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One of the first images to appear on my Samsung TV, after purchasing and plugging it in to the power outlet, was a prompt asking to connect to my WiFi. They al
by amdelamar 7y ago
One of the first images to appear on my Samsung TV, after purchasing and plugging it in to the power outlet, was a prompt asking to connect to my WiFi.
They almost got me, but thankfully there was an option to skip that step. But I'm sure they'd hook my parents and friends for sure.
- farisjarrah 7y agoNext time, make a VLAN with its own Wifi, then connect the TV to that VLAN and then what you want to do is block any incoming or outgoing network traffic to the smart TV. If you do this then no one else can attempt to hijack or connect to your TV and the TV wont ask you to connect it to a network, because its already connected to a network. This worked great on my LG smart TV.
- amdelamar 7y agoThat's cool. I also saw someone mention PI-hole. I'd pick whichever method is easiest to setup for my parents, and lowest-maintenance so they don't have to call me. ;)
- RussianCow 7y agoWhat is the point of doing this as opposed to just skipping that step? Does it keep nagging you? Or are certain features disabled if you don't connect?
- blackflame7000 7y agoI would skip the VLAN step and just block communication from the TV to the internet. That way you could still access media on other devices on your lan via DLNA or something
- PenguinCoder 7y agoWhat happens when you want to use Netflix, Amazon prime, or an external Plex server with the smart TV? You NEED internet access for those
- srathi 7y agoChromecast or Roku
- ryandrake 7y agoSeparate HTPC box that you trust? My ideal TV has power and video in and nothing else. Basically a monitor. I have a separate box for content and another for input switching.
- zbrozek 7y agoFYI you can't use an internal Plex server either. The Plex client is unable to operate without an Internet connection.
- boring_twenties 7y agoI don't own a Smart TV, but without this step I'd be very suspicious that the TV would silently try to connect to open wifi networks, or perhaps some kind of hotspot like xfinity or AT&T that the manufacturer made an agreement with.
- lrem 7y agoWon't they just use Ethernet over HDMI?
- boring_twenties 7y agoMaybe, but that would only work if there is Internet at the other end of the HDMI.
- flukus 7y agoOh FFS I just learned this was a thing, I can't even trust my cables anymore.
- freeflight 7y agoBe aware that your ethernet cables could also be powering stuff, so that's another cable to watch out for ;)
- partialrecall 7y agoWatch out for the reverse too, ethernet over powerline is a thing!
- pxeboot 7y agoMy network is setup like this. It is really easy to do if you have a good router/AP, but most consumer routers, especially the ones provided by ISPs, are not vlan aware.
- diminoten 7y agoYeah, how dare they, you barely got out of there with your life... Seriously, the melodrama people treat their privacy with is frequently astounding.
- c13u 7y agoI don't understand your criticism. If the TV were given close to free and then subsidized by ads, sure. But I'm paying >$500 for the TV, why should I get ads too?
- U8dcN7vx 7y agoBecause they can. Alternatively, perhaps it would be more like >$2000 to avoid the advertising.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoOr it would be $500 and no advertising. Them doing ads doesn't mean they can't survive without them, it just means they like the extra money.
- diminoten 7y agoMy criticism is the vast overvaluing of information value, and the complete failure to accurately assess the risk of that information becoming public.
- dev_north_east 7y agoMy friends think I'm nuts for not having my tv connected to the network (I use my PS4 for all the offerings). It's just a default that people nowadays because it's convenient.