Vizio TV Blue Tint: EASY Fix in Minutes

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It’s pretty common that you see a blue tint on your Vizio TV after a couple of years of use. But what causes it and how can you fix it?

This guide covers every fix for your Vizio TV blue tint, and willl show you exactly what to do to get your TV back to normal, without an expensive replacement or visit to a repair shop.

If you’re happy putting in a few minutes of work, then follow the steps below in order, and I’m confident we’ll get your TV working again.

Vizio TV Blue Tint

To fix a Vizio TV blue tint, reset your TV by power cycling it. Unplug your TV and wait for 30 minutes. Hold down the power button for 15 seconds to drain any residual charge, then plug it back in and the blue tint will be gone.

This works for nearly everyone to fix their TV’s blue tint, but if it hasn’t worked for you, then we can try a handful of hardware and software fixes to diagnose and treat the problem.

Let’s start with a few basic steps that you might have overlooked before we get into the more in-depth fixes.

You can also check out these quick steps in the video below, if you prefer.

1. Power Cycle Your Vizio TV

Although this might seem a basic step, power cycling your TV is often the best way to fix your Vizio TV’s blue tint.

With modern electronics, it’s possible that the problem is caused by something stuck in your TV’s flash memory or by a gremlin in the electronics that simply switching your TV on and off won’t resolve.

Power cycling your TV will clear out any issues with non-permanent memory without losing your personal settings.

Unplug your TV.
Hold down the physical power button on your TV for at least 15 seconds to drain any residual power from the capacitors.
Leave your TV unplugged for at least 30 minutes.
Plug it back in and switch back on.

nb. Make sure that you hold down the physical power button on your TV, not the one on the remote and make sure you time 15 seconds when holding the power button down.

Make sure you do wait for the full 30 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.

Most people will now have their TV fixed and back up and running. If this isn’t you, then we’ve got a few more basic fixes to try before getting into the hardware fixes.

2. Check Your HDMI Connections

There’s a strong possibility that a poorly seated cable is automatically switching inputs on your TV, but as it’s not fully connected, it’s creating signal noise which is displaying as a blue tint or horizontal lines.

This comes down to either a:

Faulty HDMI cable with a break in it
Damaged HDMI port with broken pins
Poor HDMI connection where the cable and connector are not fully making contact

To check your HDMI and other cables:

Switch off your TV.
Remove any HDMI or other physical cables connected to the back of your TV.
If you have any compressed air, use that to clean the contacts both of the cable and in the connector on the TV. If you don’t have compressed air, then blow gently on them.
Firmly push the cables back into their slots on the TV.
Switch your TV back on again.

It that hasn’t fixed the problem, then try using a different HDMI input. Most TVs have 3 or 4 HDMI ports.

If you have one that is on a different part of the TV then that would be the best one to try, as it this should have a separate connection to the TV’s main board.

Plug you HDMI cable into the new port, note the number next to it, then choose this HDMI input on your TV, by using the Input or Source button on your TV remote or the Input or Menu button on your TV itself.

You can also try removing all external devices, including those connected by Bluetooth and any coaxial or signal cables, so that the TV only has a power cable going into it.

When you turn your TV on, this means the screen will be black as it is not receiving any signal, potentially making it tough to see if the blue tint is there or not.

Try to pull up the on-screen menu. If you can see this without a blue tint, then it means that your external connections are the problem, and you should try reseating your HDMI cables one by one, until you find the damaged cable that needs replacing.

3. Change Your Vizio TV’s Color Settings

Most Vizio TVs have an option to change the color temperature or other aspects of the picture.

If your blue tint is only slight, then this can be a good simple way to fix it, but you will have to play around with the settings with a bit of trial-and-error.

Press the Settings button on your remote and go to the Picture screen.

Start by switching Auto Brightness Control off and try reducing the Backlight and Brightness settings to see if that makes a difference.

You can then adjust the Tint setting which can be really helpful in remove blue tints.

If you need to, go to the More Picture sub-menu and change the Color Temperature to something warmer.

The Color Calibration settings within the top-level Picture menu can also be very useful. Have a play around with these and see if you can remove the blue tint.

4. Run a Vizio TV Firmware Update

Software and firmware issues have been known to cause problems with Vizio TV displays.

As with any product, you should ensure that you have updated your TV’s firmware to the latest version, even if it is new.

Most Vizio TVs support auto-updating of firmware, but you can’t assume that this is turned on for you, unless you are using a Smart Vizio TV, where auto-updates are always on.

It’s important to note that automatic firmware updates will only run when your TV is turned off but still plugged in. If you leave your TV switched on, it will not update the firmware.

For older Vizio TVs, you can update firmware by:

Press Menu on your remote.
Go to Admin & Privacy or System, depending on your model.
Click Check for Updates.
If updates have been successfully applied, your TV will restart 2 times.

vizio tv firmware update — Vizio TV firmware update screen

If you are using a Smart Vizio TV, then there is no option to manually update firmware – this is done automatically as long as your TV has an Internet connection.

5. Vizio TV Factory Reset

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

To factory reset a Vizio Smart TV without the remote:

Turn the TV on.
Hold down the Volume Down and Input buttons on the side of the TV simultaneously.
After a few seconds, a message will pop up on screen telling you how to reset your TV. You can release the two buttons you are holding.
You will usually then hold the Input button for 10 seconds for a factory reset.
Another message will pop up on screen about the reset.
Your TV will re-boot and return to the original setup screen.

For older Vizio TVs, you can perform a factory reset by using the remote to go to:

Menu -> On screen display go to Admin & Privacy or System -> Reset to Factory Settings

6. Replace Your Vizio TV’s Backlights

Blue tints are very common on TVs older than two or three years. This is because of the design of the LEDs used in the backlight and the fact that they can easily burn out.

Vizio TV backlight panels use blue-light LEDs as their base, with a phosphor yellow coating over the LED.

The blue light shining through the yellow phosphor creates white light, which is what you see on a correctly functioning TV.

But after a couple of years, the phosphor can burn off, meaning that blue light shines through unfiltered, giving your screen a blue tint.

These LEDs must be replaced, but luckily this is not a terribly expensive job, although it does require some work on your part.

If you’re not comfortable totally disassembling your TV, then now is the time to get a professional in, or to get a new TV.

Backlights on modern Vizio TVs come in LED strips of varying lengths. Older models used lengths that spanned the entire frame of the TV, but due to cost savings, more recent TVs use a set 16″ or smaller LED strip which is connected in series for each row to span your TV.

You can get replacement LED strips quite easily from eBay – just put in your TV model number to be sure you are buying the correct type.

If you have a TV backlight tester to hand, then you could get away with testing every backlight strip in your TV individually and only replacing the broken strips, but it’s a lot less work to just replace every backlight and skip the testing, particularly given the relatively low price of LED backlights.

See the full process for replacing backlights below. This isn’t for the faint-hearted, but it will save you a considerable amount of money from either professionally repairing or replacing your TV.

To prevent LEDs burning off their phosphor layer in future, make sure you do not set your backlight to 100% brightness. The phosphor layer is destroyed by thermal degradation of the LEDs, caused by a too bright backlight setting. Reduce this to the lowest level you are comfortable with to prolong your backlight’s life.

Vizio TV Support and Warranty

You can check your warranty information direct with Vizio.

Unfortunately, warranties typically only last a year unless you have already paid to extend it.

Because blue tint problems can occur on newer TVs, if your TV is under one year old, return your TV under warranty and get it fixed.

You can use the Vizio support site to help diagnose your problem, but if you are at this stage, then you are better off calling them direct on:

844-254-8087 (Mon. – Fri., 8am – 11pm CST, Sat. – Sun., 9am – 8pm CST)

You can also contact them directly through live chat, or text them a short description of your problem on 205-301-3729.

Even if Vizio 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.