Samsung TV Must "Rediscover" HTPC Every Time It's On

[Michael McChesney]

I have preferred to keep a HTPC connected to my TVs since before TVs got "smart.".  I've had a 55" MU7000 Samsung TV since 2017 and connected several PCs to it over the last 3 years.  My TV would "discover" the PC when it was first connected, but the PC Tile would remain in the home row unless the HDMI cable was disconnected or the PC unplugged from the outlet.  I just built a new PC with a 3400G CPU, an Asrock B550M Pro4 motherboard, and an EVGA 500W 80+ PSU.  The problem is that whenever I turn off my PC, the next time I turn it on my TV has to "discover" it all over again.  This can take several minutes and is quite annoying.  The only thing I can think of is that with most PCs some tiny amount of power must be running through the system even when powered off and that power is enough for the TV to remember the PC is connected.  The PC I built, either because of the motherboard or PSU is not letting that power through to maintain a connection to the TV.  But that is just a guess.  I haven't been able to get any help from Samsung.  Does anyone know if I have correctly diagnosed the issue?  If so is their some setting I can tweak to keep my PC connected to the TV even when powered off?  Thanks.

[Boomwebsearch]

29 minutes ago, Michael McChesney said:

I have preferred to keep a HTPC connected to my TVs since before TVs got "smart.".  I've had a 55" MU7000 Samsung TV since 2017 and connected several PCs to it over the last 3 years.  My TV would "discover" the PC when it was first connected, but the PC Tile would remain in the home row unless the HDMI cable was disconnected or the PC unplugged from the outlet.  I just built a new PC with a 3400G CPU, an Asrock B550M Pro4 motherboard, and an EVGA 500W 80+ PSU.  The problem is that whenever I turn off my PC, the next time I turn it on my TV has to "discover" it all over again.  This can take several minutes and is quite annoying.  The only thing I can think of is that with most PCs some tiny amount of power must be running through the system even when powered off and that power is enough for the TV to remember the PC is connected.  The PC I built, either because of the motherboard or PSU is not letting that power through to maintain a connection to the TV.  But that is just a guess.  I haven't been able to get any help from Samsung.  Does anyone know if I have correctly diagnosed the issue?  If so is their some setting I can tweak to keep my PC connected to the TV even when powered off?  Thanks.

 

Could you please include the model of Samsung TV that is having this issue, also have you configured the source list to label the input for your HTPC?

[Michael McChesney]

10 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

 

Could you please include the model of Samsung TV that is having this issue, also have you configured the source list to label the input for your HTPC?

The model is UN55MU7000FXZA.  I bought it at Best Buy in 2017.  When the TV detects a new device, or in this case the same device powered on, the screen goes kind of greyish blue and it says "detecting device."  Usually after a successful detection it will say "changing source to PC" and change to the PC input.  That input is actually HDMI 2.  Sometimes it has some issue and says it could not detect the device and offers to let me manually configure.  But when I try to manually configure PC is not a choice.  That manual detection only lasts until I turn the PC on again.  If there is a way to manually configure the source list, I haven't found it.  I have tried turning off Anynet+ which according to some Samsung forum posts should stop the TV from detecting new HDMI devices.  But it hasn't actually had any effect that  I have noticed.

[Boomwebsearch]

16 hours ago, Michael McChesney said:

The model is UN55MU7000FXZA.  I bought it at Best Buy in 2017.  When the TV detects a new device, or in this case the same device powered on, the screen goes kind of greyish blue and it says "detecting device."  Usually after a successful detection it will say "changing source to PC" and change to the PC input.  That input is actually HDMI 2.  Sometimes it has some issue and says it could not detect the device and offers to let me manually configure.  But when I try to manually configure PC is not a choice.  That manual detection only lasts until I turn the PC on again.  If there is a way to manually configure the source list, I haven't found it.  I have tried turning off Anynet+ which according to some Samsung forum posts should stop the TV from detecting new HDMI devices.  But it hasn't actually had any effect that  I have noticed.

 

Okay, I was able to find two slightly different televisions under the provided model, could you please confirm which one of these is your TV?:

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-55-7-series-4k-uhd-tv-smart-led-with-hdr/6401735.p?skuId=6401735&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhIT_l6vA6gIVAq_ICh1IgQmKEAQYASABEgKllfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

https://www.samsung.com/us/televisions-home-theater/tvs/uhd-tvs/55--class-mu7000-4k-uhd-tv-un55mu7000fxza/

 

 

If possible, a picture of the remote and/or a short video clip of the issue would be helpful towards resolving your issue.

[Michael McChesney]

On 7/9/2020 at 10:12 AM, Boomwebsearch said:

 

Okay, I was able to find two slightly different televisions under the provided model, could you please confirm which one of these is your TV?:

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-55-7-series-4k-uhd-tv-smart-led-with-hdr/6401735.p?skuId=6401735&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhIT_l6vA6gIVAq_ICh1IgQmKEAQYASABEgKllfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

https://www.samsung.com/us/televisions-home-theater/tvs/uhd-tvs/55--class-mu7000-4k-uhd-tv-un55mu7000fxza/

 

 

If possible, a picture of the remote and/or a short video clip of the issue would be helpful towards resolving your issue.

Sorry, I wasn't around and didn't get a chance to check back here yesterday.  My TV is the second one in the Samsung.com link.  The one on Best Buy's website has 2 legs, while mine has the center stand.  This is the link to the TV on Best Buy's website.  In actuality it appears I bought the TV in January 2018, not 2017.  https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-55-class-led-mu7000-series-2160p-smart-4k-uhd-tv-with-hdr/5773701.p?skuId=5773701

 

I took a vodeo of the detection process but the file ended up too large to email to myself so I took a screen capture. I know there are probably easier ways to get media off my phone, but I don't take that many pictures or video.  It took 55 seconds from the moment I turned the PC on until it failed.  I then hit manual, then cancel and it went to the desktop.  Thanks for your help.

 

[Boomwebsearch]

20 hours ago, Michael McChesney said:

Sorry, I wasn't around and didn't get a chance to check back here yesterday.  My TV is the second one in the Samsung.com link.  The one on Best Buy's website has 2 legs, while mine has the center stand.  This is the link to the TV on Best Buy's website.  In actuality it appears I bought the TV in January 2018, not 2017.  https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-55-class-led-mu7000-series-2160p-smart-4k-uhd-tv-with-hdr/5773701.p?skuId=5773701

 

No worries, I am always available to help, thank you for the additional information.

 

20 hours ago, Michael McChesney said:

I took a vodeo of the detection process but the file ended up too large to email to myself so I took a screen capture. I know there are probably easier ways to get media off my phone, but I don't take that many pictures or video.

 

Unfortunately, email attachments are usually limited to around 10MB depending on your email provider/service. I would say that the simplest way to transfer files from your phone would be to connect your phone with the charge/data cable to your PC's USB port, although there are plenty of other cloud services with apps to upload files and access them on other devices.

 

20 hours ago, Michael McChesney said:

It took 55 seconds from the moment I turned the PC on until it failed.  I then hit manual, then cancel and it went to the desktop.  Thanks for your help.

This should work as a temporary solution if you don't mind having to press "manual" and then "cancel" every time, although I would have to say that it may be a bit annoying. The smart TVs usually have slower UIs that are more complex than that of a regular TV, although with software updates and processing speeds improving it's less of an issue on certain newer models. 

 

Taking 55 seconds sounds a bit long for the process though, is the TV running on the latest firmware revision (version 1280.5), you may want to contact Samsung to see if they have more definite answer available if the software update doesn't help?

 

https://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/2017-uhd-smart-tv-mu7000

 

[Michael McChesney]

I've contacted Samsung many times.  Most recently, they said I should unplug the TV and hold the power button on the TV for 10 seconds, then after a few minutes plug it back in.  The problem is there are no controls on the TV, only on the remote.  I need to contact them for a 6th time I guess.  

 

I just want the thing to stop detecting new devices and leave everything as it is.  Yesterday, I left it unplugged about 20 minutes and plugged it back in.  The last input was HDMI 2 and it started there and when I turned on the PC I saw Asrock splash screen and it booted into Windows.  I thought "wow its fixed." Then about 45 seconds later it started detecting the PC I was already watching/looking at.  Definetly a first world problem, but annoying just the same.  I think the diference is more to do with the PC.  For some reason the TV won't detect this PC when turned off, but will detect other PCs or devices that are off but plugged in.  Something is different about this one and I don't know of its the motherboard, PSU or CPU.  I think it's probbaly the motherboard or PSU.  I suppose I could try swapping them out.  I am waiting for Gigabyte to return a B450 DS3H WiFi board I sent in for warranty service because it wouldn't boot.  I got tired of waiting and picked up the Asrock B550m Pro 4 at MicroCenter because it was available for only $118 and in stock even as most AMD boards were out of stock most places.  Do you know if there is some setting somewhere that might be affecting powered off detection?

[Michael McChesney]

54 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

 

No worries, I am always available to help, thank you for the additional information.

 

 

Unfortunately, email attachments are usually limited to around 10MB depending on your email provider/service. I would say that the simplest way to transfer files from your phone would be to connect your phone with the charge/data cable to your PC's USB port, although there are plenty of other cloud services with apps to upload files and access them on other devices.

 

This should work as a temporary solution if you don't mind having to press "manual" and then "cancel" every time, although I would have to say that it may be a bit annoying. The smart TVs usually have slower UIs that are more complex than that of a regular TV, although with software updates and processing speeds improving it's less of an issue on certain newer models. 

 

Taking 55 seconds sounds a bit long for the process though, is the TV running on the latest firmware revision (version 1280.5), you may want to contact Samsung to see if they have more definite answer available if the software update doesn't help?

 

https://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/2017-uhd-smart-tv-mu7000

 

I just realized I added to the thread instead of replying to you.  But I just posted a longer reply.

[Boomwebsearch]

22 hours ago, Michael McChesney said:

I've contacted Samsung many times.  Most recently, they said I should unplug the TV and hold the power button on the TV for 10 seconds, then after a few minutes plug it back in.  The problem is there are no controls on the TV, only on the remote.  I need to contact them for a 6th time I guess.  

 

I just want the thing to stop detecting new devices and leave everything as it is.  Yesterday, I left it unplugged about 20 minutes and plugged it back in.  The last input was HDMI 2 and it started there and when I turned on the PC I saw Asrock splash screen and it booted into Windows.  I thought "wow its fixed." Then about 45 seconds later it started detecting the PC I was already watching/looking at.  Definetly a first world problem, but annoying just the same.  I think the diference is more to do with the PC.  For some reason the TV won't detect this PC when turned off, but will detect other PCs or devices that are off but plugged in.  Something is different about this one and I don't know of its the motherboard, PSU or CPU.  I think it's probbaly the motherboard or PSU.  I suppose I could try swapping them out.  I am waiting for Gigabyte to return a B450 DS3H WiFi board I sent in for warranty service because it wouldn't boot.  I got tired of waiting and picked up the Asrock B550m Pro 4 at MicroCenter because it was available for only $118 and in stock even as most AMD boards were out of stock most places.  Do you know if there is some setting somewhere that might be affecting powered off detection?

 

I am not a fan of the smart remotes on these TVs that are often oversimplified and make it more difficult to access certain menus + settings. I don't think that it would have anything to do with the power supply, the issue is most likely related to the motherboard and its connection to your TV. If you have a spare HDMI cable then I would try swapping it out and making sure that the connections with the TV and the PC are securely in place. 

 

I am not aware of any settings in the UEFI which may affect power off detection, although I would highly recommend ensuring that your board is on the latest BIOS version available (that would be version 1.10A for the  Asrock B550M Pro4 motherboard) and update it to the latest version to ensure maximum compatibility available with other devices.

 

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B550M Pro4/#BIOS

[Michael McChesney]

8 hours ago, Boomwebsearch said:

 

I am not a fan of the smart remotes on these TVs that are often oversimplified and make it more difficult to access certain menus + settings. I don't think that it would have anything to do with the power supply, the issue is most likely related to the motherboard and its connection to your TV. If you have a spare HDMI cable then I would try swapping it out and making sure that the connections with the TV and the PC are securely in place. 

 

I am not aware of any settings in the UEFI which may affect power off detection, although I would highly recommend ensuring that your board is on the latest BIOS version available (that would be version 1.10A for the  Asrock B550M Pro4 motherboard) and update it to the latest version to ensure maximum compatibility available with other devices.

 

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B550M Pro4/#BIOS

Thanks. I'll let you know how that works out.  I agree with you about the smart remotes.  Remember when you could just enter a channel manually?  I have an Asus PC I bought at the same time as this TV and I used to have it connectred to it.  But then last year I decided to build a PC and the Asus went into the closet.  After I moved and bought a QLED TV for my living room I tried connecting the Asus in my bedroom.  I had a few problems with it causing me to have to swap out its SSD.  But one issue was that when I first turned it on it would flash on and off.  Like 1 second on, 4 seconds off.  If I switched inputs for 15 minutes when I came back it had stopped flashing.  I tried swiching out the HDMI cable but no change.  But if I used am HDMI cable to connect to a monitor it worked perfectly.  Other PCs connected to the same HDMI port worked fine as well (aside from this detection issue).  Sometimes electronics just have gremlins that don't make sense.

[Michael McChesney]

On 7/12/2020 at 11:34 AM, Boomwebsearch said:

 

I am not a fan of the smart remotes on these TVs that are often oversimplified and make it more difficult to access certain menus + settings. I don't think that it would have anything to do with the power supply, the issue is most likely related to the motherboard and its connection to your TV. If you have a spare HDMI cable then I would try swapping it out and making sure that the connections with the TV and the PC are securely in place. 

 

I am not aware of any settings in the UEFI which may affect power off detection, although I would highly recommend ensuring that your board is on the latest BIOS version available (that would be version 1.10A for the  Asrock B550M Pro4 motherboard) and update it to the latest version to ensure maximum compatibility available with other devices.

 

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B550M Pro4/#BIOS

I looked in to updating my Bios but I've decided against it.  While I was in the Bios  I tried to adjust the memory speed so I would actually get the 3200 mhz  Corsair says the RAM is rated for.  But after I did that my screen went blank and even trying 2 different monitors there was no video output.  I cleared the CMOS and its working again.  But this experience has convinced me to heed the warning about not updating your bios if your system is working well.

 

But thank you very much for your suggestions.

[Boomwebsearch]

10 hours ago, Michael McChesney said:

I looked in to updating my Bios but I've decided against it.  While I was in the Bios  I tried to adjust the memory speed so I would actually get the 3200 mhz  Corsair says the RAM is rated for.  But after I did that my screen went blank and even trying 2 different monitors there was no video output.  I cleared the CMOS and its working again.  But this experience has convinced me to heed the warning about not updating your bios if your system is working well.

 

But thank you very much for your suggestions.

 

The only significant concern about updating your motherboard's BIOS is if the power is interrupted during the process, a UPS is recommended to be 100% sure, although the chances of a power outage with reasonably decent power stability is quite low, plus many modern motherboards can recover from failed BIOS updates. BIOS revisions are often extensively tested by manufacturers to ensure that it won't damage your board, BIOS updates can also help resolve problems and provide additional compatibility with other components/devices. 

 

I would still recommend the BIOS update (especially if you're still within the manufacturer/retailer's coverage program), although it's completely your choice.

[Michael McChesney]

Just for the record, I can now pretty definitively say the detection issue was related to the motherboard.  I had originally built the PC using a Gigabyte B450 DS3H WiFi motherboard.  I had two of them, one for a PC for myself and the other as a gift for my sister.  But one of the boards wouldn't post so I sent in in for service and used the working board for my sister.  Rather than wait a month to get the board back, I picked up an Asrock B550M Pro4 board at MicroCenter.   The detection issue was with the PC with that board installed.  I got the DS3H board back a couple of weeks ago with a note saying they had tested it and it worked fine.  Isn't that always the way?  I swapped out the motherboards this afternoon.  In addition to the detection issue, the B550 board was slightly larger and because of the compact case size my optical drive wouldn't fit.

 

Anyway, the Gigabyte motherboard is working, the optical drive fits and works (for the rare and unlikely event I feel like watching a DVD from bed) and best of all I can turn the computer off without my TV forgetting it' attached.

 

Thanks for all the assistance and advice.