Have you ever been to a concert with a friend?
Throughout the night and through the noise, you’ll need to shout:
“I can’t hear you!”
Too bad I can’t yell that at my TV.
Who’s been awfully quiet for a while now.
Yours too?
Worry not. Let me help you get its voice back.
Keep reading to discover:
- Which audio settings could permanently mute your TV.
- 11 pain-free ways to fix a Sony TV with video but no sound.
- How to fix the muted Spotify issue on your Sony TV with your phone.
- And so much more…
Why does my Sony TV have picture but no sound?
Your Sony TV has picture but no sound because of outdated firmware or bad cache. You need to edit settings like Volume Offset and Auto Volume to fix this issue. Broken internal speakers and dirty HDMI ports could also cause this problem. If not those, then it’s an output problem with Spotify.
Sony TV no sound: 11 ways to fix it
#1: Power cycle your TV
I’m known as the “tech guy” in our friend group.
Why?
Because I happen to “fix” most of their broken electronics.
But, the truth is…
Mostly, all I do is power cycle or restart their device.
And, honestly, power cycling sounds more complicated than it should be.
All you have to do is:
- Turn your TV off.
- Unplug it from the socket.
- Wait for 30 seconds.
- Plug it back in.
- Turn it on.
Your Sony TV should be good to go.
Now, I know you’re already wondering:
“What does that have to do with having a muted TV?”
Well, the “no-sound” issue with your TV could be because of a glitch.
And these glitches could be caused by stuck processes on your Sony.
Only a restart could fix those.
However, a simple restart won’t do because your TV still has an excess charge to power it.
So, you’ll need to wait 30 seconds.
That’s how power cycling works.
#2: Upgrade firmware
Look, we’re growing older by the second…
And so does your Sony TV.
Like our elderly, older Sony TVs might be slow and unresponsive at times…
They could even have difficulties speaking and hearing.
But, while we can’t do anything but care for our elderly…
There’s something we could do to extend the life of your Sony.
How?
By updating its firmware.
“Wait, hold on. What’s firmware?”
The firmware is like the brain of your TV.
It’s how the individual parts of your Sony learn to work together.
Got it? Now, let’s update your firmware.
To start:
- Press the Help (?) button on your remote.
- Go to Customer Support.
- Head to Software Update.
- Tap Network.
- Select OK or Yes to confirm.
Note: What if, for some reason, you can’t connect your TV to a network? How can you update your Sony, then?
Use a flash drive. You just have to make sure that it:
- Formatted.
- Has 2 Gb of free space.
- Set to FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS.
Got one? Proceed to:
- Download the latest firmware update for your model.
- Extract the downloaded file into a flash drive.
- Boot up your TV.
- Insert the flash drive into the USB port.
- Once the prompt appears, press Yes to confirm.
You may also be interested in: Sony TV Screen Flickering: 9 Ways To Fix It ASAP
#3: Factory reset your Sony
If your Sony TV forgot how to speak…
How about let’s just make it forget everything?
Factory reset is a powerful tool for technicians.
For what reason?
Because it’s the instant cure to any problem with your TV…
Provided, of course, that it’s a software issue.
That said, let’s get to resetting.
Just grab your remote and:
- Press the Home button.
- Head to your Settings menu.
- Go to System.
- Under About, press Factory Data Reset.
- Select Erase Everything.
- Tap Yes to confirm.
If those didn’t work, relax…
Other directions to reset your Sony TV are:
- Storage & Reset > Factory Data Reset > Erase Everything > Yes.
- Device Preferences > Reset > Factory Data Reset > Erase Everything > Yes.
Fun fact: Do you know that you could also reset your TV through a super-secret menu? You can. And this menu is called the service menu.
The purpose of this is for technicians to better fix your TV through its hidden settings.
But you could access the menu too…
You just have to press the right buttons.
Here. Let me teach you:
- Turn your TV off.
- Press these buttons in this exact order: Display/Source, Volume Up, 5, Power.
- Select Factory Default.
- Tap Yes to confirm reset.
If you need further help visualizing how to access the service menu…
You can watch this video:
#4: Clear cache
Is the volume on your Sony TV fine on everything…
Except for 1 app?
In that case, consider this:
The problem isn’t your TV…
But the app itself.
And what should you do to fix this?
Clear its cache.
Cached data is how the apps on your TV know you.
For example, the suggested movies or videos on streaming apps?
That’s because of cache.
In theory, this makes our TVs more intuitive.
However, you probably don’t know that cached data can go bad.
Some of these data can be corrupted over time.
So, to be sure…
It’s better to clear your cache before it affects your TV’s volume.
To do that, you just need to:
- Press the Home button on your remote.
- Go to your Settings menu.
- Head to Apps.
- Tap See All Apps.
- Select the app that’s broken.
- Clear Cache and Clear Data.
Once you restart your TV, the volume on that app should work again.
#5: Check output settings
Now, on to the settings.
The first thing that you need to do is check if you’re outputting the sounds to the right speaker.
Why?
Because there are times that your TV defaults to an external speaker…
Even if you don’t have one.
So, how do you change this exactly?
Here. Just follow these 6 easy steps:
- Press the Home button on your remote.
- Under Settings, go to System Settings.
- Tap Set-up.
- Head to AV Set-up.
- Choose Speakers.
- Select the speakers you prefer.
#6: Edit your sound settings
Speaking of settings…
There are a couple of settings on your TV that can affect the volume of your TV.
Sometimes these settings can turn your sound off…
And, sometimes, it can just turn it really, really low.
Which are these, you ask?
- Auto volume.
- Volume offset.
Let’s dive further into both of these, shall we?
Volume offset
This setting changes the volume of your TV based on the volume of its inputs.
In other words…
Volume offset keeps your volume consistent when you’re changing between sources.
The thing is:
Sometimes, the volume gets stuck at 0.
And, when it does, you have no choice but to disable volume offset.
This is how:
- Press the Home button on your remote.
- Go to your Settings menu.
- Head to Display & Sound.
- Under Sound, press Volume Level.
- Disable Volume Offset.
Auto volume
Are you tired of obnoxiously loud commercials?
Me too.
That’s why I have Auto-Adjust Volume enabled on my Sony.
However, sometimes when my volume goes low and never comes back up.
When that happens, what I do is disable Auto Volume.
How?
- Press the Home button on your remote.
- Go to your Settings menu.
- Head to Display & Sound.
- Tap Sound.
- Disable Auto-Adjust Volume.
#7: Unmute your TV
I’m a writer—so mental blocks are second nature to me.
It happens when I’m writing…
And it also happens in real-life situations.
For example:
The other day I was baffled as to why my Sony TV doesn’t have any sound.
Turns out, the solution was so simple that it didn’t even cross my mind.
I accidentally pressed the Mute button.
Now, don’t laugh. Check yours too.
Maybe that’s the source of your problem.
#8: Buy external speakers
Consider this:
If your internal speakers aren’t working…
Why not get an external one?
Not only will this solve your sound problems, but it’ll also give you:
- More volume.
- Voice assistance on some soundbars.
- Better sounds in terms of bass and clarity.
What’s more is that…
It doesn’t have to be cheap.
Not if you know what the best bang-for-your-back speakers are.
And, if you don’t…
Shh. I’m going to tell you:
- Sony HT-SF150: $99.99.
- Hisense HS214: $149.99.
- Roku Streambar: $129.99.
- Yamaha YAS-209: $349.95.
- Sonos Beam Gen 2: $599.99.
- JBL Bar 5.0 Multibeam: $399.95.
- Majority Sierra Plus Dolby Atmos Soundbar: $299.99.
#9: Clean your HDMI port
Are you using your TV as a screen for a different device?
Might be a streaming device, gaming console, or a mirrored laptop?
Then you’re likely using its HDMI port.
But, here’s the thing:
HDMI connections are delicate.
The slightest problem and there’ll be glitches on your TV.
And yes, that may be an audio issue.
Do you know what’s usually the culprit of this?
Dust.
These particles tend to stick with electronics, often settling in ports.
Bummer, I know.
This is how you can clean your HDMI port:
- Put one drop of pure alcohol inside your HDMI port.
- Wrap a microfiber cloth around a thin object.
- Use those to clean the crevices of the port.
- Repeat until the port is spotless.
#10: Spotify output
By any chance…
Are you only experiencing your audio problems when using Spotify?
If so, try to stay quiet.
Why?
You need to listen to your surrounding.
There’s a chance that a different device is playing the sounds from your TV.
Hear it?
If so, you don’t have to touch your remote to fix this issue.
You only need to grab your smartphone and:
- Open the Spotify app. (Available on iOS and Android.)
- Play any music.
- Press the Devices logo.
- Select your TV.
And your music should now be playing on your TV.
#11: Contact Sony
Sometimes, you just need to accept this simple truth:
“There’s nothing you could do.”
But maybe there’s something they can do.
And by “they,” I mean Sony.
Contact Sony for further assistance.