XPPen (aka XP-Pen or XP Pen) Artist is the most complete Wacom Cintiq Pro competitor I have seen yet.

The stylus is excellent and the screen is good quality, you have shortcut keys along the side. And the best part, It has a very competitive price.

However, many users report that their xppen artist screen stays black displaying “No Signal” and go to power saving mode.

This problem usually be a video signal transmission problem. The issue can only be either with the the connection cables or ports.

Don’t Worry! I’ve written some possible reasons and troubleshooting steps below based on my experience to help you determine and fix the problem.

Why does my XPPen Artist Display Says No Signal and Black Screen? 7 Fixes

Having no signal and black screen issues with your XPPen Artist Display can be caused by a few different reasons. Luckily, most of them can be fixed by yourself!

1. Check if the cable is connected properly

Make sure the cables are securely connected to both your computer and your device. Loose connections can cause a “No Signal” issue.

Unplug the cables, especially HDMI cable, running from the pen display to your computer and plug them back in, making sure they are firmly connected.

If you’re using a 3-to-1 cable for connecting Xppen Artist (especially artist pro line) to your computer, make sure all the ends are connected.

The HDMI is for video signal, black USB is for pen data & power, and red USB is for additional power.

If there’s no power, there won’t be any “no signal” label on the screen so plug in the red USB to computer or wall charger.

If yopu have a video card, use the HDMI slot of it, not the one from your motherboard.

If your discrete graphics card has two HDMI ports, try both as one could be HDMI IN and the other HDMI OUT. The HDMI cable has to be plugged in the “HDMI out”, not in the “HDMI in”

The newer XPPen artist 2nd gen series supports Single Usb-c connection, and it usually has two USB-C ports, make sure the USB-C cable goes to the correct port. The two USB-C ports are not interchangeable.

2. Check the Cables itself

If it is a newly purchased XPPen graphics tablet, then the probability that the supplied cable could have a defect is low but not impossible, with a used tablet this would be more conceivable.

If you use a third-party cable, such as HDMI or USB-C cable, this is very often the fault, because the xppen tablets place incredibly high demands on the cable quality.

If you’re using a third-party USB-C cable to connect the Artist 2nd gen series to computer, make sure it’s a full-featured USB-C video cable required by XP-Pen.

Not all usb-c cable can transmit video, Usually need to meet at least USB 3.1 GEN 1 standard.

You can replace a HDMI or USB-C cable to test whether it is a problem with your cable. It’s best to get the original usb-c or 3-in-1 cable from XPPen.

3. Check Cable Adapter

Are you using HDMI to DisplayPort, or HDMI to USB-C cable adapter?

If using adapters, please be sure to test with a direct connection if possible, or at least a different adapter as this is very often a point of failure in signal flow.

Generally, Windows can’t recognized the XP-PEN products as Displays through a HDMI adapter. If your laptop only have USB-C port, buy newer XPPen Artist (2nd gen) series.

4. Check the HDMI or USB-C Port

If you are use a USB-C to USB-C cable, Make sure your computer’s USB-C port support USB3.1 GEN1 data transfer protocol and DP1.2 Alternate Mode.

Not all usb-c ports are created equal. If the USB-C port of your device does not support that transfer protocol, you may experience the black screen and no signal issue.

When there is a problem with the HDMI interface, it will cause the screen to display no signal. If possible, You can use the VGA cable or change a computer to test whether the HDMI interface is a problem.

It is not very likely, but you could check if there is any dust in the HDMI port of your graphics card (and also look in the plug, a possible dust lint may have been pushed from the socket into the plug).

5. Make sure your monitor are in Duplicate or Extend mode

If you are using the XPPen Artist as a second monitor, please make sure the display option is Duplicate or Extend mode.

Please make sure both the XPPen and the main monitor are connected and press Windows logo key +P on your keyboard, then chose duplicate or extend.

Don’t choose PC screen only or Second screen only. Also check in your Windows display properties.

6. Update the GPU Driver

A corrupted, buggy, or outdated version of the graphics driver can prevent the XPPen display from getting recognized.

Have you installed all Windows updated as well as the nVidia updates for your Graphics Card?

If your processor has it’s own Integrated Graphics so make sure this is also correctly configured and make sure the Intel drivers are also installed.

If you have a Nvidia optimus laptop, You can also try switch off the Integrated Graphics in BIOS, and only use the Discrete GPU with the proper drivers.

or Go into your BIOS, look for a setting that allows the integrated graphics to display even when you’re not using a Discrete graphics card. It could be called “IGPU Multi Monitor”. Enable that, restart the computer.

Note: The XPPen Driver is not required to get a video signal on your Artist Display. You should be able to get an image even if the driver is not installed or outdated.

7. Contact the XPPen tech Support

If you can’t find the solution here, contact the XPPen tech support via email, You can find that from their support page.

Your artist tablet is in a price segment where XP-Pen cannot be indifferent to a customer having difficulties with their product.

Based on my experience, They will definitely help you solve your problem, But the response time may be slow.

Conclusion

XPPen display not having any video signal is a rather an irritating and scary problem. You have just spent lots of money but the pen display is showing you “no signal” on the black screen.

This was all I did to fix the issue! Follow the steps above to exclude. Hope you can find it helpful.

The troubleshooting steps above are not XPPen brand specific. They also apply to Wacom, Huion, Parblo, Gaomon, Veikk, Xencelabs, Ugee, etc.

If you manage to solve your problem, share with others what worked for you in the comments section.

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