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As one of the best major smart TV brands, Sony has built up a hell of a reputation over the years. This is no accident. There’s no shortage of online threads where users share stories of Sony Bravia TVs that have hit the two-decade mark without any issues or repairs. The company is so beloved in the community that no one reacted well to the news that Sony will produce new TVs in a joint venture with TCL – truly an end-of-an-era vibe.
However, the elephant in the room is that judging the manufacturer with tunnel vision on Sony Bravia models from the early 2000s doesn’t really say much about the overall lifespan of all TVs. Are the more modern products living up to the Sony banner? How long do owners say Sony TVs last?
When it comes to older models, don’t think that two decades is rare for them by any means. In fact, one Reddit thread has plenty of reports of various models going strong after 10 years and more. This isn’t limited to Sony Bravias from the late 2000s, as certain comments confirm that the 2010s were also a solid decade for the brand. Yet, the common thread is that these aren’t smart TVs. Once you fast-forward to modern models, the expected lifespan falls within a similar time frame to that of other manufacturers. Make no mistake, many TVs end up reaching at least five to six years, according to online users, but it’s a far cry from the tank-like reputation Sony built years ago.
Why aren’t new Sony TVs as robust as the old ones?
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Though some users claim two years as the average, it’s an exaggeration. The same thread was started by someone whose 2016 Sony Bravia died after four years. In fact, there aren’t many horror stories surrounding the brand. Sure, one user reports that their 2022 Bravia OLED occasionally flashes a red error that mysteriously disappears on its own, but in most cases, users can get over five years out of their investment.
This really isn’t uncommon. One user in a thread about why Sony isn’t as robust as it used to be dispelled the planned obsolescence accusations, saying it’s just a matter of companies prioritizing their bottom line and cutting corners. According to them, planned obsolescence may not be planned, but rather, the corner-cutting simply makes the products last a lot shorter.
Another clear reason why Sony has a shorter lifespan nowadays becomes apparent if you research where Sony TVs are built. Technically, the company doesn’t make the panels for its Bravia brand. Rather, it sources components from other manufacturers like Samsung and LG. This greatly explains why Sony didn’t fare better than other TVs put through the wringer in the RTINGS accelerated aging test. Of the 18 Sony products involved, four failed outright, and three experienced partial failures. Seems concerning, but it’s a much more forgiving failure rate than Samsung’s or Hisense’s.
How to troubleshoot a Sony TV
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There is some good news, though. When scoping out how long owners say Sony TVs last, you may learn that, according to some online users, the TVs themselves are generally repairable. One owner says Sony has a more modular approach, meaning repair people can actually source the parts. Again, this is another exaggeration. Though some things are worth fixing, others agree this doesn’t really apply to broken panels.
Any way you slice it, if you end up experiencing issues, there’s a chance you can solve them yourself if they’re caused by software. For instance, if your display freezes, a simple restart can clear it up straight away. This goes for a whole lot of lines or bands appearing on the screen and other glitches. Your next line of defense is updating the firmware, and if that doesn’t help, Sony recommends trying different cables or connecting cables to another input terminal on the TV.
Either way, if you don’t solve it through software, it may be worth taking the TV to a repair shop. A screen replacement is overkill, but if the issue is something like a bad input, it’s repairable. If everything goes well, you’ll squeeze a few extra years out of Sony, which, by the looks of things, won’t be the same after 2027, once the TCL partnership bears its first fruits.
