By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
TV Answer Man, we have a Vizio Smart TV and we like streaming on it. But sometimes we lose the connection to our WiFi network. My Internet signal strength seems to be okay so do you know how this can be fixed? — Christie, Plano, Texas.
Christie, your problem is not uncommon with Vizio Smart TVs, or any Smart TV, plus Smart TV devices such as Blu-ray players, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. The streaming player will simply lose its connection with your WiFi network, perhaps just for a few seconds, but long enough to interrupt your program or movie. The disconnect is a major inconvenience, but Vizio’s Support page at Vizio.com actually offers some suggestions on how to reduce, if not eliminate, the problem.
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For starters, Vizio says it recommends that your Smart TV (or another Smart TV device) be positioned no more than 30 feet away from your Internet modem. This is to ensure that your set can easily pick up the WiFi signal from the modem. The further away the modem is, the more likely that your TV will have difficulty maintaining a consistently strong connection.
Of course, in many homes, particularly large ones, the 30-feet rule is not practical. While you may have the modem stationed in the strategically-smart center of the house (to allow all rooms to have an equal chance of receiving the WiFi signal), there still could be family members trying to stream from the basement, or an upstairs, corner bedroom which is more than 30 feet away.
In this case, you might want to purchase a wireless range extender that will (hopefully) bring a strong WiFi signal to every room, nook and cranny of your home.
If you are still having issues after taking those steps, Vizio suggests trying to stream on the Smart TV alone to see if the connection improves. Sometimes your WiFi signal will lose strength if several devices in the house are operating at the same time.
Finally, one last idea: Connect your Vizio Smart TV directly to the modem with an Ethernet cable. That will bypass the WiFi network entirely and (hopefully, again) deliver a stronger signal to your set.
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Christie, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
