Is your Vizio TV not connecting to WiFi?
If your Vizio TV won’t connect to the Internet but other devices will, or if the WiFi is totally broken, this guide will help you get your Vizio TV back up and running again as normal.
You’ve probably tried everything you can think of to get your TV connecting to WiFi, and maybe you’re seeing the SError code, but still can’t find a solution.
Here, we’ll go over every reason why your Vizio TV won’t connect to WiFi, and give you step-by-step fixes to get back online and streaming again.
Vizio TV Not Connecting to WiFi
To fix a Vizio TV not connecting to WiFi you need to reset your TV by power cycling it. Unplug it, hold the power button down for 15 seconds, then plug your TV back in after waiting a further 30 minutes. You can also try updating your TV’s IP and DNS, and resetting your WiFi network.
If your Vizio TV will not connect to WiFi after trying the above, then you should go through every step below in order, and I’m confident we will get it working again for you.
1. Reset WiFi on Your Vizio TV
Although this might seem a basic step, power cycling your TV is often the best way to fix your Vizio TV not connecting to Internet.
With modern electronics, it’s possible that the problem is caused by something stuck in your TV’s flash memory or by a gremlin in the electronics that simply switching your TV on and off won’t resolve.
Power cycling your TV will clear out any issues with non-permanent memory without losing your personal settings.
- Unplug your TV.
- Hold down the physical power button on your TV for at least 15 seconds to drain any residual power from the capacitors.
- Leave your TV unplugged for at least 30 minutes.
- Plug it back in and switch back on.
nb. Make sure that you hold down the physical power button on your TV, not the one on the remote and make sure you time 15 seconds when holding the power button down.
Make sure you do wait for the full 30 minutes before plugging your TV back in – you would be surpised how long the components within your TV can hold charge, and you want to make sure it has fully reset.
Although this seems a very basic step, don’t overlook it because in the vast majority of cases a simple soft reset fixes most issues.
Most people will now have their TV fixed and back up and running. If this isn’t you, then we’ve got a few more basic fixes to try before getting into the hardware fixes.
2. Vizio TV Connected to WiFi But Apps Don’t Work
If your TV WiFi is showing as connected but is not working, and it is working on other devices, then check for an issue with your TV’s IP and DNS addresses.
In most cases, your TV should be setup to automatically select an IP address from your router, and usually also automatically pulls a DNS address, which is used to resolve IP addresses that your TV connects to, creating the URL that you see in the address bar of your browser.
But it’s possible that IP address lookup might have been set to Manual, and your DNS settings might be conflicting between your TV and WiFi router.
To fix this, press Settings on your remote, then go to Network -> Manual Setup.
If DHCP is set to Off, then change it to On and restart your TV. This will make your TV select an IP address automatically from your router.
If DHCP is On, then try switching it Off, and change the Pref. DNS Server to 8.8.8.8, which is one of Google’s DNS servers that we know definitely works.
Restart your TV and try your apps again.
3. Make Sure Your WiFi Password is Correct
If your Vizio Smart TV won’t connect to WiFi at all on your TV, this could be a sign that the password you are entering is incorrect, or the WPS setup failed.
If you used WPS, where you press a WPS button on your router and your TV automatically discovers the network and login details without any further input than you, then try entering your password manually.
If you entered it manually before, try re-entering your password, but this time make sure the Show password option is selected so that you can confirm this is correct.
4. Check Your Router is Not Set for MAC Address Filtering
MAC address filtering allows you to specify which devices are allowed to connect to the Internet using their unique MAC addresses, which every Internet capable device has.
If you, or someone in your family, has switched this on at the router level, your TV will not connect to the Internet even if it can connect to your WiFi.
Login to your router by typing the Admin IP address into your phone’s or computer’s browser. This is listed on a label on your router (usually 192.1.1.1 or similar), along with the admin login info.
Go to Advanced or Expert Settings and find MAC Filtering. Make sure this is turned off.
5. Vizio TV Not Detecting WiFi
If your Vizio TV is not detecting your home WiFi signal at all, then you need to make sure that your router is switched on and working properly, and that there is no interference or blocking of the WiFi signal between your router and TV.
The easiest way to check that your router is working is to use another device, like a phone or iPad. Make sure this is using the same WiFi network as your TV, and check you are fully able to access the Internet.
WiFi interference can be a bit harder to discover, but if you can, try moving your TV as close to your router as possible, ideally within the same room.
If your TV and router are in separate rooms, then try taking another device with WiFi capabilties like your phone up to your TV, and see if you are able to successfully browse the Internet from the same location as your TV, on the same home network.
If your TV won’t connect to the Internet but other devices will from the same location, then you can assume your router’s WiFi signal is good, and the problem most likely lies within your TV.
6. Update Vizio TV Firmware
If your Vizio TV keeps disconnecting from WiFi, then updating the firmware is your best option.
Software and firmware issues have been known to cause problems like your Vizio TV not connecting to Internet.
As with any product, you should ensure that you have updated your TV’s firmware to the latest version, even if it is new.
Most Vizio TVs support auto-updating of firmware, but you can’t assume that this is turned on for you, unless you are using a Smart Vizio TV, where auto-updates are always on.
It’s important to note that automatic firmware updates will only run when your TV is turned off but still plugged in. If you leave your TV switched on, it will not update the firmware.
For older Vizio TVs, you can update firmware by:
- Press Menu on your remote.
- Go to Admin & Privacy or System, depending on your model.
- Click Check for Updates.
- If updates have been successfully applied, your TV will restart 2 times.
If you are using a Smart Vizio TV, then there is no option to manually update firmware – this is done automatically as long as your TV has an Internet connection, in which case you might want to connect an Ethernet cable to your router at least temporarily.
7. Switch Your TV / Router to 2.4GHz
It’s possible that your Vizio Smart TV not connecting to WiFi is caused by an issue with your 2.4GHz WiFi channel.
Login to your routers landing page, usually found by typing 192.1.1.1 or 192.1.1.0 into a browser on your phone or computer (the exact IP will be on a label on your router).
Find the login info on your router’s label, and take a look at the overview page to see whether your TV is connecting on 2.4GHz or 5GHz.
If it is connecting on the 5GHz channel, try changing the settings in your TV’s Network page to connect only on 2.4GHz.
You can also update the channel frequencies in the router itself, usually found under Expert Settings or Advanced Settings, changing these values and retesting your TV’s Wifi connection to see if they make any difference.
8. Check Your TV’s Time and Date
Because your router will automatically assign an IP address for a fixed period of time, if your TV’s time and date is wrong, it can cause the IP address to “expire” and prevent connection to the router.
IP addresses set by your router will have a Lease Expiration of several years (and this can be checked within the settings page for your router), so if your TV has a time and date several years away from the current date/time, this can cause the IP lease to expire.
Go into the Settings for your TV and manually update the date and time to today if it is not already showing this.
9. Vizio TV Factory Reset
Returning your TV back to its factory settings is a more extreme step, as it will delete any personalization features or connected devices, but it’s always worth a shot when other methods haven’t worked.
To factory reset a Vizio Smart TV:
- Turn the TV on.
- Hold down the Volume Down and Input buttons on the side of the TV simultaneously.
- After a few seconds, a message will pop up on screen telling you how to reset your TV. You can release the two buttons you are holding.
- You will usually then hold the Input button for 10 seconds for a factory reset.
- Another message will pop up on screen about the reset.
- Your TV will re-boot and return to the original setup screen.
For older Vizio TVs, you can perform a factory reset by using the remote to go to:
- Menu -> On screen display go to Admin & Privacy or System -> Reset to Factory Settings
10. Reset Your Router
You can first try a soft reset of your router – unplugging it for 30 seconds – to see if that fixes your issue.
If not, try a hard reset of your router, pressing a paperclip or similar into the small reset hole usually found on the back of your router.
You will need to hold the paperclip on the reset button for at least ten seconds to be sure your router is fully reset.
This will remove any personalisation settings you have made on your router, such as a changed WiFi password or network name, so be sure you still have the default WiFi logins for the router. These are usually on a sticker on the router body.
11. Use an Ethernet Cable
Finally, if you are still unable to get the WiFi working on your TV, you might have to resort to using an Ethernet cable.
Either your TV or router should have come with one, and this will give you a wired Internet connection which will bypass your WiFi.
If your TV is in a different room from your router and it isn’t practical to use an Ethernet cable, or if your Vizio TV keeps dropping the wired Internet connection, then there is still one final hardware fix that will get your WiFi working again.
12. Replace the WiFi Module
If none of the previous steps have worked, then you are most likely suffering from a failed WiFi module which is pretty easy to replace yourself.
Take a look at the video below for a step-by-step guide to do this. You will need to open up your TV which will invalidate it’s warranty, so this is really only a solution for TVs that are over one year old.
Vizio TV WiFi Issues Troubleshooting
If you’re seeing specific issues with your Vizio TV WiFi, then take a look at these troubleshooting steps for individual problems below.
How to Connect Older Vizio TV to WiFi
Old Vizio TVs that do not have native WiFi capabilities cannot be directly connected to WiFi without an adapter. The most common adapters to use are Firesticks, Chromecast or Roku streaming sticks.
Plug one of these into your TV’s HDMI port, with the power cable plugged into the TV’s USB port, then follow the on-screen instructions for your streaming stick to connect to WiFi.
How to Connect Vizio TV to WiFi Without Remote
If you’ve lost your remote or it doesn’t work, then you can connect to Vizio Smart TVs without a remote by using the Roku app for Roku TVs or you can use third-party apps like the TV Remote Control for Vizio TV.
As long as you are using a relatively modern TV, and your TV can connect to your home WiFi network, then you can use the apps like the Roku one on your phone even if your TV can’t connect to the Internet.
If your TV can’t connect to WiFi at all, then apps which use the infrared capabilities of your phone can work, like the one linked above.
Alternatively, try plugging a USB keyboard into your TV’s USB port and use the direction keys in combination with any Menu buttons or similar on the TV case to navigate the internal menus and connect to your home network.
Vizio TV Support and Warranty
You can check your warranty information direct with Vizio.
Unfortunately, warranties typically only last a year unless you have already paid to extend it.
Because problems with the WiFi can occur at any time, if your TV is under one year old, return your TV under warranty and get it fixed.
You can use the Vizio support site to help diagnose your problem, but if you are at this stage, then you are better off calling them direct on:
- 844-254-8087 (Mon. – Fri., 8am – 11pm CST, Sat. – Sun., 9am – 8pm CST)
You can also contact them directly through live chat, or text them a short description of your problem on 205-301-3729.
Even if Vizio won’t fix your TV, they might still offer you a discount off a future model if you pester them hard enough! This is always worth a try in my experience.
So, How Do You Fix a Vizio TV Not Connecting to WiFi?
To fix a Vizio TV not connecting to WiFi:
- Power cycle your TV to reset it.
- Update your IP to obtain automatically and your DNS to 8.8.8.8.
- Make sure your WiFi password is correct.
- Confirm your router isn’t MAC address filtering.
- Check for signal interference.
- Update your TV’s firmware.
- Switch your TV to the 2.4GHz WiFi channel.
- Check your TV’s time and date.
- Factory reset your TV.
- Reset your router.
- Use an Ethernet cable.
- Replace the WiFi module.
Hopefully you’ve now got your TV’s WiFi back up and running. If not, leave me a comment and I’ll see what more I can do to help.
If your WiFi is connected but you see a “No Connection Detected” error, then check out my article on how to fix the no network detected error on Vizio TVs.
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2 Responses
Constance
Our TV shows connected to the WiFi, but when hit the app button, it states No Connection Detected. We’ve tried all the solutions recommended.
Tim Daniels
I have another article which should solve that for you – https://www.lapseoftheshutter.com/vizio-tv-connected-to-wifi-but-no-network-detected/