Q. I have a problem. I love Sling TV, but sometimes the picture goes to a black screen and then back to the show. It doesn’t happen often, or on all the channels, but it happens often enough to bug me. Do you know why this happens, and does it happen to everyone? Is there anything that can be done to fix it? — Gina, Arlington, Virginia.
Gina, this has been a recurring issue for some Sling TV subscribers for several months. I have seen it happen, too, and I have received several e-mails from readers complaining of the problem. You are watching a show when suddenly the picture flickers and goes to a totally blank screen. Then, after a few seconds, it goes right back to the program.
You are right. It doesn’t happen every often, but, yes, it happens. And not just to you, Gina.
Below is an example of this occurring today during AMC’s airing of The Others, starring Nicole Kidman:
The snafu has affected so many Sling viewers that the live streaming service has established a separate Help page with tips on how to fix it.
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Sling says the picture flickering is most commonly caused by a temporary lapse in bandwidth being delivered to your streaming device. Basically that means the stream is being temporarily interrupted by either a glitch in your Internet service or Sling’s servers.
The live streaming service suggests a few things to fix it.
One, click on the ‘My TV’ feature on your screen. Then, go to ‘Settings,’ and then ‘Connection.’ Try setting the Connection limit to ‘High’ and then go back to your show. If the flickering to black screen continues to occur, Sling says try setting Connection on Medium.
If that doesn’t solve the problem, try watching another channel for a minute or so. If you don’t see the picture go to black there, then return to your original show to see if the flickering has stopped there as well.
I have found that has worked for me.
Gina, hope that helps. Happy viewing!
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I have this problem on Sling as well. I do not have any problems with PlayStation Vue. Probably going to go back to Vue
Oddly enough we have the same problem. However it never happens while watching shows streaming on Netflix or Amazon Prime, only Sling.
I have 3 tv’s LG, Toshiba, & Samsung. Only the Samsung has the black screen issues. And it only happens while streaming on sling. I believe it’s a setting either on the Samsung Tv or the sling app has a problem with the settings on the Samsung Tv. My question, is everyone having the problem with Samsung?
Yes, just bought sling tv, have a Samsung smart tv , my screen has gone black 3 times today…reboot the app and it’s back on??
There is no user-side fix for SlingTV’s black screens. Their service is badly broken on the server side. Like right now, I’m in the middle of a movie and it’s been interrupted _4_ times (oops, now 5!) by black screens lasting 10-20 seconds. This isn’t a local bandwidth issue. I have Google Fiber and a 120mb connection to a Fire Stick 4K, Roku, Shield, plus Netflix, Starz, Criterion, Prime. No problem with anything except SlingTV..
Ignore their CSRs run-arounds, unplug this, reset that. It’s all just a stall.
YouTube TV is coming to Fire Stick this fall. Then I’m heading for the only fix for SlingTV’s busted software: canceling the service.
April 2020, and the problem still is with me, happens many times per day, several times per hour.. My data download speed is 38Mbps, and I keep going to a black screen. Cox (ISP) has been out and tested all they could test….my 38Mbps reads 42Mbps on their equipment.
There is only one answer for my problem….Sling TV. I have tried backing down the speed Sling operates at, and no difference.
If you’re thinking about cutting the cable, find an option other than Sling. They suck.
I’m having the issue as well. Even returned a new TV because I thought it was the TV. I have another TV that is not having the issue so it may just be on Android TVs. I wish there was an alternative but I don’t want to pay more than $30/mo. I guess you get what you pay for.,
I’ve tried everything suggested but nothing helps. Thinking of another streaming service now.