I doubt there is, but I figure there are folks here who know more about TVs than I do.
My TV is a Samsung 50" LED smartTV that I bought a little less than 2 years ago at Best Buy for about $450. I did not get the extended warranty. A week ago, I started noticing that the image had thin, grey lines running horizontally across it about every 1/2". It was kind of subtle, but still sort of like watching the TV through a window screen. Then, on Thursday morning, the image started getting majorly distorted and a little while later it disappeared altogether. Well, there is an odd shaped almost little circle of dim light in the bottom left corner (about 2" in diameter, not exactly a circle, but roughly circular).
I can’t get any image to show up on the screen, either from my cable box or by using the TV’s remote to call up the TV’s set-up menu. Nothing (other than that crazy little circle thing). I tried moving the HDMI cable to the other port, but that didn’t do anything. I scrolled through the “source” option on my TV remote, even though I couldn’t see the options on the screen, I could tell I had made it through all the options.
I hate to toss the TV, so I’m wondering if there is a possibility of getting it fixed. Perhaps someone might open the back and swap out a board? I’m guessing here, but I don’t know if there are even people who do this sort of thing anymore. And I could probably get a new TV for $400 or less, so it’s more about not creating waste than worrying about the money. I suspect getting it fixed, if even possible, would be at at least $200.
On a side note, I made a pledge to myself not to buy any non-essential consumer items this year, and the TV would fall into that category. So no new TV for me until January. Getting it fixed would allow me to keep my pledge but still have my TV before January. Actually, I do have an old tube TV gathering dust somewhere. I can pull that out so I wouldn’t be completely TV-less for the next month or so.
Did you buy with a credit card? Check the issuers fine print, many automatically extend warranties bought with that card by 1 year.
Otherwise, with the prices of TVs these days, buying a new one and putting that one on Craigslist free or cheap might be the better option than repair.
Had not thought of that. Will check. Where would I find this “fine print”, if it exists? On the card? On the statement?
Looking around on Yelp, I found someone near my house who repairs exactly this sort of problem, and he has over 100 rave reviews. Think I’ll give him a call. BTW, audio is fine. Just no video.
Try un-plugging it and then hold/depress the power switch simultaneously while plugging it back to A/C and keep the power switch depressed for about 30 seconds. This is just one of several factory-reset procedures that manufacturers use.
Worth a try. Google your model# and see what pops up.
I had an old Samsung that crapped out on me. Checking online, the majority of flat screen TV failures is the power supply. I checked mine and it was toast. Bought a rebuilt PS off Ebay for about $80 and the TV worked fine. I gave it to my daughter and she is still using it.
I just noticed something, and I don’t think it bodes well. That little funky circle I’m seeing at the bottom left? Well, there is a plastic frame around the screen that’s about 3/4" wide and right below that circle, the plastic frame is distorted, like it was exposed to something very hot.
I was able to repair my Samsung by googling for my problem, purchasing a new electronics board, and installing it myself. Wasn’t tough at all. That said, I misdiagnosed it the first time and bought a board that didn’t fix the problem. But second time was the charm!
But I’m also concerned about the edge/light thing. Sounds like a frame twist issue. What I would do* is put the TV down on a flat surface face down. Take off the back. Loosen just a bit the screws holding the screen in the case. Gently jiggle a bit. Tighten the screws and reassemble.
Another cause of uneven background light is part of the LED system behind the screen has died. But that doesn’t explain the grid line effect.
But I’ve got decades of experience with fixing electronics. To say YMMV is an understatement. I mean I would take the back off, plug in a cheater cord, turn on the TV, measure some voltages, etc. to diagnose the PS. This is not something newbies should do!
OK, I did a little searching, and I have a VISA signature card, and it extends the warranty by 1 year. I think I’m covered! I owe you a drink if I am, TLH!!
Good luck!! Hopefully your issuer will take good care of you.
The sad truth about most appliances today is that the component that fails is often an expensive electronic controller of some sort, that costs nearly as much as a replacement machine. This proved true for our washer 2 years back, our dryer last spring, the dishwasher a couple years ago, the NEW dishwasher (for which we had an extended warranty, thankfully; the guy said the repair would have been 400 bucks out of pocket), the microwave… and I suspect a TV would do the same.
Search on YouTube for your TV and see if there are any videos where they show various fixes. See if you can find out what is down in that corner. It could be that a power supply down there failed and overheated.
The difficulty with fixing it yourself is that it’s hard to diagnose the problems. Swapping out boards can be done by you if you’re careful, but there are several boards and you might not have the tools to figure out which one is busted. A TV repair place will likely have a fixed diagnostic fee where they charge you $XX to tell you what is wrong. It might be worth doing that and then researching how to do the fix yourself. I wouldn’t recommend paying more than $200 or so to get the TV fixed, since that money would probably be better off put towards a new TV. Whatever killed the board may be some other problem which could crop up again.
