Televisions and your Wi-Fi

Big screens with surprisingly ordinary Wi-Fi.

What this kit needs from a network

Wi-Fi 5 client in most sets, Wi-Fi 6 in premium models, with an aerial buried behind a large metal screen.

Bands: Both bands, but the aerial is often poor because of the panel behind it.
How it's found on the network: Needs local discovery for casting and for phone remote apps.
Background discovery traffic: Significant if you cast or use a phone as a remote.
Guest networks: Casting and phone remotes stop working.
Separate IoT network (VLAN): Keep TVs with the phones that cast to them.

• Use the 5 GHz name if the router is in the same or next room.
• A cable to the TV is the single best upgrade if the router is close.
• Stand next to your router while you set it up, then move the gadget to where it lives.
• Put your phone on the 2.4 GHz network name for the setup, or use one name for both bands so the phone can follow.
• If your router splits bands into two names, turn the 5 GHz one off for five minutes rather than fighting it.
• Turn mobile data off on your phone during setup — some apps quietly use it and never find the gadget.

• A mesh box with a spare Ethernet port near the TV lets you cable it — better than any Wi-Fi tweak.

Samsung smart TV 68/100
Usually fine, but the Wi-Fi aerial sits behind a large metal panel, which weakens the signal.
Most common complaint: Apps buffer in the evening, or the TV can't be found for casting from a phone.
LG smart TV 68/100
Wi-Fi aerials point backwards into the wall, so a TV on a bracket often gets a worse signal than your phone in the same room.
Most common complaint: Buffering on 4K, or the TV drops off Wi-Fi every night.

Tell us what's happening in your own words — speak it, type it or send a photo.