Fixing Digital TV Reception With an Indoor Antenna

Former Lifewire writer Matthew Torres is a journalist who writes about television technology, consumer support articles, and TV-related news.

Updated on August 1, 2024 Reviewed by

Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years' experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries.

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Digital TV signals move through the air like water mixes with oil. These signals aren't resilient like old analog TV signals, which delivered in the rain, sleet, snow, or shine.

If you experience poor reception with an indoor digital antenna, use the following troubleshooting techniques to guide you on your way to watching prime-time television again.

This information applies to televisions from a variety of manufacturers, including, but not limited to, those made by LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, and Vizio.

How to Fix Bad TV Antenna Reception

Follow these potential fixes in the order presented to troubleshoot the problem:

  • Perform a double-rescan. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designed a process called double-rescanning, which erases and reprograms the channels in the converter box or digital TV's memory. Here's how to do it:
    1. Disconnect the antenna from the converter box or digital TV.
    2. Disconnect the converter and digital TV power supplies from the wall. Wait a minute before plugging the cables back in. The antenna should still be disconnected.
    3. With the antenna disconnected, run the channel scan function on the converter box or digital TV. When the scan completes, any channel data the converter box or digital TV had in its memory should be removed.
    4. Rescan by reconnecting the antenna to the converter box or digital TV and running the channel scan function again.

    The FCC says moving the antenna a few feet can reduce the interference caused by competing electronics equipment, like a DVD player, converter box, or TV.

    Extend the antenna rods (also called dipoles) all the way up if you use rabbit ears.

    Before relocating the antenna, go to Antenna Web to get an idea of where the TV transmission towers are in relation to your address. Then, point the antenna out a window that faces those towers. This step increases the odds of capturing a good digital TV signal. Moving an antenna presents a few logistical issues. You might need to increase the length of the antenna's coaxial cable to move it by a window. To make this happen, buy more coaxial cable and a coaxial extender. These items are sold at most hardware and electronics stores. Once you relocate the antenna, perform the double-rescan process again.

    Check out Antenna Web before buying an outdoor antenna so you can get the most accurate recommendation for your address.

    If an outdoor antenna isn't feasible, try a different type of indoor antenna, one specifically for digital. The new digitally-enhanced antennas are flatter by design, which helps capture the TV signal.

    Don't over-amplify the signal. You can blow out a TV tuner in the same way you can blow out a car speaker when cranking the volume.

    Mohu Leaf 30 TV Antenna

    Special thanks to Hank Caskey, vice-president of antenna reception for Audiovox, who helped shape this article with his valuable insight on antenna reception.

    Causes of Bad TV Antenna Reception

    The antenna may have difficulty picking up your favorite stations over the air for several reasons.

    The causes mostly come down to the basic idea that the signals reaching the device aren't strong enough. You may be too far from the broadcast location, or something physically blocks the signals.

    The antenna could be in a less-than-ideal place or facing the wrong direction. Or, in some cases, the antenna might not be strong enough.