How you store your cable, such as coiling or bending it can damage the HDMI[1] over time. Maybe you unplug and plug in the HDMI cable too roughly, because that can also damage the inputs. Even heavy use of the cables and devices it's connected to can cause the breakdown of the cable.
An HDMI cable may last five days or five years, depending on the person using them. In most cases, these cables are resilient and strong, so it's rare to see a case in which an HDMI cable breaks. One of the few reasons people throw away older HDMI cables is because they upgrade to new HDMI cables.
One of the most common causes of HDMI signal loss or interference is a faulty or incompatible cable. A faulty cable can have damaged connectors, loose wires, or bent pins that prevent the signal from reaching the device.
How you store your cable, such as coiling or bending it can damage the HDMI[1] over time. Maybe you unplug and plug in the HDMI cable too roughly, because that can also damage the inputs. Even heavy use of the cables and devices it's connected to can cause the breakdown of the cable.
Your HDMI might not be working due to a faulty cable. Try unplugging the cable you're using and switching to another one to see if that solves your problem. If you see any damage to the cable—if it's broken or frayed—you'll need to replace it. Get it repaired fast at one of our stores.
One of the most common issues with a faulty HDMI cable are “sparkles” or flickering dots that are usually white. This might look like shooting stars or white noise, and may manifest as subtle “interference” or be much more distracting. An image that cuts out can also be caused by a dodgy HDMI cable.
Keep in mind, for most people cheap HDMI cables are fine. If you're having trouble, then maybe it's worth considering an upgrade. But just because you're buying new gear or because there's a new HDMI standard that doesn't necessarily mean you must upgrade.
So while a bad HDMI cable won't necessarily render your TV useless, it can cause severe damage to individual components.
An expensive HDMI doesn't produce richer colors or crisper sound than cheaper versions. However, an HDMI cable made with better materials can be more durable, and support higher bandwidth at longer distances, but it won't offer any difference with the picture quality.
When it comes down to 4K TV, you do not need to pick up special HDMI cables. The HDMI cable standard can impact color and resolution, but newer versions are not required for 4K TV.
Most HDMI cables are the same. What matters the most is the standards used in the connection ports on your devices. While there are different HDMI types, chances are that almost any cable will function for an average consumer's needs, with a few exceptions that are worth learning more about.
This is often a result of either the TV box being powered off, not being properly connected to the TV, or the TV being set to the wrong input. In some cases, if you are not receiving a signal on your TV, it could be a result of a service outage.
The issue of your HDMI port not working on your Windows Laptop can be simply a hardware failure. Damaged or corrupted hardware can easily cause an error in your HDMI experience. Thus, before we move onto some other solutions to fix the HDMI that's not working on your Windows, you should check your hardware.
As we mentioned above, just because you're getting a new TV doesn't necessarily mean you need new HDMI cables, even if you're upgrading to something with 4K and HDR. Over short distances, say under 6 feet, just about any recent "high speed HDMI cable" should work fine.
The majority of HDMI connectors in use today are the Type A (Standard), Type C (Mini) and Type D (Micro) shown below. HDMI Type B (Dual Link) was developed for very high-resolution displays but was never used.
Generally, you can get a 15-foot active HDMI cord for around $17 a 25-foot cord for $23, a 35-foot cord for $26, and a massive 50-foot cord for $33.
Contrary to popular belief (and misinformation) HDMI cables don't actually make all that much difference in overall picture quality. Sadly, people are still buying overpriced HDMI cables in droves, spending far too much money than necessary, believing they'll get far better quality video.
For resolutions near 4K, it's recommended to use an HDMI cable that is no longer than 3 meters (10 feet). After that distance, the signal can start to degrade. For lower resolutions, the reliable distance is much longer, with the most common being 15 meters (50 feet).
USB-C can be used to transfer data, power, video, and audio signals between devices in either direction.