Do you have a Vizio smart TV that’s recently started glitching on you? Perhaps the screen randomly displays bizarre lines, pixilated patches, or distorted colors. Maybe apps like Netflix and YouTube freeze up and force close without warning. Or the TV takes painfully long to turn on or navigate menus.
Before you panic, call technical support, or smash your television in frustration — simply try restarting your Vizio TV first. Restarting (also called rebooting or resetting) often clears up software issues, fixes temporary memory glitches, and gets Vizio smart TVs working like normal again.
Why Restarting Your Vizio TV Fixes Many Problems
- Clears Up Software Errors: Like phones and computers, smart TVs rely on system software to operate correctly. Restarting reloads the software fresh, which often resolves buggy behaviors.
- Flushes Out Temporary Memory Glitches: Vizios use RAM to efficiently run apps and features. A reboot erases any potential bad data in RAM causing issues.
- Fixes App Issues: Apps freezing? Restart rebuilds their cache and resets software connections. Funky behaviors disappear.
- It’s Fast! The restart process takes 30-60 seconds, making it an easy first troubleshooting step before digging complicated fixes.
In summary — since many problems stem from minor software or memory errors, completely cycling power flushes any accumulating digital debris to restore smooth functioning.
Think of it like blowing spinning cobwebs off your TV’s brain! Now let’s walk through the quick & easy process…
Step-By-Step Ways to Restart/Reboot Vizio TVs
You have several options to reboot your Vizio smart television:
1. Use Remote to Restart Vizio TV
The easiest way to restart most Vizios televisions is by pressing buttons on the remote:
- Find Power Button: Locate the power button on your Vizio TV remote. Check near top.
- Long Press Power: Press and HOLD power button for 10-15 continuous seconds.
- Wait for Reboot: Your screen eventually turns black. Keep holding! Then release power once TV starts itself back up. Simple!
2. Push the Manual Power Button
Can’t find the remote or power button not working? Use the physical restart button built directly into your Vizio television:
- Locate Button: Find the actual power button on the back/side of your TV.
- Firmly Hold Down: Press and HOLD the manual button for 10+ uninterrupted seconds.
- Don’t Let Up Too Soon! Logo may disappear after a few seconds Keep holding down without stopping until set shuts off/restarts!
Then watch TV reboot. This hard reset overrides any software glitches forgetting to restart.
3. Unplug Power Cord from Electrical Outlet
If you can’t find any buttons to hold down for forcing reboot? Simply unplug your Vizio TV from the wall instead!
- Find Power Cable: Locate the electrical cord plugged into electrical outlet.
- Firmly Unplug Both Ends: Remove BOTH ends of power cord from TV and outlet.
- 30 Seconds Minimum! Give ample time to discharge electricity.
- Finally reconnect power cable securely. Your entertainment resumes!
4. Flick Power Strip Switch Off/On to Restart
Got your Vizio plugged into a surge protector or power strip? Utilize the external switch to reboot TV:
- Locate Power Switch: Find reset button on your power strip.
- Toggle Off Position: Press/flip to power OFF all devices.
- Count 30+ Seconds: Be patient to let connected equipment fully reset.
- Turn Back to ON: Finally re-enable flow of electricity to outlet sockets for restart!
5. Settings Menu Soft Restart
Some Vizio televisions have a handy restart function built into settings menus:
- Open Main System/Settings Menu
- Navigate: TV Menu > System > Reset & Admin
- Initiate Soft Reboot function — NOT factory reset!
- Confirm Restart: Verify intend to reboot.
Vizio will then programmatically restart itself using software controls rather than power cycling hardware.
Ideal Times to Restart Your Vizio TV
With Vizio smart TVs, it’s recommended to restart as soon as problems emerge, rather than allowing issues accumulating and worsening before troubleshooting.
Signs It’s Time to Restart Vizio TV:
- Degraded video quality – lines/distortion on-screen
- Unresponsive apps/features not working
- Sluggish or laggy performance
- Strange visual behaviors or glitches
- Screen randomly goes black
- Delayed bootup after hitting power button
Or of course, anytime you explicitly notice freezing, crashing, getting stuck, cannot connect online, etc — restart pronto!
Additionally: Restarting after major system updates or installing new apps/channels is wise to clear caches, prevent conflicting software in memory, and minimize upgrade issues.
TLDR summary — At the very first sign things seem off, don’t wait! Reboot immediately as problems rarely self-resolve and usually degrade further in smart TVs when left unchecked.
Conclusion — Restart Vizio TV Before Taking Drastic Measures
In summary, restarting your Vizio smart television is a super fast and painless first troubleshooting step for resolving the vast majority of software glitches, memory errors, app issues, or general funky behaviors.
Give rebooting a try next time your Vizio TV starts acting up — you may prevent frustrations and be happily enjoying your entertainment again within about 60 seconds! However if restarting ultimately doesn’t seem to resolve your problems long term, carefully analyze in what specific ways/scenarios your Vizio misbehaves before blindly trying over and over.
Then research online whether others struggled with similar case details. If all else fails, contact Vizio technical support who can best advise next constructive solutions steps tailored for your particular situation and symptoms.
“But ALWAYS try a quick reset first before assuming more drastic measures are necessary! Nine times out of ten that alone does the trick for most minor Vizio TV troubles. Learn how to connect your Vizio TV to WiFi by resetting it.”
Rockies Ripple is the founder and lead writer behind the independent blog tvplutos.com