When you power on your LED TV, the first thing that greets you — before the home screen, before any app, before the channel you were watching — is the brand's logo glowing on a dark screen. That brief moment is called the welcome logo (also known as the boot logo or startup logo), and it is a misunderstood part of a television. Many owners ask whether they can change it, replace it with their own picture, or remove it entirely. This guide explains what the welcome logo is, where it lives inside your TV, why manufacturers put it there, and what can — and cannot — be done about it.
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What the Welcome Logo Is and Where It Lives
The welcome logo is the graphic — usually the manufacturer's brand name, emblem, or an animation — that your TV displays for a few seconds while it boots up. It is not a picture file sitting on the TV's hard drive that you can browse to. On most LED and smart TVs, the logo is baked into the TV's firmware, which is the low-level software stored on a flash memory chip on the mainboard (often the SPI flash or eMMC chip soldered to the board).
When you press the power button, the TV's processor wakes up, runs its bootloader, and one of the very first things the bootloader does is draw the welcome logo on the screen. This happens before the operating system (Tizen, webOS, Android TV, or Google TV) even starts loading. That is why the logo looks the same every time, and why it appears even if your TV's smart features are broken or disconnected from the internet — the logo stage happens earlier in the boot chain than all of that.
On many models, the logo image is stored as a compressed graphic inside the firmware image itself. On higher-end TVs it may be a short animation. Some newer smart TVs can refresh the boot artwork when the firmware is updated, but it still comes from the manufacturer's own update package — not from a file the user supplies. Understanding this architecture is the key to understanding what you can and cannot change: because the logo lives in firmware, modifying it means touching the TV's most sensitive software layer.
Why Brands Show a Logo at Startup
Manufacturers include a welcome logo for several practical and business reasons. First and most obviously, it is branding. That five-second flash of the Samsung, LG, or Sony name reinforces the brand identity every single time the TV is used, and brands are willing to invest significant engineering effort to keep that moment polished.
Second, the logo serves as a visible sign that the TV is actually booting. Without it, the screen would sit black for several seconds after you press the power button, and many customers would assume the TV was dead or broken. The logo doubles as a power-on indicator — a comfort signal that everything is working and the set will be ready shortly. Repair technicians actually use this moment diagnostically: the exact point at which the logo appears (or fails to appear) tells them a great deal about how far the TV gets through its boot sequence.
Third, on some models the boot screen is also where the TV checks for a connected USB drive with a firmware update, or where factory test routines run during manufacturing. The logo screen you see at home is the polished, consumer-facing version of an industrial startup routine. Finally, there are commercial TVs — hotel, hospital, and digital-signage models — where the boot logo is a deliberate feature that businesses can customize, which is where much of the confusion about "changing the logo" comes from.
Can the Welcome Logo Be Changed?
The honest answer: on most consumer TVs, the welcome logo cannot be changed with a normal setting. There is no "logo" option in the regular picture or system menu of a typical Samsung, LG, or Sony TV. The manufacturers do not want customers accidentally (or deliberately) replacing brand artwork, so they keep logo control out of the user-facing menus.
That said, there are three legitimate situations in which the logo you see can change. The first is the service menu, which we will cover in the next section — some TVs genuinely offer a logo on/off or logo selection option there. The second is a firmware update from the manufacturer, which can refresh or rebrand the boot artwork (for example when a company updates its logo). The third is commercial or hospitality models, which are specifically designed with customizable boot logos for businesses — a completely different product line from the TV in your living room.
What is generally not possible is loading your own custom picture as the boot logo on a standard consumer TV. Anyone claiming there is a simple USB trick to do this on an ordinary retail set should be treated with skepticism. Replacing firmware-level artwork requires rewriting flash memory, which is far outside normal use and carries serious risk.
Method 1: Service Menu Logo Options
The service menu (sometimes called the factory menu) is a hidden engineering menu present on most TVs. It is intended for technicians, not consumers, and it contains options that can permanently change how your TV behaves. On some TV models — particularly certain Samsung and generic-brand sets — the service menu genuinely includes a welcome-logo-related option, such as toggling the logo display on or off or choosing between a couple of preset logo styles.
Important safety warning: the service menu is not a place to browse casually. Changing the wrong value can corrupt the TV's settings, break picture calibration, disable inputs, or in rare cases leave the set unusable. The button sequence to open the service menu differs by brand, model, and chassis — there is no universal code, and sequences posted online are frequently wrong for a given set. Because I cannot verify the exact sequence for your particular model, I will not list button combinations here. If you need service-menu access, ask a qualified technician, or contact the manufacturer's support for guidance on your exact model.
If you do enter the service menu on a set that offers a logo option, the safe approach is: change only the logo-related setting, write down the original value before touching anything, and exit the menu immediately afterward without adjusting anything else. Do not use the service menu's factory-reset or initialization functions unless you know exactly what they do on your model, because they can wipe calibration data that is difficult to restore.
For the brand-by-brand service-menu codes, see our complete TV service menu code list.
Method 2: Official Firmware Updates
The second legitimate route is the official firmware update path. Manufacturers periodically release firmware updates for smart TVs, and some of these updates refresh the boot artwork — for instance, a redesigned logo, an updated startup animation, or a seasonal brand treatment. This is the safest way any boot-screen change can reach your TV, because the update package is signed and validated by the manufacturer.
The correct procedure is always the same: check for updates through your TV's own settings menu (usually under Settings > Support > Software Update or similar), or visit the manufacturer's official support site, enter your exact model number, and follow their instructions for USB-based updates. Always verify the firmware file matches your exact model and region — installing firmware meant for a different model is one of the most common causes of a bricked TV.
Be cautious of third-party websites offering "custom firmware" or "boot logo packs" for TVs. These files are not validated by the manufacturer, may be intended for a different chassis or panel, and can permanently damage the TV if flashed. If a firmware update is available for your model, the manufacturer is the only trustworthy source.
For the full update procedure across brands, see our guide to update LCD/LED TV software.
Brand Notes: Samsung, LG, and Sony
Samsung. Samsung's consumer TVs generally do not offer a user-facing welcome logo setting. Some models expose logo-related options in the service menu, but the exact options and access method vary by model year and chassis. For official software updates and model-specific support, use Samsung's support portal: https://www.samsung.com/support/
For Samsung's service-menu codes, see our Samsung TV service mode guide.
LG. LG's webOS TVs boot with the LG logo animation and do not provide a consumer setting to change or disable it. Firmware updates delivered through the TV's own update function or LG's official support channels can occasionally refresh startup artwork. Official support and firmware resources for your exact model are at: https://www.lg.com/support/
Sony. Sony's BRAVIA TVs display the Sony logo during startup, and there is no standard menu option to replace or remove it on consumer models. Sony releases firmware updates that can include startup-screen refinements; always obtain them from Sony directly. Official support for your model is available at: https://www.sony.com/electronics/support
A general note that applies to all three: if your TV is a commercial, hospitality, or signage model rather than a consumer set, different rules may apply — those product lines are built for customizable branding, and the manufacturer's commercial division (not the consumer support line) is the right place to ask.
Risks and Warnings
Before attempting anything beyond normal settings, understand the risks honestly. Flashing the wrong firmware can brick a TV — meaning the set will no longer boot at all, stuck before even the logo stage, and recovering it may require professional equipment such as a flash programmer. This is not a theoretical warning; it is a common outcome technicians see from mismatched firmware installs.
For the safe USB flash procedure, see our LED TV firmware loading guide.
Service-menu changes are less destructive than bad firmware, but they can still cause real problems: lost calibration, wrong panel settings, or disabled features. Some service-menu options write immediately with no confirmation and no undo. Keep a written record of every value you touch.
Warranty is another consideration. Manufacturers can and do consider unauthorized firmware modifications and service-menu tampering as grounds to void warranty coverage. If your TV is still under warranty, the safe move is to contact the manufacturer's support first and let them handle any software-level issue.
Finally, treat any site or video offering "custom boot logos," "logo packs," or "one-click logo changers" for TVs with extreme caution. The welcome logo is not a user-replaceable asset on consumer TVs, and such offers can be scams, malware vectors, or files meant for entirely different hardware. If a change to your boot screen is genuinely available for your model, it will come from the manufacturer through the official channels linked above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put my own photo as the TV's startup logo?
On standard consumer TVs, no. The welcome logo is embedded in the TV's firmware, and manufacturers do not provide a way to substitute a personal image. Commercial and hospitality TV models are the exception — they are designed for customizable boot branding.
Can I at least turn the welcome logo off?
On most consumer models, no — there is no regular menu option for it. A small number of sets expose a logo on/off toggle in the service menu — see Method 1 above for the warnings that apply before you enter it.
My TV is stuck on the welcome logo and won't boot. Is that related?
A TV frozen on the logo usually indicates a failed boot — corrupted firmware, a failing mainboard, or a bad flash chip — not a logo problem. Try unplugging the TV for several minutes and powering it on again. If it stays stuck, the set likely needs diagnosis or a firmware recovery through the manufacturer's official process. See our full guide on fixing a TV stuck on the logo screen for every fix in order.
Will a firmware update change my welcome logo?
Occasionally, yes — manufacturers sometimes refresh boot artwork in updates. But updates are released to fix bugs and add features, not to change logos, so there is no guarantee. See Method 2 above for the safe update route, and never use unofficial firmware files.
Is it safe to enter the service menu just to look?
Looking without changing anything is low risk, but the danger is accidental changes — some menus apply selections immediately. If you enter it, do not navigate blindly, change nothing you do not understand, and record original values. When in doubt, have a technician do it.
Do all TVs show a welcome logo?
Nearly all modern TVs show some form of startup screen, whether a full brand logo, a short animation, or a simple power-on splash. The style and duration vary by brand and model, and commercial models may show a customized business logo instead of the manufacturer's.
For most owners the welcome logo is simply the sign that the TV is booting, not something to change. If your set is stuck on the logo, treat that as a boot fault first; if you are considering a service-menu or firmware route, read the risks above before touching anything.
IW Official is a TV repair help desk publishing practical, tested do-it-yourself television repair guides. Our guides cover LED and LCD TVs of all major brands, written in plain language so anyone can follow them safely.
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