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After having enough of the everyday battle between my parents and me to watch TV, I made a call to buy a 30-inch Vizio TV for my bedroom.

All was well for a couple of months until problems started to pop up with SmartCast apps.

More often than not, they wouldn’t load or would crash all of a sudden.

On reading the reviews and complaints about various Vizio models across the Internet, I realized that mine was just one among many problems that most Vizio users faced.

The techie in me spent hours reading blogs and support forums in pursuit of solutions.

When I’d lost my remote for my Vizio remote, I’d done the research to find the Best Universal Remote for Vizio TVs to replace it, and so I felt confident in my abilities.

All you have to do to solve most issues is factory reset your Vizio TV, so I decided to put together this comprehensive guide showing you how.

You can perform a soft reset by unplugging your TV and holding the power button for 3-5 seconds.

You can perform a hard reset by navigating to Menu->System->Reset and Admin->Reset TV to Factory Defaults. However, keep in mind that a Hard Reset clears the TV’s memory.

Do you have to Reset your TV?

Unless absolutely necessary, it’s not worth losing your settings and preferences. If you know how to restart your Vizio TV, that can fix a few problems, but not all of them.

Here are the issues that most Vizio TV users faced, which they could resolve with a reset.

You might want to carry on reading if:

• Your TV is running too slow, or it seems to lag or freeze while a show is on.
• Your TV doesn’t display screens of different colours.
• Your TV doesn’t turn on despite using the Power button on your TV/remote control.
• Your Vizio TV Menu isn’t working.
• SmartCast apps like Netflix and Hulu won’t load or seem to crash randomly
• All you see is a blank or black screen when opening certain apps.
• You have plans to sell your TV, in which case, you might want to erase all your personal information.
• You bought it from another seller and would like to remove their preferences.
• You can’t seem to connect your TV with a wireless network.
• You are experiencing issues with the audio or video.
• You can’t remember your password or have lost access to the home screen.

Or simply, if you want your TV back in its original state.

Depending on your device, you can fix some of these issues with a soft reset, or even a power cycle of your Vizio TV.

However, I would strongly advise you to try that out first and consider a hard reset as a last resort.

How to Soft Reset your VIZIO Smart TV

It’s extremely simple. First, unplug your TV. Then, disconnect the power cord either from the back of the TV or its outlet, at your convenience.

Then, press and hold the power button on the TV for 3-5 seconds. Finally, plug the cord back in and turn on the TV. The soft reset is complete.

In some models, you might have to use the menu options to soft reset. For this, press the Menu button on the remote. Select System, and Reset, and Admin, and finally choose Soft Power Cycle.

This should cause your TV to power off and reboot. If that didn’t work, a hard reset is your go-to option.

How to Hard Factory Reset your VIZIO Smart TV

Bear in mind that a hard reset will erase all your data. So, you’ll have to set it up from scratch to personalize it.

In most cases, you will need a remote to reset your TV unless your model comes with a Menu button on either of its sides.

A Simple Way to Hard Reset

1. Press the Menu button on your remote.
2. Navigate using the arrow buttons and select System by pressing OK.
3. Move to Reset and Admin. Press OK.
4. Select the option- Reset TV to Factory Defaults. Press OK.
5. If you haven’t changed the parental code, type 0000 when the device prompts for a password.
6. Move to Reset. Press OK.
7. The TV will now power off.

Once it turns back on, you will be asked to add your settings and preferences, exactly like the first time you brought it home.

Hard Reset the Harder Way

If the steps given above didn’t work for some reason, you could follow these instructions to reset your Vizio SmartCast TV:

1. Power off the TV, but don’t unplug it.
2. Press and hold the CH+and CH- buttons on the remote together.
3. Press the Power button. You don’t have to hold it.
4. Now, release the CH+ and CH- buttons.
5. On pressing the Menu button, a menu will appear on the screen.
6. There will be an F indicated on the bottom-right corner. This means that you are in a factory setup screen.
7. After pressing the Menu button for some time, the Service Menu will be displayed.
8. You should be able to avail factory reset options from here.

Final Thoughts on Resetting your Vizio TV

If your Vizio TV seems to respond in ways, it’s not supposed to. However, a reset might do it some good.

Go for a soft reset first and if that doesn’t do the trick, follow the steps for a hard reset.

If none of these could fix the issue, you’ll need to get in touch with the Vizio Support team. You’ll find the details here.

After a factory reset brought some peace to my home, I’ve been pretty pleased with Vizio’s service. Especially now, since SmartCast has made lives all the easier.

Choosing a particular movie/show gives me a list of platforms that I can stream it on, saving the hassle of checking each one. Needless to say, I’m now glued to the screen.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I reset my Vizio TV without a remote?

This is possible for models which support SmartCast. Press and hold the V- and Input buttons together until a message pops up on the screen.

You will be asked to release the V- button only. The TV should reset in around 10 seconds.

Why is my Vizio TV not responding to the remote?

There might be a couple of reasons for this. First, any object placed in front of the TV would block its sensors, and the remote wouldn’t control it.

Or, the remote batteries may be dead or placed incorrectly. Here is the solution.

How do I reset my Vizio TV when the screen is black?

Firstly, soft reset your TV using the steps mentioned earlier if that doesn’t work, press and hold the Mute button for 5 seconds.

This is to make sure that the ‘Mute Screen’ mode has been deactivated. Still no luck?

In that case, contacting the Vizio Support team would be your best option.