Though Samsung's smart TVs are generally high quality and reliable, you might sometimes encounter issues. Perhaps an app has frozen, you can't hear anything, or the picture is distorted. Well, have you tried turning it off and on?

Though that adage can be a joke, you'd be surprised at how often resetting your Samsung smart TV can resolve issues. We're going to show you how to reset your Samsung TV to varying degrees.

How to Cold Boot Your Samsung TV

According to Samsung, over time your TV can run low on memory or a residual electrical charge can build up inside. This can result in apps misbehaving, menus not opening, or the TV taking a long time to turn on.

samsung tv remote
Image Credit: ilham9943/Shutterstock

The best way to resolve this is through a cold boot. This drains the charge from the TV and resets the main board. To do this, hold down the power button on your remote until the TV restarts. You'll know it's been successful because the Samsung logo will appear on the screen, rather than launching straight into the menu.

If you've misplaced your remote (perhaps you've just got used to using Amazon Alexa with your Samsung TV), you can still achieve the same result. With your TV on, pull the plug and wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in.

How to Factory Reset Specific Settings on Your Samsung TV

If you're experiencing a problem with a specific part of your TV, like the sound, picture, or network, you can reset the associated settings in one go. It's a good step to take before a complete factory reset because it might solve your issue without needing the nuclear option.

To do this:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to the menu section that you wish to reset. For example, Picture or Sound.
  3. On the main pane, select Expert Settings.
  4. Scroll to the bottom and select Reset.

How to Factory Reset Everything on Your Samsung TV

You can completely reset your TV to factory settings. This means restoring everything to default, like it was when you first turned it on (assuming you bought it new). The only thing that won't reset are your network settings.

If there are any settings that you want to retain, you should note down the values so that you can manually apply them once the reset is complete—there's no way to pick what to reset and what to keep.

The process to perform a factory reset depends on your Samsung TV model. Try both procedures below to see which works for you.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. From the left menu, select General.
  3. On the main pane, scroll down and select Reset.
  4. You may be prompted for your PIN. If you don't remember setting one, the default is 0000.
  5. Select Yes to confirm the factory reset.

Alternatively:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. From the left menu, select Support.
  3. On the main pane, select Self Diagnosis.
  4. Select Reset.
  5. You may be prompted for your PIN. If you don't remember setting one, the default is 0000.
  6. Select Yes to confirm the factory reset.

Was Your Smart TV Purchase Worth It?

Though TVs can certainly do more than they used to, it also means there are more things that could go wrong. Plus, the issue might not even be with the TV itself, but rather the apps that are running on it.

Hopefully, resetting your Samsung smart TV has resolved whatever issue you were encountering. But perhaps you're wondering whether buying a smart TV was that smart after all? There are some who would argue that set-top boxes or streaming sticks, like Apple TV and Chromecast respectively, are a better choice.