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I live in a two bedroom condominium in Southern California. I have a 55" Sony LCD TV in one of the bedrooms that keeps coming on for no apparent reason. It hapens once or twice a month. I've tried to close the blinds (the bedroom has a window), hide the remote control, disconnect the LAN cable (WiFi is off), use an extension and plug the TV in the living room, add/remove power strip, etc. and I still have the problem. I replaced the electrical panel and all breaker a few months ago to install a NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage to charge my EV and I thought maybe the TV will not turn on anymore ... but it does. The only thing left from the old circuits is a GFCI outlet in the batroom.

Why didn't I send the Sony TV in for "repair" while in warrantty: I had a Phillips plasma TV before the Sony that also acted up in that bedroom. I send that one in for repairs and after a month I got it back and the minute I plugged it in showed the problem. So I'm not convinced the problem is with the TVs. The Sony TV is now out of warranty anyway.

What else can I try to rule out the problem is not in the condominium electrical system?

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    Are you sure a neighbor is not messing with you? It wouldn't be unheard of for a prankster to use a long range remote to turn things on and off.
    – jwh20
    Commented Jul 28, 2019 at 17:13
  • I thought maybe the sun was doing something to the infrared receiver but that's the reason I closed the blinds.
    – Rodo
    Commented Jul 28, 2019 at 17:16
  • Are there supply glitches? Either you can log the voltage stability or, perhaps easier, use a ups to control the supply and see if it still happens.
    – Solar Mike
    Commented Jul 28, 2019 at 17:19
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    Have you gone through all the menus in the TV and cable box to make sure there's not a timer set?
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jul 28, 2019 at 18:04
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    cover the IR receiver sensor
    – jsotola
    Commented Jul 28, 2019 at 18:36

2 Answers 2

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Well... it looks like the silly USB wired keyboard was the culprit. I made it a point to disconnect it after I use it and the TV hasn't turned on since. One time it came on and I thought it wasn't the keyboard but when I went to turn it off I noticed the keyboard was connected. Weird how a passive USB keyboard would make the TV turn on. Hope this helps someone else. Thanks all.

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Sony TVs all use an IR sensor for the remote, so a naughty neighbor cannot be doing that in this case. But do you have a cable / internet box that then controls the TV? If so, many of those have remote access via the web, and your random operation may be indicative of someone having hacked your box, especially if it is a box for a streaming service that is tied to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and Ethernet router. Other than that, I like the suggestion about checking your programming, especially to see if someone programmed a Wake Up timer.

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  • I've disconnected the LAN cable from the TV before without luck. As I indicated in my original post ...WiFi is disabled. It is a good thing I don't sleep in that room. I used to wake up in the morning or middle of the night to the sound of the TV. Now I just make sure to turn the volume all the way down before I turn it off. I just notice that it is on when I walk into the bedroom in the morning. Although, it doesn't just happen at night.
    – Rodo
    Commented Jul 30, 2019 at 17:46
  • I don't follow your first statement. All modern TVs have an IR sensor. How is a Sony different?
    – isherwood
    Commented Nov 5, 2019 at 20:30
  • I don't know about "all" modern TVs, some used to use RF. But I do know that all Sony TVs use IR.
    – JRaef
    Commented Nov 5, 2019 at 21:25

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