Why does my Smart TV disconnect from wifi, and what can i do about it?
February 6, 2014 6:54 PM Subscribe
I have a brand new Samsung smart tv, and a generally reliable wifi connection. For some reason, with tv frequently disconnects from the wifi (usually while i'm in the middle of watching something that relies on wifi), when the wifi signal itself is fine (ie. my laptop is still connected to it.) How do i make it stop doing that? Is this something that Samsung should be responsible for? Is it something with my router? What?
Whenever it disconnects, i have to go through my TV's menu to Network Settings, and re-enter my password. Simply clicking on 'retry' doesn't make it re-connect.
(Possibly important details: The tv is about two weeks old, and i bought it from Sears. I'm in Canada, and my ISP is Rogers.)
Whenever it disconnects, i have to go through my TV's menu to Network Settings, and re-enter my password. Simply clicking on 'retry' doesn't make it re-connect.
(Possibly important details: The tv is about two weeks old, and i bought it from Sears. I'm in Canada, and my ISP is Rogers.)
It could also be your router. Any chance you could use a wired connection?
posted by GuyZero at 2:16 AM on February 7, 2014
posted by GuyZero at 2:16 AM on February 7, 2014
I have a Samsung TV and similiar problems. Going to the option for measuring the network speed (my TV is not with me and I can't recall excactly what it's called) usually clears this up for me. I don't need to reenter my password.
And my advice to others reading this: Don't buy a "smart" TV. Buy a big, dumb TV and get your connectivity from Apple TV, XBMC or similar on external hardware. Much easier to live with and upgrade when you need to. Cheaper as well.
posted by Harald74 at 3:08 AM on February 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
And my advice to others reading this: Don't buy a "smart" TV. Buy a big, dumb TV and get your connectivity from Apple TV, XBMC or similar on external hardware. Much easier to live with and upgrade when you need to. Cheaper as well.
posted by Harald74 at 3:08 AM on February 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
I second GuyZero's suggestion to use a wired connection. It's a bit of a pain to run the cable. But once it's in place, you will not suffer through the irritation of dropped connections. Wireless signals are inherently unreliable.
If you can't run a cable, you might want to try a router made by ASUS, such as this one (though it's a bit pricey). They have a good reputation.
posted by alex1965 at 4:28 AM on February 7, 2014
If you can't run a cable, you might want to try a router made by ASUS, such as this one (though it's a bit pricey). They have a good reputation.
posted by alex1965 at 4:28 AM on February 7, 2014
Yes to all of the above:
* If you can use a wired connection, that'll work best.
* If you can get a stronger router, that might help.
* You're almost certainly better off not getting a smart TV in the first place, but putting the intelligence into a $99 Roku or AppleTV or whatever else that then talks to a dumb TV via a HDMI link instead. Much cheaper to upgrade the $99 box than the whole TV, and all current smart TV interfaces suck. I say this as someone who bought an LG Smart TV and never - never - used the smart features after the first week or two.
(In fact, you could probably return the TV and get a same-size non-smart TV + Roku 3 and save money. Or wait for the new Apple TV.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:24 AM on February 7, 2014
* If you can use a wired connection, that'll work best.
* If you can get a stronger router, that might help.
* You're almost certainly better off not getting a smart TV in the first place, but putting the intelligence into a $99 Roku or AppleTV or whatever else that then talks to a dumb TV via a HDMI link instead. Much cheaper to upgrade the $99 box than the whole TV, and all current smart TV interfaces suck. I say this as someone who bought an LG Smart TV and never - never - used the smart features after the first week or two.
(In fact, you could probably return the TV and get a same-size non-smart TV + Roku 3 and save money. Or wait for the new Apple TV.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:24 AM on February 7, 2014
I would also suggest a wired connection as it would help troubleshoot where the problem is and will give you better bandwidth for streaming. If running ethernet is not possible I'd suggest looking into powerline adapters. We use these in our house with a smart Samsung Blu-Ray player.
I have a Samsung smart tv also, and I'm a huge proponent of the integration. The ability to install apps is awesome, and FINALLY having just one remote is great. The smart tv functionality varies significantly between brands and even models though. I've used a vizio (horrendous), sony (okay, very "pretty") and now the samsung which is awesome. Running a home server with serviio, plus netflix/hulu has freed us from Comcast.
posted by Big_B at 10:35 AM on February 7, 2014
I have a Samsung smart tv also, and I'm a huge proponent of the integration. The ability to install apps is awesome, and FINALLY having just one remote is great. The smart tv functionality varies significantly between brands and even models though. I've used a vizio (horrendous), sony (okay, very "pretty") and now the samsung which is awesome. Running a home server with serviio, plus netflix/hulu has freed us from Comcast.
posted by Big_B at 10:35 AM on February 7, 2014
A wireless bridge will connect to your Wifi and the TV will see it as a wired connection. If signal dropout is the issue, this will halve your pain.
You might try locating the WLAN router closer to the TV.
posted by ostranenie at 8:12 PM on February 7, 2014
You might try locating the WLAN router closer to the TV.
posted by ostranenie at 8:12 PM on February 7, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by TwoWordReview at 7:53 PM on February 6, 2014