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Samsung TV via ExLink

The Samsung TV via ExLink integrationIntegrations connect and integrate Home Assistant with your devices, services, and more. [Learn more] lets you control Samsung consumer TVs by connecting to their RS-232 serial port, which Samsung markets as ExLink (also written EX-Link or EXT Link). By connecting the TV to your Home Assistant server using a serial cable, an ESPHome-based serial proxy, or a USB-to-serial adapter, you get local control of the TV.

Controlling a TV over ExLink is more reliable and responsive than using the TV’s network or IR interfaces. It also allows you to control TVs that do not have smart features or network connectivity.

This integration speaks the serial control protocol only; it does not use the TV’s network or Wi-Fi APIs. For network control, use the Samsung Smart TV integration instead.

Supported devices

The following devices have been tested with the integration:

Samsung The Frame (LS03B, 2022)

In general, Samsung consumer TVs (The Frame, Q-series, 8000-series, and similar) that expose an ExLink control port are supported.

Samsung TVs expose ExLink in one of two ways:

A native 3.5 mm ExLink jack, found on higher-end sets (Q70 and above). Plug in and go.
A USB port together with the proprietary Samsung USB-to-ExLink dongle, used on the 8000 and Q60 series.

Unsupported devices

Samsung TVs that do not have an ExLink jack and do not support the Samsung USB-to-ExLink dongle.
Samsung commercial displays that use the MDC protocol rather than ExLink.

Prerequisites

A physical serial connection between your TV and the system running Home Assistant. This can be a direct serial cable into the ExLink jack, the Samsung USB-to-ExLink dongle, or an ESPHome-based serial proxy. Serial settings are 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit (8N1).
On TVs that use the USB-to-ExLink dongle, EXT Link Support and USB Serial must be enabled in the TV’s hidden service menu. To open it, with the TV off, press Mute → 1 → 8 → 2 → Power on the IR remote. The exact location of these settings varies by model, so consult your TV’s documentation.

Configuration

To add the Samsung TV via ExLink device to your Home Assistant instance, use this My button:

Manual configuration steps

If the above My button doesn’t work, you can also perform the following steps manually:

Browse to your Home Assistant instance.
Go to Settings > Devices & services.
In the bottom right corner, select the Add Integration button.
From the list, select Samsung TV via ExLink.
Follow the instructions on screen to complete the setup.

Serial port

The serial port the TV is connected to. This can be a local device path or a remote serial proxy URL. For example, /dev/ttyUSB0 (USB adapter) or esphome://esphome-device.local/?port_name=uart (ESPHome serial proxy).

TV generation

Optional. Select your TV’s generation so Home Assistant can translate the active input back into a named source (for example, HDMI 1). Samsung encodes this read-back value differently per generation. Leave it empty if your model is not listed; you can still switch sources, but the currently active input is then tracked only from the commands Home Assistant sends.

Supported functionality

The integration adds a single media player entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] for the TV.

Media player

For supported TVs, you can use Home Assistant to:

Turn the TV on and off.
Change the volume and step it up or down.
Mute and unmute the TV.
Select the input source.

Data updates

Samsung TVs do not report changes on their own over ExLink, so Home Assistant pollsData polling is the process of querying a device or service at regular intervals to check for updates or retrieve data. By defining a custom polling interval, you can control how frequently your system checks for new data, which can help optimize performance and reduce unnecessary network traffic. [Learn more] the TV every 5 seconds for its power state, volume, mute state, and input source.

While the TV is in standby it does not answer status queries. This is treated as the TV being off (not unavailable), and the volume, mute, and input source controls are only offered once the TV is on.

The active input source is only read back from the TV when a TV generation is selected during setup. Without it, the source shown reflects the last input Home Assistant selected, and changes made with the TV’s own remote are not detected.

Automation examples

The real power of this integration is tying the TV into the rest of your home.

Tip

You don’t need to edit YAML to use these examples. Copy a YAML snippet from this page, open the automation editor in Home Assistant, and press Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V on Mac). Home Assistant automatically converts the pasted YAML into the visual editor format, whether it’s a full automation, a single trigger, a condition, or an action.

Turn the TV off when everyone leaves home

automation:
  - alias: "Turn off the living room TV when away"
    triggers:
      - trigger: state
        entity_id: zone.home
        to: "0"
    actions:
      - action: media_player.turn_off
        target:
          entity_id: media_player.samsung_tv

Switch to the HDMI input when starting movie night

automation:
  - alias: "Movie night switches the TV to HDMI 1"
    triggers:
      - trigger: state
        entity_id: input_boolean.movie_night
        to: "on"
    actions:
      - action: media_player.turn_on
        target:
          entity_id: media_player.samsung_tv
      - action: media_player.select_source
        target:
          entity_id: media_player.samsung_tv
        data:
          source: "HDMI 1"

Known limitations

While the TV is in standby, it only accepts the power-on command. The volume, mute, and input source controls are hidden until the TV is on.
Reading back the active input source requires selecting a known TV generation during setup. Without it, the input shown reflects only what Home Assistant last selected.
Different Samsung generations encode the source read-back value differently. If your model is not in the list of known generations, the active input cannot be named automatically.
Some TVs and firmware do not answer status queries at all. On those sets, the power state and other attributes are tracked only from the commands Home Assistant sends.

Troubleshooting

Can’t set up the device

Symptom: “Failed to connect”

When trying to set up the integration, the form shows the message “Failed to connect”.

Description

Home Assistant could not communicate with the TV over the serial port.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, try the following steps:

On TVs that use the USB-to-ExLink dongle, make sure EXT Link Support and USB Serial are enabled in the TV’s service menu (to open it, with the TV off, press Mute → 1 → 8 → 2 → Power).
Verify the cable is connected to the TV’s 3.5 mm ExLink jack (or the Samsung USB-to-ExLink dongle) and is fully seated.
Confirm the correct serial port was selected, and that no other software is using it.

The TV becomes unavailable

If the serial connection is lost, the entity becomes unavailable and Home Assistant automatically reconnects. Check the cable and, for network serial proxies, the network connection between Home Assistant and the proxy.

Note that a TV in standby is shown as off, not unavailable. The entity only becomes unavailable when the serial connection itself drops.

Removing the integration

This integration follows standard integration removal. No extra steps are required.

To remove an integration instance from Home Assistant

Go to Settings > Devices & services and select the integration card.
From the list of devices, select the integration instance you want to remove.
Next to the entry, select the three dots menu. Then, select Delete.

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