How To Fix Vizio TV Dim Screen Issue

Is your Vizio TV screen dark? There are several factors that can cause this problem such as outdated TV firmware, energy saving settings being enabled, wrong picture mode settings, or even a software glitch. To fix this you will need to perform several troubleshooting steps.

Vizio TVs generally offer great value for money as they don’t cost a a lot yet have several excellent features. The company has various TV models in the budget, midrange as well as high end category with features such as OLED displays, 4K resolution, as well as HDR support.

Why is my Vizio TV screen going dim?

One of the issues can Vizio TV owners might experience is when the television screen brightness appears to be quite low. Sometimes when watching a movie you will only get a dim or dark screen making the viewing experience quite lacking.

This issue usually occurs when:

• Watching a show and the screen dims during a dark screen.
• A new update has been applied.
• Using a particular app.

Here’s what you can do to fix the Vizio TVs screen brightness problem.

Solution 1: Power cycle your Vizio TV

One common factor that can cause the Vizio TV black screen or dim issue is a software glitch. This can be due to the TV’s internal memory being overloaded or the TV’s firmware has crashed. In order to fix this you just need to power cycle your Vizio TV.

Power cycle Vizio Smart TV

Turn off the Vizio TV.

Remove all the devices plugged into your Vizio TV.

Unplug the power cord of the Vizio TV from the power outlet.

Press the physical power button on your Vizio TV for about 30 seconds.

Wait for 10 minutes.

Connect the previously disconnected devices to your Vizio TV.

Plug the Vizio TV into the power outlet.

Turn on your TV using the Vizio remote.

After power cycling try to check if the Vizio TV screen issue is fixed.

Solution 2: Change Vizio TV picture settings

Sometimes the Vizio TV screen can be darker than normal because of the automated brightness control system that is not allowing it to increase the brightness due to some environmental factor or could be the brightness sensor or Cinema Mode activated. You should try making some changes to the TV settings and check if this fixes the problem.

Turn off the Adaptive Luma and Ambient Light Sensor before making any picture settings changes.

Press the MENU button on the remote.

Highlight Picture and press OK.

Use the Right or Left Arrow button on the remote to change the Picture Mode to Custom.

Highlight More and press the Right Arrow button.

Highlight Advanced Picture and press the Right Arrow button.

Highlight Adaptive Luma and use the Right or Left Arrow button on the remote to change the setting to Off.

Highlight Ambient Light Sensor and use the Right or Left Arrow button on the remote to change the setting to Off.

Press the Back button on the remote twice to return to the Picture Settings menu. Change the settings on the menu.

Adjust brightness setting

Press the “VIA” button on the remote control that came with your Vizio TV.

Select “TV Settings” using the arrow keys on the remote and then press “OK.”

Highlight Picture using the arrow keys on the remote and then press “OK.”

Press the right-pointing arrow button on the remote control until Custom appears to the right of Picture Mode.

Press the down-pointing arrow on the remote control until Backlight is highlighted. Adjust the Backlight levels using the right- and left-pointing arrows on the remote. The higher the number, the brighter the overall screen will be.

Press the down-pointing arrow until “Brightness” is highlighted. The higher the Brightness number, the more the color black will stand out.

Solution 3: Reset Picture settings

There’s a possibility that some picture mode setting you made is causing this issue. To fix this you can reset the picture settings to their default factory conditions.

Resetting picture modes

Press the MENU button on the remote.

Highlight Picture and press OK.

Highlight More and press the Right Arrow button.

Highlight Reset Picture Mode and press the OK button on the remote.

The TV will display a message asking you to confirm or cancel the reset. Use the Right and Left Arrow buttons on the remote to highlight the confirmation button (usually labeled Reset) and press OK button.

Solution 4: Update the Vizio TV to the latest software version

You should make sure that the Vizio TV software installed is the latest update. The old software version might have an existing firmware bug that is causing the TV screen dimming issues.

Updating Vizio firmware

• Press the Menu button on the Vizio tv remote.
• Locate the System tab and select check for updates.
• If any update is available then download it.

After the new firmware has been installed try to check if the issue is fixed.

Solution 5: Factory reset your Vizio TV

Sometimes a corrupted TV settings or a glitch in the TV software can cause this problem. In order to fix this you will need to perform a factory reset. This will allow you TV to go back factory defaults.

Reset to factory settings

Using the Vizio remote, navigate to the menu.

Go to Settings, then System, and finally OK.

Select “Reset TV to factory defaults”.

If you do not have the parental code, when requested for a password, enter 0 0 0 0 0.

Choose “Reset” and hit OK.

Allow your television to switch off.

Once the restart operation has been completed you will need to setup the TV.

After the TV has reverted to its factory settings try checking if the issue has been fixed.

Solution 6: Contact Vizio support

If after performing the troubleshooting steps listed above the picture issue persists then you should get professional help by contacting the nearest Vizio TV service center. There’s a possibility that this can already be caused by a faulty hardware component such as a damaged T Con board which is causing this display issue.

Frequently Asked Questions