The display is on, but the source is missing
- Wake or turn on the source and select the display input matching its numbered HDMI socket.
- Reconnect both cable ends, then restart the source and display.
- Try a known-working cable with the source connected directly to the display. After each change, look for a home screen or desktop that stays visible.
- Stop using a port or plug that is damaged, loose, unusually hot, or smells unusual; turn off and unplug the affected device if safe, stop swapping its cables, and arrange service.
The “No Signal” message comes from the display: it is on, but the selected input has no usable video. A visible menu or volume bar shows that the display can draw its own controls; the incoming HDMI picture still needs testing. We’d start with source power and the numbered input because either can leave a sound cable and display showing this message.
| What you see | What it points to | First move |
|---|---|---|
| No Signal as soon as you select HDMI | Input, source power, or cable | Wake the source and match the input to the socket number. |
| Computer works on its own screen | External display output | Enable or detect the external screen on the computer. |
| Picture works directly but disappears through another device | That HDMI path or its video mode | Reconnect the device and its cables one at a time. |
| Menus work until a show or game starts | Protected playback or a changed video mode | Try another title or game, then retest the failing one. |
The cable is in, but there’s no picture
- Turn on or wake the device sending the picture and let it start. If its home screen or desktop appears and stays on, its standby state was the cause. If No Signal remains, look at the display socket.
- Read the HDMI number beside that socket. Press Input or Source on the display remote and select the same number. If the picture appears, leave that input selected. If it does not, move to the cable.
- Remove and firmly reseat the HDMI plug at both ends. Keep a freestanding TV steady while reaching behind it; pulling or pushing the set can tip it. A picture that now stays on points to the connection. If it is still missing, restart both devices.
- Restart the source and display using their normal power controls, then return to the matching input. If the source screen remains absent, leave the source and input unchanged and replace only the cable with one known to work.
- Look for the same screen with the replacement cable. If it stays visible, replace the original cable. If both cables fail, make the direct comparisons below.
A visibly damaged HDMI cable should be replaced. For ultra-high-definition video at 60 Hz, a certified Premium High Speed HDMI cable is a documented choice; the HDMI Licensing Administrator’s cable guidance (opens in a new tab) describes its capability. The source and display must support that mode too.
Find out which part fails
Change one part of the connection at a time. Use the known-working cable and the same source home screen for each comparison. Disconnect any adapter, dock, receiver, soundbar, or switch so the source feeds the display directly; a stable picture now puts the removed device or one of its cables in the failed path.
- Move the same source and cable to a second HDMI socket on the display, then select that socket’s number. If only the original socket fails at a video mode both inputs support, its port or input settings need attention. A second port that holds the picture is usable for now.
- Connect a second HDMI source to the original input with the known-working cable. If its home screen appears, focus on the first source’s power and video output. If neither source appears, keep the display in the comparison.
- If you have another display, connect the original source to it with the known-working cable. A source that also fails there points to its output or settings. If both sources fail only on the first display, the first display needs attention.
For a projector, select the connected HDMI input or start its source search, then allow a few seconds for an image. If a computer works on another display but not the projector, use the working display to lower its resolution and refresh rate before reconnecting it. Try 1920 × 1080 at 60 Hz when the projector lists that mode; otherwise choose a lower mode from its supported-input list. The projector showing a steady desktop confirms the output mode was the obstacle.
The projector input steps show how to use Source Search. If your TV itself has no menu or picture on any source, dark-screen checks address that different symptom.
Your computer is on, but the external screen is blank
On Windows, press Windows+P and choose Duplicate or Extend. Look for the desktop on the external screen. If it remains absent, open Settings > System > Display > Multiple displays > Detect. A newly listed screen that stays dark calls for a lower resolution or refresh rate supported by that display. If Windows still cannot detect it, return to the direct cable and port swaps.
On a desktop with a separate graphics card, plug the monitor into the card’s video output. The motherboard’s HDMI socket may use integrated graphics that the computer has disabled. A desktop that appears after moving the plug identifies the active output.
On a Mac, open System Settings > Displays, hold Option to reveal Detect Displays (opens in a new tab), and click it. If a display-accessory approval prompt appears, approve it. Remove a dock or hub and connect the display directly to a Mac video output when one is available. If the display appears in settings but stays dark, raise its brightness and select a resolution and refresh rate it supports. A stable desktop confirms the connection.
Your player or box turns on without a picture
Power to a player and video from it are separate checks. Look for its power indicator, wake it with its remote, and allow startup before judging the HDMI picture. A cable box can have power while its output is in standby or the TV is on another input. Select the matching TV input and look for the box’s own menu, then test it directly with the known-working cable if that menu never appears.
For a streaming stick with a separate power lead, use the supplied power arrangement. A low-power warning or flashing power light calls for its supplied cable and wall adapter instead of the TV’s USB socket. Once the warning clears, its home screen should remain visible. If it does not, repeat the direct source and cable test. The streaming-player power checks cover that separate warning.
If a console lost its picture after a resolution, refresh-rate, or HDR change, connect it directly with the known-working cable. Use a working display to return its video output to a mode the problem display supports, or start the console’s safe-video recovery and choose its resolution option. Retest its home screen, then the game. Select video-output options only: other recovery choices can erase saved data.
| Device | Action and confirming result |
|---|---|
| Roku streaming player | Pause about 10 seconds on the selected input; its home screen should appear. A low-power warning calls for supplied wall power. |
| PS5 console | With power off, hold Power until the second beep, about seven seconds after the first. Connect the controller by USB, press its PS button, then choose Change Video Output > Change Resolution. Check whether the home screen returns. |
The picture disappears through a receiver or switch
A direct picture gives you a working reference. Reconnect just one receiver, soundbar, or HDMI switch between that source and display. Run the source’s HDMI OUT to the device’s HDMI IN, then its HDMI OUT to the display. Select the source input on the added device and the connected input on the display. If the same home screen stays visible, that path works.
If the picture disappears, test each of the two cables against the direct connection, one at a time. With direct video working, lower the source to 1920 × 1080 at 60 Hz when every device in the path supports it, then rebuild the path. A picture that holds at the lower setting points to a video-format limit in the added path. If it still fails, keep the direct connection and report which device and cables made the picture disappear.
The direct tests still point to the display
If two sources fail on the display with a known-working cable while the original source works elsewhere, the owner tests have isolated the display. If its settings include an HDMI cable or input diagnostic, run it and retest the direct home screen. A factory reset is a last owner option only when the display’s troubleshooting menu calls for one: record picture settings and have app sign-ins ready, because a full reset removes saved settings and apps. If the direct picture remains absent afterward, stop testing.
Contact the failing device’s maker while it is under warranty. For out-of-warranty TV work, give a TV repair shop the cable, numbered inputs, second source, second display, and direct-connection results. Contact the cable-box provider if only its box fails. Tell them about any damaged or hot port, and ask for a written total that separates diagnosis, travel, parts, and labor.
For a US TV, an out-of-warranty shop assessment is $75 to $150 and covers diagnosis, not repair. Ask whether that charge is credited if you approve the job. Repairing one accessible HDMI socket without replacing its connector is $60 to $250, built from 1 to 2 hours of billed labor at $60 to $125 per hour; separately billed diagnosis and travel add to it. A standard main-board replacement example is $230 to $470, built from a $170 to $220 retail-sourced board and 1 to 2 hours of billed labor at $60 to $125 per hour. Shops mark parts up over retail, so the parts line on a quote can run higher.
A socket or board replacement needs a part matched to the exact TV. Compare the complete repair quote, including diagnosis and travel, with an equivalent new TV before approving it.
A few more HDMI questions
Why do the menus show, but a show or game makes the screen go black?
Try another title or game first. If protected video alone fails, replay the same title with a direct connection, then another cable or input; success after a swap points to that HDMI path. If a game drops out when its mode changes, lower resolution or refresh rate or turn off variable refresh rate, then replay it.
When should I stop trying fixes, and how much could a repair cost?
Stop after the direct cable, input, source, and second-display swaps identify the failing device, or sooner for a damaged, loose, or hot port. Give the repairer those test results and compare the full quote with an equivalent replacement TV; the assessment, socket-repair, and board-replacement bands are in the last-display-check section.
Can I use another HDMI port for now, and how do I stop this happening again?
Use the second port if the same source and cable hold a stable picture there at the video mode you need. Stop using a port with bent pins, looseness, heat, or an intermittent picture. Seat plugs without forcing them, leave slack so the cable does not pull on the socket, and confirm the picture stays on after restoring your usual setup.
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