Why Samsung TV Won’t Switch To HDMI?

Samsung TV won’t switch to HDMI and you don’t know what to do? Well, we all know that HDMI cables can be really painful to work with sometimes.

Even if everything in your configuration is functional, there could always be this one cable or port that has connectivity problems.

This is why in this post we are going to cover everything you need to know about your HDMI cables & ports and teach you how to fix any issues!

Sometimes Samsung might not connect with HDMI if the TV does not recognize the cable. It could be either the cable or the port’s fault, but we are going to provide details further in this post. 

Another possible reason would be a wrong input port selection from your TV sources menu, so the issue could be a simple logic conflict.

Before you can identify the issue, you should be aware of all possible causes.

In that regard, next, we’re going to review why your Samsung TV is not working with HDMI.

Why Samsung TV Won’t Connect to HDMI?

This issue could be due to a hardware or software problem.

For instance, it could either be a problem with your TV, or more specifically the HDMI inputs, or your cable might be faulty.

You could be experiencing issues in cases your HDMI cable is twisted, under pressure, or not plugged all the way in.

Before everything else you need to check which HDMI TV port your cable is plugged into.

Then go to the sources menu and make sure that this particle HDMI input source is selected.

Tip:

On the panel of your TV, each HDMI input port should be labeled. For instance, HDMI 1, HDMI 2, HDMI 3, and so on...

The last possible reason would be an issue with the device you are using.

If the HDMI output source of your device is broken or it has any hardware issues you might not be able to get any output.

You don’t need to worry as we have you covered, regardless of your case. Let us now start identifying and hopefully resolve the problem.

How To Fix Samsung TV Won’t Switch to HDMI?

First, we are going, to begin with, a simple hardware troubleshooting, so if possible, take another proven-to-work HDMI cable so we can exclude some of the major possibilities.

Solution #1 Check HDMI Cable

Our first step in figuring out the potential harm of the issue is to ensure that your HDMI cable is working correctly.

Try to disconnect and reconnect it to see if that might work, but if the result is the same, try connecting the cable to another port.

Next head to the source menu of your Samsung TV and select the corresponding input source.

Pro Tip: Try all ports.

If it still doesn’t work it would be perfect to test with another working HDMI cable. If you can now see the output, that could only mean that your HDMI cable is not working.

In case the issue is there even with the new HDMI cable you can jump right to our next method.

Note:

Don’t worry if you don’t have another HDMI cable in your household. With our next methods, we are going to identify the origin of the issue regardless.

Solution #2 Verify External Device

Sometimes you won’t be able to switch to HDMI if your external device is problematic.

In other words, if the device you are trying to connect via HDMI isn’t turned on and fully functional, you won’t see anything on this input.

Note:

If you are using a Windows device, make sure that the device is not at Windows Login Screen.

The best way to find out if the issue is with your external device is to use another working device and test. This way you will instantly find out if the problem is with the device or not.

In case your Samsung TV won’t switch to HDMI even when using another device, we have tightened the circle of possibilities enough to conclude that the issue is coming either from your TV’s hardware or software.

Solution #3 Check Sources

Now that we know that the issue is related to the TV, let’s check the sources. Some TV models do NOT have all the sources added by default.

For instance, if your HDMI is connected to input source #3, for example, you would need to click “Add Source” and insert it manually.

In case you are using a desktop PC, there might be an option “Add Computer Source” which is designed for this specific workflow.

Take under consideration your external device and add a source that aligns with its infrastructure.

If you have tried many different sources and nothing works, the issue could be caused by outdated firmware. Let’s update it!

Solution #4 Update Samsung TV

With newer firmware versions, the interface of Samsung is being updated and particularly the sources page.

If you are running an older version of your TV, your system might not be able to properly identify the HDMI ports input.

This is why our next suggestion in the troubleshooting process is to update your TV to its latest possible firmware.

To update your TV, you must go to the Settings tab and head to the System.

From there you should be able no to navigate to a feature called “Check For Updates” and as soon as you click on it, you will have to wait for a few minutes until it is done.

Immediately download and install any software versions discovered.

Note:

Your TV might restart several times during the update process.

At this point, it is recommended to check if your external device is updated as well. If there are pending updates make sure to apply them as well.

Solution #5 Power Cycle

Even if it sounds pretty basic, many people have encountered temporary software issues that could be causing the issue.

In that regard, we recommend disconnecting all devices from their respective power outlets and wait for a few minutes.

Be patient and after several minutes boot everything up and check the source for any output.

Solution #6 Reconfiguration & Drivers

Regardless of the external device, you are using and its OS, there is always a setting that allows you to mirror your default screen or use your HDMI port as a primary screen.

For instance, if the configuration states that there is no external monitor or there is nothing connected you might be lacking a driver.

As per your GPU model, download or update the drivers, then perform a power cycle as explained in solution 5 and test. 

If it does not work go in your screen settings and check if now there is another monitor connected, then select it.

Read Next: Why is my Samsung TV Volume too Low?

Conclusion:

In conclusion, we can say that whenever Samsung TV won’t switch to HDMI there could be a lot of possible reasons.

In this post, we have excluded most of them and if you still can’t receive output through your HDMI, there might be hardware issues with your TV or HDMI cable.

To justify this, we recommend reaching out to Samsung support for additional help.