Troubleshooting
TV keeps scrolling by itself? Why it happens and how to stop it
Nefarius Apps13 min read
A TV that keeps scrolling by itself usually gets the same button press again and again. A common cause is a stuck or dirty button on a remote. Samsung says: "If it seems like it's pressing buttons by itself, your remote's buttons may actually be dirty." To test, remove the batteries from every remote in the room. If the scrolling stops, the cause is a remote. If it continues, check the buttons on the TV itself. A power button or control stick on the TV that is caught can open the input list and move through it. An HDMI device or a phone app on your Wi-Fi can also send commands to the TV.
Why does a TV scroll by itself?
When you hold an arrow button on a remote, the highlight keeps moving. A stuck remote button does the same, but nobody touches it. The highlight moves in one direction, a list moves to the next item, or the channel changes one step at a time. A button on the TV that is caught, or that makes contact on and off, can also send presses that nobody made.
What scrolls tells you which button to look for. The table gives the probable button for each case.
| What you see | Probable cause | Section to read |
|---|---|---|
| The highlight moves in one direction in menus or on the home screen | An arrow button on a remote, or the control stick on the TV | Steps 1 and 2, then step 3 |
| The input list opens and moves from input to input | The power button or control stick on the TV | Step 3 |
| The channel changes one step at a time | A Channel button on a remote or on the TV | Steps 1 and 2, then step 3 |
| The volume bar goes up while the menu moves | The control stick on the TV, or a Volume button | Step 3 |
| The input changes when another device turns on | An HDMI device that sends commands | Step 4 |
Step 1: Take the batteries out of every remote
This test tells you if the cause is a remote or the TV.
- If you have a phone remote app, connect it to the TV first. You can then use the TV during the test.
- Find every remote that can control the TV. Include the remotes of a streaming device, a cable box, a soundbar and a universal remote.
- Remove the batteries from all of them. If you cannot remove the batteries, put the remote in another room. For a Samsung solar remote, Samsung also says to let it charge for some time.
- Watch the TV for some minutes.
- If the scrolling stops, put the batteries back in one remote. If the scrolling starts again, that remote is the cause. Do this for each remote.
Include the remotes of other TVs in the house. A remote for another TV of the same brand can control your TV too. Our guide to one remote that controls two TVs explains why. Other infrared devices can also send commands. For a TV whose volume changes by itself, Sony says to remove any other infrared devices from the room.
If the TV still scrolls with no batteries in any remote, the remotes are not the cause. Go to step 3.
Step 2: Fix a stuck or dirty remote button
When you find the remote, look at the buttons that match what scrolls: the arrows and OK, Channel, or Volume. Press each one and release it. A good button moves back up at once. A button that stays down or does not move freely is the probable cause. Dirt under a button can make it stick.
Then reset the remote. The steps depend on the brand:
- Samsung remote with batteries: Samsung says to remove the batteries and hold the Power button for 8 seconds. Then put the batteries back in.
- Samsung solar remote (TVs from 2021 and later): hold Return and Enter (the center of the navigation pad) for 10 seconds. Then pair the remote with the TV again.
- LG Magic Remote: LG says to hold Back and Settings together for at least 5 seconds. The remote disconnects from the TV. Then point it at the TV and press the wheel (OK) to pair it again.
Put new batteries in the remote and test it again. Samsung says that if the problem starts again with new batteries, the remote needs replacement. Use a replacement remote made for your TV model.
Step 3: Check the buttons on the TV itself
A TV has a few buttons, or a small control stick, on the back or under the bottom edge. These buttons can stick too. On many TVs, one button does more than one job. A short press opens a menu or a list, and the next press moves to the next item. Thus a TV button that is caught can open the input list and move through the inputs.
Roku TVs (TCL, Hisense, onn and others)
Roku's user guide for Roku TVs says that the button design depends on the model. It gives these functions:
| Button design | What a press does |
|---|---|
| Single button | When the TV is on, a short press shows the Input List. Each next short press selects the next input. A long press turns off the TV. |
| Three buttons | A short press on the middle button shows the Input List. The left and right buttons change the volume, or move through the list when it shows. |
| Joystick | Press in for on and standby. Up and down change the volume. Left and right switch inputs, one item for each press. |
| Four buttons | Each press on Input moves down one item in the input list. |
On a single-button Roku TV, short presses move through the inputs and a long press turns off the TV. Thus a Roku TV that scrolls through its inputs, or turns off by itself, can have a panel button that is caught. In a Reddit thread from 2023, the owner of a Roku TV said that the TV scrolled through menus and turned on and off, with no batteries in the remote and after a factory reset. A reply said that when a Roku TV scrolls through the input menu, the power button on the TV is stuck down. The edge of the button can catch on the plastic around it, and pressing or moving it with a finger usually releases it. This is a user report, not a statement from Roku.
LG TVs
Many LG TVs have a button that LG calls the jog button. LG says that there are two types. Type A only presses. Type B also moves up, down, left and right. On type B, left and right change the volume, up and down open the channel list, and a press opens a menu with Change External Input.
A type B button that stays pushed to one side can scroll the screen and change the volume at the same time. In a 2020 Reddit thread, the owner of an LG OLED TV said that it was "like both the volume up button and the scroll right button are constantly pressed". The owner then found the joystick behind the TV and moved it once with the TV unplugged. After that, the problem stopped. This is also a user report.
Samsung TVs
Most Samsung TVs have a Controller button at the bottom center or bottom right of the TV. Samsung says that it is usually where the red light shows, that its shape and location depend on the model, and that a press opens the Control menu when the TV is on. On models with a jog controller, Samsung India says that you move the controller to change the channel and the volume. A press opens a menu that includes Source, which changes the input.
Some Samsung TVs have touch controls on the bezel. For a TV that changes the source or the volume by itself, Samsung gives these steps:
- With the TV on, disconnect it from the wall outlet. If the TV has a One Connect Box, disconnect that too.
- While the TV is disconnected, clean the touch controls on the bezel with a microfiber cloth.
- Connect the TV again, and turn it on with the controls on the TV.
- If the problem continues, request service from Samsung.
Other TVs
For all brands, do this check:
- Turn off the TV, and disconnect it from the wall outlet.
- Find the buttons or the control stick. Look at the back of the TV and under the bottom edge. The user manual shows where they are.
- Press each button and release it. Move a control stick in each direction, and press it in.
- Look for a button that stays down or is caught on the plastic around it. Do not use a sharp tool.
- Connect the TV again, and test it with no batteries in the remotes.
If a button on the TV stays stuck, do not open the TV. Contact the TV maker for service.
Step 4: Turn off HDMI-CEC for a test
HDMI-CEC lets devices on HDMI send commands to the TV. Samsung calls it Anynet+, and LG calls it SIMPLINK. Samsung says that when you start content on a connected device, the TV can turn on and change to the input of that device. LG says that a connected device can change the input of the TV even when the device is in standby.
These commands change the input. They do not usually move the highlight through a menu. But if the input changes when nobody uses the TV, do this test for one day:
- Samsung: open Settings, All Settings, Connection, External Device Manager, and turn off Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC). On older models, External Device Manager is under General.
- LG, 2021 and 2022 models: open Settings, All Settings, General, Devices, HDMI Settings, and turn off SIMPLINK (HDMI-CEC). On 2020 models, it is in Connection, Device Connection Settings. On 2019 models, it is in Connection, HDMI Device Settings. LG's HDMI-CEC guide gives these paths.
- Other TVs: look for HDMI-CEC, or the brand name of the feature, in the HDMI or external device settings.
If the problem stops, turn on HDMI-CEC again. Then disconnect the HDMI devices one at a time to find the device. For an LG TV, LG gives two more steps. Turn off Quick Start+, so that the TV turns off completely. Then delete the connection history in All Settings, General, External Devices.
Step 5: Check phone apps on your Wi-Fi
A phone remote app sends the same commands as a remote, over your Wi-Fi network. A person in your house can have a remote app that is connected to your TV. Ask each person to close their TV remote apps, and watch the TV again.
- A Samsung TV asks you to allow a phone app once, and keeps a list of the devices that you allowed. Our article on Samsung's allow-this-device prompt shows where to find that list and how to remove a device.
- Roku says that apps on the same wireless network can control a Roku TV if it permits commands over the network. The setting is in Home, Settings, System, Advanced system settings, External Control, Network access. If you select Disable, no app works with the TV.
If it still scrolls: restart, reset or service
If the TV scrolls with no batteries in any remote, no HDMI devices, no phone apps and no stuck buttons, the cause is probably in the TV.
- Disconnect the TV from the wall outlet, as in Samsung's steps above, and connect it again.
- Do a factory reset as the last step. Sony gives this step for a TV whose volume changes by itself. Google says that a factory reset erases all your data from the device, so try the other steps first.
- If the problem continues, contact the TV maker for service. Samsung and Sony both say to request service at this point.
A factory reset does not always help, so check the buttons on the TV first. The Roku TV owner in the Reddit thread above said that a reset did not stop the scrolling.
Use your iPhone as the remote while you test
Steps 1 and 2 leave you with no working remote for some time. A phone remote app lets you use the TV during that time, and it helps with the test: if the TV scrolls while you use only the app, the cause is not the remote.
Tivi, a universal TV remote app for iPhone from Nefarius Apps, finds the TVs on your Wi-Fi. It controls Samsung, LG, Android TV and Google TV sets and needs no account. Commands go from the phone to the TV on your local network, so Tivi works when the remotes in the room have no batteries. It has the arrows and OK, volume and mute, channel up and down, play and pause, home, back and menu.
Connect Tivi before you remove the batteries. On the first connection, a Samsung TV asks you to allow the phone, and you select Allow with the TV's remote. LG, Android TV and Google TV sets show a code that you type in Tivi. Our guide on how to use your iPhone as a TV remote gives the full steps.
Tivi has limits:
- The phone and the TV must be on the same Wi-Fi network.
- The free version gives the full remote on one TV.
- Tivi has no input button.
- Tivi finds Roku TVs but does not control them, and it does not control Apple TV.
If no remote works at all, read what to do without a TV remote.
The short version
A TV that scrolls by itself usually gets the same button press again and again. First, remove the batteries from every remote in the room. If the scrolling stops, find the remote with the stuck button, clean it, reset it or replace it.
If the TV still scrolls, check the buttons on the TV. On a Roku TV, a power button that is caught can open the input list and move through it. On an LG TV, a stuck jog button can scroll the screen and change the volume. On a Samsung TV, clean the touch controls while the TV is disconnected. Then turn off HDMI-CEC for a test, and close the phone remote apps in your house. If nothing helps, contact the TV maker for service.
Common questions
Why does my TV keep scrolling on its own?
Often because the TV gets the same button press again and again. It can come from a button on a remote or a button on the TV. Remove the batteries from every remote first. If the TV still scrolls, check the buttons and the control stick on the TV.
Why does my TV keep scrolling through inputs?
A button on the TV that is caught is a common cause. On many TVs, the same button opens the input list and moves to the next input. Roku's user guide says that on a Roku TV with a single button, each short press selects the next input. Press and release the TV's buttons to free a stuck one. If the TV changes to another input when a device turns on, the cause can be an HDMI device: turn off HDMI-CEC for a test.
Why does my Samsung TV keep scrolling?
Samsung says that a remote that seems to press buttons by itself may have dirty buttons. Remove the batteries, or let a solar remote charge. Then disconnect the TV while it is on, and clean the touch controls on the bezel. If the problem continues with no batteries in the remote, request service.
Is my TV broken if it scrolls by itself?
Not always. A stuck button on a remote or on the TV can cause it, and you can often free or replace it. If the TV scrolls with no remotes, no HDMI devices and no stuck buttons, contact the TV maker for service.
Sources
- Samsung. Samsung remote is not working.
- Samsung Australia. How to control your Samsung TV without a remote.
- Samsung India (2020). What is Jog Controller in Samsung TV's?
- Samsung Singapore (2023). Use Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) on your Samsung Smart TV.
- Roku (2018). Roku TV User Guide, version 8.2 for U.S. and Canada.
- Roku (2026). Can my Roku streaming device be controlled using an app?
- LG USA (2025). How to use the jog button.
- LG USA (2026). How to fix LG Magic Remote connection and voice recognition issues.
- LG USA (2026). How to enable HDMI-CEC.
- LG USA (2026). If Your LG TV Switches to an HDMI Input by Itself.
- Google. Fix problems with your Google TV device.
- Sony (2018). The TV sound raises to maximum or lowers to nothing on its own.
- Reddit r/Roku (2023). TV keeps scrolling through menus pressing buttons turn on and off.
- Reddit r/OLED (2020). LG OLED - Volume keeps increasing to 100 and scrolling.