Can't Turn Off My Samsung TV With Remote/Power Button?

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The most common cause is a fault in your TV’s remote; in particular dirt or grime under the buttons which is stopping the power button from working.

But I’ll go through all possible causes of your TV not shutting off below, and I’m confident that we can get your TV fixed in only a few seconds.

Why Won’t My Samsung TV Turn Off?

Cause	Explanation
Remote Has Stuck Power Button	Grime or dirt in your remote can block the power button from working. Remove your remote’s batteries, mash the buttons and slap the remote into your palm a few times.
Smart TV Remote Needs Resetting	Samsung Frame TV remotes and other recent models rely on Bluetooth. Resetting their internal software often solves remote issues.
Software Glitch	Power cycling your TV can fix any software glitches that stop the power button from working.
Power Cord Damage	A damaged power cord or connector in your TV can cause intermittent power that causes your TV to not appear to shut down properly.

How to Quickly Fix Your Samsung TV That Will Not Turn Off

1. Samsung Remote Won’t Turn TV Off

If you’re relying on your remote control to switch your TV off, make sure that it is fully working, with no stuck buttons.

If you’re using an IR remote, you can check that it is actually sending an IR signal by using a phone or digital camera, as infrared is not visible to the human eye.

Activate the camera on your phone, or a live view mode on your digital camera and point your remote at your camera. Press a button and you should see a light appear in the IR emitter of your remote.

Note that not all models of iPhone will be able to see the infrared beam, as they filter out IR signals. If you have to use an iPhone, then first check that you can see infrared by using a remote that you know is working.

If you don’t see an IR beam, then try removing the batteries, holding down the power button for 10 seconds to drain any residual power, then forcefully mash every button on the remote, slapping it against your palm a few times.

You might have to repeat this several times.

You will also need to put quite a bit of force into pushing the buttons. Don’t be afraid of damaging your remote – as long as you are only hitting it against your hand and only using your fingers to push the buttons it will be fine.

Over time, your remote’s buttons can begin to stick, and just like with a computer keyboard, there is a limit to how many simultaneous button pushes the remote will recognize.

So, one or more buttons stuck in the “on” position can prevent other buttons on the remote from working.

You can try taking your remote apart and cleaning it properly if you think it’s necessary. This is a very quick and easy process, which you can follow in the video below.

This might seem like an obvious point, but it also always pays to try changing your batteries, preferably first trying them in an appliance that you know works so that you can confirm that they hold charge.

Modern Samsung remotes use Bluetooth or WiFi Direct to connect to your TV, and these can be blocked by RF interference.

For more on this, check out my linked article on what to do if your Samsung TV remote isn’t working.

You can also soft reset Samsung Smart TV remotes, if yours looks like the one in the picture below.

To reset a Samsung Smart TV remote:

Press and hold the Return and Enter buttons.
Wait for the red light to start flashing.
Release the buttons.
The reset will be complete once the red light stops blinking.

You might also want to download the Samsung SmartThings Remote app to your phone (for Android and Apple). This connects to your TV over WiFi and should let you switch it off.

If this does not work, you should skip to power cycling and resetting your TV in the steps below.

2. Check Your TV’s Buttons Work

There will also be a power button somewhere on your TV itself. This may be hidden along the bottom or side of the TV.

Hold this down for a good 10 seconds and see if this switches off your TV.

If both this button and the remote do not work, there is likely to be some software issue with your TV which you can fix by power cycling.

3. Cold Boot your Samsung TV

With modern electronics, it’s possible that your Samsung TV will not turn off because of something stuck in your TV’s flash memory.

Power cycling or cold booting your TV will clear out any issues with non-permanent memory and reset your mainboard without losing your personal settings.

This is quick and painless and won’t cause you to lose any of your saved settings.

To cold boot your Samsung TV:

Plug your TV in and switch it on.
Pull the plug out of the wall socket.
Wait a full 10 seconds.
Plug your TV back in and try switching it on. You should see a red light if you have been successful.

You can also power cycle your Samsung TV if this hasn’t been successful:

Switch off and unplug your TV.
Hold down the physical power button on the TV for at least 15 seconds.
Wait for at least 30 minutes for any residual power to drain from the TV’s capacitors (which are capable of storing charge for several minutes).
Plug your TV back in and try switching it on.

samsung tv power button — Samsung TV’s have their power button underneath the Samsung logo

Make sure you do wait for the full 30 minutes before plugging your TV back in – you would be surprised how long the components within your TV can hold a charge, and you want to make sure it has fully reset.

Although this seems a very basic step, don’t overlook it because in the vast majority of cases, a simple soft reset fixes most issues.

4. Check for Power Cord Damage

For anything to do with TVs not turning off, you need to confirm that the power cord itself isn’t damaged.

In particular, look for kinks and knots in the power cable, which can damage the copper wires both mechanically and by increasing the electrical resistance, which generates heat, causing damage that may not necessarily be obvious.

Because of potential damage within the cable that you cannot see due to the protective sheath, it can be a good idea to use a new power cable, if you have one or can borrow one.

Also, be sure to carefully look at the power connector on your TV to confirm that the port is free from corrosion, dirt and dust.

5. Factory Reset Your Samsung TV

Returning your TV back to its factory settings is a more extreme step, as it will delete any personalization features, downloaded apps or connected devices, but it’s always worth a shot when other methods haven’t worked.

To factory reset a Samsung Smart TV:

Press the Menu or Home button on your remote and go to Settings.
Then General & Privacy.
And Reset.
Enter your PIN, which by default is 0000 (four zeroes) for Samsung.
Then select one final Reset in the popup.

Samsung has provided a video of these steps in the video below.

If you don’t have your remote, then you can get to the same menu items by using the physical Menu button that is most likely underneath your Samsung TV’s logo, next to the Power button.

Press this and use the Volume + and – or Channel + and – depending on the model to follow the steps above.

Samsung TV Support and Warranty

You can check your current warranty status at Samsung’s warranty site.

Unfortunately, warranties typically only last a year unless you have already paid to extend it.

Because TV problems can occur at any time, if your TV is under one year old, return your TV under warranty and get it fixed.

You can also try to contact Samsung support directly to see if they can offer any help.

You can use the Samsung support site to help diagnose your problem, but if you are at this stage, then you are better off calling them directly at:

1-800-SAMSUNG (726-7864)

They are in the office 7 am – 12 am EST, 7 days a week, but their automated chatbot is available on their site 24/7.

Even if Samsung won’t fix your TV, they might still offer you a discount on a future model if you pester them hard enough! Always worth a try!

Conclusion

Remote control problems are the most common cause of Samsung TVs that will not turn off.
Try removing the batteries from your remote and mashing the buttons to get any grime or muck out that could be stopping the buttons from working. You can take your remote apart if necessary.
Power cycling your TV is always a good step to take when you have a software glitch, like the physical power buttons on your TV not working.
Factory resetting your TV is a final step if you cannot figure out why it is not turning off.

I’m confident that these steps will fix your TV, although the later steps do require a bit more effort than the earlier ones.

If you need any further help, then I suggest contacting Samsung support directly or post a comment below and I’ll see what I can do to help.

And if you’ve tried all of these steps and still can’t get your TV to work properly, then it may be worth looking at one of the most highly-rated new TVs.