As an owner of a Samsung TV, I was extremely frustrated when I realized my TV had suddenly switched to black and white. I had no idea why this was happening or how to fix the problem. After doing some research and testing, I am here to share how I solved this issue and other potential solutions I discovered. If you’re stuck with a black and white Samsung TV, then this post is for you!
While the problem of a black and white display on a Samsung TV can be due to a lack of color saturation, it can also be due to cable connections. If you connect composite cables incorrectly to the TV’s panel, the resulting picture could be monochrome.
| Tips: |
|---|
| – Check color saturation settings if the display is black and white. |
| – Make sure cables are correctly connected. |
| – Look for hardware damage. |
| – Try a soft or hard reset. |
| – Contact Samsung customer support or a professional for help. |
Table of Contents
Why Is My Samsung TV Black and White?
There are a couple of reasons your color Samsung TV displays grayscale images. Some of them are just faulty settings that might have been accidentally changed, while others have to do with the cables transmitting video.
There might also be some hardware damage to your TV causing this problem, but ruling out other reasons before jumping to this conclusion is advised.
Your Color Saturation is at 0%
This one is a simple hiccup most of us have experienced before, especially if you have young children who play with the TV remote.
The color saturation setting in the picture settings menu controls how bright and vivid the colors are. If someone messes with it by dragging the value to 0, the resulting image is black and white.
It’s worth noting that sometimes it’s not a problem with the TV. Some movies and TV series are made in B & W as an artistic effect, even if they’re recently made. It gives off an old-timey vibe to the show but can disturb the viewer if they’re unaware.
Incorrect Cable Connections
This is probably the most common reason why black and white images happen on any kind of TV. Samsung TVs have an HDMI port as well as component ports on the panel. The former is for modern HD video, while the latter is an old-fashioned way of producing the same effect.
Component input has five ports: green, red, and blue for video, and white and red for left and right audio channels. You can see where the confusion stems with two different red cables, one for audio and one for video. If switched up, you can get a B & W display and a swishing noise.
Sources, like cable boxes and DVD players, can have different kinds of output cables, called composite cables. Those only produce standard definitions and aren’t a new thing.
Composite output has three cables: yellow for video and white and red for left and right audio channels. When using composite cables with the Samsung ports, you plug the yellow cable into the green port to get the correct picture. If plugged into the red or blue, you might not get any output or a monochrome picture.
Hardware Damage
Last but not least, if dust or water reaches your TV panel, they can damage the ports, causing a black and white display. Damaged cables can produce the same effect, as well, especially the red and blue video component cables.
How to Fix Black and White Display on a Samsung TV?
Depending on which problem you’re facing, reverting your Samsung TV to color can be an easy task, or it can require professional help. So let’s go over the fixes:
Increase Color Saturation
If the problem was only confined to the picture settings on your TV, changing it is quite simple:
- Click on the Settings button on your remote
- Choose Picture from the menu
- Select Expert Settings
- Hover down to Color, then use the right arrow button to increase the value from zero
- Increase color saturation to your liking
Adjust Cable Connections
As we mentioned above, faulty connections can cause a black and white display; that’s why it’s important to double-check if everything is correctly connected. For modern Samsung TVs, connecting the component cables correctly will solve any problems.
Just match the green cable and port, the video red with video red, and blue with blue. Then connect the L & R audio cables to their channels. If your source (cable box or DVD player) has composite cables, make sure the yellow video cable is in the green port.
Fix Hardware Issues
If everything is connected correctly and the picture color settings aren’t 0%, then you probably have a hardware problem on hand. Contact Samsung customer support, and they might fix it for free if you’re within the warranty period. Or, you can get your TV repaired by a professional who’ll figure out the problem and replace faulty parts or cables.
Try a software update
There is a possibility that there is a software bug causing the black and white issue. You can turn on automatic software updates by going ”settings” then ”support” then “software update” and ensure ”Auto Update” is turned on. Alternatively, you can manually update over the internet by clicking ”Update now”.
Try doing a soft reset
Often, a soft reset is all that is needed to solve issues on a Samsung TV. A soft reset does not erase any data. To soft reset a Samsung TV, you simply need to turn the TV off, then remove the plug from the wall outlet and wait for 60 seconds, then put the plug back in and turn the TV on again.
Try a hard reset
A hard reset involves completely reseting the TV to its factory defaults and your data will be erased.
To do this, do the following:
- Turn on the TV and press the “Home” button on the remote
- Go to “settings”
- Then click “general”
- Then click “reset”
- You must then enter a 4 digit pin number which is 0 0 0 0 by default
- Then click ”Yes” to reset the TV
- The TV will then turn off once it has finished resetting
- You can now turn the TV back on and set it up again
Do a Picture Test
A picture test is a self-diagnostic process that allows the TV to identify the problem and find a suitable solution.
To do this, do the following:
- Press the “settings button”
- Go to “Support”
- Go to “Device Care”
- Go to “Self diagnosis”
- Then click “Picture Test”
Conclusion
Why is my Samsung TV black and white? Well, it could be just the wrong color setting, mismatched cables, or a bigger problem than that. Just troubleshoot the problem step by step and see if it gets solved. If not, you’ll have to contact a professional who’ll pinpoint the reason your Samsung TV is lacking color and get it fixed.
Read more: Youtube TV black screen on Samsung TV
