Acer makes some of the best computer monitors around. Whether you intend to game, watch movies, or do office work, they offer great value for money and are generally very reliable.
However, a common issue that users of Acer monitors report are that when they turn it on, it shows them the message that there is no signal, and then the monitor screen will turn blank.
We understand that this is a frustrating experience for users, so today, we’re going to go through all the primary reasons why this might happen and how to solve it yourself.
Why does your Acer monitor have no signal?
While not a single issue will cause this, it may be due to several problems, ranging from faulty cables to out-of-date graphics card drivers.
Fortunately, these are all relatively simple and easy to diagnose and fix. Let’s take a quick look through the main reasons that cause this issue so you can get a better idea of where your particular case might lie.
Incorrect resolution settings
If you select a source resolution that exceeds the maximum the monitor can display, it can often simply not display the image. By checking what resolution the monitor is and adjusting your computer’s display output to match that, the monitor will be able to display the image correctly.
The computer is not turned on.
It might seem like an obvious thing, but you’ll be surprised how often this catches people. For those who leave our computers on all the time, the computer may have suddenly turned itself off due to a power outage or Windows update.
In this case, ensuring the computer is both turned on and has had adequate time to boot to the desktop is essential.
The cable is not seated correctly.
HDMI connections are not as solid as they might seem, and over time they can quickly work themselves loose to the point where they are no longer transmitting signal.
It’s worth checking that all the cables are correctly seated and will not have any trouble transmitting a signal.
Cable is damaged
Another common issue that can occur is that the cable has broken, and even after it’s been re-seated, it’s still not transmitting the signal correctly.
Here we will need some way to test the cable by either trying it out on another machine to see if it’s working or using a different cable on your current device.
Incorrect monitor input
Sometimes monitors may have multiple inputs that can accept HDMI. However, it may be configured to only receive the signal from one of the inputs, and you may be plugged into another one.
Here we can try to put the cable in another HDMI input or reconfigure the primary monitor to output the signal from another input.
The computer is in standby or hibernates mode
Suppose your computer is on standby or hibernate. In that case, it can become quite confusing, as you will see the power cable and any internal LEDs are lit, giving the impression it’s ready and able to output a video signal.
However, if it’s in standby or hibernates mode, that signal will not output, in which case we will first need to wake the computer before it transmits a signal to the primary monitor.
Graphics driver issue
The graphics driver is the software portion of the internal graphics processing unit (GPU or graphics card) and can often have issues related to being outdated or corrupted.
This is a simple case of removing the previous driver and then downloading and installing the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
How to fix an Acer monitor with no signal
As you can see, there are several reasons why your monitor might begin displaying the no signal message. Fortunately, diagnosing and fixing the issue is a relatively simple process.
Next, we’ll explain how to fix this problem with relative ease. Follow through each step in the sequence, and you’ll soon have your monitor back up and running as usual!
1. Correct your computers resolution setting
For the image to display correctly on your monitor, we first need to ensure your computer is outputting the exact resolution your monitor needs. This is most commonly 1920×1080, but if you believe your monitor has a different resolution, you can check the user manual that came with your monitor or google your monitor’s model number and get the information.
To change the resolution of your computer, follow these steps:
- Right-click on your desktop and select “display settings.”
- Scroll down to “display resolution” and click the dropdown bar.
- Here, you will be given a wide range of resolutions. If your computer has automatically detected the correct resolution for your monitor, it will show “(Recommended)” next to the resolution number.
- Select the correct resolution for your monitor.
- The screen will likely flash a little here; that’s normal.
- Select ok when it asks if you would like to keep this resolution.
2. Check the computer is turned on and booted
It may be turned off if you cannot see any power light or flashing HDD lights on the computer. Even if you are sure you didn’t do this yourself, it can often turn itself off after a Windows update or a power outage.
Once you turn the computer back on, give it time to boot up fully so the graphics card works.
3. Check that the cable is seated correctly
Even if it appears the cable is in the HDMI port visually, over time, they may work themselves loose to the point where the HDMI cable can no longer transmit an HDMI signal.
It’s worth giving the HDMI and power cables an excellent push to ensure they have a nice, solid connection with the inputs.
4. Check for damaged cables
If, after reseating the HDMI cable, you find that it’s still not working, it is worth checking whether the cable is damaged and needs replacing.
There are two easy ways to check this. The first is to try the cable out on a different computer or external monitor and see if it works. If it doesn’t, then that cable is broken.
If you don’t have a second monitor on hand, you can also source a new cable and try that on your current computer. If it works just fine, it indicates that the cable is broken and needs to be replaced.
5. Change the monitor input
Often, computer screens will have multiple HDMI inputs to receive images from various sources (such as a computer and a TV) simultaneously that you can quickly flick between with the click of a button.
It may be a case of you having your monitor set to display a different input than your cable plugged into. To fix this, cycle through your monitor display inputs until it starts to display the image.
6. Check if the computer is in standby or hibernate mode
It’s easy to forget this may happen if your computer has been standing by for a while, as the power LEDs will still be lit.
If your monitor’s HDMI signal is not displaying, try wiggling the mouse or hitting the sleep button on the keyboard. If your computer is currently hibernating, you should hear the fans kick into action as it wakes up. Give it a minute to boot, and the image should start displaying.
7. Update or replace the graphics driver
The graphics driver is the software responsible for enabling the graphics card to function. However, they can be very prone to become either outdated or corrupted and will need to be reinstalled/updated quite often to keep them in working order.
The first thing to do is identify which manufacturer and model of graphics card your computer is using (for example, Nvidia GeForce 2080). Then, you can head to the manufacturer’s website to download and install that new graphics driver, which will replace your current one.
Suppose you are having any issues with the installation process. In that case, you may also want to remove the previous graphics driver with something like IObit Uninstaller so that when you install the new driver, it’s a “fresh” install.
Updating your graphics driver can also help improve your computer’s performance and videogame FPS numbers, so it’s worth doing.
