Being forced to watch and listen to random content when you turn on your Samsung smart TV can be pretty annoying.
Plus, it might expose your child to explicit content because the TV doesn’t care who’s watching.
Samsung doesn’t clarify how to disable autoplay, which is why you’re here.
Here are a few ways to stop autoplay on your Samsung Smart TV:
- Disable or uninstall the Samsung TV plus app.
- Turn off the autorun last app option.
- Use an HDMI digital media player.
- Disable autoplay in the YouTube app.
This article will clarify why your Samsung smart TV is playing videos automatically.
You’ll learn how to disable autoplay completely so that it won’t bother you anymore.
1. Disable or Uninstall the Samsung TV Plus App
The most likely reason why you’re getting a dreadful welcome when you turn your TV on is the Samsung TV Plus app.
The app opens automatically on most Samsung smart TVs by default if you don’t have autorun turned on.
The app allows you to watch hundreds of channels with all kinds of content.
But like with traditional TV channels, having a kids’ channel in the same app with adult content is inappropriate.
You can tell that your Samsung TV is autoplaying the Samsung TV Plus app by pressing the Home button on the remote.
You’ll see the Samsung TV Plus app highlighted with some channels recommendations above.
The easiest solution is to disable the app. This is how:
- Press the Home button on your remote.
- Navigate to the Samsung TV Plus app.
- Press the down arrow.
- Select Remove.
- Select Disable.
The app will stay disabled until you re-enable it.
Unfortunately, this means you can’t use it anymore.
It’s a huge bummer if you don’t pay for a TV subscription and love watching traditional TV channels.
There’s a chance that the app re-enables automatically whenever there’s a firmware update, though.
In that case, disable it again.
A more permanent solution is to remove the app completely.
Since Delete is grayed out by default, we’ll have to do it through Developer mode. Here’s how:
- Open the Smart Hub on the TV.
- Open the Apps screen.
- Type “12345” with the numbers on your remote.
- Select Developer mode: On and press OK.
- Restart the TV.
- Open the Apps screen.
- Go to the Samsung TV Plus app.
- Press the down arrow.
- Go to Deep Link Test, open it, and then close it.
- Go to Delete.
If Delete is still grayed out, restart the TV and try again.
2. Turn Off the Autorun Last App Option
The autorun option on your Samsung smart TV tells the TV to open the last app you used when you turned the TV off.
It’s a super handy feature. Most people only use a few apps to watch content on their TV.
It lets you continue watching your favorite TV show in the morning without having to browse through the menu.
Some apps start playing the content automatically when autorun is enabled, just like Samsung TV Plus.
However, you don’t have to uninstall the app to fix this.
There are two solutions to this.
The first solution is to open an app of your choice before turning the TV off.
Make sure you leave the app on the landing, not a video.
The second solution is to disable autorun last app altogether:
- Press the Home button on your remote.
- Navigate to Settings.
- Open General.
- Select Smart Features.
- Set Autorun last app to off.
Note: You can enable Autorun Smart Hub in the Smart Features if you want the TV to open it when you turn it on.
3. Use an HDMI Digital Media Player
The Samsung smart TV interface isn’t super intuitive.
It automatically plays undesirable content, navigating the menus is formidable, and there’s little user control.
So, I suggest that you forgo the “smart” part of your Samsung TV altogether.
Replace it with another HDMI device, such as a gaming console, HDTV tuner, or a digital media player.
A digital media player, a.k.a streaming box/device, is a gadget that you plug into the HDMI port of your TV.
It can do everything a smart TV can, but better.
Streaming boxes pack far more features, better app support, voice control, faster processors, more storage, and so on. They often have enough space to store dozens of TV shows and movies.
Here are a few popular models to choose from:
- Amazon Fire TV Stick
- Amazon Fire TV Cube
- Roku Streaming Stick+
- Roku Ultra
- Google Chromecast
- HK1 Max Android TV Box
Once you get an HDMI device of your choice, use the Input button on the remote to switch to it.
Now, when you turn on your TV, you’ll be welcomed by an intuitive interface.
Say goodbye to autoplay and loud, unskippable ads.
If you have a PlayStation or Xbox, switch the Input source to the console instead.
You can download YouTube and Netflix to the console and use your controller to browse through content.
4. Disable Autoplay in the YouTube App
If your Samsung smart TV is only autoplaying YouTube, it’s because autoplay in the app is turned on.
When autoplay is on, YouTube will play one video after another until you turn the app off or the infamous “Video paused. Continue watching?” notification pops up.
If you like watching YouTube before bedtime, you might forget to turn the TV off.
It can wake the whole family up if the YouTube algorithm decides to autoplay a World War II documentary at 4 a.m.
Here’s how to turn off YouTube autoplay on your Samsung smart TV:
- Open the YouTube app.
- Scroll down to Settings.
- Go to Autoplay.
- Switch it to Off.
YouTube won’t play the next video in the queue unless you want it to.
Final Thoughts
Your Samsung smart TV automatically plays content from the Samsung TV Plus app when you turn the TV on. Disabling the app is an easy solution to stop autoplay.
Disabling Autorun last app stops the TV from re-launching the app you last used before you turned the TV off.
Getting a new HDMI digital media player means you can skip Samsung’s unintuitive interface altogether.
And if your main gripe is the YouTube app, you can disable Autoplay within the app’s settings.
Are You Still Struggling With Your device?
If you’re still struggling trying to get going your smart device, contact me at nelson.barbosa@myautomatedpalace.com and we can discuss how can we fix it!