Why Does My TV Keep Making a Buzzing Noise From the Speakers?

The only sound that should come out of your TV speakers is the sound of whatever you’re watching. Sure, anything that can go wrong may go wrong, and if your TV hasn’t started humming, buzzing, or popping, there’s a high chance it will at some point. So, how do you fix the humming and buzzing coming from your speakers?

TVs make a buzzing noise from the speakers due to loose cables, RF interference, nearby electrical devices, or proximity to the wall. On some occasions, the speaker could be damaged. There are many ways to find the problem and fix it, such as checking cables or restarting your TV.

The good news is, you do not need to be an experienced engineer to fix a buzzing sound. In this article, I’ll explore some of the most common reasons why TVs make buzzing noises from their built-in speakers and show you how to stop the buzzing.

» QUICK NAVIGATION «

5 Reasons Why Your TV Keeps Making a Buzzing Noise

First of all, we’re living in a digital age where smart TVs and LCDs have taken over the once-dominant cathode ray tube televisions.

Additionally, we’ve advanced to dedicated external speakers and home theaters fed by component cables and other inputs from external devices.

All this means that buzzing will likely occur sooner or later since the more components you add to something, the more likely something will malfunction.

Your TV may keep making a buzzing noise if:

The TV’s speakers are broken
The TV is too close to other electrical devices
The TV’s brightness is too high
The TV’s volume is too high
You are using poor-quality cables

So, let’s take a deeper look at these issues.

The TV’s Speakers Are Broken

If you’ve seen your TV’s circuit board, you’ve seen hundreds of tiny components (ICs, capacitors, transistors, and resistors) behind the high-resolution moving pictures.

TV speaker buzzing noise will most likely occur due to an issue with the speakers themselves, although sometimes, you can trace the problem back to any of the tiny components on the circuit board.

Before concluding that the speakers are the culprit, start by ruling out other possible causes.

To do so, mute your TV’s volume on the remote controller and listen for the buzz.

If you hear no buzzing, the speakers are the most likely culprit. However, if the buzz persists when the volume is muted, the problem could be more profound than it seems.

The TV Is Too Close to Other Electrical Devices

All electrical devices allow an electric current to flow through them. Where an electrical current flows, a magnetic field follows. That means that all your gadgets have a magnetic field inside. So, putting them too close to each other can create a disturbance in the force.

If your TV happens to be close to tiny gadgets, don’t worry about them. However, if you place your LCD TV very close to a larger device (like a fridge or massive speakers), it’s likely to pick up some interference and buzz.

So, keep your fans, external speakers, and printers far away from your TV. You should move wireless transmitting devices such as routers and phones even further.

You also want to shield your cables or buy shielded cables to prevent the nearby power-carrying cords from inducing interference, which could make your TV speakers buzz.

The TV’s Brightness Is Too High

Switching to LED TVs brought with it an era of high-quality images, better color contrast, and little power consumption.

LED TVs use a series of backlights to bring out what you see on the screen. If your TV has damaged or overloaded capacitors, it may produce a whining or buzzing noise.

I recommend using the default brightness settings to prevent capacitor damage to your TV. If you must adjust the brightness, keep it slightly above 50%.

The TV’s Volume Is Too High

Generally, all speakers can produce a buzzing noise whenever exposed to too much stress.

Every time you turn up the volume button, you’re increasing the amount of voltage going through the speakers. Things could get worse if the bass and treble are also set too high for your feeble TV speakers.

Always keep the volume down unless you want to enjoy your movies better. In this case, only turn it up to about 75%.

Remember, TV speakers are not as strong as other external speakers. You may also buy a new sub to avoid overworking the TV speakers. Keep the bass and treble at 50% or go slightly higher if you want to do so. You may also restore the default volume, treble, and bass settings or use presets for music, movies, sports, etc.

Also, if you want that powerful bass-boosting volume, just buy some better external speakers. You’ll still have the TV speakers as a backup if you overload your other ones.

You Are Using Poor-Quality Cables

Bad quality cables are just not going to cut it. Everything about them – the quality of the material, the shielding, and pretty much everything – is just bad.

First of all, they don’t last long. Secondly, they get worse each time you use them. For instance, the shielding could wear off and expose the metal inside to interference.

So, instead, you want to use decent-quality cables for audio and avoid the long-term costs of frequent replacements.

How to Stop Your TV Speakers From Buzzing

We know some of the potential causes of buzzing in your TV speakers. So, how do you fix it?

To stop your TV from buzzing:

Troubleshoot your TV
Troubleshoot the externally connected devices
Check the TV’s cable connections
Switch off your TV and disconnect everything
Make sure that the cable box, receiver are well ventilated
Call an expert if the problem doesn’t go away

1. Troubleshoot Your TV

Buzzing sounds from your TV speakers could originate from anywhere. It could be the channel you’re watching, or maybe there is a loose cable on the input panel at the back of your TV.

Still, you don’t have to tear down the entire TV to get to the bottom of the problem.

Start by changing the channel and listen to how your speakers respond. If the buzzing stops, congrats! The problem has something to do with the channel you’re watching.

However, if the buzzing goes on, you could be dealing with a defective external device, damaged TV speakers, high volume and bass, or a nearby high-power electrical device.

2. Troubleshoot the Externally Connected Devices

Working with faulty external devices may leave room for electrical noise, humming, or buzzing.

Before hooking up an external device to your television, don’t forget to check if it’s working as it should. Ensure that each input or output also does what it is supposed to do.

For instance, many people forget to insert component RCA cables to their color-coded ends at the back of the input panels on the TV, which will interfere with the external device you have connected them to.

The connected external devices should also have firm connections with the signal input cables.

You should firmly insert each cable going into and out of the TV to your DVD, receiver, Blu-ray disk player, cable box, or any connected device. Be sure to check the ports, as mistakenly plugging things in the wrong spot is a common issue.

You might also want to reduce the volume on these external devices using the gain knobs or remote controllers.

If you purchased external speakers to take the load off your television, scan them for any issues. Additional speakers bring several advantages over ordinary TV speakers. However, they too may buzz if there is a problem with the other external devices.

3. Check the TV’s Cable Connections

Poorly made cables may introduce buzzing and other weird noises into your TV speakers.

For instance, long cables that lack proper shielding often make sound systems hum. You should also scan for any damage that exposes the bare wire to the outside world. It could turn the entire wire into a “buzz antenna” as small as it might be.

You may also ensure that each cable goes into its designated port on the TV and the external device.

Lastly, scan for any loose contacts between the cables and the devices. If you’re not sure whether they are well connected, disconnect all the wires and connect them again.

4. Switch Off Your TV and Disconnect Everything

If nothing seems to work up to this point, completely rebooting your TV the right way might help solve the problem.

Switch off the TV from the remote control or the power button. Next, disconnect all the cables going into and out of the TV, external devices, speakers, home theaters, and pretty much everything connected to your TV. Unplug everything from the power, too.

Then, wait for 2 minutes and connect everything the right way.

Now, plug in the power cord to the wall socket and turn on your TV. If the buzzing stops, it could indicate that you had a wiring problem.

5. Make Sure That the External Devices Are Well Ventilated

Heat and cold cause the electrical components within your speakers to contract and expand.

This activity can sometimes be picked up as buzzing by your wires and transmitted to the TV speakers. So, you want to keep your external devices where they’re well ventilated. Keep a fan close, but not too close, if the weather is hot.

6. Call an Expert if the Problem Doesn’t Go Away

There is no shame in asking for help if you cannot fix the problem with these hacks. Sometimes, the problem could go deeper than you think.

Professionals are trained to handle different kinds of TV speaker issues, and it could help if you book an appointment for a more comprehensive TV check-up.

Final Thoughts

TV speakers – like other speakers – are prone to sound-related issues. Fortunately, you can fix the buzzing problem quickly. Try all the steps outlined above and ask for professional help where you need it.

RELATED POSTS:

SHARE ON:

By Soundproof Living