If your Hisense TV won’t power on, I have a 1 minute fix. Your TV isn’t broken, it’s just a bit confused. In this blog post, I’ll cover basic troubleshooting for your Hisense TV that almost always gets it up and running again very quickly.
When your Hisense TV won’t power on, it’s usually an easy fix. After making sure it’s receiving power, unplugging it and holding the power button with the power off before plugging it back in works wonders.
Check the basics first when your Hisense TV won’t power on
But before we get into the 1 minute fix for a Hisense TV that won’t power on, let’s cover the basics. If it won’t power on from the remote, does it power on from the TV set? If it does, the remote probably just needs fresh batteries. Second, check the power cord. Make sure it’s plugged firmly both into the back of the TV and into the wall. It’s surprising how often something bumps into one or the other.
And while you are there, make sure the outlet is working. If you have a power strip, does the power strip light up after plugging it into the wall? Does using a different outlet make a difference? Does plugging directly into the wall rather than into the power strip make a difference? I know this sounds basic. But a friend ran into just this problem a couple of weeks ago, tracing a power problem to a single outlet on his power strip.
Assuming the basics all checked out okay, here’s my secret for fixing a Hisense TV that won’t turn on. I use this trick on many other electronic devices as well.
The one minute fix for the Hisense TV that won’t turn on
When your Hisense TV won’t turn on, unplug the power from either the back of the TV or the wall. Just choose whichever is easier to reach.
Next, press and hold the power button for 30 to 45 seconds. It is very important to use the power button on the TV set itself for this step, and not the remote.
Let go of the power button and plug the TV back in. Then try hitting the power button again. Assuming there’s power at the wall, the set will power up normally.
Next, try the remote to make sure the remote is working as well. Some people tell you to do the same thing with the remote, removing the batteries and holding the power button. That won’t hurt anything. But honestly I’ve never had to do that. The 30-second power button trick on the television itself always worked for me.
And if you’re wondering, this trick works for Hisense TVs, Hisense-manufactured TVs like Insignia, and other brands of TVs as well. The occasional problem of a TV not turning on isn’t exclusive to Hisense.
Why is this works
Modern HDTVs, whether they are smart TVs or not, never actually fully power down unless you unplug them from the wall. This means the TV is never actually fully powered off, at least not under normal circumstances. When your TV won’t power on into a state where you can use it, it’s hung up in limbo and doesn’t know how to get out. Completely cutting the power allows it to get out of this in between state and operate properly. It’s the equivalent of a hard reboot.
The reason for holding down the power button for 30 to 45 seconds is to drain the capacitors inside the device. Capacitors are electronic components that hold a charge for a period of time even if they aren’t receiving any power themselves. Holding the power switch while the TV isn’t getting power from the wall drains the capacitors by trying to power the TV from whatever power remains in the capacitors. When the capacitors run out of power, the TV powers down completely, getting it out of its confused state.
It’s a weird trick, but it’s something I’ve been using on other electronic devices for more than 20 years.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.