TV Not Playing Sound: Common Causes & DIY Fixes 2026

A TV not playing sound is one of the most disruptive — and most frequently misdiagnosed — home electronics problems. Smart TVs manufactured through 2026 have introduced more audio format negotiation complexity than ever before, meaning some failures that look like hardware faults are actually settings-level mismatches. This guide ranks the four most common causes from most to least likely, so you can diagnose and fix the problem without unnecessary parts purchases or service calls.

4 Common Causes for a TV Not Playing Sound

1Muted Settings or Volume Lock

The single most common reason a TV produces no sound is an active mute state or a volume lock that was enabled accidentally — often by a child pressing buttons, a remote being sat on, or an accessibility feature toggled during a software update. Modern smart TVs also include a Secondary Audio Program (SAP) or MTS setting that, when switched from the primary audio track to a secondary broadcast track, can produce silence if that secondary track carries no audio content. Note that SAP/MTS applies primarily to over-the-air broadcast or cable TV viewing; it is rarely the cause of silence in streaming apps.

Symptoms

• The TV is completely silent across all inputs, channels, and apps, but the screen is working normally.
• The on-screen volume bar shows maximum volume, or the mute icon is visible but the remote unmute button appears unresponsive.

Care Plan

1. Press the Mute button on the remote once to toggle mute off. If the remote is unresponsive, locate the physical volume button on the TV chassis and press it directly.
2. Power cycle the TV — unplug it from the wall, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. This clears temporary firmware states that can lock volume controls.
3. Navigate to Settings → Accessibility → Audio (menu names vary by brand) and confirm that no volume limiter, night mode audio cap, or hearing aid compatibility mode is reducing output to zero.
4. If you use broadcast or cable TV, go to Settings → Broadcast → Audio → Audio Language and confirm the audio track is set to your primary language rather than a secondary SAP track that may carry no audio content.
5. If sound is still absent after all of the above, the cause is not a settings issue — proceed to Cause 2.

Common Mistakes

• Pressing the mute button repeatedly and toggling it back on before checking whether it was already active — leave it toggled off and test before pressing it again.
• Overlooking the volume limiter in accessibility settings, which can cap output at a low level that sounds like complete silence at normal listening distance.

2HDMI or Input Source Audio Failure

HDMI audio dropout is a condition where the TV and a connected source device — a streaming stick, game console, Blu-ray player, or cable box — briefly fail to agree on an audio format during the handshake process. This means the two devices fail to negotiate a compatible format, and the TV defaults to silence rather than outputting distorted sound. This failure has become more common as TVs and source devices have added support for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and eARC, all of which require successful format negotiation on every connection. A loose, damaged, or low-quality HDMI cable is frequently the physical root cause.

Symptoms

• Sound is absent only on one specific HDMI input, while other inputs (such as built-in apps) play audio normally.
• Sound cuts out intermittently or disappears entirely after the TV comes out of standby mode.

Care Plan

1. Switch to the TV’s built-in streaming app (e.g., Netflix or YouTube) and confirm whether internal audio works. If it does, the fault is isolated to the HDMI connection, not the TV’s speakers or audio system.
2. Unplug the HDMI cable from both the TV and the source device, wait 10 seconds, and reconnect firmly — both ends should click or seat without play.
3. Move the cable to a different HDMI port on the TV and retest. If audio returns, the original port has a damaged connector or internal fault.
4. Replace the cable with a quality cable from a reputable brand — cable construction quality and shielding matter more than version rating for audio reliability, and a replacement cable is typically under $15 from most retailers.
5. If the new cable on a different port still produces no audio, go to Settings → Sound → Audio Output → HDMI Audio Format and change the setting from Dolby Atmos or Auto to PCM Stereo. This removes format negotiation from the equation entirely. If the issue persists after this change, the HDMI input circuit on the TV’s mainboard may have failed, and a technician should inspect the board.

Common Mistakes

• Testing only the original HDMI port rather than swapping to a different port, which misses a port-specific hardware fault and leads to an incorrect conclusion that the TV’s entire audio system has failed.
• Purchasing a premium “high-speed” cable expecting it to fix audio dropout — shielding quality and connector construction are what prevent dropout, not marketing tier.

3Incorrect Audio Output Settings

Smart TVs route audio output through a configurable system that can direct sound to internal speakers, an optical digital output, an HDMI ARC or eARC port, or a Bluetooth device. If any of these output modes is selected while no external device is connected, the internal speakers are disabled and the TV will appear to produce no sound. This misconfiguration is commonly triggered by disconnecting a soundbar or Bluetooth speaker without switching the output setting back to internal speakers, or by a firmware update that resets audio routing defaults.

Symptoms

• The TV plays audio correctly through a connected soundbar or external speaker, but the internal speakers are silent even when the soundbar is disconnected.
• The TV Speaker option in the audio output menu is grayed out or unavailable.

Care Plan

1. Disconnect all external audio devices — unplug optical cables, HDMI ARC cables, and unpair any Bluetooth speakers from the TV’s Bluetooth settings.
2. Navigate to Settings → Sound → Sound Output (labeling varies by brand: LG uses “Sound Out,” Samsung uses “Sound Output,” Sony uses “Audio Output”).
3. Select TV Speaker or Internal Speaker from the list of available outputs.
4. If TV Speaker is grayed out while an HDMI ARC cable is connected, unplug the ARC cable — some TVs automatically disable internal speakers when they detect an ARC connection, regardless of whether the external device is powered on.
5. If TV Speaker remains grayed out with no external devices connected, the internal audio amplifier circuit on the mainboard is likely experiencing a hardware fault — proceed to Cause 4 to rule out a speaker failure, or contact a technician for mainboard diagnostics.

Common Mistakes

• Leaving a Bluetooth speaker paired but powered off — many TVs will still attempt to route audio to a paired Bluetooth device and disable internal speakers, even when the target device cannot connect.
• Forgetting to retest after each individual cable is unplugged, which makes it difficult to identify which connection was triggering the auto-routing behavior.

4Blown Internal Speakers

The internal speakers in a TV are small, low-mass drivers that can physically fail over time from sustained high-volume use, electrical surges, or manufacturing defects. The voice coil — the small wire coil that vibrates to produce sound inside the speaker cone — can burn out or become mechanically separated from the cone, resulting in a complete loss of audio output. A wiring harness connector that has vibrated loose from the speaker terminal or mainboard connector is a less catastrophic but equally common cause of sudden silence.

Symptoms

• Audio is completely absent or replaced by a faint crackling or buzzing sound at all volume levels.
• External audio (through headphones, optical output, or ARC) works correctly, confirming the TV’s audio processing circuitry is intact.

Care Plan

1. Confirm the failure is isolated to the internal speakers by testing audio output through an alternative path. If your TV has a 3.5mm headphone jack — note that many smart TVs manufactured after 2018–2019 have removed this port — connect headphones to test. If no headphone jack is present, connect an optical cable to an AV receiver or soundbar, or use the HDMI ARC output to an external device. If external audio plays normally, the TV’s audio processing is functioning and the fault is in the internal speaker pathway.
2. Unplug the TV from the wall outlet and wait a minimum of 30–60 minutes before opening the rear panel. Do not touch any components on the power supply board during or after this wait — residual voltage on the capacitors can cause a serious electrical shock even with the TV unplugged. If you have a multimeter, verify zero voltage on the large cylindrical filter capacitors on the power supply board before proceeding.
3. Before handling any internal connectors, touch an unpainted metal surface on the TV’s outer frame — not the power supply board — to discharge any static electricity from your body and reduce the risk of electrostatic damage to internal circuits. Use a plastic pry tool or guitar pick to remove the rear panel clips around the perimeter of the TV; do not use metal screwdrivers, which can crack the housing and damage internal ribbon cables.
4. Locate the speaker assemblies — typically mounted on the lower left and right interior of the frame — and check whether the wiring harness connectors are fully seated on both the speaker terminals and the mainboard audio output connector. A disconnected wire can be reseated by pressing the connector firmly until it clicks. If a wire has broken free from a solder joint and you need to resolder it, first carefully remove or isolate the speaker assembly away from the power supply board and all display ribbon cables — accidental contact between a soldering iron tip and a ribbon cable will permanently destroy the screen.
5. To test whether a speaker has a blown voice coil, set a multimeter to measure resistance (Ohms) and probe the two terminals on the speaker. A functional speaker will read approximately 4 or 8 ohms (the rated impedance is typically printed on the speaker label). An open circuit reading — displayed as OL or infinite resistance on the multimeter — indicates the voice coil has burned out and the speaker must be replaced. Search your TV’s model number plus “speaker replacement” to source an OEM-equivalent part; cost varies significantly by TV size and brand, with premium or large-format models potentially exceeding the typical $20–$80 range. If both speakers test as functional (show a resistance reading of 4–8 ohms) but still produce no sound when reconnected, the fault is likely in the audio amplifier circuit on the mainboard.
6. Swap the Speakers: If the resistance test confirmed an open circuit (OL), unscrew the mounting brackets and swap the old speaker for the new OEM part. Reassemble the rear panel carefully, ensuring no internal wires are pinched, then plug the unit back in and test.

Common Mistakes

• Measuring resistance with the speakers still connected to the board. This will give you an inaccurate reading because the meter will pick up resistance from other components on the mainboard. Always unplug the speaker connector before testing.
• Ignoring the “Flashlight Test” on the mainboard. If you see burnt marks or “bubbled” chips near the audio output harness on the mainboard, the amplifier has failed. Replacing the speakers will not fix a dead amplifier.