How to scan for channels on samsung smart tv with antenna

Your Samsung TV not recognizing antenna and looking for a way to make it work?

You’re in luck because in this post we’ll share with you the proper way to hook up an antenna to your Samsung TV and discover the free, over-the-air channels.

The antenna might not be recognized by your Samsung TV because of interference, wrong connection or you’re simply not looking for the channels at the place. You’ll need to scan for channels once the antenna is connected and then go to Watch TV to check them out.

However, there are a couple of things you should know about antennas and how they work, so let’s first take a look at possible reasons why the antenna is not working for you.

Here are some possible reasons why your antenna is not working for you:

1. Bad Placement

Bad placement of antenna can cause issues. You should position your antenna as high as possible in your room.

2. Interference

You should NOT have metal or electronic devices on top or beneath the antenna.

3. Bad Connection

You should make sure that the antenna is connected to the right slot of your TV.

4. Misconception

Your antenna might be working but you’re simply not scanning for channels right or you’re not looking at the right place.

5. Broken Antenna

It’s possible that the cable of your antenna is interrupted or something went wrong with the device or stuck itself.

How To Hook Up Antenna To Your Samsung TV Correctly?

The antennas are pretty easy to hook up to almost any TV. You won’t need an external decoder because standalone antennas will only be able to discover analog channels.

If you however have an external decoder in between the TV and the antenna you’ll be able to “catch” digital, thus higher quality channels.

Here is how to connect your antenna properly:

1. Go to the Source Menu of your Samsung TV
2. Select your TV as the source.
3. You will see a No-Signal message.
4. Connect the antenna to the RF connector on the back of your TV.
5. Choose Channel Scan on your TV.
6. Choose “Air”.
7. Wait for the scan to complete.
8. Go to Local Channels.
9. Review the channels found,

Note: There won’t be a pop-up message saying, “Antenna Successfully Connected”.

Instead, once hooked up, by scanning for channels you’ll get about 10 results with the free channels of your country.

Antenna Hooked Up But Samsung TV Not Recognizing?

Now if you’ve followed the above step-by-step tutorial and there were no channels found, well there is something wrong with the antenna.

Here we’ve found some potential problems that you can easily solve so let’s just right in.

Solution #1 Reconnect Antenna

Maybe the antenna is not connected properly. The RF connector has a circular shape with a pin in the middle.

On the back of your TV, there are many circular inputs with holes in the middle and the chances that you’re using the wrong slot are high.

If your antenna is plugged into a port with one of these three colors (yellow, red, white) then you have connected the antenna in the wrong slot.

The RF input is ALWAYS metallic, without any color and it is usually separated by about 5 cm, away from ALL other ports.

Take a good lock at the back of your TV and make sure you’re actually using the RF input. On some Samsung TV models, the RF input is labeled “ANT IN” for easier orientation.

Note: Also if you’ve plugged the antenna into the wrong slot there is a high chance that you have damaged the pin in the middle of the RF cable. If so, you’ll need a replacement.

Solution #2 Relieve Interference

Now when your antenna is properly connected but the TV scan still fails to discover the air channels, let’s take a look at the way your antenna is positioned.

Follow the steps below to receive any kind of interference if there is any:

1. Remove ALL electronic devices near the antenna.
2. Position your antenna as high as the cable allows.
3. Remove ANY metal objects from the surroundings of the antenna.
4. Straighten up the cable, prevent any twists or pressure.
5. Plug the antenna tightly into the TV’s RF port and secure the connection.
6. Make sure there is nothing covering the antenna.

Note: Even hovering your hand on top of the antenna could disrupt the signal severely.

Once done with these steps, test if the channel scan will now discover any channels. If not, let’s reposition the entire setup.

Solution #3 Re-Position Antenna

Since many users reported that by relocating the antenna closer to a window, they managed to resolve the same problem that you’ve got, it’s now time to do the same.

We understand that it might be really hard to do so, since antenna manufacturers often create their antennas with a 1 or maximum of 2 meters long cable, you might have to relocate your entire TV.

This is because the signal is stronger the shorter the cable is, so do NOT use cable extenders.

But if you’ve got another TV in your household, which is nearby a window so you can test with, there is no point in relocating your setup.

Simply take the antenna, hook it up to the other TV, and position it as close to the window as possible.

There would be two outcomes. Your antenna will either now work, or it won’t.

If it’s not working then it’s something wrong with the antenna, but if it does work, then you’ll have to reposition your setup so the previous TV can be closer to the windows, thus the antenna as well.

Solution #4 Wrong Frequency

If your Samsung TV is not recognizing the antenna, then it’s most probably because of the frequency.

It appears that most TV stations (towers) transmit UHF frequency, but some go with VHF.

Now if your antenna supports only one or two types of frequency and the nearest broadcast tower happens to transmit the one your antenna does not support, well, you’ll need another antenna…

On the box of your antenna it should clearly say the type of frequency it does support but, we’re afraid that there is no way to find out what type of frequency the nearest broadcast tower emits.

In that regard, you’ll need to purchase an antenna that supports both (UHF and VHF) frequencies.

Solution #5 You’re Too Far Away From The Tower

Now if you’re too far away from the tower, there is nothing you can do about it.

The distance in which antennas can pick up signal is about 70 miles/120 kilometers and if you’re further than that, the signal will be either too weak to pick up channels or non-existent at all.

You can check online where the nearest broadcast tower is located and calculate the distance to determine whether the problem is coming from that or not.

Thus, to fix a Samsung TV that does not recognize an antenna you would need to reposition the antenna and make sure that it’s connected to the RF port tightly. Then remove interference by taking away electronic and metal objects nearby and lastly check compatibility and distance from the broadcast tower.

Read Next: Why Samsung TV Won’t Turn On After Power Outage?

Bottom Line:

Now you know why Samsung TV is not recognizing antenna and by following our guide and solutions you should be able to determine the origin of the problem.

Even if you could not solve the problem, well now you should be aware of why the issue is there and what’s your next step.

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