Samsung The Frame assembly

The whole point is that no cable shows. That cable is not rated to go inside a wall.

The Frame earns its price by reading as a framed print, which means the single slim One Connect cable has to disappear. It is also a proprietary low-voltage cable that is not in-wall rated, so the correct answer is conduit rather than a cable stapled into a stud cavity. The conduit has to be wide enough to pass the larger connector, and that is the measurement people get wrong.

Installers near you quote you directly. No account, no obligation.

The mount is the easy half. The cable route is the job

The Frame is a television designed to be mistaken for artwork. A matte display, an Art Mode that shows a painting when nothing is playing, a magnetic decorative bezel, and a mount that holds the panel almost flat against the plaster. All of that collapses if one black cord runs down the wall to a media cabinet, which is why the cable is not a detail on this installation, it is the installation.

Samsung solves the clutter by splitting the television in two. Power, HDMI and every input live on a separate One Connect Box, which can sit in a cabinet or another room, and a single thin, near-transparent One Invisible Connection cable runs from that box to the panel. One cable instead of six is a genuine engineering answer, and it is what makes flush mounting realistic at all.

The complication is what that cable is. It is proprietary, it is delicate, and it is not an in-wall rated cable. Running it loose inside a wall cavity is not a code-compliant installation, and it also puts a fragile cable somewhere you cannot reach it. The method that solves both is a conduit: low-voltage boxes at each end, electrical non-metallic tubing between them inside the wall, brush wall plates on the face, and the cable pulled through the tube so it stays serviceable and stays out of contact with framing and insulation. If you ever replace the TV, you pull the new cable through the same tube.

The measurement that trips people is the diameter. The connector at the One Connect Box end is noticeably larger than the one at the panel, and it has to physically pass through the conduit. Buying half inch tubing because that is what is on the shelf produces a wall you have already opened and a cable that will not go through it. One inch is the size that works. Confirm it against your own cable before cutting anything.

What it actually takes

Hanging the panel is under an hour. The cable concealment is what decides whether this is an afternoon or a weekend.

ModelTimePeople
Planning the box location and cable pathWhere does the One Connect Box live? Cabinet, next room, or in-wall?30 to 45 minutes1
Fitting bezel and TV-side bracketsBezel FIRST. Watch the L/R markings on the brackets.30 minutes1 to 2
Template, stud location, wall plate mountingPilot holes before screws. Studs before anything.45 minutes1
Surface cable concealment (raceway)The no-drywall-work option. Visible but paintable.1 hour1
In-wall conduit run, same stud bayTwo boxes, ENT, brush plates, then patch and paint.2 to 3 hours1 to 2
In-wall run crossing studs or floorsDrilling framing, fishing, possibly blocking. Different job.half to full day2
Recessed media box for the One Connect BoxCutting in a box and finishing around it.add 1 to 2 hours1
Hanging the panel and levelingSamsung specifies at least two people, as a numbered step.30 minutes2
Device connection and Art Mode setupEverything plugs into the box, not the TV.30 to 45 minutes1

The single biggest variable is whether the cable can travel inside one stud bay straight down to where the box will live. If it can, this is an afternoon. If it has to cross framing or change floors, it is a different project and worth pricing as one.

What to get right, specifically

Use conduit, and size it for the fat connector

The One Connect cable is not in-wall rated, so the way to conceal it properly is to run it through tubing rather than to bury it. Electrical non-metallic tubing between two low-voltage boxes, finished with brush wall plates, keeps the cable serviceable, keeps it clear of framing and insulation, and gives you a path to pull a replacement through later. Size it for the larger connector, which is the one that goes to the One Connect Box: one inch tubing passes it, half inch does not. Check your own cable against the tubing before you cut a hole, because discovering this with the wall already open is the expensive version.

Samsung tells drywall owners to hire somebody, in the instructions

This is Samsung’s own language in the Slim Fit mount guide, and it is unusually direct: check the wall type before installing, always consult an expert for installing on drywall, Sheetrock or gypsum board, and do not fix it to drywall without reinforcement. The mount is meant to land on wood studs, and the guide specifies a minimum stud size of 51 by 102 mm, which is a 2x4. Locate the studs before you drill anything, and drill 3 mm pilot holes, an eighth of an inch, before driving screws. If the position you want does not line up with studs, the answer is reinforcement or a different position, not longer screws into drywall.

Fit the decorative bezel before the TV goes on the wall

The magnetic bezel snaps on around the screen, and the natural assumption is that a magnetic part can go on at any time. On a flush mount it cannot, in practice, because a Frame sitting nearly flat against the wall gives you nothing to work with and no room behind the edges. Fitting a bezel afterward means lifting the panel back off a mount you have already routed a fragile cable to. Decide on the bezel before you start, and fit it during the bench stage while the TV is face down on a blanket.

The cable is the fragile part of the whole system

Every source on this product converges on the same warning: do not bend or crimp the One Invisible Connection cable sharply, because that damages its internal structure and the failure is not obvious. Leave the protective cap on the connector until the moment you seat it, so nothing gets into the contacts while you are drilling and pulling. At the panel, push it in until it clicks and then secure it with the supplied cable holder rather than leaving it hanging on its own connector. When pulling through conduit, pull gently and lead with a fish tape rather than dragging the connector through a tight bend.

Check the L/R markings on the hanging brackets

Samsung calls this out as its own numbered step, which is a reasonable indication of how often it happens: check the left and right markings so the two hanging brackets do not get swapped. They look symmetrical enough to be interchangeable and are not. While the TV is face down, also put the protective sticker on with the arrow facing inwards and fit the protective pads 10 mm below the top edge, both of which exist to stop the panel and the wall marking each other once it is flush.

Decide where the One Connect Box lives before you drill

This is the planning decision the whole installation hangs on, and it has to happen first. Every device plugs into the box rather than the television, so the box needs a home with power, ventilation, and access to change a source or reset something. A cabinet below the TV is the simplest. An adjacent room or closet is the cleanest and the most work. Cutting a recessed media box into the wall is possible and adds an hour or two plus finishing. What you cannot do is decide afterward, because the box location determines where the cable exits the wall, which determines where you cut, which determines whether the run stays inside one stud bay.

Confirm which One Connect arrangement your model year actually uses

Samsung has revised how the panel and the One Connect Box communicate across model years, including moving toward a wireless arrangement on recent sets. That changes this job substantially, because a wireless link removes the cable route and leaves you with only a power run. Confirm what your specific model uses before you plan a conduit for a cable it may not have, or assume wireless on a set that came with a cable. Read the manual for your model and year rather than a guide written about a different one.

Two people on the lift, and level before you let go

Samsung specifies at least two people lifting simultaneously, and on a large Frame that is not a formality: the panel is wide, thin, and being guided onto brackets you cannot see while holding it. Lift by the sides and the bottom edge, never by pressing on the screen. A useful trick from installers is to rest the bottom edge on a box against the wall to take the weight while you tilt the top onto the bracket. Align the paper templates along their guiding line, overlapping them to match your TV size, and tape them up to confirm height and position before a single hole is drilled. Check level with a long level once the plates are up and again once the panel is hanging.

Before you start

Confirm your model year and which One Connect arrangement it uses, cabled or wireless.

Decide where the One Connect Box will live, and confirm it has power and access there.

Work out whether the cable can run inside a single stud bay to that location.

Locate the studs and check they are at least 2x4, per Samsung’s minimum.

Buy conduit sized to pass the larger connector, and confirm it fits your actual cable.

Choose the bezel now, because it goes on before the TV does.

Have a second person lined up for the lift, plus a long level and a soft blanket for the bench work.

If the wall is drywall without stud alignment where you want the TV, plan reinforcement before drilling.

Who this is really for

People buying a television as a piece of furniture. The Frame exists because a large black rectangle dominates a room even when it is off, and this is the mainstream answer to that. In a living room, a dining room or a bedroom where the wall matters, it does what it claims, and Art Mode with a matte panel is convincing enough that guests genuinely ask about the print.

It also suits anyone who wants a clean wall more than they want adjustability. This is a flush mount, not an articulating arm, so it trades viewing angle for looking like nothing. If you need to pull the screen out and swivel it toward a kitchen, that is a different mount and a different page.

The case for having it installed is the strongest in this category, and it is not the mounting. It is that the value of the product is entirely in the cable being invisible, and doing that properly means opening a wall, running conduit, finishing the drywall and painting. Somebody who does this regularly will know whether your run stays in one bay, will size the tubing for the connector first time, will get the bezel on in the right order, and will leave you a serviceable path for the next television. Samsung, in its own instructions, tells drywall owners to consult an expert. That is worth reading literally.

What an installer does

  • Confirms the model year and which One Connect arrangement it uses before planning anything.
  • Plans the One Connect Box location and the cable path, and confirms the run can be made cleanly.
  • Locates and verifies studs, and specifies reinforcement where the wanted position has none.
  • Installs low-voltage boxes and conduit sized to pass the larger connector, with brush wall plates.
  • Fits the decorative bezel and the TV-side brackets at the bench stage, with the L/R markings correct.
  • Mounts and levels the wall plates using the templates, with pilot holes drilled before screws.
  • Pulls the One Connect cable through conduit without crimping it, and seats and secures it properly.
  • Lifts and hangs the panel with a second person, sets it flush, and confirms level.
  • Connects all devices to the One Connect Box, tests every input, and sets up Art Mode.
  • Patches, finishes and paints any drywall opened during the run.

Get it built by someone who has built one before.

Tell us your ZIP and what you bought. Installers near you will quote you directly, and you deal with them, not with us.

Installers near you quote you directly. No account, no obligation.

Questions people ask

Can I run the One Connect cable inside the wall?

Not loose. The One Invisible Connection cable is proprietary and is not an in-wall rated cable, so the correct method is to pass it through conduit between two low-voltage boxes and finish with brush wall plates. That keeps it code-compliant, keeps a fragile cable clear of framing and insulation, and leaves a path to pull a replacement through when you change televisions.

What size conduit do I need?

Size it for the larger connector, the one that goes to the One Connect Box, because that is what has to physically pass through. One inch tubing passes it and half inch does not. Check your own cable against the tubing before cutting into the wall, since this is the mistake that gets discovered with the drywall already open.

What is the most commonly missed step?

Fitting the decorative bezel before the TV goes on the wall. It is magnetic, so it feels like something you can add later, and on a flush mount you effectively cannot, because there is no room to work behind the edges. Doing it afterward means taking the panel off a mount you have already routed the cable to.

Can I use a regular VESA mount instead?

You can hang the TV that way, and you give up the reason you bought it. A standard bracket holds the panel roughly an inch and a half to two inches off the wall, which is enough to read as a television on a bracket rather than a framed print. The flush look comes from Samsung’s own slim mount design. Confirm which mount your size and model year ships with or requires, since that has changed over time.

Can it go on drywall?

Samsung’s guide says to always consult an expert for drywall, Sheetrock or gypsum board, and not to fix it to drywall without reinforcement. The mount is designed to land on wood studs, with a stated minimum stud size of 51 by 102 mm, which is a 2x4. If the position you want has no stud behind it, the answer is reinforcement rather than heavier anchors.

How long does the whole job take?

Hanging the panel is well under an hour with two people. The variable is the cable. Surface raceway is about an hour. An in-wall conduit run inside a single stud bay is two to three hours plus patching and paint. A run that has to cross framing or change floors, or a recessed box cut in for the One Connect Box, moves it toward a full day.

Installers.org is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Samsung. Samsung, The Frame, One Connect and related marks are trademarks of their owner, referred to here only to describe the installation services that independent installers on this directory provide. Mount designs, cable arrangements and requirements vary by model and model year; follow the instructions supplied with your own television, and observe local electrical and building code for any in-wall cable run.