It’s very frustrating when you’re trying to watch a show and your smart TV keeps disconnecting from the internet. Even worse, it won’t connect to the internet at all or it says connected but there’s no internet.
It’s common for smart TVs to run into internet connectivity issues, even when every other device in your home can connect to your internet with no problems.
I was struggling with this issue. After running through a list of troubleshooting steps, I eventually fixed the problem with my TV not connecting to the internet.
I’ll share the steps with you below.
How to Fix Smart TV Not Connecting To The Internet:
- Power Cycle TV (Unplug and hold down the power button)
- Change DNS Server
- Use an Ethernet Cable
- Reset Network Settings
- Set a Manual IP
- Update TV Firmware
- Reset TV to Factory
Power Cycle TV (Best Solution)
Power cycling a TV forces it to fully shut down which clears the memory and can improve performance.
To power cycle, unplug the TV from the mains for about 30 seconds, and then plug it back in.
Sometimes bugs can corrupt the software that controls the internet hardware. Power cycling should fix those issues.
Don’t worry, it doesn’t damage your TV.
If the first try doesn’t work, leave the cable unplugged for a bit longer, maybe even overnight.
Change DNS Server to 8.8.8.8
Sometimes kids can play around with the TV’s internet settings and change one number in the DNS server settings. You’ll need to enter a manual DNS server.
To check the DNS server settings, open Settings, Network, and IP Settings on your TV.
Below the IP settings, you’ll see an option for a DNS server. Please set it to Manual and enter a public DNS server.
Here are some DNS servers to try:
- Cloudflare 1.1.1.1
- Google 8.8.8.8 (alternative 8.8.4.4)
- Open DNS 208.67.220.220
You can also try the DNS provided by your ISP company.
Use an Ethernet Cable
Run an ethernet cable directly from your router or modem to your TV.
If the ethernet cable works, the problem is likely with your router’s broadcasting capabilities.
It could also mean there’s something wrong with the Wi-fi adapter on your TV (more on that later).
Reset Network Settings
Resetting your TV’s network settings will force it to acquire new ones from your network which can fix connectivity issues.
Most TVs will have this option in their Network Settings menu.
To give you an idea, to reset your Network Settings on Samsung TVs, open Settings, General, Network, and select Reset.
Try connecting to the internet again.
Set a Manual IP
In your TV’s internet settings, you’ll see IP configuration and the option to enable manual or automatic.
99% of the time, leaving the IP settings on “Automatic” will do the trick, but sometimes you need manually set an IP.
You can use another device to get examples of IPs you can use. Most local IPS are in this range of 192.168.0.1 – 100.
Setting a manual IP also allows you to open ports on your router for your TV’s services.
Update Your TV’s Firmware
In some situations, a TV firmware update with fix the internet connectivity issues. Your TV won’t be able to update automatically without an internet connection.
No worries. Almost every TV allows you to update the firmware with a USB stick. It’s a relatively straightforward process.
Download the update file to a USB stick, plug the USB stick into your TV, head to your TV’s update settings and choose Update from USB.
Reset TV
As a final, nuclear, option, a factory reset could do the trick. Most of the time, a factory reset is not necessary, so it’s best left as a last resort.
Official guides on how to perform a factory reset:
How to Fix Wi-Fi Not Connecting on Smart TVs
TV’s often run into Wi-fi connection issues. Below I’ll share some tips that fix the connectivity on most smart TVs.
Diagnose Wi-Fi Connection
Most TVs will have the option to diagnose your connection for potential problems. I recommend starting with this step because it’ll help narrow down the problem.
The steps will vary slightly depending on your TV model but the option shouldn’t be hard to find.
For example, open Settings, Support, and Self-Diagnosis to diagnose internet connectivity issues on a Samsung TV.
The tool will reveal if the issue is with your TV, router, or internet service provider.
In most cases, the internet diagnosis tool will say that you’re connected to the network but the TV does not have an active internet connection.
Test Wi-fi Connection with Other Devices
It’s a good idea to test your Wi-fi connection with another device to see where the problem lies.
If your other devices can get internet from your Wi-fi, we know the problem is with the TV.
Now when your other devices also report a network issue, the problem is likely either your router or ISP.
For the router, unplug it, wait 30 seconds, and reconnect it. You can also try an ethernet cable.
If you can’t get an internet connection through Wi-fi or ethernet, it’s likely that your ISP is experiencing outages.
The lights on Virgin Media routers will show error codes that correspond to network issues.
Call your ISP or wait awhile.
TV Not Compatible with 5 GHz Wifi
What’s even more frustrating than no internet connection is when your TV won’t even find your Wi-fi network. It finds every other Wi-fi network except yours!
Many smart TVs are not compatible with 5G Wi-fi networks. Create a regular 2.4 GHz Wi-fi network. Your TV should be able to find it.
Most modern routers provide the option to have a 2.4 GHZ network and a 5 GHz running simultaneously.
You can also look at our article on why a Smart TV keeps buffering.
Brand-Specific Steps:
As mentioned earlier, power cycling a TV will usually fix issues across the board, and it works on every TV regardless of the manufacturer. Try that first.
Here are some additional brand-specific solutions to try:
Fix Samsung Smart TV Not Connecting to the Internet
Set a manual DNS server with either 8.8.8.8 (Google’s) or another public and trustworthy DNS name.
How to change IP and DNS on Samsung TV:
- Open Settings
- General
- Network
- Network Status
- Wait for the troubleshooter to complete.
- Select IP Settings
LG TV Won’t Connect to the Internet
Change the LG Service Country Location from Automatic to Manual. This often fixes internet connectivity issues on LG TVs.
Here’s how to do it:
- Press the gear icon on your LG remote
- Scroll down to All Settings
- Select General
- Find Location
- Select LG Services Country
- Disable “Set Automatically”
- When the TV restarts, manually select your location
- Let the TV restart again
Your LG Smart TV should connect to the internet now.
Sony Smart TV Not Connecting to the Internet
Change Sony TV’s Automatic Date & Time setting to Network Time.
- Open Settings
- Scroll down to Date & Time
- Select Automatic Date & Time
- Choose Network Time
- The Wi-fi connection should reconnect with the internet
TCL/Roku TV No Internet Connection
Enable Network Pings in the secret System Operations Menu. Any TV that uses Roku will have these options.
How to enable Network Pinks on Roku TV:
Use this button sequence.
- Press the Home button five times
- Fast Forward
- Play
- Rewind
- Play
- Fast Forward
- The Secret Screen will appear
- Select System Operations Menu
- Choose Network Menu
- Enable Network Pings
I also suggest restarting the TV from the secret system operations menu.
Vizio TV Won’t Connect to the Internet
Resetting your Vizio TV will usually get the internet connection back.
How to Reset Vizio TV:
- Open Settings
- Select System
- Reset & Admin
- Reset TV to Factory Defaults
- Enter Code (0.0.0.0 is the default code)
- Wait for the TV to restart
- Connect it to the internet again
The Bottom Line
To summarize, you might think your TV is broken, but you can usually get the internet working again with a few simple steps.
The best global solution is to unplug the TV from the power and wait about 30 seconds or more.
