Samsung Smart TV Apps Not Working? The Fix - Online Home Theater Resource

Samsung smart TVs are rated by most TV users as one of the top-quality brands in the TV market. They are popular worldwide and come in different forms and models such as 8K and 4K UHD displays as well as curved and flat screens. Samsung Smart TVs also have the Smart Hub, which is home to several TV apps that you can access once you have a good internet connection.

However, like most electronic gadgets, Samsung smart TVs are likely to develop technical faults which may prevent your apps from working. The apps on your Samsung TV may also crash and will not be able to load. You can fix these issues by restarting your TV or updating the TV’s software and the apps on your Samsung TV.

If you own a Samsung Smart TV and you are looking for a way to fix your apps that are not working, look no further since I am going to be sharing some tips that you can apply to get your app fixed in no time.

Why are the Apps Not Working On My Samsung Smart TV?

Very often, the apps on Samsung TV fail to work due to the following reasons:

Poor internet connection

Outdated TV Software and apps
Incompatible country code

Poor Internet Connection

The role of a good internet connection can not be overemphasized if you want to stream on your Samsung TV.

Streaming apps such as Netflix require a strong and stable internet connection to work smoothly so you may have issues with such streaming apps if your internet connection is bad.

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Outdated TV Software and Apps

Using outdated software on your Samsung TV will surely land you in trouble with your streaming apps.

Similarly, an outdated app on your TV will not run smoothly due to bugs or glitches that are yet to be fixed by the app developers.

These bugs will slow down your app and eventually crash it at a time when you need it to stream your favorite TV shows.

Incompatible Country Code

Sometimes, some apps will not be displayed on your Samsung Smart Hub because such apps are not allowed to be used in your country.

You can access these apps only after you change your country’s code to countries where such apps are permitted to be used.

How to Fix Samsung Smart TV Apps not Working Issue

As I said earlier, issues with electronic gadgets such as Samsung TVs are bound to happen. However, you should not be worried when you come across such issues because there is a way to work around them.

If the apps on your Samsung Smart TV are not working as they are supposed to or refuse to show up on the Smart Hub, you can use any of the methods to fix it:

Checking your internet connection

Resetting the TV apps.
Power cycle your Samsung TV.
Updating the Samsung TV software.

Changing your country code
Resetting Smart Hub

Check Internet Connection

When the streaming apps like YouTube or Netflix are freezing or not running properly, you should check to see if your internet is disconnected.

To fix your internet connection, you should consider restarting your WiFi or modem. Also, try to get in the range of the WiFi network as much as possible in order to get strong internet signals.

Alternatively, you can use a cable internet connection rather than a wireless in order to get uninterrupted internet access.

Reset the App

If you notice that one or two apps are the only ones not working properly on your Samsung TV, a better approach will be to reset those apps.

Resetting an app is more or less uninstalling and reinstalling it on your Smart TV. Here is how to do it if you want to reset an app on your Samsung TV:

Go to the Smart Hub on your Samsung Smart TV and choose Samsung Apps.
Type in the name of the app you want to reset in the search bar.

Once you see the app, click on the arrow on top of the app’s icon and then select Delete to uninstall it.
Next is to install the same app again. Search for the app again on the Smart Hub and click Download or Get.
At this stage, you would have reinstalled the latest version of the app on your Samsung Smart TV. Restart your TV and open the app.

Hopefully, this will fix the problem with that particular app.

Power Cycle the Samsung Smart TV

Power cycling your Samsung Smart TV can help fix your apps and get them running on most occasions.

In this case, what you want to be doing to TV is to actually restart or reboot it rather than merely turning it off and putting it on standby mode.

Rebooting the Smart TV allows the TV’s software to start afresh and on most occasions fixes the processing errors that may be preventing your apps from working.

To power cycle your smart TV, you should:

Turn off your Smart TV.

Unplug the TV’s power cord from the electric socket on the wall or power source.
Wait for a minimum of forty seconds and then plug the cord back into the power source.
Turn on your TV.

These steps should resolve the issue with the apps on your TV.

Another way to reboot your TV is to use your Samsung TV’s remote control. You can do this by:

Pressing and holding down the Power button on your remote while the TV is on.

Wait for some seconds for the TV to shut down and turn on by itself.
Once the TV turns back on, open the apps to check if they are working.

You should ensure that your TV’s remote batteries are in good shape before using this method.

Update the Samsung Smart TV Software

If your Samsung TV software is out of date and you want to update it, follow the steps below:

Press the Settings button on your TV remote or go to Menu and the Settings on your TV.
Go to Support and select Software Update.

Choose Update Now and your TV will begin to check for the latest updates to download.

Samsung also has the option to update some of its TV models with a USB stick. If your TV cannot be updated by the steps above, you should consider contacting Customer Service Samsung for assistance on how to update your TV via the USB stick.

Change Your Country Code

If certain apps do not appear on your Smart Hub as a result of your location, you can change the country on your TV in order to have access to those apps. Changing the country code is simple and you can do it by following these steps:

On your remote, press the Smart Hub button and wait for it to load.
Press these keys successively on your remote: 2, 8, 9.
Go to Internet Service Location. A list of countries will be displayed on your screen. Choose your preferred country from the list and click on Agree to terms.

Hit the Continue button.
All the apps that are available for that particular country will be loaded on your Smart Hub and you will be able to access the apps that you couldn’t access before.

Reset Smart Hub

You always consider resetting the Smart Hub as the last resort when you are attempting to fix your apps that are not working.

This is because Smart Hub is like the home of all your Samsung TV apps so if you reset it you will end up losing all of your apps unless you reinstall them one after the other.

The good news however is that it will most likely fix the app issue almost all the time.

If you decide to reset your Smart Hub, here are the steps you should follow:

Press the Menu button on your TV remote and go to Smart Hub.
Select Smart Hub Reset.
You will be asked to enter your PIN. Samsung TV’s default PIN is 0000 so enter this code when prompted.

The resetting process will be initiated.
After the reset is complete, go to Smart Hub again and download the apps one after the other. Launch them when you are done to see if they will work this time.

If they don’t, you should contact Samsung customer support for assistance.

How Do I Clear Cache On My Samsung TV?

Caches often occupy your device’s storage and take up some memory of your TV. This may slow down your apps from running smoothly, causing them not to run smoothly.

On most Samsung TV models, you can clear the cache by going to Settings and selecting a particular app, and choosing Clear Cache.

If you want to free up some memory on your device quickly, you can power cycle it using the steps I discussed earlier.

Conclusion

The Samsung Smart TV offers the opportunity for viewers to use several of the TV apps available in most app stores.

Some of the apps come pre-installed on the TV while you have to install others by yourself.

The apps may not be able to load or work on certain occasions due to technical faults. However, you should not be disturbed by any of such faults since I have shared with you the important techniques you need to have in order to resolve those issues.

Generally, you should update your TV’s software and power cycle your device when the apps are not working. Your resort should be to reset the Smart Hub and get your apps to begin running on a fresh note.

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Josephine

Josephine is a home theater and tech enthusiast who is curious about electronics and how they are interconnected to produce beautiful sound and images. Beside coding, I also write about technology.