HDMI No Signal

HDMI no signal means the monitor or TV is switched on and listening on an HDMI input, but no picture is arriving. The same message on DisplayPort or USB-C, often seen as monitor no signal, has the same causes. Most of the time the screen is set to the wrong input, the cable is loose or faulty, or the computer is sending its picture somewhere else. Pick the input manually in the screen's menu, reseat the cable at both ends, then wake the computer with a key press. When the picture returns, run the monitor test to check the whole screen, and open what is my screen resolution to confirm the signal runs at the screen's native resolution.

Quick checks

• Choose the input yourself. Press the Input or Source button on the monitor or remote and pick the exact port, such as HDMI 1 or HDMI 2. Automatic input search can stop on an empty port.
• Wake the computer. A sleeping computer sends no signal. Press a key or move the mouse, and wait 10 seconds.
• Reseat and swap the cable. Push both ends in fully, then try another HDMI cable. Leave out extension leads, wall plates and HDMI switches for now.
• Power cycle both ends. Turn off the screen and the computer or console, unplug them for a minute, then turn on the screen first and the source second. This restarts the HDMI handshake.
• Remove boxes in between. Soundbars, AV receivers, capture cards and splitters can all block the picture. Connect the source straight to the screen to test.

HDMI no signal on a PC monitor: use the right port

On a desktop with a separate graphics card, the picture comes out of the card's ports, low on the back of the case. The HDMI port on the motherboard, near the USB ports, usually switches off when a card is fitted. Some processors have no built-in graphics at all: Intel and AMD models with F in the name, and AMD Ryzen 5000 and older desktop chips without G in the name. On those, the motherboard's HDMI port never shows anything.

If the fans spin but there is no picture at all:

1. Check that the graphics card's power cables are connected, with every plug clicked fully in.
2. Look at the motherboard's debug lights, labelled CPU, DRAM, VGA and BOOT. The one that stays lit shows where start up stopped. A lit VGA light points to the graphics card.
3. Reseat the memory sticks, and try one stick in the slot the motherboard manual recommends.
4. On a new build with DDR5 memory, wait a few minutes on the first start. Memory training can keep the screen dark before the first picture appears.

The resolution or refresh rate is too high

If the screen went dark right after you changed a display setting, wait 15 seconds. Windows puts the old setting back if you do not confirm the change. A setting the screen cannot take may show as "Out of range" or "Input not supported" instead of no signal.

• Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B to restart the graphics driver.
• If another screen works, such as the laptop's own display, lower the resolution and refresh rate there in Settings, System, Display.
• If no screen shows anything, start Windows in low resolution: from the sign-in screen, hold Shift and select Restart, then Troubleshoot, Advanced options, Startup Settings, Restart, and press 3 for Enable low-resolution video.
• High refresh modes need a fast cable. 4K at 60 Hz needs a Premium High Speed HDMI cable, and 4K at 120 or 144 Hz needs an Ultra High Speed one, certified for 48 Gbps.

A laptop that will not show on the monitor

• Send the picture out. Press Windows + P and choose Duplicate or Extend. Many laptops also have a display key on the F row.
• USB-C to HDMI adapters work only on USB-C ports that carry video, usually marked with a DisplayPort or Thunderbolt symbol.
• Gaming laptops often wire HDMI to the dedicated graphics. If an eco or integrated only GPU mode is on, such as Eco Mode in ASUS Armoury Crate, that port has no signal. The second monitor not detected windows 11 guide covers GPU modes, docks and the Detect button.
• MacBooks: open System Settings, Displays, hold Option and click Detect Displays. On Apple silicon laptops, allow the display when macOS asks.

TVs and projectors

• Enhanced HDMI modes. TVs have a setting per HDMI input that unlocks full 4K color, which Samsung calls Input Signal Plus, LG calls HDMI Ultra HD Deep Colour and Sony calls HDMI signal format. An older source or cable can fail with it on, and some 4K sources need it on. Try the opposite setting for that input.
• Long cables. Past about 5 m, many passive HDMI cables drop the signal at 4K. Fiber optic HDMI cables work over long runs but only in one direction: the end marked Source goes to the computer or console.
• Projectors: use the projector's source search, and try 1080p at 60 Hz from the computer. Many older projectors cannot accept a 4K or high refresh signal.
• Protected video: if menus show but films go black, the content needs HDCP and something in the chain, often a capture card or cheap splitter, does not pass it.

Once the TV shows a picture, the tv test pattern page helps set brightness and confirms the edges of the picture are not cut off.

Consoles: PS5, Xbox and Switch

• PS5: turn the console off, then press and hold the power button and let go after the second beep, about seven seconds later. Connect the controller with a USB cable and press the PS button. In Safe Mode, choose Change Video Output, then Change Resolution, or Change HDCP Mode if the picture still does not show.
• Xbox Series X: turn the console off fully, then press and hold the power button and the Eject button on the console together, and let go after the second beep. It starts in a low resolution mode, and you can raise the resolution again in Settings, General, TV & display options. The Series S has no Eject button, so for it, follow Xbox Support's blank screen steps.
• Nintendo Switch: the dock needs the Nintendo AC adapter plugged into it to send a picture to the TV. Use the original adapter and seat the console firmly in the dock.

No signal after sleep or on DisplayPort

A monitor that shows no signal every time the computer wakes is often in a deep power saving mode that misses the wake up. Turn off deep sleep, auto power off or DisplayPort power saving options in the monitor's menu, and update its firmware if the maker offers one. Pressing Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B usually brings the picture back in the meantime. If the screen keeps blinking off and on instead, see monitor flickering on and off.

When it is a hardware fault

First check the screen itself. If its own on-screen menu opens, the screen's electronics work. Then swap one thing at a time: the same cable and port with another device such as a laptop or console, then another port on the screen. A port that never shows a picture from any device has failed, which happens after power surges or forcing a plug in at an angle. A computer whose ports give nothing on a screen that works elsewhere has a graphics fault, and if a graphics card started giving no signal after running very hot, check the card's cooling with the gpu temperature guide before replacing it.

Under warranty, a dead HDMI port on a monitor or TV is a normal claim. Note which devices and cables you tried, because support teams ask for exactly that.

No signal questions