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Question: Does a smart teevee need to be hooked up to the internet? I have a dumb teevee so I genuinely don't know. If not, can't one simply not ever give it
by ravenstine 6y ago
Question: Does a smart teevee need to be hooked up to the internet? I have a dumb teevee so I genuinely don't know. If not, can't one simply not ever give it access to a WiFi network, plug in a Chromecast/Firestick/Xbox, and call it good?
- snuxoll 6y agoThere’s no way of knowing it won’t decide to connect to an unsecured network without asking, and some have done just that.
- sjy 6y agoI don’t think I’ve ever seen a working open wireless network (ie. no captive portal) in public, let alone been able to access one from my living room. Are they more common in other countries?
- sircastor 6y agoYes, but it is still running an OS (rather than, for instance, an RTOS) there’s more that can go wrong, and bugs may require updates, which require network access. That said, I’ve got many friends who do exactly as you have said and never connect it. IIRC, there is some talk about including 5G modems in near term models to further encourage connection. The data is valuable enough to merit the inclusion.
- lyrrad 6y agoIt's possible. I've had Samsung and LG TVs that I've left disconnected most of the time and used them with external boxes like the Nvidia Shield, Apple TV, PCs and game consoles. I've used wired connections or temporary Wifi network in order to prevent the TV from connecting to the internet without my knowledge. I was able to update the firmware on my LG TV by downloading it and loading it onto a USB drive. Some firmware updates may improve picture quality or compatibility with external devices. One annoyance is that there may be buttons on the remote that launch built in internet connected apps. It's important to have a TV that can easily switch between inputs.