How to Connect A Smart TV to the Internet using Wi-Fi, Wired Ethernet, Powerline, and More!

To connect your Smart TV to the Internet you could use Wi-Fi, and that might work just fine for you. But if your Wi-Fi network is congested then you need to explore other options including using a Wi-Fi Extender, Mesh Networking, a wired Ethernet connection, or a Powerline adapter.



#garyexplains

[bodinian]

I'm one of the people that prefer to use cables to connect my devices to my network. It gives the best results in every application I've experimented with. Peak performance for the devices I've spent big money on is a priority to me, and I'll route the cables to make that happen.

[JohnPMiller]

9:25 100 Mb/s (100Base-T Fast Ethernet) is always fast enough for up to 4K / UHD video. If it weren't enough, the TV would have a Gigabit connection. Plugging a USB - Gigabit Ethernet adapter may not work at all, since the TV would need to have the driver for the specific chip in your adapter, and there's no way of installing additional drivers on your TV (which may be running Linux, WebOS, Android, etc.) Also, if the software team did their job right, they wouldn't have any unused drivers (unnecessary security risk). This is a good set of videos for people new to networking, I had thought of setting up an introductory networking channel, but, as you know, it's really hard to make things seem really easy. Good Job!

[lashonearl]

Thank you for this video it is appreciated and it is helpful! I am currently trying to connect one of my TVs at home to my wifi at home but eventually I will get it done. I have connected my others in the past just fine.

[maddogrk]

Not even finished yet, and already. I think you’re doing a good job. Good enough to get me to comment positively he made me think about some things I need to think about. Thank you very much. I’m sure I’ll find a better solution than I would have without your help.

[urbantreesteve]

Excellent quick run down, with options to go deeper. Thank you! Well done

[frankfriedmann]

Great explanation of all the options I'd never dreamt of!

[fabianDias]

Mr.Gary, good explanations, but please show us the actual connection to how to connect n start the broadband to TV.

[karolyndudley]

Thank you, straight to the point! And many options, excellent

[seanyboyoc]

Thanks for the overview. Good insight into the options.

[rodasjohnson]

ALWAYS LOVE!
THANK YOU GARY FOR ALWAYS HAVING GREAT VIDEOS! STAY SAFE AND CAREFUL!

[paraman]

Excellent, simple and practical, thanks

[jespencer]

Hi Gary, you need to clarify power line adapters. The differences in the way house wiring is done between the US and the UK may affect the operation of power line adapters? In the UK we have ‘ring mains’ and generally the power line adapters need to be on rage same ring circuit. In the US houses are wired on a point to point basis?

[brettknoss]

WPS is not officially supported by wifi, and creates a security breech if enabled. Some routers have a QR code to connect devices with a camera, but for tv's, always connect with a secure password.

[deeabbey]

Wow! That is all that I had to do was press that WPS button!?! Thank you!!!

[Dr.Mohandes]

I don't understand why would anyone use Wi-FI for something that stays in the same place for months or even years
wi-fi only makes sense on phones, laptops and some IOT devices not on a desktop computer or a TV
It's fairly easy to buy an ethernet cable, make it look good in the house and enjoy a better connection and more people should opt in to do this rather using wi-fi for everything

[thatguy]

The real question is how to isolate a smart TV from the internet so that it wouldn't show ads and collect data?

[sitamobin]

My tv is set up using Ethernet cable. Many times, I lose connection to streaming and have to take off the power and put it back on and it’s happening a lot lately. Why is that?

[PaulPushkarov]

Would be interesting to see a video on how to isolate all wifi smart home devices in a separate home network so they won't be able to harm computers in case they get infected with something (many smart devices have security issues and never get updated).

[daveac]

All good advice - I have a 4-extender switch behind my TV which means other boxes (below the TV) like YouView and my 4K Blu-ray Player get a wired connection too - as they also have Streaming Apps on them. As some background - the BBC HD used to be 20Mbits per second and first 4K Sat Channel I got called 'LUXE was around 40 Mbs per second but these of course weren't internet delivered but by Satellite. Even so the race to get better & better encoding was on. The BBC insisted on being platform agnostic so when Freeview came HD channels got limited to just over 9Mbs (even though Satellite could handle higher) and 4K could only be sent via the internet for the most part ie Wimbledon having the Centre Court Tennis in 4K. Back to the present - I believe 4K internet services (4K Movies etc.) are now at around 15 to 18Mbs - so your 70Mbs system certainly will do the job. (sorry for the long post)

[perryberens]

I liked the thought process of how confusing and complicated a person can over think simple. I am still confused. Showing hook ups to get 2 tv's to view different content using 1 wire less router and 2 seperate cables are my quandry. One seems to display the catch up spin. While the other works and visa versa. Anyway I liked the video. My brain is still over thinking. I guess