How to Update Vizio TV and Apps – Detailed Guide

This article is about the important question of how to update Vizio TV. The fact is that Vizio TVs are getting more and more advanced every day.

If you suddenly haven’t installed updates in the last couple of months (or maybe you haven’t done it at all since you bought your TV), you’ve lost a lot. On top of that, you don’t want to put your software, which becomes vulnerable without updates, at risk.

If you refuse to update your TV’s firmware, you’ll lose a lot of useful features for yourself, such as a high-quality picture with detailed settings and full compatibility with almost every device in the house. All updates are completely free, and will make your TV more convenient in just a couple of minutes.

Vizio SmartCast HD TVs have acquired a huge number of features in just one year. These include extensive screencasting and streaming capabilities, support for HDR options, and a voice assistant.

With each new update, Vizio Smart TVs expand their already huge functionality, improve compatibility with popular apps and add modern options like Google Assistant or smart speakers.

Best of all, you won’t have to wait long for your SmartCast to update to the latest version. So hurry up and grab your remote, run the update, and bring your outdated firmware up to date.

Although we took just one Vizio model for example, namely Vizio SmartCast HD TVs E50-E1, these methods will work for other 4K TV models as well.

How to Update Vizio Smart TV Automatically

You don’t need much to do to automatically update your Vizio TV. Just turn on your TV, turn on your router, and connect your TV to the Internet.

As soon as Vizio Smart TV connects to the network, it will start looking for the latest updates for its firmware itself. If a new update has come out, it will simply queue up. As soon as you don’t use the TV for a long time and the sleep mode starts, the update will start.

How To Update Your Vizio TV Manually

So, if you want to update your TV manually, our seven easy steps guide will help you:

Turn on your TV

In any case, you’ll need to start the TV first. More often than not, right after starting up, the TV will ask you to download and install the latest update, or just run an update check. If this happens, you don’t need any further steps, just follow the instructions on the screen.

If you don’t see the update after powering on, then read on. We will break down all further steps in detail to help you successfully update Vizio to the latest firmware version.

Connect to WiFi

If your Vizio doesn’t want to update automatically and doesn’t send an update notification, chances are it’s simply not connected to the Internet. If you suddenly don’t know how to connect your TV to your shared home network, here’s a guide:

1. Start the TV.
2. Open the TV’s main menu by pressing the Menu button on your remote.
3. Scroll down until you find the Network tab.
4. Select your Wi-Fi network or Ethernet connection.
5. You’ll see a box to enter your network password.

Done. After you complete these simple steps, you will need to test to see if the connection works well.

This is to rule out other problems that may occur with regular upgrades. Once you have resolved any connection issues, go back to the main menu and restart the upgrade process.

Open the Settings menu

Go to the main menu of your TV and open the System tab.

There you will find two items that you can use: Check for system updates and System Info.

We are interested in the first item. Once you select it, you can go straight to step 5 of this guide. But if you want to be fully aware of the updates before you install them on your TV, read on.

Check the Version Number

If you are in doubt, you can see what version of the operating system your TV is currently running by opening the System Information tab.

At the top you will see the model name of your TV, but under this you will find Version. Everything written in it refers to the firmware version of your Visio TV.

Check for Available Updates

Go to the main menu of the TV, then open System, click on Check for updates. A check will run to determine if you have the latest version of SmartCast TV software installed or not.

When you click on this item, you will see a window asking you to confirm the check for updates.

Start Installing the Update

As soon as you confirm to start the procedure, the latest firmware version will start downloading. A notification will appear on the screen. On it you will be able to see the version number of the program at the moment, as well as the number of the current update that is being downloaded. You can check it against the number from step 4.

Once the update has finished downloading, you need to restart the TV. Without this step, the update installation will not start. You can see the splash screen that appears on the screen. It will show you the current installation step.

Your TV will Automatically Reboot

Once everything is fully installed, Vizio TV will reboot again. Once your TV has started, you will receive a notification. It will let you know that the update was successfully installed and tell you what new features are now available on your SmartCast TV.

You can also get more information. To do this, press Play on the remote control. If you want to remove the message, all you have to do is press any button on the remote. That’s it, you can now enjoy the latest Vizio updates.

Can Older Vizio TVs Be Updated

When Vizio SmartCast 4K UHD TVs first went on sale, you could only update them automatically. If you install all updates, the TV will update quickly when a new one comes out. Manual updates have been introduced for later models of TVs. This applies to all TVs released in 2016 and 2017.

How can I Update an Old Vizio TV

Open the Settings menu on your TV, go to the Support tab, then select Software Update. Then find Update Now and click on it.

Your TV will then begin the update process. You don’t want to power off your TV during the update, just wait a few minutes and it will complete.

If your TV makes errors in operation after the update is installed, you can roll back the update. To do this, go to settings and perform a factory reset. Your TV will lose all recent updates and return to its original state.

How to Update your Vizio TV Using USB

If you want to update the firmware of your Visio TV using USB, you need to follow these steps:

1. Insert the flash drive into the computer slot and open any desktop browser. Open the official Vizio website, and go to the Support section. You will see a menu.
2. Click on Find Firmware to bring up the corresponding page.
3. Then type your TV model number into the search bar to find the appropriate update. Be very careful not to make a mistake in the number!
4. You will then see a link with the firmware to download to a USB drive. Click the save button.
5. When the file downloads to your flash drive, rename it to fwsu.IMG and confirm. Remove the USB drive from the computer.
6. Do not immediately plug the USB drive into the slot on your Vizio TV. First, turn off the TV completely, then plug in the cord and turn it back on.
7. You will see an indicator light at the bottom. Some models are red and some are blue. This indicates the status of the firmware update. You need to wait a few minutes for the update to complete. You can tell when the update is complete by the fact that only one power LED remains lit.
8. Remove the USB flash drive, power the TV off again, and then power it on again.

Verify the updates are installed correctly by checking the firmware version. To do this, you will need to press the Info button on the TV remote control. Here is how to use usb on vizio smart tv.

Update Apps on a Vizio VIA or VIA Plus TV

If you want to add apps to your Vizio Smart TV, there are two different processes. You can only install apps on VIZIO Smart TVs that run on the VIA Plus and VIA platforms.

To install apps in VIZIO Internet Apps (VIA), you need to:

• Press the V button on the remote control.
• Select CONNECT TV.
• Select all apps.
• Navigate through the list of apps and press OK on the desired app to display the option to install it.
• Select Install App, which is often in the lower left corner of the screen.

At the end of this four-step process, you will find that you have successfully added apps to your Vizio Internet Apps.

To install applications in VIZIO Internet Apps Plus (VIA Plus) you need:

1. Press the V button on the remote control twice.
2. In the full-screen VIA Plus applications window you will see the installed applications in the “My Applications” tab.
3. Browse through the “Popular”, “Recent”, “All Apps” or “Categories” tabs and find the app you want to install.
4. Press and hold the OK button until the message “[App name] is added to My apps” appears.

At the end of this four-step process, you will find that you have successfully added apps to Vizio Internet Apps Plus.

Update Vizio Smart TV Apps on a Newer Vizio TV

The new Vizio TV models include SmartCast TV, which is considered the analog of Chromecast. With this program, you can use your phone and a special app to transmit everything that happens on your cell phone screen to your TV screen.

The good news is that you don’t need to update the apps manually. When you’re away from your TV, they’ll update themselves without you noticing.

These models are also capable of updating the new firmware on their own, but you can disable this feature and follow the updates manually in person.

If you have SmartCast on your Vizio TV, it doesn’t take long to update your apps. If you want to update the firmware and apps as quickly as possible, connect Vizio TV to the WiFi network.

• Turn on the TV with the remote control.
• On the TV remote, find the Menu button, then go to Settings.
• Choose to check for updates.
• Once they are found, start downloading and installing them.

Once you start the process of updating the application, you will see an indicator light. This is a handy way to keep track of how the updates are progressing. Do not touch the TV during this process to avoid any glitches. As soon as all the procedures are completed, the TV will reboot by itself. After that, open SmartCast and enjoy the new apps and their features.

Video: How to Update Vizio Tv

In this video, you can watch how to so a software system update on a Vizio Smart TV.

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