Not only does it test your patience, but a flickering Vizio TV is bound to strain your eyes. And it’s definitely something that can get you into a sour mood, especially if the whole family is in their seat, ready to watch Netflix, and it happens.
Fix the Vizio TV screen flickering by restarting the system, ensuring the cables are snug, changing the input source, and checking the video source. Also, update the software, conduct a factory reset, or inspect for hardware issues.
Indeed, that’s a mouthful. But no worries; in this post, we’ll break down ten proven-and-tested workarounds to deal with a Vizio TV flickering into simple steps so you can apply them without calling a friend.
FIX 1. Restart your TV
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 40 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Vizio smart TVA Vizio TV remote control |
An easy solution for the Vizio TV flickering issue is to initiate a restart sequence by rebooting the device. Doing so will help your Vizio TV address minor system and software errors causing the display issue that makes the screen flicker.
This action works by refreshing your Vizio TV’s system memory, which shuts down all running apps and programs in the background. With this, you can stop the faulty or misbehaving app or program behind the display error on your Vizio TV.
Since the restart sequence clears temporary files and cached memory, you can also eliminate corrupt data created by your TV apps and system during use. Thus, you may notice your Vizio TV improving its speed and performance once it reboots.
Fortunately, restarting your Vizio TV doesn’t delete essential data since it only targets temporary files and cached memory. As such, you shouldn’t be concerned about losing your apps and user data, as restarting is safe for any TV model.
Step 1: Press the Vizio remote’s Menu button to access the TV settings menu. |
Step 2: Go to System. |
Step 3: Navigate to Reset & Admin. |
Step 4: Click Reboot TV and wait as the device shuts down and reboots its system. Note: Since the restart clears cached data, you can target misbehaving apps that cause flickering issues on your Vizio TV. |
FIX 2. Adjust the Vizio TV’s picture settings
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 20 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Vizio smart TVA Vizio TV remote control |
A terrible picture settings configuration is one of many reasons you have a flickering Vizio TV. Believe it or not, changing some values in your Vizio TV’s picture settings menu can trigger the screen to flicker or blink continuously.
Thus, we recommend not messing with the Vizio TV picture settings unless you know what you’re doing. If configuring the picture settings is necessary, take note of your adjustments so you can revert them when the screen flickering occurs.
Doing so will save you the trouble of scrambling to undo the changes behind the flickering on your Vizio TV screen. You can also use this opportunity to lower the values in the picture settings menu to reduce its power usage.
In particular, you must look into your Vizio TV’s backlight and brightness levels. These configurations are the primary suspects regarding screen flickering issues and are the key options you want to adjust for power-saving purposes.
Step 1: Press the Vizio remote’s Menu button to access the TV settings menu. |
Step 2: Select Picture to access the Vizio TV picture settings menu. |
Step 3: Highlight Picture Mode and press the Vizio remote’s left or right directional buttons to switch between modes. Note: Some picture modes may cause your Vizio TV to flicker, so choose one that doesn’t make the screen suffer display issues. |
Step 4: Scroll down and select the Backlight option. Note: Lower the value of your Vizio TV’s backlight to 60 or below since screen flickering can occur at higher backlight configurations. |
Step 5: Scroll down and select the Brightness option. Note: Try lowering the brightness level on your Vizio TV, as brighter screens tend to flicker more. |
While unavailable on some Vizio TVs, some models allow you to reset the picture settings. In these Vizio TVs, you can navigate to the Picture menu, select the More option, and click Reset Picture Mode to reset the current configuration.
It’s an excellent way to reset your Vizio TV picture settings to the default working configuration. You can resort to this method if the screen flickering occurs after adjusting the picture settings.
FIX 3. Ensure all connections are secure
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 10 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Vizio smart TVA Vizio TV remote controlWorking input and power cables |
It’s always wise to ensure your Vizio TV’s cable connections are secure to prevent data transmission from failing. After all, your Vizio TV relies on the quality of video data and signal from your external input devices to display the best images on its screen.
Otherwise, any loose cable connection may result in a Vizio TV blinking screen. Not only is the constant flickering annoying, but it also diminishes the quality of the images on the screen, disrupting the immersion of your viewing experience.
Keeping all cables connected to your Vizio TV tight and secure is essential to maintain the quality of the display. You don’t want an HDMI cable or RCA connector to transmit terrible video signals to your Vizio TV and ruin how your fave shows look.
The same can be said about your Vizio TV’s power cable since it transmits the power your wall outlets supply. Without enough power, your Vizio TV’s backlight won’t perform well, causing brightness fluctuations and display screen flickering.
Step 1: Press the Vizio remote’s Power button to turn the TV off. Note: You can also press the physical power button on your Vizio TV. |
Step 2: Unplug your Vizio TV’s power cable, AUX cable, HDMI cable, and RCA connectors. |
| Step 3: Plug the cables back in and ensure they fit snugly. Note: Securing the cables ensures faultless video data and signal transmission. |
Ultimately, the quality of the transmitted video data and signals depends on the condition of your cables. Therefore, inspecting the wires and connectors for damage is best so you can immediately replace any damaged input cable.
FIX 4. Change your TV’s input source
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 20 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Vizio smart TVA Vizio TV remote controlAn external input device |
Sometimes, a faulty input source is why your Vizio TV screen is flickering. We suggest switching the selected input source to confirm whether the problem stems from the video transmission and not from screen damage.
This method requires you to access your Vizio TV’s change input menu and select another external device as the input source. If the screen flickering persists regardless of the input source, it means software or hardware problems.
However, the flickering should stop if the previously selected input source was the root cause of the problem. Therefore, you must troubleshoot the faulty external input device or replace it with another one.
Once you’ve connected a new external device to your Vizio TV, you must select it as the default input source. This way, your Vizio TV automatically selects this external device as the default input source every time you boot it up.
Step 1: Press the Vizio remote’s Input button to access your TV’s Change Input panel. |
Step 2: Scroll left or right and select your preferred input source. Note: Follow the steps below to set your preference as the default input source. |
| Step 3: Press the Vizio remote’s Menu button to access the TV settings menu. |
Step 4: Go to System. |
Step 5: Go to Input at Power On and use the Vizio remote’s left and right directional buttons to set the default input source. |
FIX 5. Check if the video source is flickering
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 20 to 60 seconds |
| Things Needed | A phone or PCA working internet connection |
Aside from your selected input device, we also recommend checking the video source of your Vizio TV’s content. After all, a faulty video source may cause the screen to appear flickering or blinking.
This issue commonly occurs when you’re streaming live content from a streaming platform. For instance, if the live video feed your Vizio TV receives from the streaming platform is flickering, it will appear like that when transmitted to the screen.
You must only stream content from streaming services that offer high-quality videos. Doing so will provide you with the best viewing experience and won’t make you think your Vizio TV is faulty, helping you save time from performing unnecessary fixes.
You can check their live video feed using a PC or smartphone if you’re streaming content from a multi-platform service provider. This action will help you confirm if the video source is causing the Vizio TV flickering issue.
FIX 6. Update your TV
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 10 minutes |
| Things Needed | A Vizio smart TVA Vizio TV remote controlA working internet connection |
Like other display issues, the screen flickering on Vizio TV may occur due to software-related errors. In particular, this happens when you keep using outdated system software.
After all, old software builds are prone to various bugs, glitches, and system malfunctions. It’s why TV developers often release software updates to address these errors and keep their products working in their best condition.
Therefore, updating the system software whenever possible should be one of your top priorities. With the improvements to your Vizio TV’s system software, you also prevent more issues from occurring in the future.
Subsequently, this single action gives tremendous benefits while helping resolve the current display issue.
Step 1: Press the Vizio remote’s Menu button to open the TV settings menu. |
Step 2: Go to System. |
Step 3: Select the Check for Updates option and confirm the action by clicking Yes on the pop-up window. Note: If connected to a WiFi network, your Vizio TV will search the internet for an available software update. |
| Step 4: Click Yes to begin the download and install the software update afterward. Note: If your Vizio TV is low on storage space, uninstall some apps before the update to prevent installation issues. |
FIX 7. Factory reset the TV
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 3 minutes |
| Things Needed | A Vizio TVA Vizio TV remote control |
Regarding software-related issues, it’s not the end of the world if the software update cannot fix the Vizio TV flickering issue. In such cases, you can perform a factory reset to address and resolve the software errors for good.
The only caveat is you lose your user data and saved files after you complete this procedure. But you must make a worthy sacrifice when resorting to the most effective method of troubleshooting software-related errors.
Unfortunately, while the factory reset is an excellent troubleshooting method, its usage is limited to addressing software problems. Failing to resolve the screen flicker issue with a factory reset might mean your Vizio TV suffers from hardware issues.
Additionally, a factory reset implies that everything will revert to its default configuration. As such, you must set up the Vizio TV, reinstall its apps, and redownload your files after you complete the factory reset process.
Step 1: Press the Vizio remote’s Menu button to open the TV settings menu. |
Step 2: Go to System. |
Step 3: Go to Reset & Admin to explore your reset options. |
Step 4: Click “Reset to Factory Settings.” |
| Step 5: Select the Reset option on the pop-up window to allow the Vizio TV’s factory reset process. Note: After the factory reset, you can set up your Vizio TV by following the on-screen instructions that appear once it reboots. |
FIX 8. Check for internal hardware issues
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 30 minutes |
| Things Needed | A Vizio TVA screwdriverA replacement power supply boardA replacement main boardA replacement control board |
If you’re in this part of the guide, we can only assume the previous solutions couldn’t fix the Vizio TV flickering issue. With this, we have reason to suspect that a hardware problem or damage is causing your Vizio TV screen to flash or blink nonstop.
It’s difficult to tell if your Vizio TV suffers from hardware problems, so you must take it apart to inspect its components thoroughly. In particular, you want to check its main board, control board, power supply board, and all the wires and cables.
This way, you can determine which component is problematic and requires immediate replacement. If a board has blown fuses, you can replace the broken fuse or the entire board based on your preference.
Replacing a board is easier since you only need to unscrew and replace it with a new one. With a blown fuse, you need to solder its replacement to the board, requiring more skill and tools.
Step 1: Turn off the Vizio TV and let it lie facedown on a flat surface. Note: Place your Vizio TV on a workbench or a regular table. |
Step 2: Unscrew the back panel from your Vizio TV’s chassis. |
Step 3: Lift its back panel to reveal the components inside the Vizio TV. Note: Take a photo of your Vizio TV in this state so you can reassemble it afterward. |
Step 4: Check its control board, main board, and power supply board for burnt and damaged parts. Note: Inspect the ribbon cables and wires connected to the boards. Reseat loose cables and wires, and check for signs of wear and tear. |
| Step 5: Unscrew the faulty board and install its replacement. Note: To prevent connection issues, you must securely connect all cables and wires to the replacement board. |
FIX 9. Replace the backlight
| Difficulty | Hard ●●●●● |
| Number of Steps | 20 |
| Time to Perform Fix | > 1 hour |
| Things Needed | A Vizio TVA screwdriverA pair of pliersAn adhesive tape2 Suction cupsA putty knifeA double-sided tapeA set of replacement LED strips |
If you don’t find any issues with your Vizio TV’s boards and the connected cables, you may need to replace the LED strips on its backlight instead. After all, the flickering issue might be a sign of worn-out LED strips.
Since these LED strips provide light to the display, damaging them can cause various display issues. However, they may also wear out over time, even without suffering from physical damage.
As such, we suggest replacing them as soon as you notice the most common signs of backlight failure. It includes flickering or blinking, black screen, blue tint, dead pixels, low brightness, and more.
When these things happen, you should look into your Vizio TV’s LED strips and consider replacing them immediately. Note that the replacement process is complex, so send your device to a service center if you’re not confident with your skills.
Step 1: Turn off the Vizio TV and let it lie facedown on a flat surface. |
Step 2: Unscrew the back panel from your Vizio TV’s chassis. |
Step 3: Lift its back panel to reveal the components inside the Vizio TV. |
Step 4: Locate and dislodge the Vizio TV’s IR sensor. Note: You can find it on one of the TV’s bottom corners. |
Step 5: Unscrew the Vizio TV’s bezel from its chassis. |
Step 6: Unplug the two ribbon cables between the control and address boards. |
Step 7: Flip the TV faceup to remove the bezel from its chassis. |
Step 8: Remove your Vizio TV’s address board protector. |
Step 9: Dislodge the address boards to free them from the filter frame. |
Step 10: Tape your Vizio TV’s address boards to its LCD panel. |
Step 11: Stick two suction cups to the LCD panel and lift it carefully. |
Step 12: Dislodge the locks or clips holding the filter frames in place. |
Step 13: Remove all filter frames from the sides of your Vizio TV. |
Step 14: Tape the corners of your TV’s light filters to bind and keep them in order. |
Step 15: Use pliers to remove the standoffs holding the reflector sheet down. |
Step 16: Remove the reflector sheet to reveal the LED strips. |
Step 17: Uninstall the worn-out LED strips. Note: If taped to the TV’s chassis, use a putty knife to remove the LED strips. |
Step 18: Put double-sided tape on the spots where the faulty LED strips used to be. |
Step 19: Place the replacement LED strips over the double-sided tape to install them. |
| Step 20: Reassemble the Vizio TV using Steps 16 to 1 as your reference. |
FIX 10. Check the Vizio TV’s warranty policy
If your Vizio TV is under warranty, you don’t have to waste time replacing its hardware problem. You can instead return it to Vizio so that they can fix the hardware issue on your behalf for free.
However, their warranty policy doesn’t cover all hardware issues. You can check their Warranty & Returns page to confirm if their policy covers your Vizio TV’s hardware issue.
Talk to Vizio Customer Support
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 30 to 60 seconds |
| Things Needed | A phone or PCA working internet connection |
We also recommend talking to their customer support to assist you with your Vizio TV problem. Their customer support can help explain your Vizio TV’s warranty policy and guide you through the process once it’s confirmed.
Should all else fail, you can reach them through the numbers and the live chat link below.
- 205-301-3729 (SMS/MMS only)
- 844-254-8087 (Canada & US)
- 844-324-5953 (Mexico)
