Toshiba TV Turns On By Itself? Do THIS...

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If you hear voices in the night and find that your Toshiba TV has turned itself on then you’re not alone!

Most commonly, Toshiba TVs turn on by themselves because of HDMI-CEC commands or incorrect Power On settings.

You can check out every possible fix for your TV below in this complete troubleshooting guide for Toshiba Fire TVs.

Why Does My Toshiba TV Turn On By Itself?

The most common reasons for your Toshiba TV turning itself on are:

Possible Cause	Explanation
Software Bug	A glitch in your TV’s memory could be causing it to come on.
HDMI-CEC	A console or set-top box could be powering on your TV using HDMI-CEC.
Incorrect Power On Settings	Toshiba Fire TVs should be set to power on to Home, not Last Input.
Remote Problems	Your TV’s remote might have a stuck button causing it to send the ‘On’ signal to your TV.

Because there are a number of causes of your Toshiba TV coming on and it’s not always obvious which one is appropriate for you, it’s best to go through the fixes below, ordered from simplest to most complex.

How to Fix an Toshiba TV That Turns On By Itself

1. Power Cycle Your Toshiba TV

Although this might seem a basic step, power cycling your TV is often the best way to fix your Toshiba TV.

Resetting your TV will clear out any issues with non-permanent memory and reset your main board without losing your personal settings.

This is quick and painless and won’t cause you to lose any of your saved settings.

To reset your Toshiba TV:

Make sure your TV is switched off and unplug it.
Hold down the physical power button on the TV for at least 15 seconds.

Wait for at least 2 minutes for any residual power to drain from the TV’s capacitors (which are capable of storing charge for several minutes).
Plug your TV back in and try switching it on. You should see a red light blinking if you have been successful.

Make sure you do wait for the full 2 minutes before plugging your TV back in – you would be surpised how long the components within your TV can hold charge, and you want to make sure it has fully reset.

Although this seems a very basic step, don’t overlook it because in the vast majority of cases a simple soft reset fixes most issues.

You can also hard reset most Toshiba Fire TVs by putting a pen into the recessed Reset button, usually found on the side or back of the TV.

Most people will now have their TV fixed and back up and running, but if your Toshiba TV is still coming on by itself, then we’ve got a few more basic fixes to try before getting into the hardware fixes.

2. Set Power On to Home

When your Toshiba Fire TV switches on, it can be set to either go to the last source used, or to go straight to the Home screen.

You should set this to go to Home as otherwise external devices can power on your TV.

To set Power On mode to Home:

Go to Settings.
Then Display & Sounds.
Power Controls.
And set Power On to Home.

3. Turn Off One Touch Play (HDMI-CEC)

There’s a strong possibility that a device connected to your TV via HDMI-CEC is bringing it back to life without your input.

HDMI-CEC allows two-way communication between your TV and console, allowing your console to switch your TV on automatically, if enabled in your TV’s settings.

Unplugging all cables will temporarily solve this, so if your TV is no longer switching itself on with no HDMI connections, then try switching off HDMI-CEC before re-instating the cables.

To switch off HDMI-CEC on a Toshiba Fire TV:

Press Home on your remote.
Scroll to the Gear Icon for settings.
Then Display & Sounds.
And HDMI-CEC Device Control.
Either switch this option off itself, or go into this menu and switch off One Touch Play.

4. Check for Stuck Buttons On Your Remote

There’s a possibility that your TV remote has a partially stuck power button that is causing it to send the “power on” signal at odd times.

Try removing the batteries, holding down the power button on the remote for 10 seconds to drain any residual power, then forcefully mash every button on the remote, slapping it against your palm a few times.

You might have to repeat this several times.

You will also need to put quite a bit of force into pushing the buttons. Don’t be afraid of damaging your remote – as long as you are only hitting it against your hand and only using your fingers to push the buttons it will be fine.

For IR remotes, it’s possible to check if the remote is sending a signal without you pressing any buttons by using your smartphone’s camera.

Simply point the IR transmitter on the end of your remote at your phone’s camera and you will see a red light appear when you press any button on the remote. If you see this light without any buttons being pressed, then you know that you have a faulty Sony TV remote.

This doesn’t work for some cameras though, notably some iPhones, so check with another remote if in doubt about your camera.

You can see some more detail on diagnosing problems with and opening up your TV remote in the video below.

5. Update Your Toshiba TV’s Firmware

It’s important to keep any electronic devices up to date with the latest firmware, none more so than smart TVs.

You should follow the system update procedure on your TV as this has been known to fix picture issues.

If your Toshiba Fire TV remote is not working and you can’t access your TV’s menus to perform the update, then use a remote control app on your phone.

To update your Toshiba Fire TV:

Press the Cog on your remote for Settings.
Then My Fire TV in the on-screen menu.
And in the About menu, select Check for Updates.

6. Factory Reset Your ToshibaTV

Returning your TV back to its factory settings is a more extreme step, as it will delete any personalization features, downloaded apps or connected devices, but it’s always worth a shot when other methods haven’t worked.

To factory reset a Toshiba Fire TV:

Press the Home button on your remote and go to Settings.
Then Device & Software.
And Reset to Factory Defaults.
Enter your PIN, which by default is 0000 (four zeroes) for Toshiba.
Then select one final Reset in the popup.

If your Fire TV remote isn’t working, then to reset a Toshiba Fire TV:

Unplug your TV.
Hold down the TV’s Power Button, which will probably be underneath the screen.
Plug your TV back in.
Once it comes back on, let go of the Power Button.
It will boot into the Android Recovery Menu.
Scroll down to Wipe data/factory reset by clicking the Power Button.
Then press and hold the Power Button until the line turns green.
Let go of the Power Button, then select Yes to confirm a factory reset by clicking the Power Button to select it, then holding it down until the line turns green.
You’ll see the recovery menu again, where you should select reboot system now by holding down the Power Button.
To re-pair your remote, hold down the Home button on the remote for ten seconds once your TV has restarted.

Toshiba TV Support & Warranty

It goes without saying that if your TV is under one year old, then you should contact Toshiba customer support (for TVs manufactured after 2021) to get it replaced under warranty.

For TVs manufactured before 2021, go to the REGZA support site.

You can call Toshiba directly on:

1-888-407-0396 (Mon – Fri, 9am – 9pm EST, Sat – Sun, 9am – 6pm EST)

Even if Toshiba won’t fix your TV, they might still offer you a discount off a future model if you pester them hard enough! This is always worth a try in my experience.

Toshiba Fire TV Turns On By Itself: Next Steps

I’m confident that these steps will fix your TV, although the later steps do require a bit more effort than the earlier ones.

Don’t forget that opening up your TV will void its warranty, but this can’t be helped in most cases.

If you need any further help, then I suggest contacting Toshiba support directly, or checking on YouTube where it’s much easier to see how to open up your TV, for example.

And if you’ve tried all of these steps and still can’t get your TV to work, then it may be worth looking at one of the most highly rated new TVs.

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