As the owner of an Element TV, I was recently frustrated to find that my TV screen had gone dark. After some research, I found that this is a common issue with Element TVs and there are a few different solutions that can be used to fix it.
In this blog post, I’ll be sharing my own experience of solving this problem, as well as the pros and cons of the different solutions I discovered.
Your cable or port may be damaged; using a different one should help the Element TV to be much brighter. Element TVs have their settings on default for the darkroom, too; changing the settings to be much brighter could help your TV look much better despite the sun shining.
Understanding why these things may cause your Element TV to be dark or even just a little bit dim can help you prevent it from happening in the future. We’ve talked to many people with Element TVs and found out just all the ways they have used to improve the image quality of their TVs.
| Common Causes | Description | Potential Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Cable and Port Problems | Using the wrong or damaged HDMI cable/port can cause the TV screen to appear darker than it should be. | 1. Check the quality and condition of cables and ports.<br>2. Use a different port and a properly working cable. |
| Backlight Issues | The backlight might be set to a standard that does not work well in your room, causing the screen to appear darker. | Adjust the backlight settings according to your room’s lighting conditions. |
| Brightness Settings | Low brightness settings can cause the TV screen to appear dark even if other settings are set to the maximum. | Increase the brightness settings to match your viewing preferences and room lighting. |
| Direct Sunlight | Sunlight shining directly on the TV screen can cause reflections and make it difficult to see the display clearly. | 1. Close windows or use curtains/blinds to block sunlight.<br>2. Move the TV to a location with less direct sunlight. |
| Soft Reset | A soft reset clears the device’s internal memory of running programs and can fix technical glitches that cause a dark screen. | Perform a soft reset by turning off the TV, unplugging it, waiting 60 seconds, and then plugging it back in and turning it on. |
| Hard Reset | A hard reset completely resets the TV to its factory defaults and can fix persistent issues. | Perform a hard reset by following the TV’s specific instructions for resetting to factory defaults. |
Table of Contents
What Can Cause Your Element TV Screen To Be Dark?
In general, we have found four common reasons why an Element TV will be dark, each more likely than the next. Many people make simple mistakes when installing their TV for the first time that causes problems only noticeable at specific times of the day.
We always recommend that people consider these when working on fixing their Element TVs, as the simplest solutions are usually the answer. Finding a brand-new Element TV with faulty backlights or screens is very rare, making it the least likely answer to the problem.
Cable And Port Problems
Not all HDMI ports are the same, and not all HDMI cables are the same, with new standards constantly being added. This has meant that using the wrong cable on the port can cause your Element TV to be much darker than it should be, causing hours of headaches.
Older cables can also be damaged, usually distorting along with the darkness of your TV, which is often a problem faced by those just installing a new TV. Further, as a precaution, we recommend checking on your TV ports if they are older, ensuring they are unbroken.
Backlight Issues
A common issue with new and large Element TVs is that the backlight has been set to a standard that does not work with your room. This is usually because these TVs are initially tested in darker areas and then loaded with default settings, causing headaches when installing them at home.
The backlight is a part of Element TVs that directly decides how bright the screen is in a way that is not similar to the brightness settings. When looking at the TV, the backlight will adjust the luminosity of the overall TV, changing how well you can see things inside a room where the sun is shining, or the lights are on.
Brightness Settings
We have seen many Element TV owners adjusting the backlight of their TV or moving it from room to room without being able to see anything. Often this means that the brightness settings on your Element TV are set to low, which causes it to be dark even when every other setting you can access is set to max.
There are countless tales of tech support going out to a customer’s house because the TV is dark, only to turn the brightness up to what it should be. Sometimes TVs have been used in dark rooms where lower brightness is good, making the TV unusable as soon as the light is turned on.
Direct Sunlight
As with many screens, when the sun is shining, things become impossibly difficult to see. Worse, if the sun is shining into your TV room or living room, it can cause reflections on the TV, making it dark, and causing problems for everyone watching.
Generally, only specific TVs will work when the sun is shining, as they have the built-in brightness to counteract the sun automatically. Element TVs can be bright enough to be viewed even when outside, but it will shorten the overall life as the TV has to run at peak performance constantly.
How Do You Make The Element TV Brighter?
You can do three things that will fix your Element TV; each one will ensure that you can see everything you imagine should be on the TV. Many times, technicians can solve the issue within minutes because all of these fixes are so common that they learn them within the first day.
We always recommend that you take the time to learn what these easy fixes are and how they can be applied to your situation. You will often find that fiddling with the back-end can knock the right part into making the TV work perfectly fine again.
Check All Cables And Ports
Before installing your Element TV, we always recommend you check the quality and condition of your cables and ports. Using a bent port will guarantee a painful viewing experience, and using rusted cables will cause flickering and brightness issues.
Using a different port and buying a properly working HDMI cable will ensure that your TV is working as brightly as it should. We always recommend that you consider this, as the right port and cable is the easiest way to make your entire viewing experience much more pleasurable.
Check Settings For Backlight And Brightness
Once your TV is set up and installed, we always recommend going into the settings of your Element TV and changing the settings. Not only will your room affect how things should be, but your own eyes will require that you have the TV at specific settings to ensure you can see everything.
Darker rooms require less brightness and backlight than a room that always has the sun or lights shining. This is often the case when the Element TV has been set to work in your living room rather than your TV room; usually, these two are in the same place, requiring brighter overall settings.
Close Windows Or Move The TV
The final solution to your Element TV appearing dark all the time is to close the windows where the sun is shining through or move the TV. Generally speaking, the darker your room is, the better the viewing experience will be, even if you have the largest, most expensive TV you can afford.
No TV can outshine the sun, and no house should be without a fresh supply of sunlight when it is shining. This means that the best viewing experience for your TV will usually be in a room where you can control the sunlight during the day without closing off the sunlight supply to the entire house.
Try a soft reset
A soft reset, is where you turn off the TV and unplug it from the wall outlet. You then usually have to wait for 60 seconds then you can put the plug back in and turn the TV on again. Performing a soft reset clears a device’s internal memory of running programs, which often clears up any technical glitches.
Try a hard reset
A hard reset involves completely resetting the TV to its factory defaults.
Conclusion
Your Element TV will be dark because the ports may be damaged, the cable is old, the settings are wrong, or the room is too bright. If none of these fix your Element TV, we recommend checking on the warranty, as getting it replaced or fixed will be the only remaining option.
Remember that the warranty does not cover the TV if you drop it down the stairs!
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