Why won't my smart TV connect to the WiFi?

The television says it is not connected to the internet, while the phone and the laptop work fine. Or it connects, then the apps spin and buffer every evening. Most of the time this is something you can sort out from the couch with the remote and the sticker on the modem, and this guide goes through it in the order we would. If you would rather have it done properly once, smart TV setup to get the television online and signed in is a visit that covers the WiFi, the apps and showing everyone how it works.

Is it the TV or the WiFi?

Hold your phone in front of the TV, joined to the same WiFi, and open a website or a video. If the phone works there and the TV does not, the TV is the problem. If the phone struggles there too, the WiFi is not reaching the TV.

It is one of the first things our technician asks on the phone, and it narrows things down before anyone touches a setting. If the phone has no internet anywhere in the house, it is neither the TV nor the WiFi: the internet itself is down, and that is the modem or your provider. A home phone that plugs into the modem is a clue too. If it has a dial tone and works, the internet is getting into the house.

The phone test: hold your phone in front of the TV, on the same WiFi

What you see	What it means	Where to start
The phone works, the TV does not	The TV, or its settings	The steps for any TV, below
The phone is slow or drops out at the TV too	The WiFi is not reaching the TV well	Why it keeps dropping off, and the cable, below
Nothing has internet anywhere in the house	The internet is down	The modem and your provider, not the TV

Pick what you see

The phone works, the TV does not Both struggle at the TV Nothing has internet anywhere

Modem TV Phone To the street

The phone works, the TV does not

The WiFi reaches the TV, because the phone works right there. The TV, or its settings, is the problem: rejoin the network, check the date and time, update its software.

Both struggle at the TV

The phone struggles in front of the TV too, so the WiFi is not reaching the TV well. Move the modem into the open, add a mesh unit near the TV, or run a cable.

Nothing has internet anywhere

Nothing in the house has internet, so it is not the TV or the WiFi. The internet itself is down: check the modem, then ring your provider.

If nothing in the house has internet, WiFi connected without internet works out which part has stopped.

Why won’t my smart TV connect to the WiFi?

The TV usually will not connect because it has old WiFi details, it cannot hear the modem well enough, or a setting on the TV itself is wrong. These are the reasons we hear about on the phone, roughly in the order they come up:

• The password or the modem changed. A new modem, a new provider or a new WiFi password leaves the TV trying the old network. It does not move across by itself, and it has to be joined again with the new details.
• It is too far from the modem. A TV at the other end of the house, upstairs, or behind two brick walls may see the network but not hold onto it. NBN’s own setup advice is to keep the modem in the open, at least a metre off the floor, not shut away in a cabinet or a cupboard.
• The WiFi was switched off at the modem. Some modems have a WiFi button on the front or back, and it gets pressed by accident when someone dusts or moves a cable.
• It is trying the wrong band. Some TVs cannot use 5GHz WiFi. Samsung’s own help says to use the 2.4GHz network if the TV may not support 5GHz, and 2.4GHz vs 5GHz WiFi explains the difference in plain words.
• The date and time on the TV are wrong. Sony’s help says to make sure the date and time are correct before anything else.
• The network name is hidden. TCL’s help says to check the WiFi name shows on your phone. If it does not, the WiFi may be switched off or set to hide its name.
• The TV’s software is out of date. Hisense’s help shows how to update it from the TV itself on some models, and it is worth doing before anything else gets the blame.
• The TV’s WiFi part is failing. If everything else in the house is fine and this TV keeps losing the WiFi, the small WiFi part inside it may be wearing out. A cable gets around it.
• The modem is struggling. A modem that is getting old, or has many more devices on it than it used to, can start dropping things. NBN suggests looking at your setup if the modem is more than five years old.

Steps that work on any smart TV

Work down this list in order and stop when the TV connects. The menu names differ by brand, but every smart TV has the same settings somewhere.

1. 1

   Restart the TV and the modem properly

   Turn both off at the power point, not with the remote, and leave them off for at least a minute. Turn the modem on first, wait until its lights settle, then the TV.

2. 2

   Check the modem's WiFi light

   If there is a WiFi light or button on the modem and the light is off, the WiFi has been switched off. Press the button once and wait.

3. 3

   Join the network again

   On the TV, open Settings, then Network or Connections, then Wireless or Wi-Fi. Choose your WiFi name and type the password from the sticker under the modem, taking care with capital letters.

4. 4

   Check the date and time

   In the TV's settings, under General, System or Device Preferences, make sure the date, time and time zone are right. Set them to update automatically if the TV offers it.

5. 5

   Update the TV's software

   Look for Software Update, usually under Support, About or System. It needs the TV online, so a cable or a phone hotspot can get it there long enough to update.

6. 6

   Reset the TV's network settings

   Most TVs have a Reset Network option. It forgets the saved WiFi, so have the password ready to join again.

7. 7

   Leave a factory reset until last

   A factory reset takes the TV back to how it came out of the box, so every app has to be signed into again. Only do it once the steps above have failed.

If you are not sure what the modem’s WiFi name and password are, or they have been changed, how to log into your modem shows where to find them and how to set new ones. And there is a right and a wrong way to restart the modem: how to restart your modem and NBN box has the order.

Once the TV is online, getting your phone or laptop on the TV shows the way for each phone and TV.

Notes for Samsung, LG, Sony, Hisense and TCL

Each maker puts the same settings in a slightly different place. These are from each maker’s own support pages, checked on 18 October 2026.

Samsung

On a Samsung TV, the WiFi is under Settings, All Settings, Connections, Network, Network Settings, then Wireless. To see what is wrong, open Network Status in the same Network menu, and Reset Network is there too. On some models the Network menu is under Settings, General instead. Samsung’s own guide to connecting the TV to the internet (opens in a new tab) also suggests trying a mobile hotspot from your phone, which is a quick way to tell whether the TV or the home WiFi is at fault.

LG

LG’s help starts with the same checks: make sure other devices can get online through the same modem, look over the cables, and check the connection status in the TV’s network settings. Where the TV is connected but the apps disappear, show errors or will not open, LG suggests setting the DNS server by hand, under the advanced WiFi settings. If that means nothing to you, leave it; it is a quick job on a visit.

Sony

Sony’s help for its BRAVIA TVs says to check the date and time first. Then go to Settings, Network and Internet, Advanced settings if it is shown, Network status, and Check Connection. Sony’s steps for a BRAVIA that cannot connect (opens in a new tab) match each result to a fix.

Hisense

Hisense’s help says that on some models you can update the software from the TV itself while it is online: press the cog button on the remote, then All, About, Software Update and Detect. Hisense’s guide to getting the latest TV software (opens in a new tab) covers the other models.

TCL

TCL’s help for a TV that cannot find the WiFi is to check the network name shows on your phone, to try changing the WiFi channel on the modem, and, as a last resort, a factory reset under Settings and Device Preferences. TCL’s own answer for a TV that cannot see the WiFi (opens in a new tab) has the details.

Why does my TV keep dropping off the WiFi?

A TV that connects and then keeps dropping off is usually right on the edge of the WiFi’s reach, or its own WiFi part is getting tired. Distance and walls are the most common cause, and a modem shut in a cupboard or a hallway cabinet makes both worse.

The test our technician gives people is simple. The next time the TV drops out, pick up your phone straight away, in front of the TV, and try a website. If the phone is fine at that moment, the TV is the weak link. If the phone has dropped too, it is the WiFi or the internet.

Check your speed first Test on your phone in front of the TV, then again standing next to the modem. A big difference between the two means the WiFi is not reaching the TV.

If the WiFi is the weak link, there are three fixes, simplest first:

• Move the modem into the open, if it is shut in a cupboard or behind the TV cabinet’s doors.
• Add a mesh unit near the TV. A mesh system spreads strong WiFi through the house, and most units have a network port on the back, so the TV can plug straight into the one beside it.
• Run a cable to the TV. The surest fix of all, below.

If the modem is old and restarting it fixes things for a while, our technician’s advice is to ask your provider for a newer modem before you buy anything.

A network cable to the TV is the best fix

A network cable from the modem to the TV takes the WiFi out of the picture: no password, no distance, no walls in the way. If the modem is in the same room, all it takes is a network cable.

1. 1

   Find the ports

   On the back of the modem are several network ports, often yellow. On the back of the TV is one marked LAN.

2. 2

   Plug in a network cable

   Run a network cable from a spare port on the modem to the TV's LAN port. Many modems come with one in the box.

3. 3

   Tell the TV to use the cable

   In the TV's network settings, change the connection from Wireless to Wired. Most TVs notice the cable by themselves. There is no password to type.

4. 4

   Check it

   Open an app and play something. If it works on the cable and never did on WiFi, the WiFi was the problem all along.

When the modem is in another room, there are two ways to get a cable to the TV. One is a mesh unit beside the TV with a short cable into it, as above. The other is a proper data cable in the wall from the modem to a data point behind the TV, so nothing runs across the floor. Our technician sometimes suggests putting the modem itself behind the TV when the NBN box is in a garage or a bedroom, with a cable run to it, because the lounge room is where the WiFi is needed most. Setting up a wired home network explains what that involves in each kind of home.

If there is already a data point behind the TV and the TV still drops out on it, the cable in the wall may be damaged or wired wrongly. That needs testing, not guessing.

Until a cable goes in the wall, a long flat lead along the skirting works. If the TV’s own WiFi or apps are the trouble, a plug-in streaming device takes over both, and the ones with a network port take a cable too.

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Gear mentioned here, on Amazon Australia

Product	What it is for	Link
UGREEN flat Cat6, 10 m	Under a rug or along a skirting	View on Amazon for the UGREEN flat Cat6, 10 m (opens in a new tab)
Fire TV Stick 4K Plus	Streaming stick, WiFi 6	View on Amazon for the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus (opens in a new tab)
Fire TV Stick 4K Max	Streaming stick, WiFi 6E	View on Amazon for the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (opens in a new tab)
Apple TV 4K, 128GB	Has a network port	View on Amazon for the Apple TV 4K, 128GB (opens in a new tab)
Google TV Streamer	Has a network port	View on Amazon for the Google TV Streamer (opens in a new tab)

When to call a technician, and when you don’t need one

Joining the TV to the WiFi, checking the date and time and updating the software are yours to do, and they get many TVs back online. If the TV fails the phone test, and still will not work on a cable, the TV itself is faulty, and that is the maker’s or the shop’s to look at under its warranty. If nothing in the house has internet, ring your provider first.

Call us when the problem is the connection to the TV. Smart TV setup gets the TV online, the catch-up and streaming apps signed in and everyone shown how to use it. If the WiFi will not reach the lounge room, our WiFi technician sorts out the coverage, and if a cable is the answer, data cabling runs it in the wall. On a visit we start at the NBN side and work in towards the TV, so the fault is found where it is, not where it shows up.

Not sure where yours sits? Send us a message or ring 02 9188 1577 and tell us what the TV says on the screen.