how to solve Internet Smart TV problems

Our Smart TV allows us to view streaming content via the Internet without having to turn on the PC or notebook every time and, given the larger screen size, to a much higher quality (often in FullHD or 4K HDR quality).But like every technological thing, even Smart TV can suddenly stop working: while TV channels are seen normally, all streaming apps show an error window or a black screen as soon as you select content on-demand or live streaming to view.

Fortunately, the problem is often trivial and we can solve it ourselves without having to call an IT expert or throwing the TV out the window! In this guide, we will show you in fact how to solve the vast majority of Internet problems on Smart TV, so that you can immediately restore the desired stream.

How to restore the Internet on Smart TV

Most of the problems can be traced back to the connection between the smart TV and the modem, especially if we use the Wi-Fi connection. If, on the other hand, the TV is connected via cable, the problem often concerns only the modem, which may have lost its carrier with the telephone exchange or present various problems.

Check your Wi-Fi connection

If the problematic Smart TV is connected to the home Wi-Fi network, we first check it is if connected to the 2.4 GHz network or to the 5 GHz network: in fact, we always try to connect it to the latter because it is faster and less prone to interference.

If we do not have a 5 GHz Wi-Fi modem, we will immediately get it back by purchasing a new dual-band modem as a total replacement of the device provided by the telephony operator or a new router to be placed in cascade to our modem.

Since 5 GHz may not take in all rooms (it is a physical limitation of technology), we advise you to expand the coverage of the fast network using one of the Wi-Fi repeaters seen in the guide to Best 5 GHz WiFi repeaters, to increase internet coverage.

We avoid using 2.4 GHz in any scenario: this frequency is not suitable for HD streaming streams and could cause numerous connection problems or frequent app buffering.

Connect the TV via Ethernet cable

One of the best tests we can do on our Smart TV to see if the problem is the connection it plans to connect the TV to the modem via ethernet cable.

We connect one end of the Ethernet cable to the modem and the other end into the socket LAN, Internet or Ethernet present in the back of the Smart TV, so let’s immediately try surfing the Internet on one of the streaming apps that created problems. If the connection is restored, the problem probably concerns only the Wi-Fi network used, perhaps due to interference with the neighbors’ networks.

If the Ethernet cable is long enough, we can easily hide it behind the furniture and pass it on the skirting boards, so as to obtain a stable and fast connection for our Smart TV. Is the modem too far from the TV to lay such a long cable? We can always bring the speed of the cable connection using the electrical outlets at home, as seen in our guide Internet on the power outlet with the Powerline.

Check the Internet modem

If even the cable connection doesn’t work, we will have to turn our attention to the modem, probably because of Internet problems on the TV. We always connect a laptop PC via Ethernet cable, then try to surf the Internet and perform a speed test.

If the speediest is good, the problem could concern the Ethernet ports of the modem: let’s try to change the port assigned to the Smart TV to see if the connection resumes and the streaming apps return to work regularly.
If not even so we solve, the problem may concern the Ethernet port on the TV:

in this situation, we can only take advantage of the 5 GHz Wi-Fi connection and, if the TV is still under warranty, try to replace it with a new one at the retailer or electronics store where we had purchased it.

Other tricks to solve Internet connection problems

Although the methods seen so far are the ones that will allow you to solve most of the Internet problems on Smart TVs, it is also worth trying one of the tricks visible in the list below, so as to really try them all before bringing the TV to service:

We remove the socket of the Smart TV:

• although it may seem trivial, instead of turning off the TV via remote control, we try to remove the power plug, wait at least 2 minutes and reconnect everything; many times this is enough to restore the TV operating system, also restarting blocked or disconnected apps;

We restart the modem:

• the modem may also need to be restarted from time to time, so as to reset any parameters out of place or empty the internal cache; for this purpose, we can both turn the button off and on again Power (usually found on the back of the modem) both remove the power plug and reconnect it after 2 minutes.

Let’s reset the modem:

• if the connection does not work even on computers and smartphones, it can be a good idea to restore the modem to default settings, so as to start from scratch and try to resolve the situation before contacting the operator’s assistance.

Let’s reset the Smart TV:

• if the other devices navigate correctly, we check if an item is available in the TV settings to restore the default settings or to restart the startup procedure, so as to delete all the installed apps and also reset some parameters out of place (maybe during some our test or experiment we touched something and we could no longer restore).

Conclusions

If all the advice we have given you did not solve the problem with the Smart TV or worse it allowed you to discover an even bigger problem (no device surfs the Internet), the time has come to contact our telephone operator, asking to restore the correct operation of the ADSL or fiber optic line.

Always on the malfunctions of the home Internet connection, we recommend that you read our guides If your PC is not connected to the internet, how to restore the network and web browsing is Red modem LED (Internet absent):

what to do before calling for assistance, so as to find other very valuable tips to try to restore the connection necessary to continue enjoying our Smart TV.