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Samsung TV Flickering (This is EVERYTHING on Ways to Fix It!)

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The other day I was watching one of my favorite TV shows on Netflix.

I had just gotten into the juicy part where they were about to reveal who had been murdered when suddenly the screen started flickering.

I thought it was some kind of glitch, but then I realized that this was happening all over the place and there didn’t seem to be any damage at first glance. What’s going on?

It’s frustrating, and you probably want to know what’s going on and how you can fix it.

In this article, we’ll go through all the possible causes of your flickering screen and how to fix them.

Why is my Samsung TV flickering on and off?

Sometimes, TVs will become buggy and start to flicker due to hardware or software issues. The solution to this is often to restart, power cycle, or reset your TV settings to get it back to normal.

If your TV is still flickering on and off, you may be able to fix this problem by performing a factory reset. This will restore your TV settings back to their original state, which can sometimes help fix minor issues.

It’s difficult to say exactly why this happens, but it’s not uncommon for TVs to have some sort of minor glitch.

Use the buttons on your remote control to navigate through the Settings menu > General > Reset. Type in the PIN, which is 0000, and hit OK. 

What are the common causes of a flickering Samsung TV?

  • A loose or faulty HDMI cable
  • A glitch in your TV’s Ambient Light Detection setting
  • The input device you’re using
  • A dark room can activate Ambient Light Detection which can cause flickering
  • Avoid blocking the light sensor on your Samsung TV

How to fix a Samsung TV screen that keeps flickering?

1. Eco Solutions

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering, it might be due to the energy-saving mode. To fix this, simply turn off the energy-saving mode.

  • Disable ambient light detection
  • Disable minimum backlight
  • Turn off Energy saving mode

This should stop the screen from flickering. If it doesn’t, then you might need to take the TV to a service center for repairs or replacement.

2. Turn off Ambient Light Detection

Ambient light detection is a feature in Samsung TVs that automatically changes the screen brightness for you with respect to the light in the room. It’s similar to how our smartphones work.

When the room is brightly lit, the Samsung TV will increase its brightness, and when the room is dark, the TV will dim its display.

If your Samsung TV is newer than 2017, you can do this using your remote by going to Settings, then General, and then Eco Solution.

Click on Ambient Light Detection and toggle it off.

If your Samsung TV is pre-2017, you can do this by pressing Home on your remote and then System and then Eco Sensor.

Turn Eco Sensor off.

Once you turn off ambient light detection, the TV will not change its brightness in response to the room’s ambient light anymore.

3. Turn off Minimum Backlight

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering, you can try adjusting the minimum backlight. This will make the screen brighter or dimmer. The scale of the Minimum Backlight should be adjusted according to your preferences.

Do note that the minimum backlight option is only available as long as the Ambient Light Detection feature is on.

In order to try and turn off just the Minimum backlight feature:

  1. On your remote, press the Home button.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Click on General.
  4. Select Eco Solution.
  5. Select Minimum Backlight and press enter.
  6. Adjust the backlight on your TV.

Test out the possibilities. The best approach is to try and increase the minimum backlight settings. That way, the screen doesn’t get too low and flicker.

4. Turn off Energy Saving Mode

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering, it could be because of the power-saving mode. To fix this, you’ll need to turn off the power-saving mode.

To do this,

  1. Press the Home button on your remote.
  2. Open the Settings menu.
  3. Navigate to and open up the General tab.
  4. Click on the Eco Solutions tab.
  5. Select Energy Saving Mode (Also known as Power Saving Mode).
  6. Turn it off.

5. Poor cable connection

If your Samsung TV is flickering on and off, it could be due to a poor cable connection.

A poor cable connection can be due to issues with your HDMI or network cable.

First, make sure that all of your cables are plugged into their respective ports securely.

Then, make sure that the cable is securely connected to both the TV and the TV. If there’s still no signal, try connecting to another device to see if it works.

If it does, then you know the problem is with your Samsung TV.

Also, check to see if the cable is damaged or bent.

If you find any damage, try straightening it out or replacing it altogether. If that doesn’t work, then it’s time to look into replacing your HDMI cables entirely.

You may need to replace the cable or reset your TV.

6. Wrong input source

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering, it may be caused by the input source.

To fix this, you can try changing the input source. It’s easy to check if it’s the input device that’s causing the problem: all you need to do is try a different input source.

If the previous input device is the problem, this process should stop the flickering screen.

7. Turn off Contrast Enhancer

The Contrast Enhancer feature tries to change the video brightness in relation to the room you’re in. It’s actually an alternative version of ambient light detection.

Malfunctions in this feature can cause random flickering and dimming.

If you find that your Samsung TV’s screen is flickering, it may be due to the Contrast Enhancer feature. This feature can be turned off in the Expert Settings menu.

To do so, follow these steps:

  1. On your remote, tap on the Home button.
  2. Go to Menu.
  3. Click on Settings.
  4. Click on All Settings.
  5. Go to Picture.
  6. Click on Expert Settings.
  7. Select Contrast Enhancer.
  8. Switch it off.

8. Activate Digital Clean View

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering, it could be due to image noise. It tries to improve and prevent static and ghosting caused by a weak signal. It also removes image noise preventing the TV from flickering black

To fix this, you can activate the Digital Clean View function.

This will remove image noise and prevent the TV from flickering black.

To do this:

  1. On your remote, tap on the Home button.
  2. Click on Settings.
  3. Click on Picture.
  4. Click on Expert Settings.
  5. Click on Digital Clean View.
  6. Select Auto.

9. Turn off Brightness Optimization

The Brightness Optimization feature will instantly adapt the brightness of the screen to the current lighting conditions.

This is similar to Ambient Light Detection but found on earlier models of Samsung TVs.

When activated, the screen’s brightness and contrast will change in response to the surrounding lighting conditions. If the feature becomes faulty or confused, it could contribute to your TV’s flickering issue.

Here’s what you need to do to turn off Brightness Optimization:

  1. On your remote, tap on the Home button.
  2. Click on Menu.
  3. Click on Settings.
  4. Click on All Settings.
  5. Go to General and Privacy.
  6. Click on Power and Energy Saving.
  7. Disable Brightness Optimization.

10. Turn off Brightness Reduction

In order to save energy, the Brightness Reduction feature may lower the display’s brightness.

When activated, the screen’s brightness and contrast will change in response to the surrounding lighting conditions. This may sometimes cause flickering on your Samsung TV.

The process is similar to turning off Brightness Optimization.

Here are the actions you need to take to turn off Brightness Reduction:

  1. On your remote, tap on the Home button.
  2. Click on Menu.
  3. Click on Settings.
  4. Click on All Settings.
  5. Go to General and Privacy.
  6. Click on Power and Energy Saving.
  7. Disable Brightness Reduction.

11. Turn off Motion Lighting

By altering the screen’s brightness in response to the motion, the Motion Lighting feature may help save energy and get rid of any flickering that might occur.

When activated, the screen’s brightness and contrast may shift in response to on-screen actions.

Here are the actions you need to take to turn off Motion Lighting:

  1. On your remote, tap on the Home button.
  2. Click on Menu.
  3. Click on Settings.
  4. Click on All Settings.
  5. Go to General and Privacy.
  6. Click on Power and Energy Saving.
  7. Disable Motion Lighting.

12. Turn off Intelligent Mode

Your Samsung TV might come with a feature called Intelligent Mode. It uses machine learning and AI to recognize your preferred content, your usage patterns, and the environment around your TV.

When activated under the Intelligent Mode your TV automatically takes over your settings.

Adaptive Picture & Eye Comfort Mode will automatically change the brightness of the screen to maximize the viewing experience while minimizing strain on the eyes.

This feature may also come with many bugs and malfunctions That may cause your Samsung TV to flicker if it’s not working properly.

Disabling it is as easy as following the instructions below:

  1. On your remote, tap on the Home button.
  2. Click on Menu.
  3. Click on Settings.
  4. Click on All Settings.
  5. Go to General and Privacy.
  6. Click on Intelligent Mode Settings.
  7. Disable Intelligent Mode Settings.

13. Turn off Auto-Motion Plus or Picture Clarity

Samsung TVs also have this neat little feature for those of you who like to watch soap operas. It’s called the Auto Motion+ feature and it creates that Ultra smooth transition between frame rates.

Some of you might like it and some of you might not. However, the use case for motion smoothing is that it eliminates ghosting and blurring that occurs from really fast-moving images.

On different models of your Samsung TV, it might be known as Auto Motion Plus or Picture Clarity.

Used for live TV and sometimes soap operas improving the visual smoothing and dropping the frame rates down to 30 frames per second.

  1. On your remote, tap on the Home button.
  2. Click on Settings.
  3. Then click on Picture.
  4. Select Expert Settings.
  5. Select Auto Motion Plus Setting or Picture Clarity (for older models).
  6. You could either customize the options or you can just turn it off completely.

14. Poor signal and connectivity strength

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering, it could be due to a poor signal.

This can be caused by interference from other devices, dense materials like wood or metal, or even a large amount of dust in between your TV and the wireless connection.

To fix this, you can try moving your router closer to where you are using the TV or moving any interfering devices away from the TV.

If this doesn’t work, you may need to contact your Internet provider or router manufacturer and ask them for advice. They will be able to help you find the best location for your device.

If that doesn’t work, you may need to upgrade your router or get a new one altogether.

15. Loose HDMI cable

To tell you the truth, this might be one of the most common issues with screen flickering. It’s due to the fact that your HDMI cable is either of poor quality or it’s loose from the connection port.

HDMI cables need to be securely in place because they send a lot of data back and forth between the TV and whatever streaming devices that are connected to it.

If the HDMI cable connection is loose and barely hanging on, then this could be a major reason why screen flickering is occurring for you.

Reach out to the back of your TV and look for any cables that are connected to your TV and try to push them back into place. You can also disconnect them and then put them back in just for safe measure.

Sometimes, the age of these cables may cause the connection ports to warp and the only way to fix that is to buy new ones.

16. Failure of your steaming media device

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering, it could be caused by a power issue or incorrect settings on your TV or another electronic device connected to your TV.

When you connect a streaming media device to your TV, it takes over the display and if there’s any problem with the streaming device, you could end up seeing the screen flickering.

If the flickering is caused by a streaming device, it may be because of a software issue.

You can try unplugging the power from the device and waiting for 10 seconds before plugging it back in again.

If you see that there’s no difference after doing this, reboot your TV and see if that fixes the problem.

If everything else fails, you might consider doing a factory reset on your streaming device.

You can do this by holding down the reset button for 10 seconds, which can often be found directly on the streaming device itself. You may need to check your device manual for the details.

Also, make sure that you’ve backed up any important data first.

17. Change your TV’s picture setting

Your Samsung Smart TV will likely have an option to change the way the display runs the images by automatically manipulating the color and the hue.

This feature intelligently changes a scary movie into the dark while switching a fun cartoon into a bright setting.

It also changes in the Autumn, setting into a warm color.

It even modifies the frame rates from sports to video gaming.

Unfortunately, when this feature goes array, flickering can occur and so you might want to turn it off to see if that’s the problem.

  1. On your remote, tap on the Home button to get to the menu.
  2. Then, select Pictures.
  3. Click on Picture Mode.

Now you get to choose from multiple different options.

  • Standard: As the default, Standard is optimized for the vast majority of viewing conditions.
  • Dynamic: Enhanced clarity and contrast in bright viewing conditions.
  • Natural: Eases Tired Eyes and Makes TV Viewing a Pleasure.
  • Movie: Designed for use when seated in complete darkness while seeing television or a film.
  • Filmmaker Mode: The image settings are locked and the viewer is free to focus on the story.

18. Factory reset your picture settings

If the glitching still hasn’t stopped even after messing around with your picture mode settings, you can try and reset your picture settings back to when your TV came out of the box.

  1. On your TV remote, press the Home button.
  2. Click on Settings > All Settings.
  3. Then, click on Picture.
  4. Click on Expert Settings.
  5. Select Reset Picture.
  6. Hit Yes.

19. Diagnose the problem with the picture test

Most Samsung TVs have a built-in diagnosis tool. It runs on your monitor and checks to see if there are any issues with the image displayed on your TV and returns whether or not your image is good or bad.

This should probably be one of the first things you should do if none of the quick and easy solutions work.

If your Samsung TV was made before 2015:

  1. Tap on your remote’s menu button.
  2. Click on Support.
  3. Select Self-Diagnosis.
  4. Click on the Picture Test.
  5. Follow through with all the testing prompts.

These older models are a little bit more involved when you’re trying to diagnose the picture on your Samsung TV.

You’re going to have to choose either yes or no to confirm whether there is a visible problem on your display.

At the end of the test, you’ll see your results whether they pass or fail.

If your Samsung TV was made after 2015, start by:

  1. Tapping on the Home button from your remote.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Click on Support.
  4. Click on Device Care.
  5. Select Self Diagnosis.
  6. Highlight and press enter on Picture Test.
  7. Press OK.

On newer models of Samsung TVs, the TV will actually diagnose itself. You won’t need to go through any tests or anything with your own eyes. The TV should be able to do as well on its own.

At the end of the test, it will give you a score of whether or not it’s good or bad.

It will also allow you to start the device care and repair process or even request customer support along the way.

20. Malfunctioning power source

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering or displaying other color issues, it could be due to a power problem.

Try checking the power source by using different outlets or cables. You can also move your TV and plug it into a different outlet to see if the problem resolves itself.

You can also try plugging in a different device (such as your phone) into the same outlet and checking to see if you get any random disconnects that might be causing an issue with the TV.

If you identify a malfunctioning power source or outlet, you may need to have it repaired or replaced by a qualified electrician.

21. A power surge

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering, it could be due to a power surge.

To fix this, unplug your TV from the power outlet and let it drain for about a minute. Plug it back in and turn on the TV.

If the flickering doesn’t stop, then it likely requires a power cycle. In some cases, you might need to reset your TV.

To power cycle, your TV simply disconnects from the power source. Press and hold the power button on your TV. Wait for 30 seconds and then turn on your TV. Your flickering screen should be gone!

If you own an older model of an LCD or LED TV, you might need to reset your TV every few months if this problem persists.

Hopefully, the power surge hasn’t damaged any of the internal components of your TV. To protect yourself from a future power surge, you can purchase a surge protector. This will help to protect your TV and other electronics from voltage spikes.

22. Your TV requires a power cycle

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering, you can try a power cycle to fix the issue.

Power cycling stops any glitches that may be attached to stopped tasks running on your TV.

Devices that run on software and hardware might get overwhelmed with data or overheat. A power cycle resets all the bits and pieces of data back into place and helps the device’s RAM (internal memory) start over, making it virtually as good as new.

To do this:

  1. For at least 30 seconds, unplug your TV from the outlet.
  2. Press and hold the power button down (on your TV) while plugging it back in.
  3. Your Samsung TV should turn back on on its own and be fully power cycled.

23. Update your TV’s firmware

Sometimes, Samsung knows that there is a screen flickering problem on their TVs and they’re hard at work with their development team to solve the issue.

The problem could be due to the software in general and this is something that needs to be fixed with a software update.

Not all Samsung TVs will automatically signal you when it’s time for the update so it might be a good idea to check yourself.

To update your Samsung TV’s firmware:

  1. Starting from your TV remote, tap on the Home button.
  2. Then click on Settings.
  3. Click on Support.
  4. Click on Software Update.
  5. Then click Update Now.

The installation files are not really that large and often take a few minutes for your Samsung TV fully install, and restart again. During this process, do not turn off your TV! It may cause corruption in your files.

Software updates for Samsung TVs are released a few times a year to make sure that your TV’s performance and liability are top-notch.

Sometimes they’ll also add new features and superpowers that only your TV can do.

24. Screen damage

If your screen is flickering, it could be due to a loose connection, a problem with your display driver, or even damage to the screen itself.

In most cases, you can fix a flickering screen by turning off the device and then turning it on again.

There are other methods to fix a screen that is flickering.

For example, you can try updating your display driver or adjusting your display settings. If the problem persists, you may need to replace your screen.

This is a tough job and is really reserved for those who are familiar with repairing TVs.

The risk of breaking anything else or getting yourself hurt from electric shock. In fact, it’s expensive and the last thing I would recommend doing.

25. A loose video cable

The video cables are usually connected to the motherboard and can become loose over time or as you move around your TV.

If the video cable is loose underneath your panel, then there is a likely chance that your screen will be flickering.

This might require some expertise to get underneath the TV to get it underneath the monitor, but if you do get underneath the panel, there is a circuit board that is directly connected to your LCD.

That circuit board also has a display connector that is connected to your main board. Sometimes this comes loose and needs to be pushed back into place.

26. Replace the display panel of your Samsung TV

Now I would only do this as a last resort and only after knowing that your display is actually having the problem here. It’s highly possible that the capacitor or fuse has blown out on your Samsung display circuit board, and so you might need to get that replaced completely.

Before doing something like this make sure to check to see if your Samsung TV is still within warranty. If it does have a warranty on it then you should be able to replace your TV without any of the extra work or extra costs of finding replacement parts.

  1. Start by completely unplugging your TV and making sure there’s no voltage left on it. You can use a multimeter for this.
  2. In order to replace your display, you’ll need to find out if you can order the replacement LCD.
  3. Place the TV face down on a table and remove all the screws from the back plastic panel.
  4. Then detach the back panel and remove any circuit board components along with the speakers.
  5. Replace the broken LCD with your new LCD and then put everything back where it belongs.

27. Contact Samsung support

If your Samsung TV screen is flickering, you can contact their customer service team for help. The Samsung customer service number is 1-800-SAMSUNG. You can also book an appointment to connect with them online.

Even if you are out of warranty for your Samsung TV, I would take a chance and give Samsung Support a call anyway.

There have been situations recorded where customers who talk about a TV flickering issue to a Samsung representative, who gets the issue escalated to get them a discounted replacement or a promotional offer for a brand new TV.

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