TV Has Picture But No Sound: Settings First, Speakers Second

When a TV shows a perfect picture with no sound, roughly half the cases are settings or source problems (mute, audio output routed to non-existent speakers, HDMI audio format) and half are hardware (speakers or the audio section of the main board). The checks below separate the two in five minutes.

The five-minute settings check

Confirm mute is off and volume up on the TV remote (not just the set-top box). Then Settings → Sound → Speakers: set to "TV Speakers" — TVs quietly switch to "External/Optical/ARC" after being connected to a soundbar and never switch back. Play a file from USB or the TV menu sounds: if those work, the TV is fine and the source/HDMI is at fault — set the source device's audio to PCM.

Crackling, distortion or very low sound

Distortion at normal volume, rattling on bass, or sound cutting in and out usually means the speaker cones or connections are failing — a straightforward doorstep replacement, typically ₹800 – ₹2,500 for a pair depending on model.

No sound anywhere, even the menu

If even the TV's own menu clicks are silent on TV speakers, the audio amplifier section of the main board is suspect. That is a board-level repair (typically ₹1,500 – ₹4,500, model-dependent, quoted after inspection).

Sound but no picture instead?

The mirror-image problem has a different cause entirely — see LED TV has sound but no picture.