How to Add Apps to Vizio Smart TV?

Smart TVs are the best televisions to buy in today’s digital world. Vizio brand’s smart TVs are affordable and provide good quality. It’s a good product for people who are not obsessed with any particular smart TV brand. It might be a little tricky to add apps to a smart TV. In this article, we’ll tell you how to add apps to Vizio smart tv in a few easy steps.

Vizio smart TV is a popular television provider in the USA. It has a wide range of regular and smart TVs that include OLED, P-series, M-series, etc. These televisions come with a lot of in-built apps for people to be able to watch their favorite shows whenever they like. The challenge arises when the users need to add apps to Vizio smart TV.

As mentioned above, there are many versions of the smart TV, and each version has its own set of rules to add apps. There are 3 important and easy ways to customize the apps on your home screen. Keep reading to find out what they are and how they can be helpful to you.

Guide to Add Apps to Vizio Smart TV

The initial experience with Vizio Smart TVs will be seamless. However, the real problem shows up when you want to add apps. This will require you to know what model of the Smart TV you own.

Each series of the brand has a different approach on how to add apps. It would be advisable to also know the year or date of release of your current smart TV model.

  • Until 2017– All Vizio VIA (Vizio Internet Apps) and VIA Plus TVs that were released before 2017, can add apps from the ‘Connected TV store‘. Customers will not be able to download and install apps from other places with ease on this version.
  • Released between 2015-2017– SmartCast HD TVs do not let the user install any apps. Unfortunately, these TVs do not come with in-built apps as well. The only option is to use Chromecasting.
  • Released between 2016-2017– Vizio SmartCast 4K UHD TVs have pre-installed apps in the TVs. You will not be able to add other apps from the internet in this version. However, you have the option of Chromecasting apps that are installed on any of your devices that are connected to the smart TV.
  • Released after 2018– Vizio SmartCast TVs cannot download and install apps. The solution to this is to Chromecast apps that are already downloaded on your devices such as phone and tablet. For those who own Apple gadgets, Airplay is a valid option to use project apps on to the smart TV.

Ways to Solve App Addition Problem on Vizio Smart TV

Now that you know what to do with your version of Vizio at home, your task is so much easier. Now you no longer have to wonder about how to add apps to Vizio smart TV as we are half done with the process. Given below are ways to solve the problem associated with your version at home.

1. SmartCast is the Way

Use Smartcast solution to solve app addition issue on Vizio smart tv. Here are steps to follow:-

  1. Open Google Play Store or Apple App Store on your device.
  2. Install apps that support Chromecasting as you will be using your phone to project the app on to the TV screen.
  3. After the installation is done, the app can be used to cast on to the TV screen.
  4. The final step is to connect your device to the smart TV and select the Chromecasting option on top.
  5. In the picture given below, you will be able to see the Chromecasting logo.
Cast Logo Example on App

2. Try Vizio Internet Apps

Like mentioned above, many versions of Vizio smart TVs come with a selection of apps already installed. Some of the apps include- YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, etc. These are roughly the most-watched apps, so many users are content with these themselves. Steps for how to add apps on Vizio smart TV:

  1. Select the ‘V‘ button on the respective Vizio smart TV remote control to open the apps menu.
  2. Select the App Store options. Depending on the version, you might have to select any of these- Featured, All Apps, Latest, or Categories.
  3. Once this opens, select all the apps that you want to add to the home menu.
  4. Click on OK to Install all the apps you selected.
  5. As the installation process gets over, the apps will be added to the home menu.
  6. Now you will be able to open the app of your choice and enjoy your favorite shows.

3. App Row Customization

This method is still very helpful to solve the app addition problem in Vizio smart tv. Here are steps to follow:-

  1. On the screen, you will be able to find an option called “customize app row‘.
  2. This might depend on the smart TV version, so if you don’t have the option, move on to another way to add apps.
  3. Once you select the option, you’ll be taken to all the apps.
  4. You can select all the apps that you want.
  5. Once you are done selecting all the apps that you want, you can press OK.
  6. This will automatically add the apps to your home screen.
Vizio SmartCast TV – Customize App Row – Move Apps

Conclusion

That’s a wrap on how to add apps on Vizio smart TV. We hope this article was helpful to you and solved any of your problems regarding app addition. If any of the above methods don’t work for you, make sure to check your smart TV version again. Sometimes you might be using the wrong method for your smart TV version.

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