This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
I had a 65" Hisense TV for just over a year, and a firmware update bricked it. It was stone dead, and Hisense wouldn't even try to repair it. So I spent a little extra money and got a Samsung instead. And once it was set up, I turned off its wifi...just in case.
Hisense can eat a bag o' dicks.
My first 4K TV was a Samsung. The last update broke eARC making the Samsung home theater in a box thing I had much more inconvenient.
My 2nd (free in a raffle) Samsung 4K TV connected to my WiFi without a password when a guest in the house casted a video to it despite on setup refusing to consent to any web things due to privacy concerns. Kinda interesting and concerning.
I haven't bought a TV in a decade. What kind of setup is required? Why would it need internet access for that?
IF YOU BUY ANY TV, DO NOT CONNECT IT TO THE INTERNET.
Televisions were never meant to be smart devices. There's no reason your screen should have software of its own. That would be like your face having a mind of its own.
Ummm,
Cell modems are getting cheaper and cheaper, it's only a matter of time before cheap smart TVs will flood the market with always-on telemetry and intrusive personalized ads.
Well then I guess I make the room a giant faraday cage.
Like the other comment said, if you drive a car made after 2014, don't bother. You drive a rolling tracking beacon regardless of what you do with your smart devices...
I have a Hisense that I bought late last year and have never connected it to the internet (I stream everything through my PS5) and boyhowdy does that TV take every chance it gets to let me know I'm not connected lol
I bought my last TV about 7 years ago. I got a "small" 38" TV. As I was checking out, the cashier asked me if I'd rather upgrade to a larger model from the same brand with smart features for 10 dollars less. I flat out told him 'no' and that was probably the best decision I made that year.
If you don't connect a smart TV to the internet, it's functionally the same as a dumb TV.
Sadly more and more TV's will now require you to connect to the Internet, even when you just use HDMI
Well that's just a day one return then and an openbox discount for the next person
My new LG didn't require it, but the settings menu and 'home' screen nag about lack of connectivity.
"Why did you buy a smart TV if you didn't want the smart features" brother, it was the best tv in that price range and few true dumb ones exist in that range. IMO the smart features should be considered optional but I guess these companies don't agree
I find myself wondering just how complicated TVS could actually be before it's no longer possible to hijack the display signal that's fed to the display
Unlike with cars, TVS seem simple enough that a sufficiently motivated novice could modify a cheap TV to circumvent these bullshit features. If they ever started requiring internet connections to start or use these, i think enough people would be bothered by it that there would probably be a secondary market of modified hardware
As with most enshitifications, the question will ultimately be one of complacency of the average consumer.
The basic thing is to get some product that YOU control and never allow the TV to be connected to the internet.
Relatedly, Hisense also forces updates and disables use of the TV if you do not accept the update (via a full screen non-cancelable prompt).
I learned this the hard way after Hisense broke my TV via an update that I didn't want and then refused to fix it even after 6 months of escalations and emails.
They’re not alone, either. I had to downgrade my Visio just to use the features that it shipped with. I’m sure this is illegal, but no one cares unless you’re rich.
I outright told them it's illegal, since they are unilaterally altering the terms of any T&C agreements when we started using the TV and materially interfering with our ownership and use of the TV we purchased. They didn't care. I then sent it to our state attorney general and nothing happened.
You can likely sue them in small claims court. Many states let you file for a couple hundred dollars and will give you 3x damages if you win.
The most likely outcome is they settle when the court date approaches or dont show and you win hy default.
There was a guy in Texas who thought a big tobacco company would settle out without showing, but instead he got counter sued to the tune of millions. That man? Rusty Shackleford.
There's a good documentary about it.
I know they're different manufacturers, but TCL tried this shit and I just factory reset and never setup the Internet on it. I use an android TV box for the smarts.
Okay, so strike Hisense products from the list of brand I'll ever buy from
The list is getting pretty big.
This is why, for years, I've been trying to point out that "if you don't like it, just don't buy it" isn't good enough. Boycotts aren't enough; we have to force the law to change to prohibit the abusive corporate behavior.
I agree 100%. Nothing we do is good enough because it's a game of cat and mouse. They do something, people react. They do something else, they react.
Right now I own a Hisense because it's 75" and cost me $300. It has a decent enough picture and sound. Works for all of my uses.
It has never seen the internet nor will it. I use my 6 year old shield for apps, mostly of which is my own content.
In case they decide to use any subsidiary or or partner tech company to daisy chain internet (I don't put it past any of these guys) I have a blacklist on my firewall that catches most stuff trying to go out.
I have done everything I can, but it won't be enough at some point.
They won't stop until laws pass that stop them (actually stop them and not slap on the wrist).
I would resort to violence, Holy shit.
I have a HiSense TV and use ADB AppControl to disable/remove the telemetry or forced updates, and Projectivy Launcher to get a home screen/launcher that doesn't show ads. Both are free and work really well. I don't see trash on my homescreen anymore.
I got a Hisense tv in November and never connected it to the internet. Now I am extremely pleased that I never connected it.
