You switch your console on and everything does what it should. The light comes on, the fan gets going, the drive spins for a moment. Only your tv stays black and says "no signal". You have pushed the cable in and out five times already and you are slowly starting to think the machine is finished.
Usually it is not. No picture almost always means the console works and the picture cannot find its way to your screen. That way is short: a chip on the board makes the signal, the port passes it on, the cable carries it, the tv picks it up. Three of those four you can rule out yourself.
No picture and not starting are two different things
With no picture the console is alive. The light is on as usual, the fan turns, you hear sound through your soundbar or through the headphones on the controller, and your controller pairs like always. Only the screen stays empty.
With not starting the console beeps once and goes off again, or the light blinks and dies. Then there is never going to be a picture and you have to look in another direction. Do you recognise that? Read a console that lights up briefly and shuts down.
The symptoms, as concrete as possible
- The tv says "no signal" or jumps back to the channel list.
- You can hear the console start, but a logo or a menu never appears.
- The picture drops out when you knock the cable and comes back when you hold it still.
- On one tv it works, on another it does not.
- The picture flickers, turns green or purple, or drops out every few minutes.
- On the Switch the small screen is fine, but in the dock the tv stays black.
Those last two say a lot. Flickering points to a bad contact, more often in the port than in the chip. A Switch that works handheld proves the board is alive.
The causes, from most to least common
1. The cable and the input on the tv
The cause we find most often and the cheapest one. An HDMI cable breaks inside, exactly where it is bent behind your furniture. From the outside you see nothing. Take a cable you have seen working somewhere else, pick another input by hand, and take the soundbar, receiver or splitter out of the chain. Boxes in between fail more often than consoles do.
2. The HDMI port with bent pins
There are nineteen thin pins inside the port, in two rows. Someone trips over the cable, or the plug goes in at an angle because the console stands against the wall, and one of them bends. Shine a torch into the port and look from the side as well. They should stand straight and level, like the teeth of a comb.
If you see anything out of line, do not put a cable in there again. You push the pin flatter or you short something out. A bent pin is not the only thing that ruins a port, a spilled drink does it just as fast, see liquid damage to a console. What the repair involves is on our page about replacing an HDMI port.
3. The HDMI encoder chip on the motherboard
If the port looks flawless and every screen stays black, the chip comes into view. Every console makes its HDMI signal with a separate chip, just behind the port. On the PS5 that is the Panasonic MN864739, on newer PS5 Slim boards the RTD2175P, on the Xbox Series X and S the NB7N621M retimer.
A chip like that dies from a voltage spike during a thunderstorm, from a yank on the cable while everything is switched on, or from years of heat. You can recognise it because everything else keeps working: sound, controller, network, downloads. Only the picture is missing.
4. A resolution your tv cannot handle
When a console moves to an older screen, it is sometimes set to something that screen does not understand. Nothing is broken then. On PlayStation you put that right in safe mode, on Xbox with the factory reset.
5. On the Switch: the dock or the USB C side
If the small screen on your Switch works and the tv stays black, the console is fine and only the way out is blocked. Usually that is the USB C switch in the console, the PI3USB30532, which sends the picture to the port. Sometimes it is the M92T36 next to it, which handles power over USB C. And sometimes it is the dock, where the M92T17 does the work. Cheap docks from other brands are a known cause of this exact fault, so test with an original dock and an original adapter first.
6. The board itself
If everything stays black while port and chip are fine, it sits deeper: a burnt out coil in the power supply for the video section, a broken trace under the port, or damage after liquid or a thunderstorm. Years of heat can leave a board in that state, see a console that gets too hot.
Models, model numbers and what typically breaks
The model number is on a sticker on the bottom or the back. Keep it to hand, because it decides which board is inside.
| Model | Model number | What typically fails when there is no picture |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation 5 | CFI-1000, CFI-1100, CFI-1200 | HDMI port, or the MN864739 encoder chip |
| PlayStation 5 Slim | CFI-2000 | HDMI port; newer boards have the RTD2175P encoder |
| PlayStation 5 Pro | CFI-7000 | Port and encoder, the same kind of work as on the PS5 |
| PlayStation 4 | CUH-1000, CUH-1100, CUH-1200 | Encoder MN86471A, from the CUH-1200 on the MN864729 |
| PlayStation 4 Slim | CUH-2000, CUH-2100, CUH-2200 | Port coming loose from the board, or the MN864729 |
| PlayStation 4 Pro | CUH-7000, CUH-7100, CUH-7200 | Same as the Slim; the port takes a lot of force |
| Xbox Series X | 1882 | HDMI port and the NB7N621M retimer |
| Xbox Series S | 1883 | Same retimer; the light case topples easily on the cable |
| Xbox One | 1540 | Port; check the separate power brick as well |
| Xbox One S | 1681 | HDMI port and the TDP158 retimer |
| Xbox One X | 1787 | Same TDP158, often after years of heat |
| Nintendo Switch | HAC-001 and HAC-001(-01) | No picture through the dock: PI3USB30532 or M92T36 |
| Switch OLED | HEG-001 | Same chips; dock HEG-007 with the M92T17 |
| Switch Lite | HDH-001 | No video output; no picture here means the screen itself |
| Nintendo Switch 2 | BEE-001 | Still too new for a pattern; usually the USB C side |
What you can safely try yourself
- Take another HDMI cable, preferably one you have seen working somewhere else.
- Pick another input on the tv by hand, do not wait for it to switch over.
- Connect straight to the tv, with nothing in between.
- Test on a second tv or monitor. If it works there, the fault is in your setup.
- Pull the plug, wait two minutes and start again. On Xbox, hold the power button for ten seconds first.
- Shine a torch into the HDMI port and look from the side as well. Put nothing in there.
- On PlayStation: start in safe mode. Hold the power button until the second beep, connect the controller with a USB cable and choose to change the video output. Set the resolution to the lowest step.
- On Xbox: hold the pair button and the eject button together and press the power button briefly, until the second beep. The Series S has no eject button, so use the pair button alone. Then choose the reset that keeps your games.
- On Switch: test with the original dock and the original adapter.
If you do get a picture in safe mode or in the start menu, you know something useful. The board works, and the fault is in a setting or in the cable.
When to stop
Stop as soon as you feel like picking up a tool. Straightening a bent pin with tweezers almost always snaps it off, right where it disappears into the plastic. Replacing the port then also means repairing solder pads, and that costs more.
Do not open your console for a quick look either. The warranty seal tears the moment the cover comes off and you cannot undo that. The same goes for a controller, see stick drift repair. There is mains voltage in the built-in power supply of a PS5 or Xbox Series, even with the plug pulled, because the capacitors hold their charge for a while.
Has liquid ever been near it, cola, coffee or a knocked over glass, then do not switch the console on to test it. Voltage through a wet board eats traces away, weeks later still. Read what to do and what not to do after liquid damage first.
How we repair it
We start by measuring, not by replacing. With a multimeter we check the five volts on pin 18 of the port and the feedback on pin 19, the hot plug detect. If that voltage is missing, we look for the trace or the coil that supplies it. If it is there, we look at the encoder.
We take the port off with hot air, at a controlled temperature and with the rest of the board shielded. Then we clean the solder pads and fit a new port with flux, microsoldering under the microscope. Replacing an encoder chip works the same way, only more precisely, because those contacts sit under the housing. After that we test on a real tv and leave the console running for a while.
What it costs
The diagnosis costs 49 euros. You hear first what is broken and what the repair costs, and only then do you decide. We replace an HDMI port from 99 euros, part included. If it is the encoder chip, count on 149 euros and up. Other motherboard repair starts at 89 euros, repair after liquid damage at 99 euros. We give 12 months warranty on every repair and the turnaround is 2 to 5 working days.
You can send it in from anywhere in Belgium
Consoles come in from Antwerp, Mechelen and Turnhout, from Ghent, Sint-Niklaas and Aalst, and from Bruges, Ostend, Kortrijk and Roeselare. From Limburg they come from Hasselt, Genk and Sint-Truiden, from Flemish Brabant from Leuven, Vilvoorde and Halle.
From Brussels it runs just as smoothly, with customers in Schaerbeek and Anderlecht. From Wallonia machines come in from Liege and Verviers, from Namur, from Charleroi, Mons and Tournai, and even from Arlon. You get the packing instructions when you register. Does a controller drift as well? It can travel in the same parcel, see stick drift repair.
Know enough? Then you can register your console for repair. Describe what you see and give your model number, and we will tell you what the next step is.
Frequently asked questions
My console makes sound but gives no picture, is it dead?
Probably not. Sound means the board works and the console really does start. The problem then sits between the encoder chip and your tv, so in the chip, the port, the cable or the input. That is exactly the row you can work through from cheap to expensive.
How do I know whether it is the HDMI port or the chip on the board?
Shine a torch into the port and look from the side as well. If a pin is crooked, flattened or missing, it is the port. If the port looks perfect and no screen gives a picture, not even in safe mode, that points to the encoder chip. Only a measurement on the board gives certainty.
My Switch works handheld but gives no picture through the dock, what now?
Then the console screen still works and the problem is in the path to the tv. Usually that is the USB C chip in the console or the chip in the dock itself. Test with the original Nintendo adapter and the original dock first, because cheap docks are a known cause of this exact fault.
What does it cost if the HDMI chip has to be replaced?
We replace an encoder chip from 149 euros, part included. That is microsoldering under the microscope, because the chip is held down by dozens of contacts under its housing. The diagnosis costs 49 euros and you always hear what is broken and what it costs before we do anything.
Can I send my console in from anywhere in Belgium?
Yes, sending works from every province and customers from Antwerp, Ghent, Liege and Charleroi do it just as often as people who drop by. You register the console, you get instructions for packing it, and after the diagnosis you hear what is needed. The turnaround is 2 to 5 working days and every repair carries 12 months warranty.
Ready to have it repaired
Describe what your console is doing in your own words. You get an answer within one working day, with shipping instructions and a guide price. The diagnosis costs 49 euros and comes off the bill if you go ahead with the repair.