Wrong colors on a Samsung usually come from a picture mode or a signal setting. Samsung's picture problems article lists distorted or incorrect colors, lines or colored dots and component cable color faults, with a Picture Test, an HDMI test and a software update as the diagnostic tools. First run the Picture Test under Settings, Support, Self Diagnosis: if the test image has correct colors, the TV is fine and the fault is the source or cable.
The checks in more detail
Choose the Standard or Movie picture mode and reset the picture settings, since Dynamic and Vivid oversaturate. Check Color Tone, Tint and Color in Expert Settings. If the picture is green, pink or washed out on HDMI, try another HDMI cable and port, and check the source's color format and HDR settings; set the console or PC to RGB or YCbCr 4:4:4 as appropriate, and toggle Input Signal Plus.
For a component connection Samsung notes colors can look off, since the cables are color-coded and a swapped plug gives wrong colors. Check HDR: HDR on the TV with an SDR signal, or the reverse, changes color. Check the room light and White Balance. Turn off Eco Solution effects. Update the software and reset the picture. Lines or dots across the screen can mean a T-Con or panel fault rather than a setting. Print or display a known color test chart and compare it with the screen from a second device, since a tint you cannot describe is easier to measure against a reference than against memory.
If colors change when you change the HDMI cable, the cable or port is the cause, and if they change with the app, the app's own settings or the content are the cause.
Differential
Likely causes of “Samsung TV line colors look wrong, washed out or tinted”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
Vivid or Dynamic mode
What separates it The colors look oversaturated because Vivid or Dynamic mode is selected
How to confirm Choose Standard or Movie mode, which give more natural colors
- 2
A bad HDMI cable or port
What separates it The picture has a green or pink tint because an HDMI cable or port is bad
How to confirm Swap the cable and the port, and see whether the tint follows the cable
- 3
A wrong source color format
What separates it The colors look washed out because the source color format is set wrongly
How to confirm Change the RGB or YCbCr setting on the source, and check the colors again
- 4
A swapped component plug
What separates it The colors are wrong because component plugs have been swapped
How to confirm Match the colors of the cable plugs to the colors of the sockets on the TV
- 5
A panel or T-Con fault
What separates it There are lines or colored dots on the screen because of a panel or T-Con fault
How to confirm Contact Samsung service, since lines and dots on the screen point to a panel fault
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- Whether the Picture Test is correct
- The source and the cable that you are using
Try in this order
0 of 7 completedRun the Picture Test
ReversibleRun the Picture Test to check the TV itself, without a source connected to it.
Choose Standard
ReversibleChoose Standard or Movie picture mode, which give more natural colors than Vivid does, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Reset the picture
ReversibleReset the picture settings, using the option under Self Diagnosis, and look at the colors again.
Swap the HDMI cable and port
ReversibleSwap the HDMI cable and the port, to isolate which of them is causing the tint.
Check source color settings
ReversibleCheck the source color settings, choosing between RGB and YCbCr, to see which looks right.
Check HDR
ReversibleCheck HDR, and make sure that the source and the TV both handle it consistently.
Update the software
ReversibleUpdate the software on the TV, and then retest the colors with the same source.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- Panels
- QLED and Neo QLED use quantum dots; OLED models have self-lit pixels and different calibration.
- Frame
- The Frame's Art Mode has its own color tone settings.
- Neo QLED color on the QN90D
- The QN90D is a Mini LED set with a quantum dot layer, so its colors depend on the picture mode more than on the panel. Standard and Dynamic modes boost saturation and push colors toward green or red. Filmmaker or Movie mode follows the film's own color, and it can look warmer and less vivid at first. Give your eyes a day to adjust.
- Calibrating without a meter
- Open the picture settings, choose Movie, turn off Auto Motion Plus and set the color tone to Warm2 as a starting point. Check that the TV's input is not set to a limited RGB range, which can wash out colors from a PC or console. The Expert Settings include a color space option for tuning, and the Reset Picture option returns the set to the maker's default.
- Picture modes on a Neo QLED
- The QN90D offers Standard, Movie, Filmmaker and Dynamic modes, and the color looks very different in each. Choose Filmmaker or Movie for films and Game for consoles, and avoid Dynamic, which pushes saturation. Turn off Eco Solution and Intelligent mode when judging color, since both change brightness and tone with the room.
- HDR and the source
- If color looks flat with HDR content, check that the source's HDR is on and that the HDMI input is set to Input Signal Plus for that port. A console or box set to limited range makes blacks gray. Restore the picture to default and change one setting at a time, judging in the room's usual light.
- Other models this page answers
- These steps also fit models CU8000, Q80C, Q90T, QN900D, QN90B, QN90C, QN95D, S90C, S90D, S95C, S95D, LS03D.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If the Picture Test shows wrong colors or lines, contact Samsung
- !If only one source is wrong, check its settings and cable
- !If the TV is under warranty, ask Samsung for a repair
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Picture Test, HDMI test and firmware.
Picture Test, HDMI cable test and grounding.
Game Mode, Input Signal Plus and HDMI 2.1.
Automatic, internet and USB updates.
The company and its products.
Exact questions
Common questions
What does the Picture Test show?+
Whether the TV itself is fine.
Can a component cable cause it?+
Yes, a component cable can cause wrong colors, if the plugs are swapped.
Can lines mean a panel fault?+
Yes, lines on the screen can mean a panel fault, so run the Picture Test.
Why do colors look dull after a software update?+
An update can reset the picture mode, so check that Filmmaker or Movie is still selected.
Why does my QN90D look washed out?+
The picture mode, Eco settings or an HDMI range mismatch.
What is Input Signal Plus?+
A Samsung setting that enables full HDMI bandwidth on a port.