Turn Game Mode on or off on a Samsung TV (including Auto)

What Game Mode does, and its three settings

Samsung’s Game Mode sets the TV up for playing games from a console or PC. It only works on an external input such as HDMI, not for normal TV viewing. Depending on your TV, it has up to three settings:

• Auto: Samsung says Game Mode is set to Auto when you connect a games console such as a PlayStation or Xbox, so you don’t have to turn it on yourself for those consoles. If you’re looking for “Auto Game Mode”, this is it: Samsung’s menus show it as the Auto value of Game Mode. It’s described in the 2021 and newer manuals.
• On: use this for a game source that doesn’t trigger Auto, such as a PC.
• Off: turns it off. Samsung says to set it to Off before you plug a different device, such as a streaming stick, into the port the console used.

The 2017–2020 manuals describe Game Mode simply as on or off, without Auto.

Turn it on or off quickly

Switch to the console’s HDMI input first. Samsung says the Game Mode quick setting is only available while an external input is in use.

1. Open the quick settings:
   • 2017–2021 TVs: press Home and move to Settings. The quick settings appear above it; press the up directional button to reach them.
   • 2022 TVs: press Home, select Menu, then move to Settings. Press the down directional button to reach the quick settings.
   • 2023–2026 TVs: press Home, press the left directional button, then move to Settings. The quick settings appear below the menu.
2. Highlight Game Mode and press Select to turn it on or off.

Most 2018–2024 manuals (not the budget 2020 T-series one) also let you jump to the full Game Mode Settings from here: highlight Game Mode, press the up directional button (2018–2021) or the down directional button (2022–2024), and select Go to Game Mode Settings. The 2017 M-series manual has no Game Mode quick setting, so use the full menu below.

Find Game Mode in the full menu

Use the full menu to choose Auto, On or Off, or if Game Mode isn’t in your quick settings. Find the row that matches how your TV’s menu looks:

Your TV’s menu	Where Game Mode is
Settings on the Home screen leads straight to General (2017–2021 TVs: M, N, R, T and A series)	Home → Settings → General → External Device Manager → Game Mode Settings → Game Mode
Home shows a Menu item (2022 B-series TVs)	Home → Menu → Settings → All Settings → Connection → Game Mode Settings → Game Mode
Left directional button opens the menu, and All Settings has no Advanced Features	Home → left directional button → Settings → All Settings → Connection → Game Mode Settings → Game Mode
Left directional button opens the menu, and All Settings has Advanced Features	Home → left directional button → Settings → All Settings → Advanced Features → Game Mode Settings → Game Mode

If there’s no Game Mode Settings step, Game Mode is directly in the menu before it. The 2017 M-series, small 2018 N-series and budget 2020 T-series manuals put it straight under External Device Manager, and the UK manuals for B-series TVs and some small and budget models show both versions, saying the path depends on the model and region.

The third layout is in Samsung’s US manuals for 2023 and 2024 TVs and the UK manual for some small and budget models (such as the UE32H5000F). The fourth is in the UK manuals for C-, D-, F- and H-series TVs and the US manuals for 2025–2026. C-series TVs appear in both.

What changes when Game Mode is on

• Picture Mode and Sound Mode switch to Game automatically. Samsung says Sound Mode may not switch, depending on the audio device chosen in Sound Output.
• Some other functions aren’t available. For example, Motion Lighting, an energy-saving brightness feature, is unavailable in Game Mode on 2021 and newer TVs.
• Samsung warns the screen “may shake somewhat”.
• From the 2021 manuals onward, pressing and holding Play/Pause on the Samsung Smart Remote for at least 1 second in Game Mode opens the Game Bar, on models that have it. The UK manuals for C-, D-, F- and H-series TVs add Autorun Game Bar under Game Mode Settings, to choose whether the Game Bar opens by itself when Game Mode turns on or you switch input.

For motion smoothing in games (Game Motion Plus, Blur Reduction and Judder Reduction), see Samsung’s Picture Clarity setting. Those options are also in Game Mode Settings.

If Game Mode is greyed out or missing

• You’re watching TV channels or an app: Game Mode isn’t available for normal TV viewing. Switch to the HDMI input your console or PC uses first; see Change the input on a Samsung TV.
• It’s not in quick settings: use the full menu path above. The 2017 M-series manual has no quick setting for it.
• It’s not in the menu either: Samsung says Game Mode may not be supported depending on the model or region.

If Game Mode keeps turning on

On 2021 and newer TVs, Game Mode is set to Auto when you connect a console, so it switches on whenever that console’s input is in use. Samsung’s documented way to stop it is to set Game Mode to Off in the full menu. If you’re moving the console’s port to another device, Samsung’s order is: disconnect the console, set Game Mode to Off, then connect the other device.

Samsung doesn’t say whether Off stays in place after you reconnect a console, so check the setting again if Game Mode comes back.

If the picture from the console is missing or wrong

Game Mode doesn’t fix a blank screen, Mode Not Supported or missing HDR. For those, see Samsung TV no picture from HDMI.

Common questions

Is Game Mode the same as Auto Game Mode?

In Samsung’s manuals there’s one Game Mode setting, and Auto is one of its values. Samsung says Game Mode is set to Auto when you connect a console such as a PlayStation or Xbox; for another game source, such as a PC, you set it to On yourself.

Why did my picture settings change when I started a game?

Turning on Game Mode switches Picture Mode to Game. Turn Game Mode off to go back to your usual picture mode.