Wall mounting your TV and tidying the cables: a practical guide
The most common mistake people make when wall mounting a TV is choosing the bracket position before they know where the cables will go. They find the right height, drill the holes, hang the set — and then discover that the power socket is two metres away and the router is in the next room. Fixing that afterwards means either dropping the TV back down or living with a cable running openly across the wall. Neither is ideal. Getting the cable routes sorted before you pick up a drill takes a few minutes of planning and saves a great deal of frustration later.
Quick answers
- How high should a wall-mounted TV be?
The centre of the screen should sit roughly at eye level when you are seated in your usual watching position. For most people on a standard sofa, that is lower than instinct suggests — typically somewhere between one metre and one and a half metres from the floor to the screen's centre, depending on your sofa height.
- Do I need an electrician to wall mount a TV?
Not usually. Hanging the bracket and hiding cables in surface trunking is DIY work. You would need a qualified electrician only if you want to move or add a mains socket behind the TV, which involves fixed wiring.
- Will Wi-Fi be good enough for streaming once the TV is on the wall?
In most cases yes, provided the router is in the same or an adjacent room and there are no thick solid walls between them. If you do notice buffering, a short ethernet run or a powerline adapter pair will almost always resolve it.
- What is the best way to hide cables on a rented property?
Surface cable channels that clip to the wall and are removed cleanly are the safest option. Avoid cutting into plasterboard or chasing cables into walls, as that counts as making alterations and usually requires the landlord's written permission.
- Can I mount a large TV on a stud wall?
Yes, as long as the bracket fixings go into the studs themselves rather than into plasterboard alone. Locate the studs with a stud finder, use the correct length and gauge of fixings for the bracket and screen weight, and check the bracket manufacturer's load rating before you buy.
Planning the position before you drill anything
Stand in your usual watching position and hold your hand at the height where you want the centre of the screen to sit. That is roughly the right height for the bracket. For most people sitting on a sofa, that puts the screen lower than it feels natural to hang it — eye level when seated, not eye level when standing.
Once you have that height in mind, check three things before you mark the wall:
- Where is the nearest double socket? A TV, a streaming device and sometimes a soundbar all need power. An extension lead hidden behind a cable channel is fine; one trailing across the floor is a trip hazard.
- Where is the router, or the nearest ethernet port? A wired connection is steadier than Wi-Fi for streaming, and routing a short ethernet cable behind the skirting board is straightforward if you plan for it now.
- Is the wall solid or stud? Solid brick and concrete take standard masonry fixings. A stud wall needs the bracket bolted to at least two studs, not just plasterboard, so locate them with a stud finder before you buy the fixings.
A bracket rated for your screen size will show a VESA pattern — a grid of four bolt holes on the back of the TV. Check the TV's manual for its VESA measurement and confirm the bracket matches it. Buying the wrong bracket is the second most common mistake, and returning a large bracket is awkward.
Choosing the right bracket for how you watch
There are three main types. A flat, fixed bracket holds the TV flush against the wall and is the neatest option when you always watch from the same angle. A tilting bracket lets you angle the screen down slightly, which helps if the bracket position ends up higher than ideal. A full-motion or articulating bracket swings out from the wall and rotates, useful in a corner or in a room where people watch from different seats.
Full-motion brackets are heavier and place more stress on the wall fixing, so the fixings need to be more substantial. For a large screen on a stud wall, that usually means bolting through the studs with long coach bolts rather than relying on plasterboard anchors alone.
One practical detail that gets overlooked: measure the gap between the back of the TV and the wall once the bracket is fitted. Some brackets leave only a couple of centimetres. If you are plugging in an HDMI cable, a USB dongle for a streaming stick, or an ethernet cable directly into the TV's ports, you need enough clearance to do that comfortably — or to use right-angle adaptors.
Running and hiding the cables
There are four main approaches, and which one suits you depends on the wall type and how much disruption you are willing to accept.
Surface cable channels are plastic trunking that clips to the wall and paints over. They are the quickest solution and work on any wall type. Run one vertical channel from the bracket down to the socket height, then a short horizontal one to the sockets. Painted to match the wall, they become nearly invisible.
In-wall conduit means cutting a channel in plasterboard, running a plastic conduit tube inside the wall, and plastering over it. This gives a truly clean finish with no visible trunking, but it is more work and not suitable if the wall is solid brick or if cables need to pass through fire-rated separating walls.
Skirting board routes work well for a cable that needs to travel horizontally across a room — for example, an ethernet run from a router in one corner to a TV on the opposite wall. Lift the skirting board slightly, tuck the cable behind it, and refix. The cable is hidden and accessible if you ever need to swap it.
Recessed double socket relocation is a job for a qualified electrician. If the nearest socket is in an awkward position, they can move it directly behind where the TV will hang, so the power cable is entirely hidden. This is worth considering during a renovation but is rarely worth the disruption just for a TV installation.
Whatever route you choose, label each cable at both ends before it disappears into trunking. A small piece of masking tape with a written label takes thirty seconds and saves real confusion later when you need to swap a device.
Getting the streaming side right once the TV is up
A wall-mounted TV with tidy cables deserves an equally tidy signal. If your router sits in another room, the single most reliable upgrade you can make is running a short ethernet cable to the TV or to a streaming device connected to it. Wi-Fi works well in most households, but a wired connection removes the one variable that causes buffering during a live broadcast.
If running a cable is not practical, a powerline adapter pair — which carries your network signal over the existing mains wiring — is a reasonable middle option. Place one adapter near the router, the other near the TV, connect both with short ethernet cables, and the TV behaves as if it were wired.
For the streaming service itself, the TV's own smart platform, a Fire TV Stick tucked behind the set, or an Android TV box hidden on a shelf all work cleanly once the cables are sorted. With Premium UK IPTV the signal arrives over your home broadband, so there is no dish or aerial to route — just the internet connection you already have. Your account credentials arrive by email after payment, and you sign into the player of your choice from there.
If you plan to follow sport closely, it is worth spending a few minutes in the app setting up your channel lists before you sit down to watch. The guide on organising Premier League football channels into categories and favourites covers that process clearly, and there is a similar walkthrough for finding snooker tournament coverage in the TV guide.
A few finishing details that make a difference
Once the TV is on the wall and the cables are hidden, check that the screen is level with a spirit level or a level app on your phone. A screen that is even a degree or two off feels subtly wrong every time you watch it, and it is much easier to correct before you tighten the bracket fully.
If you have a soundbar, decide whether it sits on a shelf below the TV or mounts directly under the screen. Most soundbars have their own wall-mount kit; run its power cable through the same trunking as the TV cables while the trunking is still open.
Remote controls and voice remotes need a clear line of sight to an IR receiver or, for Bluetooth remotes, simply need to be within range. If the streaming device is hidden behind the TV, check that the remote still responds reliably from your sofa before you close everything up.
Finally, leave a little slack in every cable before it enters the trunking. A cable pulled taut at the connector will eventually work loose; a small loop of slack behind the bracket protects the connection and makes it easier to tilt or swing the TV if you have an articulating bracket.
