Sony A95L QD-OLED TV screen flickers, flashes or goes black intermittently

The checks in more detail

If it appears only on one input, the cable or the source is the cause: try another HDMI cable and port. If it appears in the menus too, the TV itself needs attention. Check the picture settings. Turn off features that change brightness dynamically, such as an auto brightness sensor, Light Sensor or Ambient Optimization under the picture settings, and power-saving options that dim the screen. Try a different picture mode, such as Custom or Cinema, and reset the picture settings to default. If the flicker is in dark scenes of streaming films, it may be a property of the content or the compression, and appears on other TVs too.

Update the TV in Settings, System, About, System software update, since Sony issues fixes for picture behavior. Power cycle the TV by unplugging it for a minute, and run the panel refresh if Sony offers one in the Care settings; OLEDs run a refresh cycle after use when in standby, so do not unplug the TV during that. If the flicker affects the whole screen at all times, even in the menus with a good signal, the panel or board may be at fault, and Sony support can assess it with the model and serial number under warranty.

Check the TV's HDMI settings: Enhanced format on the input in use should match the device. Do not use damaged cables or cheap extenders. Sony's Motionflow and other motion processing settings can create flicker-like effects at certain frame rates, so turn them off in the picture settings as a test. Watch a film in Cinema mode with the smoothing off, since that setting removes most processing and shows the panel's real behavior. If the flicker disappears, add features back one by one to find the cause. Keep the TV in a room with moderate ambient light, because a bright room makes OLED brightness limiting more noticeable.