As an owner of a Samsung TV, I know first-hand the frustration of not having a full-screen picture. After hours of trying to figure out why my Samsung TV wasn’t showing a full-screen image, I finally discovered the cause and was able to fix the issue. In this post, I’m going to share how I solved this issue, as well as some other possible solutions that may help you out if you are having the same problem.
The most common causes of a Samsung TV not showing full screen include over-spanning, an issue with the aspect ratio, a faulty cable, or a problem with the source device.
Keep reading to find out more about the reasons Samsung TVs may fail to display full pictures and how you can correct the error.
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung TV Not Showing Full Screen | TV is Over-Spanning | Adjust the picture size on your Samsung TV by pressing the Menu button on the remote, selecting “Picture”, choosing “Screen Adjustment”, and selecting “Screen Fit”. |
| Aspect Ratio Needs Tweaking | Change the aspect ratio on your TV by pressing the Menu button on the remote, selecting “Picture”, choosing “Aspect ratio”, and selecting 4:3 or 16:9. Then, press the “Screen Fit” option. | |
| Faulty Cable | Check cable connections and try unplugging and re-plugging the cable. If the issue persists, replace the cable with a new one. | |
| Source Device Needs Adjustment | Adjust the aspect ratio of the image output directly from the source device by entering the menu for picture/display settings and adjusting the aspect ratio option. | |
| Soft Reset | Turn the TV off, remove the plug from the wall outlet, wait for 60 seconds, then put the plug back in and turn the TV on again. | |
| Software Update | Turn on automatic software updates by going to “Settings” > “Support” > “Software Update” and ensure “Auto Update” is turned on. Alternatively, manually update the software over the internet by clicking “Update now”. | |
| Picture Test | Conduct a picture test by pressing the “Settings” button, going to “Support”, selecting “Device Care”, choosing “Self Diagnosis”, and clicking “Picture Test”. | |
| Hard Reset | Perform a hard reset by turning on the TV and pressing the “Home” button on the remote, going to “Settings”, clicking “General”, selecting “Reset”, entering the default 4-digit pin (0 0 0 0), and clicking “Yes” to reset the TV. Note that this will erase your data and restore the TV to factory settings. |
Table of Contents
1. Your TV Is Over-Spanning
It may sound super serious when you read that your Samsung TV is over-spanning, but don’t worry, it’s not as big of a deal as it sounds.
Your Samsung TV is over-spanning if it can’t show a full picture output and instead displays black bars on the sides or cuts off the picture from the sides. As a result, you’re left with a screen that’s not full.
How to Fix
To resolve the problem of over-spanning, you need to adjust the picture size on your Samsung screen to fit the entire screen as follows:
Start by grabbing your Samsung TV remote and pressing the Menu button. You should find it around the middle section of the remote with the word “Menu” labeled on it.
Once you press it, you should see a menu box pop up on the TV screen.
Next, look for the “Picture” option in the menu box and choose it. You should now see another selection panel containing options related to the settings of the picture output.
Look for the option “Screen Adjustment” and select it to open up a new menu. From this menu, choose “Screen Fit” and your TV should respond by displaying a full screen.
2. The Aspect Ratio Needs Tweaking
Samsung TVs are designed to detect the best possible aspect ratio for your content and then display that ratio on the screen. As such, you can expect that not every single image outputted by your TV will be fitted to the full size of the screen.
However, this doesn’t mean you can step in and do something about it if you want.
How to Fix
You can change the aspect ratio on your TV to increase the picture size and fit it to the screen as follows:
Start by grabbing your Samsung TV remote and pressing the Menu button. You should find it around the middle section of the remote with the word “Menu” labeled on it.
Once you press it, you should see a menu box pop up on the TV screen.
Next, look for the “Picture” option in the menu box and choose it. Another selection panel will appear containing picture output settings.
Choose “Aspect ratio” and then select 4:3 or 16:9. After that, press the “Screen Fit” option and wait for your TV to process the request.
3. Your Cable Is Faulty
Some issues are so simple that you accidentally overlook them. However, one of the common causes of a Samsung TV not showing a full screen is an issue with the cable.
If your cable is faulty or not connected properly, you can experience issues with the image output such as a small screen.
How to Fix
The good news is that this problem is very easy to detect and resolve as follows:
Start by grabbing your Samsung TV remote and pressing the Menu button. You should find it around the middle section of the remote with the word “Menu” labeled on it.
Once you press it, you should see a menu box pop up on the TV screen.
Next, look for the “Picture” option in the menu box. If you see this option, choose it then select “Screen Adjustment” and “Screen Fit”.
If nothing happens to your screen size once you do this, then there’s likely a problem with your cable. What you’ll need to do here is unplug then replug the cable and try again.
If still nothing happens, your cable is probably faulty and you have to use a different one.
4. The Source Device Needs Adjustment
Last but not least, if your Samsung TV isn’t showing full screen, the problem can be traced back to the source device. For example, a computer or a laptop.
How to Fix
In this case, you should adjust the aspect ratio of the image output directly from the source device.
Simply enter the menu for picture/display settings and locate the aspect ratio option. Try adjusting it to different values and observe how the screen size changes.
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 software update
There is a possibility that there is a software bug causing the 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”.
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”
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
Wrap Up
A Samsung TV not showing full screen can be a frustrating issue with multiple causes.
Luckily, there are solutions to fix such problems without having to call in professional help. The most common ones are changing the aspect ratio and choosing the “Screen Fit” option.
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