Smart TVs often slow down with time as updates to apps and the operating systems start to become too much for the relatively slow hardware inside. However, sometimes slow TV can be caused by a single issue. Luckily, the fix is inexpensive and widely available.
A lagging TV is almost worse than none at all
Streaming with buffering is miserable
When I first set up my TV, everything worked perfectly out of the box. Apps were responsive, the picture was great, and nothing buffered, even when I streamed 4K video.
A few weeks after I'd mounted it on my living room wall, I started getting weird issues. Apps would take forever to load if I hadn't opened them in a while, and I frequently found that the streaming picture quality would switch between 720p, 1080p, and 4K.
I went through the usual troubleshooting tricks without success, and when I checked the network connection quality, the TV said everything was fine. Maybe the TV just slowed down faster than I'd hoped—that sort of thing can happen to computers and phones, after all.
Before giving up, I tried one last thing: connecting my TV to my router with an Ethernet cable. In less than 5 minutes, my issues were completely fixed.
Wi-Fi can be reliable one minute and laggy the next
Walls and your neighbor's Wi-Fi all matter
Despite the improvements to Wi-Fi over the years, it is prone to numerous problems that result in lag, disconnects, or dropped packets.
In my situation, my issues occurred because the router was moved to the opposite side of a chimney from the TV. While Wi-Fi signals can penetrate brick, it weakened the signal enough that it wasn't always able to meet the demands of streaming video. I wasn't able to move the router again, but a $15 Ethernet cable fixed the issue.
If your router is far from the TV, or there are many walls (or other obstacles) between the TV and the router, there is a good chance that a weak connection is the source of your problem, not the TV itself.
Physical barriers aren't the only thing that can cause issues either.
If you live in an area with a lot of Wi-Fi networks or electromagnetic noise around you, it is possible that congestion or interference is degrading the wireless connection between your router and your TV. Unfortunately, in that case, you'll often find that your connection can be great at one time and then dreadful an hour later.
In some situations, you might be able to force your TV and router to communicate using a less congested channel or band , but there is no guarantee.
Get an Ethernet cable for your TV
Ethernet is almost always more reliable
Unlike Wi-Fi, an Ethernet cable transmits data along copper wires instead of through the air. That means that the location of your router doesn't really matter as long as it is closer than about 100 meters (around 330 feet). As long as your cable reaches, it'll work.
Not only does Ethernet solve the issue of physical barriers and distance that often exist with Wi-Fi, but it also means that Wi-Fi traffic congestion isn't an issue either. The only signals traveling on the Ethernet cable are the ones that are going to and from your TV—you're not competing with your neighbors to transmit data in a congested frequency range.
Even in situations where interference could pose a problem , like if your Ethernet cable runs next to a microwave oven or near large fluorescent lights, there are specially designed Ethernet cables that have additional shielding to prevent external electromagnetic noise from degrading the signal.
What kind of Ethernet cable do you need?
Fortunately, you don't need any special Ethernet cable for your TV. Cat6 Ethernet cables—which are readily available in brick and mortar stores and online—can reliably transmit 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) over a distance of 55 meters, or some 180 feet.
That is more than enough for any streaming needs you might have in the next decade. 8K video, which is the highest resolution video you can easily find, usually needs less than 200 megabits per second (Mbps).
What if the Ethernet port on the TV isn't good enough?
If you're streaming content from Netflix or Disney, then you're probably not going to run into any problems with the slower Ethernet ports you'll find on modern TVs. The slowest ports usually max out at 100Mbps, which is more than enough for compressed 4K video and audio.
If you have a local media server, like Jellyfin or Plex , it is possible that the bitrate could exceed 100Mbps, especially if you're working with UHD files and surround audio.
In that case, you might be able to use a USB-to-Ethernet adapter to add a faster Ethernet port to your TV by plugging in to your TV's USB 3.2 port.
You should use an Ethernet cable even if you don't have a problem
If your smart TV takes forever to load apps and download updates, and your streaming services all stutter or stop to buffer, don't jump to the assumption that the TV itself is at fault—it might not be. It could be the Wi-Fi connection instead.
However, I'd recommend that you connect your TV, game consoles, or desktop PCs with Ethernet cables whenever you can anyway. It'll almost always get you the best performance, and it may prevent connection issues before they occur.
