TV turns on randomly on its’ own

[Sadie143]

Bought a Samsung TV in October and since then the TV turns on randomly, usually in the middle of the night when everyone is sleeping.  Samsung tells me it is a cable box issue.  xFinity tells me it is a television issue.  Has anyone else had this experience and if so how did you resolve it?

[CCAndrew]

Check the settings on your tv. The boxes do a reboot in the middle of the night, its possible your tv is going into a standby mode instead of powering off and when the box resets it may be kicking the tv out of standby mode.

[RickGr4]

Adding to what Andrew said, in your TV settings turn off the "Any Net" (HDMI-CEC) feature.

There may be unwanted communication between the TV and X1 box occurring.

[paperpeng27]

Yep! Connected a new Samsung TV to my downstairs box and it comes on randomly! Never did it before until I upgraded TV and box

[Rustyben]

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@paperpeng27 wrote:
Yep! Connected a new Samsung TV to my downstairs box and it comes on randomly! Never did it before until I upgraded TV and box

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go to your TV menu using your TV's remote and turn off CEC function.

[peg4]

**UPDATE, on 1/22/20**
Our Solution
Using our Xfinity XR11 remote we are now only turning off our Samsung TV/Xfinity system by only using the "TOP RIGHT POWER BUTTON" on the Xfinity remote. My husband is left handed, so he was using the top left button "TV" button, when turning off our Samsung TV/Xfinity system. Over the last month of only using the top right power button, the TV has NOT turned back on.

We found out that Comcast has a remote XR15 that should solve the problem, as it only has 1 power button on the top right. I will keep you updated once we receive the XR15 remotes and use them.

~~~~~~
Original post...
We are having a similar issue. Our Samsung is over 5 years old, and we are an Xfinity X1 customer. Over the last 6 weeks our TV randomly turns back on. The time varies. One common issue, is it has happened after a recording ended a few times. (1) We make sure the last show watched is live, and not behind or paused. TV still turns on. (2) We turned off the Comcast Labs feature "Smart Resume for Recordings". TV still turns on. We have reset our DVR multiple times. No settings have been changed in my Samsung TV, and I even turned off auto software updates. Please post if you determine what is causing this! Thank you.
~~~~~~~
**UPDATE, on 1/22/20**  Our Solution
Using our Xfinity X1 remote we are now only turning off our Samsung TV/Xfinity system by using the "TOP RIGHT POWER BUTTON" on the Xfinity remote. My husband is left handed, so he was using the top left button "TV" button, when turning off our Samsung TV/Xfinity system. Cross your fingers, as for the last 3 weeks of only using the power button, the TV has NOT turned back on. This could be the solution for us!!! I'll keep you updated.
 
FYI, If you read my other posts you'll see we tried many other solutions, including removing the batteries from the Xfinity remote... that seemed to work sometimes, but the TV started turning back on, even with the remote batteries removed.

[peg4]

See my previous post... Q2.
Could this be an internet connection issue? If my dual band modem gets a poor signal or goes out while recording, could that cause the DVR to turn on TV to get to the cloud, to download or upload the scheduled recording? Thank you.

[peg4]

Update 1, Turning off the Anytime+ CEC function in my TV... DID NOT WORK.

5/19/19 Update 2, Xfinity advised to remove batteries from remotes, as remote could be defective. Still testing this.
~~~~~~
Original post....
Ok, I found and turned off the Anytime+ CEC function in my TV settings. My TV is over 5 years old, Samsung TV LED65 7100 series, and my DVD is about 1 to 2 years old. And, this has never happened before. I hope this works, without losing functionality of my TV! I'll keep you posted. Thanks.
Updates above.

[peg4]

**UPDATE, on 1/22/20**
Our Solution...
Using our Xfinity XR11 remote we are now only turning off our Samsung TV/Xfinity system by only using the "TOP RIGHT POWER BUTTON" on the Xfinity remote. My husband is left handed, so he was using the top left button "TV" button, when turning off our Samsung TV/Xfinity system. Over the last month of only using the top right power button, the TV has NOT turned back on.

We found out that Comcast has a remote XR15 that should solve the problem, as it only has 1 power button on the top right. I will keep you updated once we receive the XR15 remotes and use them.

5/19/19 Update 2, Xfinity advised to remove batteries from remotes, as remote could be defective. Still testing this.
~~~~~
Update 1. Turning off Anytime+ CEC function in my Samsung TV settings did NOT work... as we came home after being away 2 hours, and our TV was on. Nothing recorded while we were gone. Cannot find any cause. Any other suggestions?? (Refer to my prior 3 posts for more details.) Thanks.

[Rustyben]

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@peg4 wrote:
Update. Turning off Anytime+ CEC function in my Samsung TV settings did NOT work... as we came home after being away 2 hours, and our TV was on. Nothing recorded while we were gone. Cannot find any cause. Any other suggestions?? (Refer to my prior 3 posts for more details.) Thanks.

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take the batteries out of both (all ) tv remotes (and cable remote). might be a stuck button.

[ComcastMichael]

Greetings, peg4! I appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us here on the forums. I hope you are having an amazing day. I apologize to hear you are having the issues with the TV randomly turning on. Looks like you have been working with Rustyben on the issue. I was just wanting to follow up to see if removing the batteries from the remotes have fixed the issue. If it has not, feel free to send me a PM with your first and last name so I can look further into this.

To send a private message, please click my name "ComcastMichael" then select "Send a Message" on the right side.

[peg4]

It has been 3 days since we removed the remote batteries, and our Samsung TV has not turned on again, on its own. We are waiting for the new remote to arrive. I'll update you if the problem recurs, once we begin using the new remote. Thank you for your help.

[ComcastJoeTru]

Thanks for providing the update, peg4! Our team will await your reply on the results of using the new remote. Until then, have a great day!

[Redbook]

I have had the exact same problem which has to do with the hdmi connection from the X1 box to the TV. Here's the work around: Before you turn off the TV for the day or night just change the input source to a non-hdmi source. I change mine to the Component input source. Hope this works for you.

[Carrollfamily59]

This had happened 3 times this month. I too have a Samsung

[ComcastAlly]

Carrollfamily59, have you tried the workaround that @Redbook suggested? Let me know if it helps. 

[peg4]

UPDATE 6/21/19
TV started turning on again by itself after using new remote about 10 days. Removing batteries from remote at night, to see if TV still turns on. So far after 10 days of removing batteries, the TV has not turned on.

Will update later.
~~~~~~~
See update above...
Great news! Since we received the new remote, the TV has not turned on by itself. So it looks like the old remote was defective, and causing the TV to turn on.

If anyone is having this problem, I suggest you take the batteries out of your remote, when your TV is off, for a few days to see if your TV turns on by itself.

FYI, We noticed the new batteries we put in the old remote ran down in just a few days, possibly due to a stuck button or internal damage, making the remote send a signal that turned on our Samsung TV.

[peg4]

Could be your remote. See my post. We had to remove the remotes batteries at night.

[ComcastMartin]

Hey!, peg4. That is great to hear! I am glad getting a new remote resolved your issue. Thank you so much for being a valued Comcast customer and for posting to our forums. Your post will help other customers who are in the same position that you were. Score! 

[peg4]

Unfortunately, after 7 days since receiving the new remote our TV turned on again, by itself, tonight. Any suggestions on what to do now?

[RobertWy]

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@peg4 wrote:
Unfortunately, after 7 days since receiving the new remote our TV turned on again, by itself, tonight. Any suggestions on what to do now?

---

Weird.  Does your TV have any kind of timer?  Or maybe a power strip with a timer?

[Redbook]

It's not the remote. Check out the work around that I posted about changing the input source on your TV to a non HDMI source before you turn the TV off. I did this well over a month ago and haven't had the TV turn on by itself since.

[CCKenF]

peg4 sorry to hear the TV turned back on again. Have you swapped out the HDMI cords by chance? 

[peg4]

No timer. We have both the TV and Xfinity DVR plugged directly into the wall. Still testing if remote is the issue, by removing batteries when TV is off.

[peg4]

We had two remotes in the room, 1 is new. We removed the batteries from the older remote yesterday, and the TV turned on again tonight. When the TV is off, we will remove the batteries from both remotes. Waiting to see if TV still comes on.

No, we have not swapped out any HDMI cables. Wouldn't using coax cables reduce the quality of the TV? Both the TV and the DVR are plugged directly into the wall.

[ComcastMartin]

Peg4, 

Thank you so much for trying.

Did the remotes without the batteries still have the tv come on? 

[peg4]

Updated: December 15, 2019

Our 65" Samsung TV (with Xfinity as the Cable and Internet provider) was purchased in 2014, with no issues until the last 8+ months. Issue: The TV turns on by itself. This Samsung TV is connected to the main DVR, we have the Xfinity X1 platform, cable TV and Internet. (Note: We have a total of 3 Samsung TV's, 2 are older models, and do NOT turn on, they are not connected to the main Xfinity DVR.

List of what we have tried to remedy this problem...
• Replaced remote batteries
• Replaced remote with a new X1 remote.
• Before turning off the TV, at night, we make sure the last 2 or 3 viewed channels are on "LIVE" viewing.
• Removed batteries from remote at night, when done watching. (Usually the TV turned on no more than 1 hour after turning off the TV.) Sometimes this happened multiple times a night. Many times we noticed there was a scheduled program recording that recently ended ... but not always.
• Disconnected Sony DVD player from TV and Xfinity DVR. No other devices are connected to the TV except a Samsung sound bar.
• We turned off the internet connection to our TV.
• Turned "OFF" all HDMI (Any-Net) settings in TV. (see image)
• Removed the batteries from the remote. (This seemed to help for a while, or maybe it was just a coincidence.)
• We turned off ,TV settings for automatic Software Updates.

•••• Currently trying this...
Disconnecting the HDMI cables from the Xfinity DVR at night. Note: Tonight we turned off the TV, and immediately disconnected the HDMI cable and the TV turned itself back with the message... "No HDMI Connection". This happened twice. So we turned off the TV, and then waited atleast 30 seconds before disconnecting the HDMI cables from the Xfinity DVR. The TV did NOT turn back on that time. (I'll post an update on this possible [annoying] fix.

Does anyone have any other suggestions to try?

Note: We do not know if this is an Xfinity issue or Samsung issue, or a combination. Others have posted that their (NON Samsung) TV turns on by itself. So it has to be a feature (bug) that these TVs share, or possibly an HDMI cable issue... or Xfinity cpuld possibly be triggering the issue (bug) with their software for the X1 platform.

[peg4]

Removing the batteries from the remote no longer working.

[ComcastMartin]

Hi there, peg4!

I wanted to reach out and touch base.

Any update? 

[peg4]

Update, 9/10/19
Suddenly the TV is turning back on again about 4 times over the last week.

Here is my 2 guesses., as to why after months of no issues, the TV has started turning on again.
(1) TV shows that we have scheduled to record, were not recording over the summer. Niw with the new FALL season beginning, those shows are now recording again. The TV comes on, between 10 to 11 pm EST.
(2) Xfinity did another software update, related to the remote functions. We previously determined the Xfinity remote was causing the TV to turn on. We got a new remote, new batteries, but the TV still came on. Then we removed the batteries each evening, and the TV did not come on. And the season ended over the summer.

Anyone with Comcast/ Xfinity figure out why this is happening? Read my previous posts for more details. This is really frustrating. Thanks for any help!

[lesmikesell]

Does the TV setup menu have an option like 'HDMI CEC' or 'HDMI Control'?   Turning those off might help.   Also, some smart TVs have options to let phone or computer apps power the TV on or off over the network or wifi connection.

[newtvheadaches]

Hi all - wanted to jump into this conversation as we are expereiencing the same thing with a brand new Vizio 75 inch Quantum P series. We use a new 4k xfinity cable box. TV is a month old, they came and replaced the motherboard and still the TV turned on by itself. I have made sure that nothing at ALL was plugged into the TV and it still turns on. They sent me a BRAND NEW TV and the issue is still occuring! I am at a loss - close to returning the VIZIO but something is telling me it is NOT the TV. I have NOT tried the remote trick that Peg has but I will tonight and see if the problem continues. 

[RobertWy]

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@newtvheadaches wrote:

Hi all - wanted to jump into this conversation as we are expereiencing the same thing with a brand new Vizio 75 inch Quantum P series. We use a new 4k xfinity cable box. TV is a month old, they came and replaced the motherboard and still the TV turned on by itself. I have made sure that nothing at ALL was plugged into the TV and it still turns on. They sent me a BRAND NEW TV and the issue is still occuring! I am at a loss - close to returning the VIZIO but something is telling me it is NOT the TV. I have NOT tried the remote trick that Peg has but I will tonight and see if the problem continues. 

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Have you tried the various TV HDMI ports - each for a day or two? 

Have you tried toggling CEC on the TV?

[Redbook]

There's no doubt that the problem is caused by a signal from your Xfinity box via the HDMI cable to your Vizio. Comcast has no idea what the problem is. The solution that I mentioned before is to change the TV input source to a input source that is not the one connected to the box before you shut the TV off. This effectively cuts the electronic connection between the box and the TV. When you turn the TV on again just change the input source back.

[Bill173895]

@newtvheadaches 

Well, I guess I am glad I am not the only one.  New 65" Visio quantum P here and the dang thing turns on 3+ times a night. 

Yes, CEC is disabled.

I will try switching the input over to component when turning off. But I will say that I am not happy that I have to do that. Especially since this Visio has some kind of lag when switching inputs. (yeah, I know, first world problems...)

[Redbook]

It's clearly a Comcast problem that they're not dealing with since there are problems across several tv manufacturers. Let me know if the input workaround keeps the tv from turning on.

[DrewMozingo]

It is an Xfinity issue.....it happened to me tonight. I replaced my four port type 3 modem yesterday with the newest type 6. Hooked it up and it started last night, I turn off the TV (Visio) and within one minute it's back on. Walked through all the suggested fixes with the same results.

Then I disconnected the Cat 5 from the back of the modem that connects to the TV. The power stays off now. Some command in the modem is constantly sending a turn on signal through the Ethernet cable.
I'll trouble shoot with Xfinity tomorrow.

[CCAndrew]

How would an Ethernet line affect your tv? It has nothing to do with tv power

[lesmikesell]

Many TVs can be powered on by network commands: Alexa, Google assistant, connecting to the built-in Chromecast or other similar actions.  It's not something the modem would do by itself but maybe the neighbors are pranking you or connecting to the wrong tv by mistake.

[BennerD]

We have a similar problem with a Vizio TV except it is usually the opposite -- our TV will turn OFF occasionally while we're watching cable TV in the evening.  It NEVER happens while watching through any other HDMI input (e.g. AppleTV).  Sometimes the TV remains responsive and we can switch through other inputs with the TV remote, other times the TV is completely unresponsive for several minutes.  In rare cases I've had to unplug everything to reset.

Could this problem be related to the same (possible) malfunction of the primary Xfinity TV box?

Thanks.  Dale

BTW, it's rare, but I have gotten up early in the a.m. on more than one occasion to find the TV on.  Again, not sure it's related but the entire experience is frustrating.  Thanks again.

[lesmikesell]

You can try turning off HDMI control (CEC) on the TV, and it may have a menu option to allow network commands to control the power.    Also, I think someone posted here that their remote control was causing it.   They pulled the batteries at night to establish that it was causing it, then got a replacement.

[peg4]

December15, 2019,
Removing batteries from the remote is no longer working.

Updated: December 15, 2019

Our 65" Samsung TV (with Xfinity as the Cable and Internet provider) was purchased in 2014, with no issues until the last 8+ months. Issue: The TV turns on by itself. This Samsung TV is connected to the main DVR, we have the Xfinity X1 platform, cable TV and Internet. (Note: We have a total of 3 Samsung TV's, 2 are older models, and do NOT turn on, they are not connected to the main Xfinity DVR.

List of what we have tried to remedy this problem...
• Replaced remote batteries
• Replaced remote with a new X1 remote.
• Before turning off the TV, at night, we make sure the last 2 or 3 viewed channels are on "LIVE" viewing.
• Removed batteries from remote at night, when done watching. (Usually the TV turned on no more than 1 hour after turning off the TV.) Sometimes this happened multiple times a night. Many times we noticed there was a scheduled program recording that recently ended ... but not always.
• Disconnected Sony DVD player from TV and Xfinity DVR. No other devices are connected to the TV except a Samsung sound bar.
• We turned off the internet connection to our TV.
• Turned "OFF" all HDMI (Any-Net) settings in TV. (see image)
• Removed the batteries from the remote. (This seemed to help for a while, or maybe it was just a coincidence.)
• We turned off ,TV settings for automatic Software Updates.

•••• Currently trying this...
Disconnecting the HDMI cables from the Xfinity DVR at night. Note: Tonight we turned off the TV, and immediately disconnected the HDMI cable and the TV turned itself back with the message... "No HDMI Connection". This happened twice. So we turned off the TV, and then waited atleast 30 seconds before disconnecting the HDMI cables from the Xfinity DVR. The TV did NOT turn back on that time. (I'll post an update on this possible [annoying] fix.

Does anyone have any other suggestions to try?

Note: We do not know if this is an Xfinity issue or Samsung issue, or a combination. Others have posted that their (NON Samsung) TV turns on by itself. So it has to be a feature (bug) that these TVs share, or possibly an HDMI cable issue... or Xfinity cpuld possibly be triggering the issue (bug) with their software for the X1 platform.

Peg4

[Rustyben]

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@peg4 wrote:
Try removing the batteries from your Xfinity remote, when not using the TV at night. If it no longer turns on when the batteries are out, then you're having the same issue I am with my 6 year old Samsung TV turning on randomly. We have Xfinity X1 DVR Platform, with an Xfinity newer dual band Modem. Unfortunately, we do not know of another solution, as only removing the batteries from our X1 Xfinity remote as worked.

Please anyone reading this, let me know if you determine the cause of this issue.

Thank you
Peg4

---

if removing the batteries fixed the problem then the remote is the problem. replacement is free at your local xfinity store. since TV is controlled by IR, then you could test more by putting the remote into a cardboard shoebox etc so the TV can't see the remote's LED.

[Jrblanton]

We have the same problem with Vizion M series, recieved a new TV but it's still turning on..turned CEC off..so frustrating 

[peg4]

Here is what we have tried so far, as of December 15 2019.

Samsung TV LED65 7100 series, and a Samsung Sound bar. Connected to Xfinity X1 Platform.

List of what we have tried to remedy this problem...
• Replaced remote batteries
• Replaced remote with a new X1 remote.
• Before turning off the TV, at night, we make sure the last 2 or 3 viewed channels are on "LIVE" viewing.
• Removed batteries from remote at night, when done watching. (Usually the TV turned on no more than 1 hour after turning off the TV.) Sometimes this happened multiple times a night. Many times we noticed there was a scheduled program recording that recently ended ... but not always. Not sure its relevant.
• Disconnected Sony DVD player from TV and Xfinity DVR. No other devices are connected to the TV except a Samsung sound bar.
• We turned off the internet connection to our TV.
• Turned "OFF" all HDMI (Any-Net) settings in TV. (see image)
• Removed the batteries from the remote. (This seemed to help for a while, or maybe it was just a coincidence.)
• We turned off ,TV settings for automatic Software Updates.

•••• Currently trying this...
Disconnecting the HDMI cables from the Xfinity DVR at night. Note: Tonight we turned off the TV, and immediately disconnected the HDMI cable and the TV turned itself back with the message... "No HDMI Connection". This happened twice. So we turned off the TV, and then waited atleast 30 seconds before disconnecting the HDMI cables from the Xfinity DVR. The TV did NOT turn back on that time. (I'll post an update on this possible [annoying] fix.

Thanjs for your help.

[fedup978]

I did a quick search on the Internet and it appears that many models of Samsung smart TV's have been having the same issue.  Have you contacted Samsung as some of the issue have been reportedly fixed by firmware upgrades.  You might want to check with Samsung support group to see what they have to say, if you have not already done so.

[tommase]

I have the same problem that the TVi s turning on randomly.  I put new batteris in my remote a few days ago and am already getting a notice that the batteries need replacement.  Your  comment that new batteries in the old remote did not last long is very helpful and indicates my remote needs to be replaced.  

[adykish]

Two nights ago I changed out my modem for the new Xfinity modem that is tall and only 1 light up top.   Then the issues started last night on my Samsung tv and Vizio tv.   Woke up and the Samsung was on.   Was watching the Vizio shut it off and turned back on every few minutes....I finally shut the box off.  I have the simple Xfinity cable/dvd main box that will record 9 hrs only and then the secondary box on my Vizio.     

Therefore, it cannot be the remotes.   

I am not going to be switching things around when I am half asleep and "assume" the remote will take care of it.

Help

[Tripleshot_]

This issue has been driving me crazy also. For those of you with a Vizio TV — we found a tv setting that seemed to fix the issue.
Go to Menu > System > Power Mode > changed this from Eco Mode to “Quick Start”. Since changing it to Quick Start earlier today, the TV hasn’t switched back on.

[SL999]

My Vizio started turning on over the weekend so I’m going to try a few of these suggestions to see if it works.