Ever had that heart-sinking moment when you’re ready to unwind with your favorite show, but your Insignia TV refuses to play ball? Yep, I’ve been there too, folks.
After waiting so long for a much-anticipated movie night, my Insignia TV decided to take an unscheduled nap, refusing to wake up—it felt like a Netflix plot twist gone wrong! But I can’t let my popcorn go to waste so I got to work to crack the code!
To fix your Insignia TV that won’t turn on, unplug it from the wall outlet and perform a power reset. After which, hold its power button for 60 seconds before plugging it back in to let its system restore itself.
Should that solution fail, don’t worry! In this post, we’ll discuss nine practical fixes, complete with step-by-step photos, so you don’t end up with a very expensive paperweight!
FIX 1. Unplug and power reset your Insignia TV
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 1 minute and 10 seconds |
| Things Needed | An Insignia TV A working power cable A working wall outlet |
One of the things you can do if your Insignia TV won’t turn on is to unplug its power cable from the wall outlet and conduct a power reset. You can power reset your faulty Insignia TV by performing a soft reset and power cycle simultaneously.
By resetting your Insignia TV, you can refresh its system memory and correct minor errors and bugs that cause its system to malfunction.
Similarly, conducting a power cycle is an effective fix that helps your Insignia TV deal with various external factors that prevent it from turning on like normal.
The residual electrical charges that Insignia TVs store during use, which the power cycle addresses, often cause boot-up problems. Therefore, performing both actions to power reset your Insignia TV has the highest likelihood of turning it on again.
Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Shutdown and unplug the Insignia TV. Note: You can unplug your Insignia TV without shutting it down if it’s unresponsive. |
| Step 2: Hold its power button for 60 seconds to power cycle the Insignia TV while its system resets.  Note: Insignia TV power buttons have varying locations depending on the model. Refer to your Insignia TV’s user manual to find its power button. |
Step 3: Plug in and turn your Insignia TV on. Note: Press the built-in power button if your Insignia TV doesn’t boot up when you plug it into an outlet. |
FIX 2. Plug the Insignia TV into a different power outlet
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 10 seconds |
| Things Needed | An Insignia TV A working power cable A working power outlet A multimeter or voltmeter |
If your Insignia TV won’t turn on, it’s safe to assume it suffers from power-related problems. After all, boot-up issues often occur when your Insignia TV fails to receive sufficient electricity to power its components, stopping it from booting up.
Although this problem can happen due to various factors, it often has something to do with your Insignia TV’s power accessories. However, we suggest checking the power outlet you plug your Insignia TV into for good measure.
Since the power outlet is your Insignia TV’s source of electricity, it’s crucial to ensure the device can turn on. As such, we recommend using a voltmeter or multimeter to check if your power outlet supplies enough electricity for your Insignia TV.
Depending on your Insignia TV’s make, it may require 120V or 220V, so measuring your power outlet’s voltage should show a result close to those numbers. You can check the user manual to confirm the voltage it needs to power its components.
FIX 3. Inspect your Insignia TV’s power cable and ports
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 10 seconds |
| Things Needed | An Insignia TV A working power cable A working power outlet A soft brush or cleaning cloth |
As mentioned, power accessories are another likely reason your Insignia TV isn’t turning on. In particular, the power cable is essential since it carries the electricity the wall outlet supplies to your Insignia TV’s power supply board.
If the power cable is faulty or damaged, your Insignia TV can’t receive electricity to turn on properly. You must replace it immediately since continuously using a faulty power accessory can cause electrical failure, possibly leading to fire accidents.
Choosing the correct replacement is crucial since cheap power cables might not meet safety standards, causing your Insignia TV more harm than good. If possible, only purchase replacement power cables from reliable brands and suppliers.
Furthermore, you must also ensure your input cables are working since they can cause black screen problems. When this happens, your Insignia TV may appear not to turn on, misleading you to think it suffers from a boot-up issue.
Thus, you must check your HDMI cables to ensure their secure connection and confirm whether or not there are physical damages. After all, we also recommend replacing faulty HDMI cables immediately.
Finally, inspecting your Insignia TV’s ports would be best since you plug these cables into them. Clean the ports with dust buildup with a soft brush or cleaning cloth to stop them from blocking your Insignia TV’s power and input connections.
FIX 4. Check your Insignia TV’s temperature and ensure proper ventilation
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 10 seconds |
| Things Needed | An Insignia TV A working power cable A working power outlet |
All electronic devices can suffer from overheating issues, which is dangerous since it can cause hardware damage. As a result, overheating problems may force Insignia TVs to shut down during use to protect their components from internal damage.
High internal temperatures may burn these components, setting them aflame and even causing them to explode. It’s why TV manufacturers implement a shutdown protocol to help these devices protect themselves from overheating damage.
This defense mechanism also prevents the device from turning on until its internal temperature reaches a safe level. Therefore, your Insignia TV won’t turn on unless you let it cool down first after an overheating incident.
Placing your Insignia TV in a room with proper ventilation and good airflow will help dissipate heat faster. Moreover, we recommend removing nearby objects to give your Insignia TV more breathing room to help lower its internal temperature.
FIX 5. Remove the batteries from your Insignia remote
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 20 seconds |
| Things Needed | An Insignia TV An Insignia TV remote Two AAA batteries Any AAA battery-compatible device |
Surprisingly, troubleshooting the remote control is essential for fixing an Insignia TV that won’t turn on. A faulty remote control is another common cause of black screen problems, making your Insignia TV appear not to turn on.
It happens when your Insignia remote is out of juice, preventing you from turning the TV on with its power button. As such, we recommend removing the batteries inside your Insignia TV remote to check whether or not they have enough power left.
Since AAA batteries have no battery level indicators, inserting them into another electronic device is the only way to test them. This action lets you determine if they have enough juice to power your Insignia TV remote.
If not, you must replace them immediately before using your Insignia remote to turn your TV on again. Skip this solution if the batteries have enough power left, and try the other troubleshooting tricks below.
Step 1: Remove your Insignia TV’s back cover to reveal its battery compartment. |
Step 2: Take out its AAA batteries. |
| Step 3: Insert the replacement AAA batteries into the Insignia TV remote’s battery compartment.  |
| Step 4: Cover the remote control’s battery compartment and press its power button to turn your Insignia TV on. |
FIX 6. Set the correct TV input
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 8 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 40 seconds |
| Things Needed | An Insignia TV An Insignia TV remote |
We’ve already established that correcting your Insignia TV’s input connection via its HDMI cable helps prevent black screen problems that make it appear like it’s not turning on. Thus, we recommend setting the correct input source on your TV to expand on that solution.
After all, securing your HDMI cables isn’t enough to fix the problem with your Insignia TV not turning on due to a black screen issue. You must also select the correct input source so your Insignia TV will load images on its display screen.
Depending on the Insignia TV, you can set the default input source whenever you turn the device on. This way, you don’t need to manually change the TV input since it will automatically switch to the default input source.
Our example below shows how to select and set the default input source on Insignia Fire TVs. The input selection process won’t follow the same steps if you have a different Insignia TV.
Step 1: Go to your Insignia TV home screen. |
Step 2: Go to Inputs. |
Step 3: Select an input source according to your external device’s HDMI port. Note: Follow the steps below to set a default input source on your Insignia Fire TV. Your Insignia TV will automatically use this default input source whenever you turn it on. |
Step 4: Return to the Insignia Fire TV home screen and open Settings. |
Step 5: Select Display & Sounds. |
Step 6: Click Power Controls. |
Step 7: Click Power On. |
Step 8: Select Last Input. |
Changing the input source on older Insignia TV is easier since you only need to press the input button on the remote control. You must navigate to Home > Settings > TV Inputs to change the input source on Insignia Roku TVs.
FIX 7. Perform a factory reset
Regarding software-related problems causing the issue with your Insignia TV not turning on, performing a factory reset is your best bet. This solution is, in particular, the best way to fix Insignia TV boot-up problems unless they’re hardware-related.
With this method, you can reset your Insignia TV and revert its system settings to its default configuration. This default configuration is the “factory default” since your TV manufacturer sets this up before shipping the unit to retailers.
WARNING: A factory reset deletes all your files and TV preferences, so save a copy before starting the process.
As such, it’s the configuration your Insignia TV has when you buy and open it for the first time. If your Insignia TV was working in this initial condition, performing the factory reset will likely fix the boot-up problem.
There are two ways your Insignia TV can undergo a factory reset. You can do it with or without its remote control, as shown in the instructions below.
Reset your Insignia TV using its remote
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 6 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 3 minutes |
| Things Needed | An Insignia TV An Insignia TV remote |
Although factory resetting your Insignia TV using its remote is standard, it’s unusable if you can’t access its settings menu. Therefore, you can’t use this solution if your Insignia TV won’t turn on.
However, you can perform this method if the previous solutions could turn your Insignia TV on temporarily. In such cases, you can use the factory reset as a follow-up solution to fix the boot-up problem permanently.
Reset your Insignia TV without a remote
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 8 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 3 minutes and 30 seconds |
| Things Needed | An Insignia TV A working wall outlet |
Factory resetting your Insignia TV without a remote is the ideal way to fix the boot-up problem since you don’t need access to its settings menu. Unfortunately, your Insignia TV must boot up its recovery mode menu for this method to succeed.
Therefore, you can’t use this method if your Insignia TV won’t turn on, no matter what you do. Like the previous method, this works best as a follow-up solution after temporarily turning your Insignia TV on with the other troubleshooting tricks.
Furthermore, the instructions below are only applicable to Insignia Fire TVs. Older Insignia TVs and Roku models often have a physical reset button on their back panel that you can press to perform the factory reset without a remote control.
Step 1: Shutdown and unplug the Insignia TV. Note: You can unplug your Insignia TV without shutting it down if it’s unresponsive. |
Step 2: Hold its power button. |
Step 3: Plug the Insignia TV into an outlet while holding its power button. |
| Step 4: Release its power button once the Insignia TV boots up and wait for the recovery menu to load.  |
| Step 5: Press its power button to highlight “Wipe data/factory reset” and hold it down to make a selection.  |
Step 6: Select Yes to restore its factory settings. |
Step 7: Select “Reboot system now” after the data wipe to restart the Insignia TV. |
Step 8: Wait as the Insignia Fire TV reboots its system. Note: Follow its on-screen setup after the reboot. |
FIX 8. Check the Insignia TV’s backlight
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 10 seconds |
| Things Needed | An Insignia TV A flashlight |
Another black screen problem that will make your Insignia TV appear not to turn on is linked to its backlights.
Since your Insignia TV’s backlights make the images on the display screen appear, a black screen problem will occur if they turn faulty or damaged.
We suggest conducting a flashlight test to determine if your Insignia TV has faulty backlights. In this test, you must point a flashlight close to the Insignia TV screen to check whether or not the device can produce images.
The flashlight will reveal images if your Insignia TV has backlight problems. After confirming if your Insignia TV has a backlight problem, you can go to your local repair shop to ask a technician to replace it.
If your TV is under warranty, you can ask Insignia Support to help you instead.
FIX 9. Check the Insignia TV’s power supply board
| Difficulty | Moderate ●●●○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 10 minutes |
| Things Needed | An Insignia TV A screwdriver A replacement power supply board |
If the flashlight test didn’t show any images, it’s likely because your Insignia TV has a faulty power supply board. This board supplies power to your Insignia TV’s components, so it’s the usual culprit of power-related problems.
Unfortunately, you must disassemble your Insignia TV to inspect its power supply board, so we don’t recommend this unless you have skills for handling electronic devices. In most cases, it’s best to let a certified technician inspect the TV on your behalf.
Step 1: Set your Insignia TV facedown and unscrew its back cover. |
Step 2: Lift your Insignia TV’s back cover. |
Step 3: Check the power supply board for loose cables and burnt or swollen capacitors. Note: Secure the power supply board’s cables. |
| Step 4: Unscrew and replace the power supply board if it’s already damaged. |
Step 5: Reassemble your Insignia TV after the replacement and turn it back on. |
