How to Retune Your TV: Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, Hisense and TCL

On almost every UK television the retune lives under Settings, then Broadcasting or Channels, then Auto Tuning or Channel Scan, with the source set to Aerial or Antenna rather than Cable. Choose Digital only where offered, let it run to completion without interrupting it, and save when prompted. If channels are still missing afterwards, the more thorough option is a first-time-installation reset, which clears the stored channel list completely before rescanning — this fixes duplicated and out-of-order channels that an ordinary retune leaves in place.

Before you retune: should you?

Retuning is the standard first move, and it is occasionally the wrong one. Skip it and read why won’t my TV aerial work instead if:

The weather is settled and sunny and channels have vanished. This is the signature of co-channel interference from atmospheric ducting. Retuning during an episode can delete channels that are perfectly fine, or store the wrong transmitter’s services. Wait for the weather to change.
Everything has gone, on every channel. That’s an aerial, cable or connector fault. Retuning an aerial that isn’t receiving anything just stores an empty list.
You only lost channels after a storm. Check for physical damage first.

Retuning is the right move when Freeview has announced changes in your area, when you’ve moved the TV or changed aerial, when the EPG has gone out of order, or when a specific group of channels has disappeared for no obvious reason.

The universal method

The wording varies by brand but the sequence doesn’t:

Make sure the aerial is properly plugged in and the TV is on the TV / Live TV source, not HDMI.
Settings → Broadcasting / Channels / Reception.
Set Aerial, Antenna or Terrestrial — not Cable, not Satellite. Choosing Cable is the single most common retuning mistake in the UK, and it finds nothing.
Auto Tuning / Channel Scan / Retune.
Choose Digital only, if offered a choice of digital and analogue. Analogue scanning wastes several minutes finding nothing; UK analogue TV ended in 2012.
Let it run. It typically takes 3–10 minutes. Do not interrupt it.
Save when prompted.

By brand

Samsung — Settings → Broadcasting → Auto Tuning → Start. Set Aerial Type to Terrestrial first. On newer Tizen sets: Settings → All Settings → Broadcasting → Auto Tuning.

LG — Settings (gear) → All Settings → Channels → Channel Tuning → Auto Tuning. Select Antenna as the source. LG asks whether to include cable channels; decline.

Sony (Android/Google TV) — Settings → Watching TV → Channels → Channel Setup → Digital Setup → Digital Auto Tuning. Older Bravia sets: Settings → Digital Setup → Digital Tuning → Auto Tuning.

Panasonic — Menu → Setup → Tuning Menu (DVB-T) → Auto Setup. Panasonic’s Add TV Signal option adds new channels without wiping the list, which is useful when you want to keep your favourites.

Hisense (VIDAA) — Settings → Channel → Auto Scan → Antenna → Digital. Some models put it under Settings → Channel Setup.

TCL (Roku/Google TV) — Roku models: Settings → TV Inputs → Antenna TV → Scan Again for Channels. Google TV models: Settings → Channels & Inputs → Channels → Channel Scan.

Philips — Settings → All Settings → Channels → Channel Installation → Antenna/Cable Installation → Search for Channels.

Toshiba, Bush, Logik, JVC and other own-brand sets — most are built on shared platforms, so try Menu → Setup → Auto Tune, or Settings → Channel → Auto Scan.

Humax, Manhattan, Sky and other set-top boxes — retune from the box’s own menu (usually Settings → Installation → Retune or Channel Search), not the TV’s. If you watch through a box, the TV’s tuner is not being used at all, and retuning the TV changes nothing.

Freeview recorders — retune the recorder. Check afterwards that your scheduled recordings survived; a full retune can break series links.

When automatic isn’t enough: manual tuning

Automatic tuning sweeps the whole band and stores the strongest version of each service it finds. That’s usually right and occasionally wrong — in overlap areas it can lock onto a distant or weaker transmitter and store its services instead of your local one.

Manual tuning lets you specify exactly which UHF channel numbers to scan, so the TV only stores services from the transmitter you intend. To do it you need to know which transmitter serves you and which UHF channels it uses for each multiplex — both available on our transmitter directory and via the postcode checker.

The menu path is generally the same as automatic tuning, choosing Manual Tuning instead. Enter each UHF channel number in turn, wait for the strength and quality bars to settle, and store. Repeat for all six multiplexes on a main transmitter, or three on a relay.

Manual tuning is also the best diagnostic tool a householder has, because it shows strength and quality per multiplex while you’re doing it. Those figures are what an engineer actually wants to hear — our guide to checking signal strength explains how to read them.

The nuclear option: first-time installation

An ordinary retune adds to and updates the existing channel list. It does not always remove stale entries, which is why people end up with duplicated channels, channels in the 800s, or an EPG that’s out of order.

The fix is a first-time installation (also called Factory reset of channels, Reinstall TV or Initial setup), which wipes the stored list entirely and starts clean. It’s usually under Settings → System → Reset, or Settings → Channels → Reinstall.

Two warnings. It erases your favourites and channel ordering, so you’ll rebuild those afterwards. And on some sets the only route to it is a full factory reset that also clears your app logins and picture settings — check which one you’re triggering before you confirm.

If you’re doing this because channels went missing, read Freeview channels missing after a retune first; there’s a specific recovery sequence there that’s worth following in order.

After retuning: what to check

Channel 1 is BBC One. If it isn’t, or if your regional BBC/ITV news is from the wrong region, the TV has tuned to the wrong transmitter. Manual tuning is the fix.
Count your multiplexes. All six present means you’re on a main transmitter and the system is healthy. Only three means you’re on a relay — that’s normal for around a tenth of UK households and no amount of retuning adds the commercial channels. See multiplexes explained.
Check the HD channels (101, 102, 103…). Missing HD on a TV that should support it points at the BBC B multiplex specifically, or a receiver that predates DVB-T2.
Re-check scheduled recordings on any recorder.

If retuning doesn’t fix it

At that point the problem is in the aerial system, not the television, and the honest sequence is:

Check the aerial lead is undamaged and properly seated at both ends.
Try a different TV on the same wall socket, and the same TV on a different socket. This isolates TV from cable in one step.
Look at the aerial from the ground for anything obviously loose or hanging — but don’t go up.
Ask a neighbour whether they’ve lost the same channels. Whole-street problems are transmitter or atmospheric, not yours.
Note the per-multiplex strength and quality figures before calling anyone.

If you’ve retuned properly, tried manual tuning and still can’t get what your transmitter is broadcasting, the fault is upstream of the television. Send us your postcode with the per-multiplex figures if you have them, and we’ll route your enquiry to the vetted installer covering your area — retuning is free and we’d always rather you tried it first.