With a Roku TV like the TCL 6-Series R655, the Roku home screen is the best test, and a black screen has four possible causes that the Home button separates. Press Home on the remote. If the Roku home screen with its tiles appears, the TV's picture works and the problem is the input: press the Input button or select the input tile, and find the one with your device. A tile that says there is no signal means the device is off, the cable is loose or the device is sending a mode the TV cannot show.
The checks in more detail
If a console or streaming stick shows black, switch it off, restart it and let it find the right mode; the Roku settings let a TV that cannot handle 4K HDR use a lower display type, found in the Roku player's own settings. If even the home screen is black but you hear sound, look carefully. A bright flashlight held at an angle shows a faint picture if the backlight has failed, and a Mini-LED set such as the R655 has dimming zones whose drivers can fail, leaving the screen black or patchy.
In that case the TV needs service. Check Settings, TV picture, Brightness and Backlight in case they are at zero after a reset; if you cannot see the menus, perform a factory reset with the reset button, a pinhole at the back, held for about twenty seconds with the TV on. A factory reset returns the picture settings to their defaults. Roku TVs also have a feature that turns off the screen for the sake of the audio, in the power settings, called a screen-off or audio-only mode on some models; press any button to wake it.
If there is no sound and no light at all, the issue is power: try another outlet, unplug the TV for a minute and hold the power button for thirty seconds. If the standby light flashes in a pattern, count the flashes, since service can use them. Update the TV when it works, through Settings, System, System update. If a flashlight shows a faint picture or the TV is dead after a reset, contact TCL with the model and serial number. Do not open the TV.
Differential
Likely causes of “TCL 6-Series Roku TV R655 has sound but no picture”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
A device that needs a lower display type
What separates it A source tile shows no signal or a black picture
How to confirm Change the Roku player or console output to a type the TV handles
- 2
An input left on the wrong tile
What separates it The home screen works but the source is missing
How to confirm Select the input tile for the device
- 3
A screen-off setting
What separates it Sound plays on a black screen
How to confirm Press a button to wake
- 4
Zero backlight after a reset
What separates it A black screen with menus invisible
How to confirm Use the reset button to restore defaults
- 5
A failed dimming driver
What separates it Black or patchy even on the home screen
How to confirm Contact TCL for service
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- Whether the Roku home screen appears
- The input tile in use
- Whether sound plays
- Whether a faint image shows under a flashlight
Try in this order
0 of 6 completedPress Home
ReversibleCheck the Roku home screen.
Pick the right input tile
ReversibleFor the device.
Lower the source's display type
ReversibleOn a stick or console.
Press a button
ReversibleTo wake a screen-off mode.
Use the reset button
ReversibleFor about twenty seconds.
Contact TCL
ReversibleIf it stays dark.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- Home screen test
- It separates TV from source.
- Reset button
- A pinhole at the back.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If a flashlight shows a faint image or the TV is dead after a reset, contact TCL with the serial number
- !If one input fails, try another cable and port
- !Keep the receipt
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Exact questions
Common questions
How do I know whether the TV or the source is at fault?+
If the Roku home screen appears, the TV is fine.
Where is the reset button?+
A pinhole at the back.
Can a stick cause a black screen?+
Yes, with a display type the TV cannot show.
Is it a repair?+
If the home screen is black too.