Samsung TV Won’t Connect to WiFi (Try This Fix FIRST)

For some reason most Samsung TVs eventually run into a similar problem of simply not connecting to WiFi.

There are countless cases of Samsung TV owners who say they’ve had this problem – some say it’s been an issue they’ve dealt with repeatedly, on-and-off for months!

Luckily there is a very easy fix that should resolve about 70% or so of Samsung TVs that won’t connect to WiFi. 

Samsung TV won’t connect to WiFi

If your Samsung TV won’t connect to WiFi, you need to reset it. Unplug your TV and wait a full 60 seconds. While the TV is unplugged, press and hold the power button for 30 seconds. After the 60 seconds are up, plug your Samsung TV back in and it should connect.

Unplug Samsung TV from wall

While this fix sounds obvious, unplugging your Samsung TV from the wall socket is the most common way to get the WiFi working again.

The key here is to actually wait the FULL 60 seconds. Have a little bit of patience and make sure it’s been at least a minute before plugging it back in.

While the TV is unplugged, find and hold the power button on your Samsung TV for 30 seconds. Make sure you are holding the power button on your TV, and not your remote!

This will help to drain any residual power left in the TV and allows the TV to soft reset itself. This is different than simply switching the remote on and off!

Once you plug the TV back in after the 60 seconds, you should see it power back up no problem.

While this fix should work for about 70% of cases, the remaining 30% can be a bit trickier. If you’re still having trouble getting your Samsung TV to connect to the internet, try the fixes detailed below.

Running old versions of Samsung software on your TV can cause a variety of problems. Typically, your TV will automatically download the latest version for you but sometimes that doesn’t happen.

I would just make sure that your TV’s software is up-to-date. You can see step by step instructions for how to do this here.

FYI – after a software update your video and audio settings may reset back to their defaults.

Change DNS number

Before trying this next fix, check several of your other WiFi connected devices to see if they are working. So grab your smart phone and tablet, for example, and try surfing the web.

If these devices are connected to WiFi and working well, then carry on with this fix. If not, skip this and move on to the reset router/modem step below.

For this fix, we are going to update your TVs DNS server number.

To do this, start by tapping Menu on your remote then go to Network > Network Status. Your TV will begin checking your wireless network connection.

This will likely fail given your connection issues and you should see a pop-up that says you’re connected to the wireless network but not the Internet.

Go to IP Settings found at the bottom of this pop-up then scroll down to DNS Server. You should see “8.8.8.8” or “8.8.4.4”. If you don’t see either of these, you need to change your DNS Server number to one of them!

After you make this change, your TV should connect again and the “Unable To Connect To Samsung Server” alert should go away.

Set IP Setting to “Obtain automatically”

Sometimes network settings on your Samsung TV get changed accidentally and a wrong configuration is actually what’s causing this issue.

A prime example of this is when the IP Setting is wrongly switched to “Obtain manually”. This means that you have to manually enter your IP address, otherwise your TV won’t connect to the Internet.

To check your IP Setting configuration, start by pressing Menu on your remote followed by Network > Network Status > IP Settings.

In IP Settings just make sure it says “Obtain automatically”. If it doesn’t, change it!

Factory reset Samsung TV

If power-cycling your TV, updating the software and the DNS didn’t work, it’s time to try a full factory reset.

To reset your Samsung TV to its factory settings, press the Home button on your remote then go to Settings > General > Reset (for older models, go to Settings > Support > Self Diagnosis > Reset).

Enter your security PIN (“0000”). Your TV will turn off then on again, displaying the initial setup screen.

If you forgot your TV’s PIN, you can easily reset it with your remote control.

While the TV is turned on, press the following buttons on the remote control in the order shown and it will reset your PIN to “0000”.

• On the Samsung Smart Remote or Remote Control: Press +/- (Volume) button > Volume Up > Return > Volume Down > Return > Volume Up > Return
• On the Standard Remote Control: Press Mute > Volume Up > Press RETURN > Volume Down > Press RETURN > Volume Up > Press RETURN

Once it’s done restarting, allow your Samsung TV a few minutes to reconnect.

You’ll most likely have to reenter your WiFi Network name and password, but hopefully it’s working again!

Factory reset Samsung TV without remote

If for whatever reason you do not have access to your TV’s remote, you can still factory reset your Samsung TV.

To do this find the power button on your TV. Depending on the model you have this may be on the right hand side, left hand side, or very bottom of the device.

With the TV on, press the Menu button on the TV and then toggle to Settings > General > Reset.

If you’re having trouble finding these buttons on your TV, or if you TV is mounted in a tight spot, there are other options.

First, consider plugging in a USB keyboard directly into the back of your Samsung TV.

You can then use the keyboard to navigate and reset your TV.

Another option, if you have a Samsung Smart TV, is to download the the Samsung SmartThings app to your smart phone.

After connecting your TV to the app, you can use your smart phone as a remote!

A final possibility is to grab a universal remote you have lying around and enter the appropriate Samsung code for the remote to get it working.

At this point you should have fully resolved your WiFi issues but just in case you haven’t I’ve included some additional steps worth trying before calling it quits.

Reset Network

Sometimes, for whatever reason, your established connection fails and it simply needs to be deleted and reset up.

Again, to do this, start by tapping on Source on your remote then go to Settings (gear icon bottom left) > Enter > General > Network > Reset Network. This will restore your Network settings back to factory defaults.

This means that if you currently have your WiFi Network name and password entered, it will be deleted from your TV and you’ll have to redo this process (which is what we want).

It will take a minute to reset your Network but once it’s done you’ll be prompted to go back to Network Settings and sign back in, so have your WiFi Network name and password ready.

While this fix will end up working for the many of you, the unlucky few of you will need to try the additional troubleshooting steps detailed below.

Reset router/modem

If your router/modem isn’t working correctly, your Samsung TV won’t be able to connect to the WiFi.

Simply unplug the router for a few minutes and then plug it back in. It will take a few minutes for the router to completely reset, but once it’s back online, your Samsung TV should be able to connect to the Internet again.

If this doesn’t work, you can try running an internet connection test. You may also need to move the router a bit closer to your Samsung TV for a stronger connection.

As a final effort, you may have to actually hard reset your router/modem. There should be a small button on the router/modem itself that you can press in with a paper clip or ball-point pen.

Keep in mind that you’ll have to re-setup your WiFi from scratch and reconnect all your devices to the new network.

If you continue having internet connection problems after unplugging your router/modem and a hard reset, you’ll want to call your internet service provider’s customer service line for assistance.

ISP Outage

If, after all that, your Samsung TV still won’t connect to WiFi, I would check to see if you Internet Service Provider is experiencing an outage.

While this doesn’t happen that often, it’s a real possibility. You can also check other smart devices, like your smartphone or laptop, to see if the internet is down for those devices too.

In this case, all you can do is wait for the servers to come back online.

If you follow your ISP (like Xfinity) on social media, like Twitter, they might let their followers know when to expect the internet to come back on. You can also check sites like Downdetector for information.

Conclusion

There are plenty of different reasons why your Samsung TV won’t connect to WiFi. Luckily you can try each of these proven fixes to get back online:

• Power-cycle Samsung TV
• Update your Samsung TV OS
• Change DNS number
• Set IP setting to obtain automatically
• Factory reset Samsung TV (with or without remote)
• Reset Network
• Restart your Wi-Fi router/modem
• Check to see if there is an ISP outage

If you’ve tried every one of these fixes and nothing has worked for you, you should go ahead and contact Samsung support. They should be able to help unblock you.

Were you able to get your Samsung TV back online? If so, let us know how in the comments section below!