If Smart TVs are characterized by something, unlike the old models of televisions that we had at home, it is because of the possibility of installing applications on them. Apps that range from streaming content consumption services, surfing the internet, managing files or, among many other things, playing games. Today we want to explain how you can install official and unofficial apps on smart TVs from a specific manufacturer: Samsung Smart TVs .
How to install apps on a Samsung Smart TV
Before explaining how to do this, you may be wondering why talk about the installation process especially from this manufacturer. This is due to its operating system: Tizen . Unlike many other models, Samsung smart TVs have their own operating system, which, although it may look like Android TV, has its differences . For this reason, although it really changes the most in the case of “non-original” apps, we want to apply the process for these Smart TVs.
Now that you know this, let’s see how we can download and install the officially available applications. To do this you just have to follow the following steps:
- Check that your TV is connected to the internet . This can be done through the device settings, in the networks section from where you can connect to the home WiFi . Depending on the model, you can also connect your screen to the internet through the Ethernet cable. The latter will be possible if your screen has the corresponding connection on the back.
- Press the ” Home ” button, the one with the symbol of a house, on your TV remote control.
- In the menu that appears at the bottom of your screen, scroll to the ” APPS ” section and press to access it. This is known by the name of Smart Hub and is nothing more than the application store of Samsung smart TVs.
- Once inside the app store, you can search for the application you want in the catalog, from the different categories, or using the search engine.
- When you locate the app you want to download, click on it to enter and then select “Install” so that it begins to be part of your TV’s application catalog.
In order to access the app store and install them on your TV, it will ask you to sign in with a Samsung Account . If you do not have one, you must create it using a valid email and it will only take a few minutes to carry out this process that will allow you to make the most of the uses you give to your TV.
How to install applications from a USB
The process we have seen so far is the official way to install apps on a Samsung smart TV. You may have the problem of searching for a specific app within the store and that it does not appear. This is because there are certain applications that are only compatible with the latest models of these televisions, although we will have the possibility to do so unofficially.
This is a process that we must do under our own responsibility, since we ourselves will have to download the app externally and then “inject” it into our TV from a USB memory . Remember that applications of this type can have viruses associated with them that can infect the operating system and, therefore, cause us some kind of damage or theft of information. So, as we have already mentioned, this is something that you must do at your own risk .
The first thing you should know is the model of our television. When it comes to downloading and installing unofficial applications on televisions with Tizen, there are two different types of applications depending on the model of your television. To know which one you should download, you will have to consult the letter that is just after the number of inches of the name on the model of your television.
For example, in the model “Samsung Crystal UHD 2020 55TU8005” it would be the letter “T”. On the one hand there will be the applications for the J, K, M, N, Q, R and T models. And, on the other hand, the apps for the E, ES, F, H, J4 and J52 TV models. You can be relatively calm in this regard because there are usually apps for both families of models. But it is important to know this information, since, between both families, the installation route is different.
To be able to do this installation outside of the official application store , once you know the information that we have just mentioned, you must do the following:
- Locate the app in question : we cannot provide you with any repository of these applications since, as its name suggests, it is not an official form. Of course, we are sure that by doing a quick search on the internet you will be able to locate it. Once done, download it to your computer.
- Prepare the USB memory : now you must “configure” the USB optimally so that your TV can read it. All you have to do here is format it in FAT32 format . On a Windows PC, right click on the drive and select the format option, select the corresponding settings and click “Start”. In computers with MacOS, you will have to do it by opening the “Disk Utility”, selecting the unit and clicking on “Delete” setting the format before clicking on “Start”.
- With the USB memory clean, transfer the file of the app that you have downloaded to it and unzip it. Leave on this USB only and exclusively this application and no other files. Everything ready for your computer, time to go to the TV.
- Disable automatic app updates on your TV. This can be done from the system settings.
- Connect the USB memory to the TV and, automatically, a warning should appear on your screen informing you that the application is being installed. If nothing appears, try another USB port on your TV. If nothing still appears, this app is probably not compatible with your TV.