this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2026
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It doesn't matter what brand smart TV I have, I never connect them to the internet. I manually download updates to flash drive and install them off the flash drive.
For smart features, I rely on Nvidia Shield TV Pro devices (living room & master bedroom) or Onn 4K (for other bedrooms).
I currently trust Nvidia, and yes, Walmart, more than Sony, LG, Roku, etc. For anything I don't trust on these devices, that's what I have PiHole servers for.
There's no reason to even keep them if they don't work out of the box.
TVs cost a dime a dozen now. Walmart was selling 85" TVs for $210 last time I was in there. There are a hundred units of a hundred models in every store with demo units set up for you to preview each of them. And color fidelity and resolution are basically standardized now, so everything at the same price point looks exactly the same.
If it doesn't work out of the box, who cares if it "needs an update"? It's defective. Return it and pick up another one made by a competitor.
Apparently, TVs don't give a shit. They have mesh networks that'll search and connect with other TVs, until a TV with internet has been found. That TV can belong to anyone.
edit https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25275350
Do you have any articles about this? Would like to read more about it.
I got that as a reply a few weeks ago. I didn't research it further but when true, that's just hacking a network - and it should be illegal. If true.
edit https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25275350
This type of information is irresponsible to repeat without verification. While I agree it would be scary, the current likelihood of a TV OS activating its own wireless systems without user permission and connecting to unpermissioned sources for updates or instructions is slim. At least without some type of malefactor hijacking.
Sorry, I thought the /privacy folks knew what they were talking about. Luckily I started with apparently and didn't double down. Thanks for having me confirm your suspicions ;)