If your Sony TV apps are not working suddenly, then you are not alone.
In some cases, the apps may not load or open at all. In some cases, they may be showing error messages, stuck on a black screen, keep freezing or buffering.
Whether you are facing the issue with all the apps on your Sony TV or a few select apps like Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu, Paramount Plus, this guide covers everything you need to get the apps back on track.
Without any further ado, let’s dive right in!
Sony TV Apps Not Working
Follow the step-by-step troubleshooting guide below to get your Sony TV apps to start working again.
1. Force Reboot the TV
The first thing you need to do if your Sony TV apps are not working is to force reboot the TV.
This is one of the quickest (yet effective) ways to fix streaming app issues.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Grab your Sony TV remote.
- While pointing it at the TV, press and hold the power button until the TV turns off. The TV will turn back on immediately, then let go of the power button.
- Once the TV is back on, go ahead and try using any of the apps on your Sony TV, and you should be good to go.
If not, move to the next step.
2. Restart Router & Modem
If force rebooting your Sony TV did not work for you, no problem.
The next thing you need to do is to restart the network router and modem. If you only have a router, restart just that.
It could be due to network connectivity issues, or issues with communication between your TV and router.
Here’s exactly what you need to do:
- First, turn off the network router and unplug it from the wall outlet.
- Leave it unplugged for 60 seconds. Then, plug it back in and turn it on.
- Wait for a minutes or two for the router to come online.
- While waiting for the router to come online, go ahead and power cycle the TV.
Ideally, you should also power cycle your TV (shown in the next step) before you connect the TV back to the router and try using your Sony TV apps.
Let’s quickly take a look at that.
3. Power Cycle the TV
Power cycling your TV (also called a soft reset) is very effective in fixing issues such as when Sony TV apps are not working.
This soft reset process gets rid of corrupt cache files and fixes some temporary software glitches.
To power cycle or power rest your Sony smart TV, simply follow these steps:
- Turn off your Sony TV by directly unplugging the power cord from the power outlet.
- Press and hold the power button on your TV for 30 seconds to fully discharge any residual power.
- Now, wait for at least 30 more seconds and then plug to TV back into the power outlet.
- Then, turn on the TV.
- Finally, go back to the your Sony TV network settings screen and connect the TV to the Wi-Fi. By this time, the network router should also be back online.
Try using the apps on your Sony TV again, and you should be back up and running.
If not, move to the next step.
4. Clear App Cache, Data and Force Stop Apps
Corrupt cache files can also cause your Sony TV apps to not work. In such cases, simply clearing the app cache fixes the issue.
In some other cases, you might have been experiencing a network issue which should have been fixed by restarting the network router.
However, because of the corrupt cache files, you may still continue to face issues with the apps even when the underlying issue has been fixed.
Here’s what you need to do:
- From the home screen, click on the “Settings” (gear icon) on your Sony TV screen.
- If you have the version of the remote with the settings button on it, you can use that as well.
- Scroll down on the settings screen, and click on “Apps”
- Click on the app on your Sony TV that you have issues with (in the case of multiple apps, repeat the process one after the other)
- On the app screen, click on “Clear Cache”
- Next, select “OK”
- Now, you can take it a step further by clicking on “Clear Data”
NOTE: Clearing app data will remove all the app settings and accounts. In other words, you will have to sign in and configure the app again.
- Click on “OK”
- Finally, you want to force stop the app as well. So, click on “Force Stop”. This will help to reset the app.
- Again, click on “OK”
- Repeat the process for all the apps that are not working on your Sony TV.
- After the app is reset, go ahead and reboot your TV.
Once the TV is back on, try using the apps again and check if the apps now work.
5. Check for Software Update
Outdated Sony BRAVIA TV firmware can also apps not to work.
Therefore, you need to check if there’s a new version of the system software available for your Sony TV, and if there is, download and install it.
Here’s how to do that:
The procedure to do this will vary depending on your Sony TV model, so I am going to show the steps for different models.
For Sony Google and Android TV models:
- On the remote control, press the HELP button or the (Input) button.
- Select Help. (Note: If Help is not shown in the Input selection screen, select Edit and add Help).
- The next steps will depend on your TV menu options (depending on the model and version you have):
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- Select Status & Diagnostics > System Software Update > Software Update.
- Select System software update > Software update or Check for a system software update.
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- For KD-32W830K, KD-X75K, and KD-X75H Series: On the remote control, press the Quick Settings button (gear icon), and select Settings > System or Device Preferences > About > System Update.
- Next, click on Software update
- If a new software update is found, the TV will display a Software update is ready message. Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed with the update. Once done, your TV will reboot.
NOTE: During the installation of the update, do not press any buttons, power off the TV, or disconnect it from the AC power outlet. Loss of power during the installation of the firmware update may cause the TV set to become unresponsive or require repair.
For Other Sony TV models:
If the ‘Help’ icon is displayed in the top-right corner of the screen:
- Select the ‘Help’ icon > Customer Support > Software Update > Network.
- Note: If Network is not shown, skip this step.
- Click on Yes or OK to start installing the update.
If the ‘Help’ icon is NOT displayed in the top-right corner of the screen:
- Select Settings > Customer Support, Setup, or Product Support > Software Update > Network.
- Note: If Network is not shown, skip this step.
- Click on Yes or OK to start installing the update.
Updating Manually with a USB Drive:
You can also update your Sony BRAVIA TV manually with a USB drive formatted in the FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS format and with sufficient space to accommodate the file.
Here’s how to update your Sony TV system software manually:
- Go to the support website.
- Type your TV model name in the search box. If you don’t know your model number, check the sticker at the lower left corner of your TV’s back panel.
- Go to the Downloads section and proceed to the update page.
- Follow the instructions on the website to download the update to a USB flash drive and perform the update on your TV.
NOTE: The update file must be saved in the root directory of the drive.
Also, if the update does fail, delete other files from the drive and try again, with only the update file saved in the root folder of the USB flash drive. If the update still fails, format the USB flash drive to FAT32 and try again. If the update fails again, try using a different USB flash drive formatted in FAT32.
You can verify that the latest software version has been installed on your Sony TV by following the procedures below:
On the remote control, press the HOME button, and select Settings or Help > Customer support or Product Support. Compare the latest software available with the one on your TV, and if the available software is newer, download and install the update.
Once the software is updated on your Sony BRAVIA TV, go ahead and open any Sony TV app and it should now work without any issue.
6. Check the Internet Connection Status
Even though your Sony TV is connected to the Wi-Fi, it may actually be connected with no internet access.
If that’s the case, some or all of your Sony TV apps will not work no matter what you do.
Here’s how to check the internet connection status on your Wi-Fi:
- First, you need to go to the Wi-Fi settings screen on your Sony TV by going to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
- Now, is it showing “connected” or “connected, no internet”?
- If it’s showing “connected, no internet”, then you need to troubleshoot the network issue.
I have written a separate troubleshooting guide for Sony TV “connected, no internet” issue which you can find here.
7. Update TV Date and Time
One of the most common reasons why Sony TV apps don’t work is when the date and time are misconfigured and differ from the actual network time.
This can happen after turning off the TV, after a power outage or after leaving the TV disconnected for a long period of time.
What you need to do is to simply update the date and time automatically with the network, and the issue will be resolved.
Here’s how to do that:
- From the home screen, click on the “Settings” (gear icon) on your Sony TV screen. You can also use the settings button on the remote.
- On the settings screen, scroll down until you find “Date & Time” and select it (it’s under the system preferences tab).
- Select “Automatic date & time”
- Choose “Use network time”
- Now, go back to the settings screen, scroll up and select “Network”. Then, select “Network setup”.
- Select “Expert”
- Wait for a few seconds and your Sony TV should show “connected”.
- If not, turn off the Wi-Fi, and then turn it back on immediately.
- Wait for the Wi-Fi to turn on
Wait for a few seconds for it to connect to the network. Once connected, you should be good to go!
8. Change the DNS Server
Anther common network issue that arise causing Sony TV apps to not work comes from the DNS server. s
If you have never set a manual DNS server on your TV, it means you are using the one provided by your ISP (coming from your router) by default.
In cases where your ISP is experiencing heavy internet traffic or other network issues that affect the network performance, it may cause issues like this one.
What you can do is to change the DNS server on your TV to Google public DNS servers in the network settings.
Changing your settings from using the DNS server of your ISP to the Google Public DNS can improve your network considerably, as it’s known to be one of the fastest DNS servers out there.
Here’s how to update the DNS servers on your Sony TV:
- Go to Settings > Network & Internet, then select the network you are connected to.
- On the next screen, take note of the IP address. Then, select on “IP settings”.
- On the next screen, when you see the IP address, leave it unchanged. Then, click on “Next”.
- On the Gateway input screen, leave it unchanged as well and click on “Next”.
- Also, leave Network prefix length unchanged and click on “Next”
- Now, on the DNS 1 screen, enter 8.8.8.8
- On the DNS 2 screen, enter 8.8.4.4
- Finally, click on “Next” and you should see the message “Saved successfully”.
Another DNS server you can try if Google’s DNS does not work for you is Cloudflare publicj DNS server (also very fast and some users find this more stable).
Here are the values for Cloudflare public DNS:
- Primary DNS (DNS 1): 1.1.1.1
- Secondary DNS (DNS 2): 1.0.0.1
If you have network issues on your Sony TV that’s causing the apps not to work, any of those pairs of DNS servers should resolve the issue for you.
9. Turn Off Data Saver Feature on TV
Sony TVs and other Android TVs have a data saver feature. What this does is to limit the data use to a set amount.
That is, once you reach the set limit, you will no longer be able to stream on your Sony TV even when you are connected to Wi-Fi or ethernet (until the limit period is over and a new period starts e.g the next day).
Therefore, you need to check if this feature has been turned on, and if so, turn it off.
Here’s how to check:
On Sony TV with Android 8.0 or 9.0
- Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Data usage > Data saver
- Turn off the data saver feature.
On Sony TV with Android 7.0, 7.1 or 7.1.1
- Go to Settings > Data usage > Data saver.
- Tap the slider to turn off the data saver feature.
Once the feature is turned off, your Sony TV apps should now work without any issue. If not, move to the next step.
10. Reset Network Settings
If your Sony TV apps are still not working, then you should try resetting the network settings.
Here’s how to do that:
- Go to Settings > Network & Internet, and select the network you are connected to.
- Scroll down and click on “Forget Network”
- Once done, go ahead and connect to the network again. The steps to do that will depend on your TV model. Follow the steps below according to your TV menu options:
- Select Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
- Select Network & Internet > Easy setup > Wi-Fi.
- Select Network → Network setup > Easy > Wi-Fi.
- Select your network from the list of available networks.
- Enter the correct password and click on “Connect”
Once connected, check if the apps on your Sony TV now work.
11. Perform a Network Diagnosis
The final thing you can do when it comes to fixing network connection issues that may cause your Sony TV apps to not work is perform a network diagnosis procedure.
To perform the network diagnosis, the TV Wi-Fi needs to be turned on. If it’s not turned on, follow the procedure below to turn it on.
- Go to Settings > Network & Internet.
- On some models, you will see “Wi-Fi”, click on it and turn it on. On some other models, select “Advanced Settings” > “Built-in Wi-Fi”, then turn it on.
Once the Wi-Fi is turned on, you can then proceed with the network diagnosis as shown below:
- Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Advanced Settings > Network status
NOTE: Some models do not show the advanced setting option, you will see the “Network status” option directly under the “Network & Internet” menu.
- Next, select “Check Connection”, then select “YES” on the confirmation screen that comes next.
- The network diagnosis will start.
If the result shows anything other than “OK”, then you may be experiencing network connection issues on your Sony TV.
In that case, you can troubleshoot the issue by following this guide.
12. Reset to Factory Settings
If your Sony TV apps are still not working even after doing all that have been discussed so far, then you need to reset the TV to factory settings.
Since the procedure to do this will vary depending on your TV model, I will demonstrate various methods to do this depending on the model you have.
First, I will show you how to reset Sony Android TV models (with a remote and without a remote).
Then, I will do the same with Sony Google TV models and finally other Sony TV models in that order.
How to Reset Sony Android TV models:
- Press the HOME button on the remote control, and select Settings.
- The next steps will depend on your TV menu options (depending on the model and version you have):
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- Select Device Preferences >Reset.
- Select Device Preferences > About > Reset, Factory reset, or Factory data reset.
- Select Storage & Reset. Select Factory data reset or Reset.
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- Select Erase Everything.
- Select ‘Yes’ when asked to confirmed factory reset
- If asked to provide a password, enter the password for the Parental lock (Broadcast). For X7, and W8 series: Skip this step
NOTE: If the HOME button on the remote control does not work, follow the procedures below:
- For Sony X74H_X75H, X7, and W8 series: Press the ACTION or Quick Settings button on the remote control, then select Settings > Device Preferences.
- The next steps will depend on your TV menu options
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- Select About > Factory reset, or Factory data reset > Factory data reset.
- Select About > Reset.
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Factory Reset without Remote on Sony Android TV:
This is another way to reset your Sony TV to factory settings without the remote control.
This works on Sony BRAVIA KDL TVs and other models with Android 6.0 Marshmallow or higher operating system installed. It also works on other Sony OLED and LCD models too.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Unplug your TV from the power outlet
- While unplugged, locate the power and volume down (-) buttons on your TV (not on your remote). Depending on the Sony TV model, the buttons may be located on top of the TV, at the bottom or at the one of the sides. Also, if you have a model with only power button on your TV, hold the power button and continue with the same procedure.
- Once you find them, hold down the volume and power button on the TV
- While still holding the volume and power button, plug back the TV into a working power outlet
NOTE: Make sure you plug the TV into the power outlet while still holding both power and volume down buttons on the TV. If you can’t reach the wall outlet on your own while holding down the buttons, find someone to help you plug it in.
- Once plugged in, keep holding the buttons until the LED light turns green (or white in some models) which shows the reset is done. You may have to wait 15-60 seconds for the reset to be completed. Once done, you can release the buttons.
- If the reset was effective, the TV will restart itself, display the Sony and Android start-up animation screen/logos before and then show the BRAVIA initial setup screen.
- If the TV doesn’t turn back on automatically, press the power button to turn it back on.
NOTE: If this doesn’t work on the first try, repeat the whole procedure again. According to Sony, you may sometimes have to try this up to 5 times in some cases before the reset is successful. If it still doesn’t work after the 5th try, move to the next step.
VERY IMPORTANT:
Once you are done with the forced factory data reset, you need to perform another reset immediately before doing any setup. If you fail to do this after the forced factory data reset, some applications and features on the TV may be lost.
- Hence, skip Google account sign-in, skip network setup and skip channel setup. You can set them up later. Instead, you need perform another factory reset from the TV menu this time around.
- To do this, press the HOME button on the remote controller. Then, go to Settings > Storage & reset > Factory data reset > Erase Everything > Yes.
For some other models, you will find the reset option under Settings > System > About > Reset. On other models, try Settings > Device Preferences > Reset.
Once the actual factory reset has now been done, go ahead and perform the setup at the welcome screen (tuning settings, Google account, network setup e.t.c.)
How to Reset Sony Google TV models:
- Press the Quick Settings button on the remote control
- Select Settings > System > About > Reset > Factory data reset > Erase everything.
NOTE: If the Quick Settings button on the remote control does not work, follow the procedures below:
- Press the HELP button or the Input button on the remote
- Select Help > Manual (Help Guide) > Settings > Using the Quick Settings > Settings > System > About > Reset > Factory data reset > Erase everything.
Factory Reset Sony Google TV without Remote:
If the normal reset does not work, you can perform a forced factory reset for Google TV models without remote. Here’s how to do to that:
- Unplug the TV’s power cord from the power outlet
- Press and hold the power button on the TV (not on the remote control)
- If your TV has 3 buttons, press and hold all of them at the same time.
- While holding the power button (or three buttons) on the TV, plug the AC power cord back in and continue to hold the button(s) until the white LED light appears.
- Release the power button after the white LED light appears.
NOTE: It will take approximately 10-30 seconds for the LED light to turn white. If the LED light doesn’t turn white within 30 seconds, start all over again (from unplugging the TV).
- Wait a few minutes for the Factory data reset process to take place.
- Your Sony TV will reboot (turn on and off) twice.
- NOTE: If the TV doesn’t turn back on automatically, press the Power button to turn the TV back ON.
- When the welcome setup screen appears, perform the setup. However, if the welcome setup screen doesn’t appear, unplug the AC power cord and then plug it back in.
How to Reset Other Sony LCD TV models:
- Press and hold the UP ARROW button on the remote control.
- While holding the UP ARROW button, press and hold the POWER button on your TV until Reset appears on the screen.
- The power button may be on the front, top, or side of the TV. If your TV has an Energy Saving switch, be sure to press the POWER button rather than the Energy Saving switch.
- Afterwards, the TV will turn off and then back on. If your TV remains off after performing a factory reset, press the POWER button to turn it on.
- Release the UP ARROW button.
- The initial setup screen displays if the above procedures were performed correctly. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the initial setup.
- If the reset didn’t complete successfully, disconnect all devices from the TV, turn off or disable the network connection, then repeat the steps above.
Once your Sony TV has been reset to factory settings and the initial setup as been done, your Sony BRAVIA TV apps should now work.
13. Contact Sony TV Support
At this point, all you can do is to contact Sony customer support or a qualified technician who will be able to help you with the issue.
You can contact Sony customer support.
If you found this guide helpful and you’ve been able to get your Sony TV apps to work again, let me know which of the methods worked for you in the comment section below.