Sony Bravia XBR 75x950h TV - Issues... (1 Viewer)

[guthrie]

I have a Sony Bravia XBR 75x900H TV (2020) which we love.
The picture and features are all great.
But recently it has started to intermittently freeze up, and even sometimes turn-off.
The "freeze-up" means that no remote button clicks will do anything, although the bottom-center indicator light flashes, showing that the input was received. Then about 1-2 minutes later, sometimes it will then process the whole backlog queue of remote inputs. Or sometimes stay frozen, and need to be power-cycled.

Once it is on some programming (Hulu, Netflix, Plex, ...) it seems to run fine. It is on navigation and selection that it falters.

I dd the diagnostics, all updated, and deleted several rarely used apps.
No remedy so far.

I have not done the factory-reset yet, as that will mean reinstalling and setup of a bunch of apps, and Alexa connection, etc. which is a bunch of work.

Any ideas what could be wrong?
I have not recently installed any new apps in the last 6-months.
TIA

 

[andrew]

It looks like you're taken the initiative to do most of the basic troubleshooting already with no useful results. One thing I don't see mentioned is clearing the app cache/data. Its a long shot, but possible that if the cache is massive it could be slowing things down and causing problems. At the very least, its worth a shot before you're stuck with a factory reset as the last resort.

 

[guthrie]

Thanks,
is this on a per-app basis, or is here a global cache that one can clear?

 

[YANG]

...I have not done the factory-reset yet, as that will mean reinstalling and setup of a bunch of apps, and Alexa connection, etc. which is a bunch of work...

there's a kind of reset that don't delete your installed apps or turn the TV back to factory roll off presets. i don't know what's the correct term to describe that, the only thing i can think of is "the flush".

my HiSense TV that had lived with me for 19mths recently have a hiccup where a portion of the screen shows distorted image as if the screen had been hit by hard objects. the whole "distorted portion" cannot display image properly, that prompts me to look for HiSense service center contact to call for immediate service since the TV is in the middle of 3yr warranty. i couldn't recall where i had put the receipt of purchase and delivery, that put me in panic.
suspecting that such fault could be caused by the updating of drivers to the system, i immediately turn off the mains, and press on the physical power button of the TV, hold for 30secs. the TV certainly goes into fully shut off mode, that when i turn back on the mains, press the power button of the TV for a very short while, the TV reboots.
when the "start screen" regains by certain percentage, that gives me some kind of hints that the distorted image can goes back to norm if i continue to do "power cut, press power to flush, power back, recovering" action that took me a whole day.

there's no guarantee that such action may apply to ur set, with different hardware compare to mine, but could be worth trying.
lastly, remember to replace ur remote control batteries to a freshly charged ones. should the remote response still comes with delay, the remote internal contacts could have been tainted by internal corrosion.

 

[andrew]

Thanks,
is this on a per-app basis, or is here a global cache that one can clear?

I would expect a global cache, similar to to your browser cache on your phone or laptop. However, I plugged your model into ChatGPT to see what steps it would give and it doesn't mention one. Here's the exact steps it gives, keeping in mind its imperfect AI and there may be differences within models. It might at least get you the right area to see what your options are.

1. Open the Settings Menu:
   • Press the "Home" button on your remote control.
   • Navigate to the "Settings" option at the top of the screen—it might be represented by a gear icon.
2. Go to Device Preferences:
   • Scroll down and select "Device Preferences." This might be located under "System Settings" or directly in the main settings menu, depending on your TV’s firmware version.
3. Access Storage & Reset Options:
   • Within "Device Preferences," look for an option that says "Storage & reset" or simply "Storage." Select it.
4. Manage Installed Applications:
   • Choose “Apps” or "See all apps," depending on what your menu shows. Here you can see all the applications installed on your TV.
5. Clear Cache for Specific Apps:
   • Select the app for which you want to clear the cache. This is useful if you are experiencing issues with a particular app.
   • Once you select the app, you should see options like "Force stop," "Uninstall updates," and "Clear cache."
   • Choose “Clear cache.” If you're experiencing significant issues, you might also consider selecting “Clear data,” but be aware that this will remove all data for the app, essentially resetting it to its original state.
6. Restart Your TV (optional but recommended):
   • After clearing the cache, it can be helpful to restart your TV to ensure that changes take effect properly.
   • You can turn off the TV and unplug it for a minute before plugging it back in, or you can use the restart option if available in your settings under "Device Preferences" > "About" > "Restart."

 

[Thedel]

I and some others have been experiencing these and other freeze/stutter issues since the latest firmware update came down last year changing the os version. My 75x950h was pretty much rock solid before that. Now I find that every couple weeks I need to cut the power and do a cold boot (a warm restart isn’t good enough) and then all is well for a while. Maybe the x950h doesn’t quite have the horsepower to run the updated os, or maybe it needs more free space on the drive.

 

[Robert Saccone]

I have the 85“ version of this TV. I am running the latest firmware and have had no issues with it. However I don’t use the smart tv features. I use an AppleTV for apps, streaming etc. If your having freezing/stuttering issues it might be worth trying a separate streaming device.

 

[guthrie]

Thanks to all.
@Thedel - how is a "cold Boot" different?
Al others, on my Sony one must clear data/cache for individual apps, no global cache.
I deleted some more apps, and things seem better.
Interestingly, one can add storage using a USB on most models:
--------------------------------------

How to add more storage and move TV apps to a USB storage device (except XBR X90H series and Google TV models)​

(https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00283632)
Some Android TV models allow you to move your downloaded apps to a USB storage device to increase the memory space available.

 

[Thedel]

Thanks to all.
@Thedel - how is a "cold Boot" different?
Al others, on my Sony one must clear data/cache for individual apps, no global cache.
I deleted some more apps, and things seem better.
Interestingly, one can add storage using a USB on most models:
--------------------------------------

How to add more storage and move TV apps to a USB storage device (except XBR X90H series and Google TV models)​

(https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00283632)
Some Android TV models allow you to move your downloaded apps to a USB storage device to increase the memory space available.

Sorry for the slow reply. A “cold boot” means you simply actually unplug the tv (or shut off the power strip) for a minute before reconnecting and powering up again. Some tv’s go for long periods without ever powering off…they just drop into standby mode and then wake up, which Sony calls a ‘restart’. Also, on my 950h I just recently used the option of deleting the demo/store mode files to free up space. Forget what that was under…system/storage maybe?