrapping It Up
A flickering, flashing black, or half-screen flickering issue is common among all televisions and your TCL TV is also prone to this issue, so I hope with the help of this guide you will be able to fix it as I followed these steps to fix my TCL TV’s flickering issue.
To quickly wrap it up, The flickering screen on your TCL TC can be caused by overheating, faulty cables, a backlit issue, or by any glitch in the settings. If that occurs, here’s what you should do to fix it.
- Do a proper power cycle of your TV.
- Inspect all cables and switch power cable and HDMI cable.
- Hard reset the TV.
- Clean the Vents and Mainboard of your TV.
mine started doing this flickering horizontally..about every few seconds.. I replaced main board reseated all cables. replaced power cable no other cables plugged in. should I replace t con board? or just trash it ..its only 3 yrs old.
Hey Danita, 3 years is not that old and you can still use it without having any issues. However, if you have tried all the above solutions but still facing this issue, in that case, I would advise you to contact the official support or the local technician as the Tcon board can be faulty.
thanks for the info, but my TLC flickers black usually only when watching Netflix, sometimes during regular tv watching too, but usually when using the apps.
If it happens with certain apps, you need to clear the cache and other stored data of those apps manually and see if your TV is not overloaded with applications as that will also lead to such issues.