You’ve just dropped two grand on a stunning 75-inch OLED. It’s thin. It’s sleek. You’ve got the heavy-duty bracket ready to go, the drill is charged, and your partner is already mentally rearranging the living room furniture. But then you look at the back of the TV. It’s not flat. There’s a weird hump where the internal speakers live, or maybe the HDMI ports are pointing straight out like they’re daring you to crush them against the drywall.
This is where TV wall mount spacers save your sanity.
Most people toss these little plastic cylinders aside. They assume they’re "extra parts" like the leftover screws from an IKEA dresser. That is a massive mistake. Honestly, if you don't use them when you need them, you’re looking at a bent chassis, a cracked screen, or a cable that fails in six months because it was bent at a 90-degree angle it was never meant to handle.
The geometry problem nobody mentions
Standard VESA patterns—those four screw holes on the back of your TV—are supposed to be the great equalizer. In a perfect world, every TV back would be a flat sheet of metal or plastic. But we don't live in that world. Manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, and LG are constantly fighting for "thinner" profiles while still needing to house power boards and cooling vents.
This creates a topographic map on the back of your display.
If your mounting bracket hits a "bump" before it reaches the screw holes, you can't just tighten the bolts and hope for the best. Doing that creates immense localized pressure. Imagine pulling a piece of cardboard over a pebble; eventually, something snaps. With a TV, that "snap" is often the delicate internal alignment of the panel itself. Using TV wall mount spacers provides the necessary clearance to bridge those gaps, ensuring the bracket sits perfectly level without stressing the TV’s frame.
It’s about air, too.
LED and OLED TVs get hot. If you flush-mount a TV directly against a wall without any breathing room, you're essentially trapping it in a heat pocket. Sanus, a leader in mounting hardware, often highlights that even a few millimeters of airflow can extend the lifespan of the electrolytic capacitors inside your power supply. Spacers aren't just for fit; they're for thermal management.
When you absolutely must use them
Not every setup requires them, but three specific scenarios make them mandatory.
First, the "Curved Back" dilemma. Remember those curved TVs? They’re less common now, but many modern sets still have a slight convex curve to the rear housing. If you try to bolt a flat metal plate to a curved surface, you’re going to have a bad time. You need the spacers to create a flat "plane" for the bracket to rest on.
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Second, let's talk about cable clearance.
A lot of budget TVs still have ports that face the wall rather than the side. If you use a "slim" or "low-profile" mount, there is literally zero room for a standard HDMI cable to plug in. You’ll try to force it. The cable will kink. Then, your 4K signal starts dropping out because the copper internal wiring is screaming. By adding a 10mm or 20mm spacer, you create a "cable alley" behind the screen. It’s a simple fix that saves you from buying expensive right-angle adapters that usually break anyway.
Third—and this is the one people forget—is the bolt length issue.
Sometimes the M8 bolts that come with your mount are just a tiny bit too long for the threaded inserts in the TV. If you drive a bolt too deep, you can actually puncture the internal components. I’ve seen it happen. You’re turning the wrench, it feels a bit tight, you give it one more go, and pop—you’ve just sent a steel bolt into a circuit board. A spacer acts as a shim, taking up that extra bolt length so the screw seats firmly without bottoming out inside the TV.
Materials matter: Plastic vs. Metal
You’ll notice most spacers are made of a dense, high-impact plastic (usually ABS). Some DIY purists get nervous about this. "Plastic holding up my $3,000 TV?" they ask.
Actually, plastic is better here.
Metal-on-metal or metal-on-plastic contact can lead to vibrations or even scratching of the TV chassis. High-grade plastic spacers have a tiny bit of "give" that allows them to distribute the load more evenly across the mounting point. They don’t compress under the weight of a 60-pound TV—they’re incredibly rigid—but they won't gall the threads or create the resonant noise that metal spacers might. If you’re looking at a kit, make sure they feel heavy and solid. Avoid the thin, flimsy ones that look like pieces of a soda straw.
Pro tips for the actual installation
Don't just grab a handful of spacers and wing it. There’s a bit of a science to the stack.
- Check the bolt engagement: You generally want at least 4 to 5 full turns of the bolt into the TV’s threaded insert. If you use a spacer that's too thick and you only get 2 turns, that TV is eventually going to fall.
- The "Double Stack" rule: Most kits come with different sizes (5mm, 10mm, 20mm). You can stack them if you need serious clearance for a massive power brick or a weirdly placed bump. Just make sure they are aligned perfectly straight. If the stack is crooked, the bolt will experience shear force it isn't designed for.
- Leveling the bracket: Sometimes the TV's back is so uneven that you need a 10mm spacer on the top two holes and a 20mm spacer on the bottom two holes just to get the bracket to sit vertically. This is totally fine. Use a bubble level on the bracket itself before you ever lift the TV onto the wall.
I once helped a friend mount a Sony Bravia that had a peculiar "step" in the design. We ended up using a 10mm spacer on just the bottom two VESA holes. Without them, the TV would have been tilted toward the ceiling at a 5-degree angle. It looked ridiculous. Those two pieces of plastic made the difference between a professional-looking install and a DIY disaster.
Sourcing the right parts
Most mounts come with a "universal" bag of hardware. Usually, it's a mess of screws you don't need. But if you bought a second-hand mount or your "universal" kit didn't actually fit your specific Samsung M8 requirement, don't panic. You can buy dedicated TV wall mount spacer kits on Amazon or at Home Depot for about ten bucks.
Look for kits that specifically mention "VESA Compatibility." Brands like Mount-It! or EchoGear sell specific hardware "towers" that include various lengths of M4, M6, and M8 bolts alongside a variety of spacers. Honestly, having one of these kits on hand is worth it just to avoid the mid-project trip to the hardware store.
The "Good Enough" trap
The biggest mistake is thinking "good enough" is okay.
"Oh, it's only touching the bump a little bit, I'll just tighten it down."
"I don't need the spacers; I'll just leave the screws a little loose."
Don't do that.
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A TV is a heavy, expensive lever hanging on your wall. If the connection between the bracket and the TV isn't rock-solid, gravity will eventually win. Loose screws vibrate loose over time due to the cooling fans or even just the bass from your soundbar. A properly spaced, tightly bolted mount is a permanent solution. An improvised one is a ticking clock.
Actionable Next Steps
- Measure the depth: Before you start, poke a toothpick into the VESA holes on your TV to see how deep they actually go. Mark it with a pen. Now you know exactly how much bolt length you have to work with.
- Dry fit the bracket: Hold the mounting arms against the back of the TV before you put them on the wall. Does the metal hit anything? If there's any daylight between the bracket and the screw hole, you need a spacer.
- Check your cables: Plug in your HDMI and power cables while the TV is still on the floor. See how much they stick out. If they protrude past the depth of your mount, grab the 20mm spacers now so you don't have to take the TV down later.
- Buy a multi-kit: If your mount didn't come with a variety of spacers, spend the $12 on a universal hardware kit. It's cheaper than a new TV or a ruined HDMI port.
- Snug, don't crush: Tighten the bolts until they are firm, then give them another quarter turn. If you’re using spacers, they should be squeezed tight enough that you can't spin them with your fingers.