Why Is My Insignia TV’s Red Light Blinking? [ANSWERED]

If you have an Insignia Smart TV at home, an issue that you may experience down the line is a red blinking light, but what does it mean? Insignia TVs are Best Buy’s signature brand and they are normally quite reliable – until they start malfunctioning that is. A common problem with Insignia TVs that a lot of people have reported is that their Insignia TV light starts blinking red.

Table of Contents

• What does a blinking red light mean on an Insignia TV?
• Insignia TV Reset
  • Standard Reset
  • Factory Reset 
• Insignia TV HDMI Cable
• Insignia TV Power Issues
  • Power Cable Disconnected
  • Damaged Power Cables 
  • Damaged Surge Protector 
  • Burnt Out Outlet 
  • Excessive Home Power Consumption

What does a blinking red light mean on an Insignia TV?

Your Insignia TV’s red light is blinking because it’s experiencing a technical glitch or it’s not receiving enough power. To fix this, reset the TV, check that all cables are plugged in properly and not damaged, and confirm that your outlet is not burnout and that your home power is not overloaded.

Smart TVs are all the hype these days and thanks to budget-friendly options like Best Buy’s Insignia brand, virtually everyone can afford to have one. 

With an Insignia TV in your home entertainment system, you can stream all of your favorite shows and movies with a few simple clicks – given the fact that you can connect your TV device to third-party applications like Youtube. With that being, if the light on your Insignia TV is blinking red, then you may be finding it hard to use the device at all. When this happens, the Insignia TV may shut itself down while you are watching something or it will fail to turn on at all. 

It can be quite frustrating to deal with this – especially if you are geared up to start streaming. To help you understand this further, we are going to take a closer look at exactly why your Insignia TV red light is blinking.

After extensively researching Insignia TV malfunctions, I have been able to gather enough information to determine what causes the red light on the device to start blinking. My research has indicated that there are multiple different factors that can cause an Insignia TV red light to blink and you need to consider all of them to fix the problem. 

Insignia TV Reset

If you are able to get your Insignia TV to power on with the red light blinking, then odds are that the device is simply experiencing some sort of minor glitch. This is the best-case scenario for a red blinking light with your Insignia TV and it is very easy to fix – with a reset usually getting the job done. 

Standard Reset

The most straightforward way to give your Insignia TV a quick reset is to unplug it from its power source. After you unplug your Insignia TV, wait for at least 60 seconds for the system to fully drain itself of all power.

With that being said, many would argue that you should do this for as long as 10 to 30 minutes for a reset to be effective. 

If the problem persists after a 60 standard reset, try again and wait for up to 30 minutes. More often than not, this will clear up a red blinking light on your Insignia TV.

Factory Reset

If you tried a standard reset and it still does not work even after a 30-minute wait with the device unplugged, then you may need to factory reset it. A factory reset is going to reboot your Insignia TV as if it were new. 

You should approach this kind of reset with careful consideration, as this will revert your Insignia TV back to its factory settings. By doing this, you will delete all of your customizations and personalized preferences. This means that you will have to go through the process of setting up your Insignia TV the way you want it all over again. To factory reset your Insignia TV, follow these steps:

1. Home Button
2. Settings
3. System
4. Advanced Settings
5. Factory Settings (Confirm ‘Okay’)

Performing a factory reset on your Insignia TV should take care of your blinking red light and it usually clears up any other technical glitches that your device may be experiencing. 

Insignia TV HDMI Cable

An easy thing to overlook when evaluating a red blinking light on your Insignia TV is the HDMI cable. Although a power issue is often what indicates this issue if a reset did not solve the problem, an HDMI cable that is faulty, damaged, or poorly connected can also cause a red blinking light. 

If the HDMI cable is behind it, this means that it is failing to adequately send information to your TV. This interference will confuse your Insignia TV and cause it to malfunction – with a red blinking light signifying this.

Usually, this is due to a poor HDMI connection and you can fix this by simply unplugging the cable and then plugging it back in. 

However, it could also be caused by a damaged cable. You may be able to see the physical damage or it may be inside the internal wiring. The best way to fix this is to buy a new HDMI cable, but you should test this out with an alternative cable first to confirm that this is the issue.

Insignia TV Power Issues

One of the most common reasons why the red light on your Insignia TV would start blinking is if it is not receiving an adequate amount of power. The red light blinking means that some power is reaching the Insignia TV but not enough for it to fully turn on. 

In addition, you may even be able to turn your TV on in some cases, and then it shuts down on you after a few minutes – with the red blinking light starting afterward. There are a variety of different power issues that can occur with an Insignia TV to make it blink red like this.

To save you from wasting time on unnecessary technical repairs with your Insignia TV, we are going to break down each solution to this issue starting with the easiest fix first.

Power Cable Disconnected

The number one cause for this problem is that there is a poor power connection between your TV and the power source. For your Insignia TV to boot up properly and stay functioning while you use it, you need to ensure that your cables are properly connected. 

Head over to your TV and take a look at the power cable that is connected to your wall outlet. If you see that it is in any way disconnected (even slightly), this could very well be the culprit behind your blinking red light. To be safe, unplug the cable from its source and plug it back in, which will restart your TV. 

In addition, you should follow the same procedure for the other end of the cable that is connected to your Insignia TV. Disconnect it and re-plug it properly into the device. These cables often get unplugged when the TV or nearby furniture is moved around. Re-plugging them usually takes care of the fix. 

Damaged Power Cables

After prolonged use, power cables can easily get damaged, which results in them delivering unstable power or none at all to your Insignia TV. If you have already checked to make sure that your power cables are properly connected to your outlet and Insignia TV, then you should confirm that they are in working condition. 

Take a closer look at your power cables and inspect them for any ruptures, cracks, or exposed wiring. The power cable should be intact without any opening or defects. 

If you see any issues with the power cable, then this is probably what is causing your Insignia TV red light to blink. With that being said, if you see any exposed wiring, you should approach the situation with caution, as this cause an electrical fire. 

Damaged Surge Protector

If you are concerned about your electronic devices getting damaged by unstable currents, you are not the only one. The most practical way to prevent this from happening is to use a surge protector instead of directly plugging your Insignia TV into the wall outlet. 

A surge protector looks a lot like a power strip but it has a safety feature that stabilizes incoming currents before sending them to any of the devices that are plugged in. However, surge protectors can get damaged and will even go bad over time, which results in them malfunctioning and delivering less power than they should. 

Your surge protector could potentially be causing the red light on your Insignia TV to blink in which case you want to test it to confirm this. You can test your surge protector by unplugging your Insignia TV from it and then using your wall outlet instead. If the red light on your Insignia TV stops blinking after this, then the surge protector was causing the issue.

Burnt Out Outlet

The red light on your Insignia TV could be blinking red due to your outlet being burnt out. This is generally a pretty easy thing to spot but it should be approached with caution, as this does pose a fire hazard for your home. 

Check the outlet that your Insignia TV is plugged into and look for any noticeable stains or burn marks. If you spot any, then you will know that your power issue is due to your outlet being burnt out. You should unplug everything from the outlet immediately and stop using it until you get it fixed. 

A burnt outlet is generally caused by too many devices being plugged into a single power source. 

Most household power outlets can only handle 1800 watts for standard circuit breakers. If you overload the power outlet, then it could make it burn out. This is a common problem with households that use power strips and then plug an excessive amount of devices into them. 

Excessive Home Power Consumption

You may not be overloading a single outlet in your home, but you could potentially be using more power than your circuit breaker can handle. Your circuit breaker will automatically trip once a certain threshold is breached, which results in the power shutting off.

However, you could just be drawing too much power from your home’s supply, which results in electronic devices turning themselves off and on. This is common in households that have a lot of appliances and devices hooked up at the same time, which can be one of the reasons that the red light on your TV is blinking. 

Normally if this is the case, you may find that your Insignia TV turns on and then immediately turns off – with the red light blinking after it shuts down. You can confirm this by checking the other appliances in your home. 

If you see that all of the appliances and devices in your home are experiencing the same symptoms, you will know that you are using an excessive amount of power. 

The best way to approach this situation is to unplug devices and appliances that are not essential so that you can save energy and prevent overloads, which should stop your Insignia TV red light from blinking.