Guide
How to pack a TV for moving
A flat screen TV is a thin sheet of glass with a frame around it. It can't take weight on top, pressure on the screen or lying flat — and that's what decides how you pack it.
Updated October 1, 2026
What you'll need
- The original box with its foam inserts, if you kept it — or a TV box, the flat kind made for moving TVs
- A soft blanket or a clean sheet, for the screen
- Cardboard, to make a sheet the size of the screen
- Bubble wrap and packing tape
- A small bag for the cables, the remote and the screws
Step by step
Photograph the connections
Before you unplug anything, take a photo of the back of the TV. It's the diagram you'll need in your new home.
Unplug and bag the cables
The cables, the remote and the screws from the stand or the wall mount go in a sealed bag, taped to the back of the TV or inside the same box.
Take off the stand or wall mount
Lay the TV screen down on a blanket, on a bed or a table, just for as long as it takes to unscrew it. It's easier with two people.
Protect the screen
A soft cloth over the screen and, on top of it, a sheet of cardboard the same size. The cardboard takes the knocks; the cloth stops the cardboard from scratching the screen.
Wrap it and box it
Bubble wrap around the whole thing, without squeezing the screen, and the TV goes into the box standing up. Write “Fragile”, “Do not lay flat” and which side the screen is on — for whoever carries it, you or the movers.
With the original box
If you kept the box and the foam inserts, the job is nearly done: they were designed for that TV, and to carry it upright. Put everything back the way it came, tape the box shut and don’t put anything on top.
How to pack a TV without the original box
This is the most common case. You have two options:
- A TV box, flat and adjustable, sold wherever packing and moving supplies are sold. It holds the TV upright, with foam on the corners.
- A homemade wrap: a cloth, a sheet of cardboard over the screen, bubble wrap, and two flattened boxes around it, held together with tape. It isn’t as sturdy, but it protects what matters — the screen and the corners.
Either way, in the moving truck the TV travels upright, against a flat surface — a mattress is ideal — and strapped in so it can’t fall. If it’s going in your car, the rule is the same: upright, never lying flat on the seat, and secured so it can’t tip over.
How to carry a TV
With a large TV, it’s always a two-person job. A hand on each side and one underneath; never with your fingers on the glass. Set it down upright, and only lay it screen down, on a blanket, to take the stand off or put it back on.
In your new house
Let the TV come up to the temperature of the room before you turn it on, especially in winter. Put the stand back on, plug the cables in following the photo you took, and only then take off the wrap and the cardboard.
Other screens
Computer monitors are packed the same way, on a smaller scale. Laptops travel with you, in your backpack, not in the moving truck.
Mistakes to avoid
- Moving the TV lying flat. The screen wasn't made to hold its own weight, let alone the boxes someone stacks on top of it.
- Picking it up by the screen, or squeezing the screen with tape. Hold it by the sides and the bottom.
- Wrapping bubble wrap tight, straight against the screen. The bubbles can leave marks.
- Leaving the cables loose in the box, knocking against the screen.
- Turning it on as soon as it arrives on a cold day. Let it reach room temperature first.