Why Vizio TV Keeps Freezing [Quick & Easy Solution]

Vizio TV’s have a reputation for being the best bang for your buck when it comes to cheap 4K televisions. However, we’ve been hearing from readers all across the country that their Vizio TV sets are freezing on them.

Of course, no one wants a TV that doesn’t work like you expect it to, and it’s a huge hassle to run back to the store only to get another one that may or may not work. So what’s the deal here?

Vizio TV freezing problems come up from time to time. Vizio is one of the many TV brands we regularly see in our lab, and it seems to have a higher-than-average number of freezing issues.

Vizio TVs freeze for a number of reasons. The TV may be experiencing a firmware bug, a hardware malfunction, an issue with your internet connection or a problem with your system settings. To fix these issues, you can restart the TV or modem/router or try restoring the factory settings. You can also update the firmware, reinstall apps or disable Auto Power Off and CEC.

While there are many common Vizio TV problems and solutions, the freezing issue is somewhat unique in that there are different ways it can occur and different ways to resolve it.

Vizio TV Keeps Freezing – Troubleshoot And Diagnosis

If your Vizio TV has frozen or is experiencing other issues, here are some basic troubleshooting tips you can try before talking to Vizio support.

1. Internet Connection Problem

Always check your internet connection when troubleshooting a Vizio smart TV. Connecting to a stable WiFi network or using a wired Ethernet connection will ensure that you have enough bandwidth for all the features on your TV.

Try to switch to a WiFi network that is not overcrowded, and make sure your internet connection is stable.

If your internet connection is slow, find a better network or move up to the fastest possible Internet plan.

It’s critical that customers have the proper internet connectivity to stream media on their SmartCast TV.

An unstable internet connection, whether WiFi or wired, can cause multiple issues with your TV, including freezing and pixelation during streaming.

When selecting an internet plan for your home, it’s important to consider how many devices will be using the internet simultaneously as well as how much data you’re looking to save on a monthly basis.

The Minimum required data speeds for streaming video content are as follows:

• SD — 3 Mbps
• HD — 8 Mbps
• Live TV — 10-15 Mbps
• 4K — 16 Mbps

These requirements may vary according to the platform; Youtube may require less data than Netflix. For some platforms, lower data requirements may be sufficient.

Internet speed requirements and video quality vary from platform to platform, so be sure to find out what your display can support before buying anything.

To see how your internet is doing, try a speed-testing app on your smartphone or PC. If your speeds aren’t high enough, check the internet connection on your router.

If you still have problems, contact your cable company or online provider to make sure there are no service interruptions or maintenance that could be causing the issue.

If you’re having problems connecting to the internet on your Vizio TV, try the following steps.

1. Press the Menu button on your Vizio remote and select Network.
2.  Select Test Connection to run a connectivity test on your TV.

If a message saying “Download not available” pops up, contact your IT consultant or network administrator.

Try restarting the router by unplugging it from the outlet and letting it stand for a couple of minutes. Press and hold the router’s power button for a good minute (not the reset button).

Plug back in the router/modem and check the Internet speed using the speed tester App or website.

If your internet doesn’t get better; try a hard reset by pressing and holding down both the power button and the reset button for 30 seconds.

2. Use A High Bandwith Network

If you are using a 2.4GHz network with devices running on WiFi, it is quite possible that your WiFi speed is quite slow than it could be. If there are multiple devices running on the same network, one might experience higher latency while using the internet.

A 5GHz network boasts increased bandwidth and can accommodate traffic better without affecting latency.

The 5 GHz WiFi band is designed to accommodate a larger amount of traffic, which means that your network will work more smoothly without sacrificing latency or speeds.

Like its name suggests, the 5 GHz band is a higher frequency than 2.4 GHz. As such, it can transmit data faster but over a shorter distance — around 100 feet. So if you have your router placed far from any of the devices you’ll be streaming content to, consider switching to this network.

The majority of modern VIZIO TVs support a 5GHz connection. To switch to the 5GHz band, follow these steps:

1.  From the main menu, click on the ‘Network‘ option.
2. Select ‘WiFi‘ and click on the ‘5GHz band‘.
3. Input your network password to connect to your new network.

2. Power Cycle the Vizio TV

When your TV won’t turn on, the first thing to try is a simple power cycle. Unplug your TV from the wall socket and wait at least 60 seconds. Then, plug it back in and see if it works. If that doesn’t work, then we need to restart your TV’s internal software by unplugging an outlet for 10 seconds. Then plug the device back into an outlet and turn it on again.

A power cycle test is an easy way to troubleshoot performance issues on your TV. When the screen stays black, turns off randomly, or doesn’t come on, it can be job for a power cycle test.

Just unplug the TV for 2 minutes, wait 2 more minutes with the plug out, then turn it back on.

In our testing, we found that this simple procedure cleared up bugs and solved problems from faulty software to bad syncing.

It takes only a few seconds to do a soft power cycle on your TV, but it might solve the problem if you are experiencing issues with an app crashing.

The Soft Power Cycle turns the TV off and on in order to reset any software issues that might be causing your problem. To perform this, press the Remote’s Menu Button and select Settings. Then, click on Systems and choose Reset & Admin. Select Soft Power Cycle and click on Yes to confirm.

Preventing problems is always best, so we recommend performing a soft reset every once and a while to clear out any potential issues you may be facing.

3. Update And Reinstall App

If you are constantly freezing while streaming content on your device, check your internet connection first. If that doesn’t solve the problem, try logging out of your service and log back in. Most services will allow you to stream content when you are logged in.

On-demand streaming services like Netflix and Hulu frequently flaunt freezing issues. Inherent bugs and errors that might have taken shop in your device after a recent update may be the reason.

If the issue persists even after logging out and then logging back in, try restarting your TV. This will allow the app to load correctly and help to solve whatever issues are causing the problem.

If your Vizio TV is still not responding to the app, it may be time to reinstall the app to see if that resolves the issue.

VIZIO’s SmartCast TVs, while full of great features, has one major flaw: bugs. It seems that every time a new app is added to the streaming platform, users end up with a headache or two.

For example, if you’re having trouble with Netflix, try restarting your phone or router. If the app does not respond after doing so, uninstall the app and then reinstall it for a smoother experience.

To update SmartCast, or another app, simply press the V button on the Vizio remote to access SmartCast. Once in the SmartCast menu, select Apps and tap the Update button next to the application you want to update. When an update is available, tap Next in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, and then select Update Again.

Finally, restart your TV.

4. Update The TV

As tempting as it is to ignore firmware updates, Vizio TV users should keep their electronic devices up-to-date with the most recent releases. This is particularly important for smart TVs — users risk compromising the operating system and exposing their systems to security vulnerabilities by neglecting to protect against outdated firmware.

Check your Vizio TV’s current firmware version to ensure that it isn’t out of date, as well as check for available firmware updates.

It’s easy to update your Vizio TV. Just follow these steps:

1. On the Menu tab, open System.
2.  Select Check for Updates.

If there are any updates available, click Update Now and follow the on-screen prompts. Wait for the TV to update, then check for further issues.

5. Disable Auto Power OFF

Sometimes, adjusting your Vizio TV’s sleep timer can fix freezes and make the TV respond more frequently.

If you have a VIZIO TV that is freezing or appears to be frozen, try changing the power settings. Auto Power-Off can be set to 10 minutes; you can change it to 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 2 hours or simply disable it. The reason why it works is unknown; however, some say it reduces the strain on your TV’s power supply.

To change the Auto Power Off settings, follow these steps:

1. Open the Timers option on your TV.
2. Click the Auto Power OFF time and disable this feature.
3. Next, you can also choose to adjust the Sleep time — this option lets you set a time after which the TV will go into sleep mode automatically.

When you change the setting on your TV, make sure to restart it.

6. Turn OFF CEC

Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) is a communication protocol that allows you to connect multiple devices on the same platform and use one remote to control them all. Instead of searching for your TV remote every time you want to switch from watching Netflix to a Blu-Ray movie, you can just pull out your remote and make all of your entertainment choices in a matter of seconds.

This means that the remote controls all of your devices, with the television itself being able to turn off and control multiple set-top boxes, cable boxes, DVD players, Blu-ray players, game consoles, streaming sticks, and more.

This sounds like a pretty good idea, right?

Unfortunately, many users report experiencing freezing issues when using CEC — and most are related to their TV remote. If this happens to you, try turning the feature off on your TV.

Disabling the CEC messages can be done by following these steps:

1. Open the menu and select the “Settings” option.
2. Click on the “System” category and then click on “Inputs.”
3. Select CEC from this list, and then click the “Disable” button to turn off CEC management for that input.

Restart your TV and test for further issues before using again.

7. Clear Storage

You might be a little worried about your Vizio TV slowing down or even crashing. Don’t worry! If you run into problems with your TV, don’t panic. It’s easy to clean up, optimize, and repair your Vizio TV so that it’s running like new again.

Smart TVs store a lot of data, and all of this content is kept on the TV’s filer can slow it down significantly when the storage is full.

With so much data, your device might be close to filling up — or it might already be full. If your Smart TV reaches critically low storage levels, the device might struggle to run smoothly and you’ll notice frequent lag or crashes.

Vizio smart TVs are excellent tools for watching television. However, if you don’t maintain this device properly, you may end up with unwanted charges. To prevent this from happening, deleting any recordings you do not want or channels that you rarely use from your Smart TV will allow you to keep the device clutter-free without paying an unwanted fee.

8. Do A Factory Reset

If you’ve tweaked or messed with your VIZIO TV’s settings and can’t figure out how to turn them back, factory resetting is your last best option. A full reset will change all of your settings back to default, including Wi-Fi network connections and passwords.

Factory data reset (FDR) returns all settings on the device to the factory-default values.

A factory reset will eliminate all of your settings and apps. While this might sound like a drastic measure, it can fix many of the issues you’re facing.

Here’s how to reset your TV using the Vizio TV interface.

1. Navigate to the System menu by clicking Menu.
2. Select Reset & Admin and then click on Reset TV to Factory Defaults.
3. Enter your Passcode (or 0000 if you don’t have one).
4.  Click OK to start the reset process.

When your TV is factory reset, it’s like getting a brand-new device. You can set it up from scratch again or import all the content from your previous user account.

If you own a Vizio SmartCast TV, you can hard reset the TV by pressing and holding the Volume Down and Input buttons simultaneously. Hold for about 10 seconds, then press and hold the Input button until a popup message tells you to press and hold the Input button again. Press and hold the Input button to reset your TV.

Final Thoughts

Any issues with your TV can be easily solved with these few simple steps!

First, double-check all connections to your television and make certain that the power cord and HDMI cables are securely connected. If you have a VIZIO router, check your DNS settings as well — you can find these in the home screen of your router. You can also contact VIZIO customer service for further assistance.