VIZIO TV Keeps Losing Internet Connection? (Easy FIXES!)
If your VIZIO TV keeps losing internet connection, you shouldn’t be worried, but be ready for quick and easy troubleshooting, as you follow this guide.
Internet disconnections are very common with wireless connections, so today, we’re going to walk you through a complete step-by-step tutorial for fixing it.
Let’s get started…
VIZIO TV Keeps Losing Internet Connection – 6 Easy Steps!
Note: Have you tried power cycling your VIZIO TV and router for ~60 seconds?
1. Inspect Your Wi-Fi Availability
If your VIZIO TV internet connection keeps dropping out, the first thing to do is check whether the Wi-Fi is accessible and consistent.
Let’s walk you through a few well-designed steps to help you check your Wi-Fi:
1.1 – Test Your Wi-Fi Speed
The first step is to check the Wi-Fi speed. You can use any free internet speed tool online to test the Wi-Fi speed. However, it’s quite important how you test it.
We recommend using your phone to connect to the same Wi-Fi as your TV and stand as close as possible to the TV while testing.
Anything below 5 Mbps is considered slow, and perhaps that’s why your VIZIO TV connection is dropping out, or at least it feels like disconnecting.
1.2 – Test Wi-Fi Consistency
If your Wi-Fi speed is intact, another reason why your VIZIO TV would disconnect is the actual consistency.
If the Wi-Fi is not being consistent and fluctuating, it’s normal for your VIZIO TV to keep disconnecting and reconnecting.
You can easily test your Wi-Fi consistency on a Windows computer:
- Open the Command Prompt (CMD) as an administrator.
- Then, type “ping 8.8.8.8 -t” and press the “Enter” button.
- Now wait for a few minutes and look for any lost packets.
You’ll be seeing your PC pinging Google’s DNS, sending and receiving packets.
We recommend doing this for about ~5 minutes, and if you see the “Timed Out” error, the Wi-Fi is dropping out.
Note: During this test, if you’re connected to the Wi-Fi, then you’re testing the wireless consistency, while if you’re connected over Ethernet, you’re testing your broadband connection.
1.3 – Troubleshoot the Wi-Fi
If you have identified issues with the Wi-Fi or broadband consistency, there are a few quick ways to troubleshoot potential issues:
- Unplug your Wi-Fi router for 60 seconds.
- Disconnect and reconnect your Ethernet.
- Straighten up your Wi-Fi router antennas.
- Elevate the position of your Wi-Fi router.
- Dislocate other nearby Wi-Fi transmitters.
- Stop downloading, uploading, or seeding.
Note: If you can’t identify and resolve your Wi-Fi issues, get in touch with your ISP.
2. Switch to Other Wi-Fi Thread
If the VIZIO TV keeps disconnecting from the Wi-Fi, switching to another wireless frequency might be the only solution you need.
Why? Because if your router is dual-band (e.g, has two Wi-Fi bands), one of them operates on a 2.4 GHz frequency, while the other uses 5 GHz.
The main difference is the speed and connectivity capabilities. While the 2.4 GHz is slower than 5 GHz, it is much more reliable and consistent.
If you are using a newer VIZIO TV model that supports both Wi-Fi frequencies, we recommend switching and sticking to the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi.
Here’s how to change the Wi-Fi on your VIZIO TV:
- Open the Menu of your VIZIO TV.
- Scroll down and select “Network”.
- Choose the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi thread.
- Insert the password and connect.
Note: Typically, when your providers set up your router, for easier recognition, they name your Wi-Fi bands by including “2.4” or “5” in their SSIDs.
The Distance Matters!
Well, if your VIZIO TV just won’t stop disconnecting, maybe the distance between your router and TV is way beyond the limit.
We recommend keeping both devices at a maximum of ~100 feet apart for best connectivity. If needed, you may have to relocate the router or VIZIO TV.
3. Set a Static VIZIO TV IP Address
If your VIZIO TV keeps losing WiFi connection, even after your Wi-Fi has been proven to work flawlessly, there could be an IP conflict.
That’s why the next best step is to try and manually pair the VIZIO TV to the Wi-Fi, which bypasses DHCP, and allows you to manually set the address.
When connecting the VIZIO TV to Wi-Fi normally through DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), your router automatically supplies the TV with an IP address.
In turn, when you go with a manual connection, you will manually set a static IP address dedicated to your TV.
Step #1 – Acquire the Addresses
To acquire the addresses you need, again, a Windows computer connected to your router is the easiest way to get them.
You’ll need to open the CMD (Command Prompt) as an administrator, type “/ipconfig”, hit Enter, and note down the following addresses:
Step #2 – Connect the TV Manually
When you have the addresses noted, on your VIZIO TV, go to Menu → Network → Manual Setup and toggle the “DHCP” option to off.
Then, insert your computer’s IPv4 address, and only change the last 2 digits.
For instance, if your PC IP address is 192.168.0.45, set your TV to 192.168.0.46.
The Subnet Mask and the Default Gateway stay the same as you’ve noted them down. The last thing would be the DNS server.
You should either try Google’s DNS (8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4) or Cloudflare’s (1.1.1.1/1.0.0.1) as primary and secondary, respectively.
4. Switch TV to a Wired Connection
If your VIZIO TV does have an Ethernet port on the back, what are you waiting for, and why are you dealing with all these Wi-Fi limitations?
To set up your VIZIO TV wired connection, you only need a long enough Ethernet cable that will connect the yellow “LAN” port of your router to the Ethernet TV port.
There is nothing more to it, as your VIZIO TV will automatically set itself up after being connected to the network router.
With a wired connection, the VIZIO TV will straightforwardly draw internet from your broadband, and no potential Wi-Fi issues can ever interfere.
However, if the VIZIO TV doesn’t support Ethernet, that’s unfortunate, so let’s keep finding ways to diagnose and fix the Wi-Fi connection.
5. Test VIZIO TV on Personal Hotspot
If you still can’t diagnose the VIZIO TV internet connection issues over a wireless connection, a quick way to determine the cause is by using Tethering (Personal Hotspot).
In short, you’ll need a smartphone that you’ll turn into a mini router, sharing your mobile data as a Wi-Fi connection to your VIZIO TV.
Don’t worry–both Android and Apple phones can do this, so let’s walk you through the steps to enable it:
Then, on your VIZIO TV, go to the Menu → Network, and select the new Wi-Fi that your phone is now transmitting.
Insert the password shown in the tethering menu, and your TV will connect.
Conclusion–If your TV Wi-Fi is not dropping out when using a hotspot, the problem is with the Wi-Fi of your router.
If the Wi-Fi is still dropping out, then you’re probably facing a system fault.
6. Fully Reset the VIZIO TV to the Defaults
If your VIZIO TV keeps losing internet connection, despite all your efforts, it’s time for a full factory reset, which will reinstall the operating system.
Only proceed with this step if you can confirm that:
⚠️Warning: The factory reset on your VIZIO TV will permanently delete everything, including apps, user settings, and downloaded content.
| 2018 and newer (SmartCast 3.0+) | Menu → Admin & Privacy → Reset to Factory Settings |
| 2020–2022 (SmartCast 4.0–5.0) | Menu → System → Admin & Privacy → Reset to Factory |
| Older models (pre-2018) | Menu → All Settings → Admin & Privacy → Reset to Factory |
You may be required to insert the PIN code (4-digit code) to start the factory reset on your VIZIO TV, which takes about ~5 minutes to complete.
Note: If your VIZIO TV keeps disconnecting from your internet, it may be a defect on a hardware level, so get in touch with VIZIO customer service for more help.
Finn Wheatley, a Master’s graduate in Computer Science from UCL, London, honed his skills at small data science consultancies. There, he helped large corporations enhance their data capabilities by deploying cutting-edge machine learning analytics and resolving technical hurdles.
