I had purchased a Toshiba Fire TV about a year ago and a couple of days ago I ran into my first issue with it.

The TV would keep turning off while I was in the middle of watching something.

This was a little annoying and at first I thought maybe someone at home had turned on a sleep timer on the TV.

But after going through the settings, it wasn’t the case for me.

Before contacting Toshiba, I decided to do my own research and see if I could fix the issue as my TV was no longer under warranty.

Eventually I figured it was an automatic timer on my home theater which was causing the issue on my TV.

If your Toshiba TV keeps turning off, it’s usually caused by HDMI-CEC which allows other devices to control and be controlled by your TV. If the connected device has an off timer, then that will cause your TV to turn off as well.

Disable HDMI-CEC Or Turn Off Your Connected Device’s Sleep Timer

CEC or Consumer Electronics Control is an HDMI feature that allows connected devices to control each other.

So if you have a speaker or gaming console connected to your TV, turning on your console or speaker will also turn on the TV.

If you are unaware of these settings and it’s enabled on your device, it might be the reason your Toshiba TV turns off unexpectedly.

You can check your HDMI-CEC settings by following the steps below.

For Toshiba Non-Smart TVs

Click the ‘Menu’ button on your remote and navigate down to ‘Options.’

Here, you’ll find an option labeled ‘HDMI-CEC Control Settings.’

From here, you’ll be able to turn on/off the ‘Auto Standby’ and ‘Auto Power’ settings.

For Toshiba Smart TVs

If you have a Toshiba smart TV, changing the HDMI-CEC settings is slightly different.

From your smart TV home screen, navigate to ‘Settings.’

Go to ‘Display and Sounds’ and you’ll see ‘HDMI-CEC Device Control’ at the bottom of the list.

From here you can adjust the settings for ‘ARC/eARC’, ‘Power Control’, and ‘Remote Control Pass Through.’

Reset The Sleep Timer On Your TV

Sleep timers and inactivity timers can also shut your TV down abruptly when you are in the middle of watching something.

If you didn’t turn on your sleep timer or inactivity timer, it might have been another family member or roommate who might’ve changed the settings.

To change it, go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Clock and Timer’ > ‘Sleep Timer.’ From here you can disable it or change it to a different time.

Check Your Toshiba TV Remote

In some cases, a badly behaving remote might be causing the issue.

For example, if the battery in the remote is old and managed to leak inside the remote, it can cause a lot of malfunctions.

If you have a leaking battery, you might need to get a replacement remote since it’s nearly impossible to clean out all the battery liquid from the internals of the remote.

Additionally, a damaged remote might also cause similar issues. If the power button is broken or damaged, it might create inputs without you having to press the button.

Factory Reset Your TV

If none of the fixes mentioned above worked, you might have some corrupt files on your system that might be causing the issue.

You can factory reset your TV, which might help fix these issues.

To factory reset your Toshiba TV, click the ‘Menu’ button on your remote and scroll down to ‘Options.’

From here, scroll down to the very end and you’ll see an option labeled ‘User Reset.’

Follow the on screen instructions and you’re TV will automatically restart after the reset.

If you use a Toshiba smart TV, click on the ‘Home’ button on your remote and navigate to ‘Settings.’

Click on ‘Device and Software’ and select ‘Reset Factory Defaults.’

Smart TVs will take a little longer to reset, but once it’s done, you’ll be prompted to go through the initial setup for your TV.

Contact Support

If the issue persists, you might need to contact ToshibaTV customer support to initiate a repair or replacement.

TVs under warranty will mostly be replaced, but if it’s outside warranty, you will be required to pay for repairs.

An accident cover plan can help alleviate some of the repair expenses, so if you have one, you’ll be able to avail cheaper services even if your device is out of warranty.

Best Practices For Your Toshiba TV

It can get frustrating when your TV suddenly turns off in the middle of a big game or an intense moment in a movie, but there are a few things we can do to prevent this.

To ensure that your Toshiba TV does not face such issues in the future, here are some tips: 

Avoid using your TV for long hours to prevent it from overheating and frequently clean dirt from the vent’s debris build-up of your TV.

Use sleep timers if you are someone who tends to fall asleep while watching TV. This can help prevent your TV from running longer than it should.

Inactivity timers are also great if you have kids that might forget to turn off the TV after they’re done using it.

Additionally, check your remote batteries often to make sure they don’t leak and damage your remote.

And, keep your Toshiba TV firmware updated to avoid issues from bugs in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Why is my Toshiba TV not turning on even though the red LED light is on? 

Try clicking on the on/off button on the TV itself to see if it turns on. If it does, it might indicate an issue with the remote such as low battery or the IR sensor not working.

Where is the Toshiba TV reset button? 

Toshiba TVs do not have a physical reset button. You’ll have to navigate to ‘Menu’>>’Options’>>’User Reset’ on non-smart Toshiba TVs. For Toshiba Smart TVs, navigate to ‘Settings’>>’Device and Software’>>’Reset Factory Defaults.’

How to diagnose if a power surge damaged Toshiba TV? 

If your TV was damaged by a power surge, you’ll get a burning smell coming from your TV. You can also open the back panel and check if the capacitors are bulging, which is a sign that your TV has shorted out.