How To Install Tv Wall Mount Swivel

How to mount a TV to the wall in eight easy steps

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Monkey Concern Images)

Learning how to wall mount a TV gives you lot the ability to make one of the biggest upgrades for your dwelling theater (outside of buying a new Television set or a fancy sound system). And we've already found the best TV mounts. Wall-mounting a TV comes with a number of benefits, from a cleaner aesthetic design, to better ergonomics for more enjoyable watching.

It's as well super affordable, with plenty of fantabulous mounting options selling for $100 or less. Whether yous have a simple tilting wall mountain or a fully articulated, dual-arm mount that provides a total range of motion and positions, the basics for installing that hardware are pretty much the same.

From the prep piece of work to the actual installation, here's how to wall mount a Telly, step past pace.

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What you'll need

Aside from having a Goggle box and a wall, yous'll need to accept a few things on mitt to properly mount your Goggle box.

Newspaper template (optional)
Pencil or masking tape
Tape measure
Stud finder
Level
Power drill with drill bit
Philips head or flathead screwdriver
TV mount
Included mounting hardware (screws, spacers, etc.)

Y'all'll as well want at least one other person to assist. Y'all'll need an extra pair of hands to assistance lift and position the TV, and possibly a second person to assist in getting the position simply correct.

Some notes on handling TVs

Take it from a guy who has personally unboxed and set up dozens and dozens of TVs – you need someone else to help you out. While smaller TVs can be handled by a single person, anything over l inches should be moved and lifted past ii people. Even if the weight is manageable for a single person to lift, the size and shape of the TV make information technology unwieldy, and intendance has to be taken to forbid damaging the display. Mounting a cleaved Goggle box volition take all the fun out of it.

When handling a TV, you'll want to accept extra care to protect the display panel. A large canvass of drinking glass or plastic will naturally have some flex to it, but the underlying display applied science usually doesn't. Even a piffling bit of unwanted flexing or pressure on a panel can damage a Telly beyond repair. (Once more, have information technology from a guy who has broken a few TVs over the years.)

To properly lift and carry a Telly, you want to permit the TV chassis exercise the work of supporting the brandish. Lift from the bottom of the prepare, supporting it at the side or top corners to keep the TV upright, in the same position it would be in normal use. This is the ideal position for the TV, considering the chassis bears all of the weight and pressure. Try not to lean 1 way or the other, considering the thinnest TVs tin can actually bend under their own weight enough to damage the brandish.

When laying a Goggle box down flat, lay information technology screen-side downward on a large flat surface that'due south covered with a clean, soft blanket or carpeting. Any stray objects or debris tin can scratch the screen or bezel, so make sure it's really make clean!

You want a surface that will evenly support the unabridged flat front end of the Television, with no uneven portions that would identify additional pressure on whatsoever one spot, or that would leave 1 side of the Tv unsupported.

Very advisedly set the TV downwards on its bottom border and gently lean it forward, lowering it downwardly onto the soft surface, holding both the top corner and the middle of the side so as to evenly support the TV, being careful not to introduce unnecessary twisting or pressure on the panel.

Get the right TV mount

The offset thing yous'll need to do is select the right wall mount for your TV. This comes down to two major factors: what size bracket your TV will accept, and what style of Telly mount will piece of work best for your set and the room it's in. Any of the selections from our best TV mounts list should work for nearly TVs, only be sure to confirm the details of your own TV and needs via its manufacturer or the manual it shipped with.

Comport in mind that wall mounting a TV may too put information technology at a different distance from the seating you already have. Brand sure that you plan appropriately to put the Television set at the appropriate distance for optimal viewing. (Check out our article What size TV should you lot buy? for more details about viewing distance.)

You'll besides want to unbox the mount and familiarize yourself with the production earlier y'all outset whatever sort of installation and mounting project. Make sure that yous have the necessary screws (both for the wall and for attaching to the TV) and that you sympathise how the wall bracket and Television mounting plate attach to each other.

Detect the perfect TV position

One time you lot've settled on the right mounting bracket for your Idiot box, you'll need to choose the right location, and position it at the right height. Proper wall positioning is essential when wall-mounting a TV, because your ability to arrange the TV position after will be quite limited, even with an articulated wall mount.

Start by finding the correct wall. This will be located in a pretty central location, where the seating in your living room or home theater lets you sit comfortably while watching movies and shows. Exist sure that the wall also has admission to the necessary power outlets and whatsoever cable or satellite connections.

Center the TV at the right pinnacle, with the heart of the screen more or less at eye level. (This is where it helps to have a 2nd helper that can check the comfort and bending every bit y'all and some other helper hold the bodily TV.) You can note the desired position past marking the lower right or left corner with pencil or masking tape.

Finally, consider the position of the mountain in relation to the Goggle box. Some TVs attach mounting brackets in the center of the chassis, while others are offset toward the lesser, and so plan accordingly to position your wall mount correctly.

For more helpful positioning tips, cheque out our helpful guide on mounting your TV: best viewing angle and height.

How to mount a TV to the wall

Once you've got everything you need and have planned out the nuts, like where you want to put the TV and understanding how the TV mount is put together, you're ready to mountain the Telly. It's a pretty elementary procedure, but doing information technology right will be the difference betwixt an attractively mounted Idiot box and one that may not sit correct, or even amercement the Idiot box.

one. Find the studs

Once you've settled on the perfect spot on the wall, you lot'll demand to detect the studs to mount the bracket properly. Mounting your Tv set wall bracket to the studs provides the structural strength necessary to support a Tv that could weigh anywhere between 30 and 100 pounds. Drywall solitary volition non support this sort of weight, so it's essential that you ballast the TV mount into the studs.

Finding the stud location is every bit simple equally using a cheap stud finder, or using other ways to find stud location. Measure the mounting points on the TV while bracket to determine how many studs you need to find. For most, it volition be a span of 2 studs, one for the left and one for the right. Depending on the specifics of your walls and your called Boob tube mount, information technology may need to be a bridge of 3 studs. You lot can mark the location of studs lightly on the wall with a pencil.

ii. Mark the pigsty position

Next you'll need to mark specifically where you plan to screw into the wall. Ideally, yous will use a level to ensure that these marks are not only fifty-fifty between the two studs, only also to brand sure that the corporeality will not exist slanted. You can marker specific locations for the pilot holes on the wall itself in pencil, or, y'all can record newspaper over the intended mounting location, using either a pre-printed template or mark one upwards on your own.

3. Double check the bracket position

With your marks in identify, it's time to position the mounting bracket on the wall. Beginning, place the bracket apartment against the wall, lining upward 1 screw location with the first marked hole. Keeping that point firm, pivot the other side of the bracket every bit needed to line upwards with the 2nd hole. Use a level to double check that the mount is level when it's aligned with your planned pilot holes.

four. Drill airplane pilot holes

Using a drill, yous'll need to drill airplane pilot holes through the drywall and into the studs in the proper positions.

5. Mountain the wall bracket

Once the pilot holes are drilled, you will utilize the included mounting screws to secure the wall bracket. Using a power drill, screwdriver or ratchet, put in the wall screws to firmly attach the bracket to the wall, with the screws going into the studs.

Generally speaking, you lot'll want the screws tight enough to hold the bracket snug against the drywall, with no wiggling or rattling of the mounting plate. If the screws are sinking into the drywall or the subclass is warping in any fashion, yous take overtightened.

With the wall bracket properly placed, you lot are more than halfway done mounting your TV.

6. Attach the TV mounting plate

Adjacent yous'll attach the mounting plate to the Television set. This is the 2d one-half of the Goggle box mountain, which will adhere to the dorsum of the Tv, and then connect with the wall bracket to deeply hang the TV on the wall. Depending upon the blazon of mount you are using, the two halves may be attached through a simple prune, a rails system, or even an extendable arm.

Line up the Television mounting plate with the VESA mounting holes on the dorsum of the TV chassis. Using the included screws that should have come with your Tv set mount, adhere the mounting plate to the Television set using a screwdriver.

Exist especially careful not to over tighten the screws, which tin can event in damage to the TV chassis or stripped spiral heads, both of which can cause real problems mounting (or later unmounting) the TV. A good rule of thumb is to tighten the screw until it holds the bracket snug confronting the chassis, and so tighten a quarter turn.

7. Attach the Idiot box mounting plate to the wall subclass

With both the wall subclass and Idiot box mounting plate securely in place, all that's left is to attach the two.

Beginning by lifting the TV to the proper height, or slightly higher than the intended position, so that the TV can be lowered to attach the bracket and plate.

In some instances, this will be a drop-in connector with safe screws that tin can exist tightened after attaching, merely others will employ attachments that may prune or screw into place. Be certain to consult the instructions that came with the TV mount and use the included hardware to attach the plate to the bracket.

Take intendance when lifting the TV, with particular attention paid to belongings the TV by the exterior bezels, and non the drinking glass. Exist especially careful not to grab or press on the screen, which can damage the display very hands.

Once the corporeality is properly attached, you lot can allow the bracket to support the weight of the TV.

viii. Reconnect the TV

All that's left at this betoken is to reconnect power to the Television and any other devices that might need to exist plugged in. Once that's done, you can kick back and enjoy the newly-mounted Telly.

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Brian Westover is an Editor at Tom's Guide, covering everything from TVs to the latest PCs. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he wrote for TopTenReviews and PCMag.