Do not connect your tv to the internet. Period.
Newly purchased Vizio TVs now require Walmart accounts to use smart features
Submitted 3 weeks ago by commander@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
TwinTitans@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Lianodel@ttrpg.network 3 weeks ago
I’m suffering for that right now. Sony Bravia.
Firstly, I didn’t want to buy a smart TV, but that’s pretty much all that’s sold anymore. I also didn’t intend to connect it to the internet, but a well-meaning guest wanted to watch TV at night, and thought he was troubleshooting, not realizing he was in the TV menu and not the streaming box.
The TV updated, and IMMEDIATELY got worse. Formerly, if I turned it on, it would go straight to the streaming box. Great! As shitty updates do, it changed the settings, and would instead open to the TV’s menu, so it could advertise streaming services. It also forgot that the TV input is HDMI 1. It became strictly worse, in the rare edge case of every fucking time you turn it on.
I don’t trust it to not automatically connect, or to forget my login credentials, so I go to do a factory reset. It’s literally an option in a menu. The TV gets stuck in a boot loop. Talking to support, they think it broke the mainboard. A factory reset bricked the TV.
It’s under warranty, but this is fucking crazy. NEVER connect your TV directly to the internet.
foggenbooty@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
If you have a firewall then make yourself a new network and block it from accessing the internet. Then you can use the smart features that your TV might have, such as powering it on/off, controlling it with Home Assistant, etc and also feel safe knowing that can’t happen again. Hope your replacement TV comes with the older firmware and you get another go at it.
OldQWERTYbastard@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is the way.
HTPC for life!
atrielienz@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
If you don’t have the technical know how to physically lobotomize the TV’s wifi chip, simply blocking its mac address would suffice.
the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Or you would just not connect it to the wifi. It’s not like it’s going to guess your WPA key.
RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
No, it’s not an Apple TV.
somenonewho@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
While i would generally agree I’ve fiddle with htpc and stuff for solo long. Then I broke down a few years ago and bought a cheap TV with GoogleTV (version 10 or something) on it. I removed some bloat via ADB but it still is GoogleTV do I get some ads on the home screen. However I installed SmartTube, Kodi, Jellyfin but also Netflix and Amazon Prime since those are the two services I still subscribed to. And I have to admit I’m a happy camper. I got used to ignoring the ads on the home screen and being able to directly play Netflix/YouTube … whatever without setting up a browser or something on top of Kodi or whatever is just such a breeze.
cole@lemdro.id 3 weeks ago
you can change the home screen. I did that on my android tv. android tv kinda rocks actually
GraniteM@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Writing Prompt: A TV with an onboard artificial general intelligence connects to the internet for the first time and is alarmed to discover that a thousand years have passed since it was manufactured.
jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Walmart acquired Vizio with the express purpose of of using TV’s to serve ads. In fact, that is exactly what they said they were going to do.
No surprises here.
SeventySeven@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Sounds like the trash taking itself out, no? If I don’t want smart features in the first place, then I see this as an absolute win. Nobody should be connecting their TV the Internet in the first place. Always make sure to use things like android TV boxes, fire sticks ect… over using the built in “smart” features as those TVs will be phoning home all day and serving you ads the minute you connect it to the Internet lol
teft@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
Just build a media pc. Those media sticks have trackers and telemetry too.
renegadespork@lemmy.jelliefrontier.net 3 weeks ago
As soon as RAM isn’t more expensive than the TV.
nathan@lemmy.permisuan.com 3 weeks ago
I just wish there was a way to control the PC as easy as a tv remote. I would totally do this except my wife and kids just want to hit a button on the remote instead of fiddling with keyboard or a track pad or controller of some kind
renegadespork@lemmy.jelliefrontier.net 3 weeks ago
My family stayed at my house and “the TV wasn’t working,” because it doesn’t have network access and I use an Nvidia Shield instead, so they connected it to the Wi-Fi and ad overlays showed up in the menus! I’m still mad about it years later.
Luckily I dodged a bullet and it didn’t brick it or anything, and the ads went away when the internet access did. I just disconnected it from the network and manually banned the MAC address in case anyone else tries it again.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
And then banned your family from using the remote.
Serinus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
the ads went away when the internet access did.
Then why are you mad?
NarrativeBear@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Don’t plug in a Ethernet cord, and don’t connect it to Wifi.
Now you have a fully functional TV screen that wont be artificially bricked with OS updates.
Get a dedicated “streaming device” like a Nvidia Sheild, Android TV, Apple TV, or Roku and you are good to go.
cley_faye@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Until the next one refuses to even pass through HDMI if it’s not connected.
Just don’t buy shitty devices.
frostysauce@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
And what happens when the shitty devices are literally the only ones available?
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Don’t buy the product. Don’t give them the sale.
Televisions aren’t mandatory, you can do without.
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
My dedicated media PC is the new Atari VCS. It works awesome and I can boot into Atari is for some light gaming too. Or emulate anything up to ps2.
Disabled all the smart TV bs and told the SO we dont use that anymore, 0 complaints so far. They’re also learning some Linux because of it!
yabbadabaddon@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Yeah except fuck all those devices. I want a degoogled smart TV.
ieGod@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
You give up control this way. Dedicated devices are superior.
garretble@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yep. Just don’t connect it. Or connect it once a year to get some firmware updates if one wants (or better yet use a USB stick).
I have a good Samsung TV, but when I had it connected to the internet the UI would be painfully slow every time I needed to switch inputs (I have most things running through my receiver, but my PC was straight into the TV). Turning off all internet functions vastly improved my experience with this TV.
ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
So Vizio is offering dumb TVs without Walmart accounts? I am actually kind of interested.
Peffse@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Vizio is likely offering unusually large paperweights without Walmart accounts.
now require a Walmart account for setup and accessing smart TV features
deacon@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
In a functioning society I think that would be criminal.
nullPointer@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
it’ll still be listening and spying.
cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Just don’t connect it to the internet 🤷♂️
BurgerBaron@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
Welcome to Earth where using Smart features is Dumb.
spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Roku is every bit as bad. They bricked all customer’s previously purchased TVs by implementing a new user agreement through their UI without warning that could not be bypassed. Opting out required first opting in, agreeing to those new terms and then mailing a letter within a very short window with explicit, detailed requirements.
My next TV won’t be connected to the Internet and definitely won’t be a Roku or Visio product.
Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Does the TV work as a screen if you factory reset it then never reconnect it to the internet?
aesthelete@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It does. I wound up buying two new TVs because of the thing OP is talking about here. You could actually get around agreeing and then opting out by removing the TV from the network and then restoring it to factory and never reconnecting it.
spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Haven’t tried that yet. For now I’ve blocked most of Roku’s BS with an Adguard Home.
rumba@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
And if I don’t want to use their smart features?
this seems like it might be a win
Angrydeuce@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I have a Vizio TV I bought in the mid-teens that only lets you change the source and turn the volume/channel up and down with the remote. Everything else…the display/audio settings, naming the inputs, setting the channel names…requires the Vizio app on your phone. Literally no other way to access them. If I’d have known at the time I would have returned it immediately, but unfortunately I didn’t discover this for a couple weeks as it was on sale and I was leaving for vacation, so I bought it, dropped it at home, and didn’t actually touch it until it was past the point where I’d have been charged restocking fees so I kept it.
I guess my point is…I wouldn’t necessarily bank on that. They can easily just make the TV not fucking work without the account, just like some of the other brands I’ve interacted with that will not even let you bypass the initial screen when you power it on for the first time without entering an email address or else it gets locked in it’s demo mode.
rumba@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Yeah, if they could keep you out of it, that would be different. Wonder what happens if you don’t have internet.
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The voice came from an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror which formed part of the surface of the right-hand wall. Winston turned a switch and the voice sank somewhat, though the words were still distinguishable. The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely.
– George Orwell
kaotic@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is how you get me to never buy a Vizio TV.
sugarfoot00@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
What, you prefer to give your data to Sony, LG, Samsung, or amazon? Like they’re not selling it to anyone with a buck as well? Never connect a TV to the internet, period. After that it doesn’t matter what you buy.
lemmyng@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You’d be better off buying a non-smart Samsung commercial TV from eBay and getting a $20 Onn 4K TV Box from Walmart. The latter can be Degoogled and sideloaded with Stremio, Cloudstream, or your streaming app of choice to make it the ultimate privacy-respecting media center.
sunnytimes@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
side note . if you like stremio try nuvio . it works 10x better for me . looks like a fork.
lemmyng@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You da freaking GOAT! Thank you for introducing me to this!
brightandshinyobject@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What sources are you using?
daannii@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I just use my PC through my TV.
Also don’t buy tvs with voice activation.
That means they have mics on 24/7.
daychilde@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I use a TV for my monitor - last job I worked I really needed the screen real estate for excel.
I hate hate hate when I shut the computer off or power goes off and when the TV comes back on, it auto-plays some “free” streaming channel, which is ALWAYS fascist propaganda. I rush to turn that shit off just as quickly as I can. Fuck that shit.
Zedd_Prophecy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
My mini pc or laptop connected via HDMI to a projector setup makes me more happy every day when I see crap like this. Bonus is you can move it to the patio for outside movie night and it’s a whopping five pounds. Same goes for moving apartments because I’ve always moved too often.
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
My CRTs make me happy in the same way. Except when i have to move them !! Oh well, all the morebreason to get swol
Crackhappy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
motruck@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
TVs are screens or privacy nightmares. You get to choose as the consumer.
Monkey@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
You should suggest this as an article on the Consumer Rights Wiki
Gumbyyy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Joke’s on them, I don’t want any of the smart features
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
good. maybe people will stop buying them then.
aesthelete@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is fine IMO, because you shouldn’t use the smart features in the first place. Just get a 3rd party streaming box. The ONN one is like $25. (Or if you’re a giant nerd hook your computer to your TV.)
malo@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
TIL my senior parents are giant nerds.
superglue@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
I do this, run a regular linux desktop right on my TV, idles at like 10 watts. Only do it though if you plan to go full pirate.
db2@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
So Vizio is a donmart brand? I wish they’d make up their minds.
halcyoncmdr@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
Nearly every electronic device sold at Walmart is a unique SKU sold nowhere else.
They have their own internal logistics and manufacturing specialist team that works with manufacturers to hit specific wholesale price targets that they demand to even consider carrying their products in store. They reduce the number of ports, features, included accessories, quality of materials, etc. to get the that specific price.
The manufacturers take a huge hit on their own profits from these… but in theory will make up for that with sheer sales quantity.
Requiring a Walmart account probably means some sort of kickback to Vizio, or other wholesale arrangement. And since these devices are usually unique SKUs that can’t be sold elsewhere, they can receive differentiated software, have no risk of any sort of price matching, etc.
XLE@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
FWIW Vizio is a Walmart subsidiary now, they got bought out in late 2024
arcine@jlai.lu 3 weeks ago
Excellent News ! Finally, an easy way to disable every smart feature !
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
so don’t make an account and it’s a normal tv?
Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
My first two questions when buying a tv is
How many HDMIs does it have? Where are they located?
Last question, How to disable most features?
Fondots@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I really only need 1 HDMI port on my TV- to connect my AV receiver to, everything else gets plugged into that receiver, it’s got about 8 HDMI ports.
Right now there’s 3 consoles, a pc, and a Chromecast hooked up to it, so I have ports to spare, and I haven’t had to use anything on my tv since I initially set it up and set the input to HDMI 1
It’s not necessarily feasible for everyone, it does take up a little more space in your entertainment center that not everyone has, but I also think it’s 100% worth it to at least have a decent set of speakers hooked up to your TV if you can find the space and budget to do so.
cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
I’m tempted to go back to htpc lol. The tracking is so bad these days. I need to block the mac of my tv (Google tv) and just do a tiny PC or something instead.
tehbilly@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
That’s still a great idea, the problem is good high definition high refresh rate panels without smart features are harder and harder to find
cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
I agree, but you can completely ignore the smart tv features and just use your hdmi pretty instead.
org@lemmy.org 3 weeks ago
Are Inout sources and volume smart features? Because I don’t need smart features
kent_eh@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
My decade old TV is starting to show its age with a couple of dead pixel columns.
I’m a bit stressed about trying to find a new one that has none of this kind of enshittification.
I just want something with a couple of HDMI inputs and an antenna connector.
I absolutely do not want any ad servers or mandatory account bullshit injecting itself where it isn’t wanted.
LordCrom@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Youll have to go with a monitor or business display. Its just a large screen with inputs but no tuner or speakers.
I use a Pi to drive my display.
Angrydeuce@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Just wanted to add that you’ll pay out the ass for them compared to consumer trash, but there’s a reason for the higher price tag. They’re often made for heavy usage environments where they’re on like 24/7 for years showing slideshows and shit in office lobbies. Consequently, they often lag behind the feature set of modern TVs which may or may not be a problem (personally I hate all that image enhancement shit but everyone has their preference) and the higher refresh rate is not as big a selling point so not a huge comparison there if you’re looking to use it for gaming or something. They also have a much more clear repair path though replacement parts can be fuckin stupid expensive.
I work in IT and about once a year or so I have to spec out that sort of stuff for clients, and they’re always like “WTF?!” when they see the cost of some of that Enterprise/Professional grade stuff, but the difference is, the no-name crap they could get for $1499.99 from a big box is going to burn itself up within 18 months and be trash while the $5000 display will be humming along as long as replacement parts are still available.
potpotato@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Or just don’t connect it to your network? Or DO connect it to your LAN and block it from communicating to anything else.
invertedspear@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
My blueray player broke, and my tv stopped showing me to use certain apps and I can’t figure out why. But a used PS4 cost me $85 and solved all my problems. And they left a copy of Minecraft in it, so I even have a game to play.
11111one11111@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Its been so long since ive had or bought a tv, what are the brands that are the least shitty now? I used to always be a samsung everything kinda guy but fuck them now. I wish they never started fucking around with software and stuck to just hardware. Their products from strictly the hardware side are still excellent. My zfold7 is amazing the older gens started rickety but each version i got (so the 3, the 5 and the 7) has been a respectible improvement but the 7 really stepped up the quality. The last samsung tv i got was like 65" curved screen amazing picture but the fucking interface was pure cancer and i will not buy another. My samsung 4k monitors, non-smart normal fridge, and my equally as dumb oven are great and dont have any stupid shit so Ill buy more dumb samsung products lol.
FG_3479@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
By any brand which lets you use HDMI devices without connecting to Wi-Fi. TCLs have better specs than most for the price and they have a Basic TV mode which doesn’t need internet.
However, their Google TV mode is still good as it lets you disable the ads on the home screen with apps-only mode and it supports sideloading of SmartTube (an ad free YouTube app) and free movie apps.
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
WTF? And Walmart of all things. Fuuuuuck them.
ImperialATAT@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Image
inari@piefed.zip 3 weeks ago
He strikes again