Can You Use A WiFi Adapter For Samsung TV? 5 Facts (2023)

Samsung TVs have it all:

Fantastic display, great audio, plenty of features…

All these, except for one:

Somehow, your Samsung TV can’t connect to Wi-Fi properly.

But, you came across this nifty little gadget in the hardware store:

Wi-Fi adapter.

The question is, will this work on Samsung TVs?

Keep reading to discover:

Which Samsung TV can’t use wireless adapters.
Wi-Fi adapter alternative that won’t break your wallet.
The best wireless adapter for your Samsung TV on the market.
5 crucial facts you need to know about Wi-Fi adapters and Samsung TV.
And so much more…

Can you use a WiFi adapter for Samsung TV?

You can use a Wi-Fi adapter for most Samsung TVs. The only exception to this is a non-smart Samsung TV. Otherwise, you can use a wireless adapter by plugging it into your USB port. After that, just press OK on the prompt on the top right side of your screen.

Using a WiFi adapter on a Samsung TV – 5 facts

#1: The best wireless adapter for your Samsung TV

So, you’re in the market for a Samsung TV wireless adapter?

Then, you might’ve noticed that the market is saturated.

There are simply too many adapters out there.

So which 1 should you choose?

Well, fortunately, Samsung sells a wireless adapter.

The catch?

Like all Samsung devices, it’s pretty expensive. In fact, their adapter retails at $145.

Thankfully, you have a couple of different options out there. Like the:

Panda N600: $39.99.
Cudy WU1300: $14.99.
TP-Link AC1300: $19.99.

#2: You need to reset your network settings to use a Wi-Fi adapter

Samsung TV can use Wi-Fi networks because of its Wi-Fi module.

But what if you want to use an adapter instead?

Usually, you’ll have to access your service menu to edit your Wi-Fi settings. This menu is an interface for technicians to access hidden settings on your TV.

The problem is that these settings are hidden for a reason.

Why?

That’s because you might brick your entire TV with a single wrong move in this menu. Not worth it, I’d say too.

So, you can try the easier option instead:

Resetting your network settings. Here’s how you can do that:

Press the Home button on your Samsung TV remote.
Go to the Settings menu.
Under General, tap Network.
Select Reset Network.

If you’re interested in a visual version of these steps, you can watch this video:

#3: You can make your internet faster by changing its DNS settings

Let’s say you already have a Wi-Fi adapter.

You put it on your Samsung TV, and it works…

But it’s so unbearably slow.

Is your adapter broken? Probably.

However, there might be a different culprit worth checking first:

Your DNS server could be down.

First of all, DNS stands for Domain Name System. Think of it as a translator of human language to computer language.

You see, computers can’t understand when you type “netflix.com” into its address bar. The same goes for every smart appliance.

So, they use DNS servers to convert what you type online into something they understand.

Now, unfortunately, most DNS servers aren’t exactly known to be reliable. So when these servers go down, your internet often becomes spotty or disconnected.

However, there’s 1 server that doesn’t go down:

The Google Public DNS.

Made in 2009, Google’s DNS isn’t only made to be reliable but also:

Quick.
Secure.
Cloud-based.
Can’t be redirected.

Want to give it a try? Doing so can make your internet faster. With that, here’s how you can change your Samsung TV’s DNS:

Press the Home button on your Samsung TV remote.
Go to your Settings menu.
Under Network, head to Network Status.
Select IP Settings.
Tap DNS Settings, and choose Enter Manually.
Type and enter 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4.

#4: Streaming devices are better than wireless adapters

Got a dumb TV? Or perhaps a Samsung smart TV that’s a couple of years old?

Here’s a secret:

You don’t have to buy a Wi-Fi adapter…

A streaming device can do everything that you need and more. And by “more,” I mean:

Customize your entire screen.
Have an intuitive voice assistant.
Get access to a wide range of streaming apps.
Allow other features like screencasting, creating routines, etc.

Oh yeah, and they have their Wi-Fi modules, making Wi-Fi adapters irrelevant.

Interested in getting 1? Then, I recommend the following:

#5: Ethernet cables are cheaper than Wi-Fi adapters

As I said, the best Samsung Wi-Fi adapter costs $145.

And here’s my question for you:

Do you really need a Wi-Fi adapter, or do you just need internet?

If your answer is the latter, I’d say investing in ethernet cables is wiser.

After all, wired connections are more reliable than wireless ones. Not only that, but they also:

Provide more security.
Transfer more lossless data.
Less stressful on your bandwidth.

However, don’t just go around buying the first ethernet cable you see. You need a cable that’ll maximize the internet you’re paying for.

That’s why you need to use this table for all your ethernet-buying needs:

Ethernet Cable	Shielding	Maximum Speed	Length
Cat 3	Unshielded	10 Mbps	–
Cat 5	Unshielded	100 Mbps	–
Cat 5e	Unshielded	1 Gbps	–
Cat 6	Either	10 Gbps	55 meters
Cat 6a	Shielded	10 Gbps	55 meters
Cat 7	Shielded	100 Gbps	15 meters
Cat 7a	Shielded	100 Gbps	15 meters
Cat 8	Shielded	40 Gbps	30 meters

Once you’ve bought 1, you can enable ethernet on your Samsung TV using these directions:

Press the Home button on your Samsung TV remote.
Go to the Settings menu.
Head to General.
Tap Network.
Open Network Settings.
Select Wired.

BONUS: You don’t always need an adapter to fix your network issues

Why are you interested in purchasing a Wi-Fi adapter?

For most, it’s because they’re experiencing internet issues on their Samsung TVs.

While it’s tempting to throw money at the issue…

That’s not always the solution.

In fact, you can solve most internet issues with the following fixes:

Power cycle your Samsung TV

The first thing you can try is to power cycle your TV. This is a type of restart, but with a key difference.

To discuss what makes this different from a normal restart, you must first learn how to do it. You can power cycle your TV using these steps:

Turn your TV off.
Unplug it from the socket.
Don’t do anything for 30 seconds.
Plug it back in.
Turn it on.

Those 30 seconds are what sets this method apart from a regular restart.

You see, turning your TV on and off won’t completely shut it down. Instead, it’ll just default into Sleep Mode.

But 30 seconds is enough time for all residual charges to escape your TV.

Thus, also allowing all stuck processes and tasks on your TV to restart.

Update your Samsung TV

If you’re having internet issues, there’s a chance that many other Samsung TV users are too.

Luckily, Samsung themselves often patches out these glitches with a firmware update.

More than that, updates usually do the following for your TV:

Enable the latest apps.
Allow it to perform faster.
Give access to new features.

So, if you think outdated software is your problem, there are 2 ways to update your TV:

Using the Settings menu

Press the Home button on your remote.
Go to the Settings menu.
Head to Support.
Tap Software Update.
Select Update Now.

With a flash drive

Get a flash drive that has at least 2 Gb.
Go to the Samsung Download Center.
Enter and download your TV’s latest firmware.
Extract the downloaded file into your USB.
Turn on your Samsung TV.
Insert the flash drive into the USB port.
Follow this direction: Settings > Support > Software Update > Update Now.

Ensure that the time on your TV is correct

Want to hear something weird?

The time on your TV affects the internet connection on your Samsung TV.

How so?

Samsung traces your location using your IP address.

To prevent VPNs, Samsung checks the time on your TV against your location.

And, if it doesn’t match up, they can block your internet connection.

Fortunately, the easy remedy to this is editing your time settings:

Set time automatically

Press the Home button on your remote.
Go to the Settings menu.
Head to General.
Tap System Manager.
Under Time, select Clock.
Set Clock Mode to Auto.

Set time manually

Do all the steps under “Set time automatically” except the 6th step.
Set Clock Mode to Manual.
Change Time to reflect your current hour.

Change your router settings

Lastly, the problem may not be your Samsung TV…

But your router settings. To be specific, you should look at your:

Connection limit.
And frequency band.

Don’t worry. Let me walk you through each of these:

Step 1: Access your router settings

First, you’ll need to access your router’s interface. This is a website wherein you can edit your router settings.

You can go to your interface with these directions:

Get a PC, preferably Windows.
Open the Command Prompt app.
Type and enter “ipconfig/all.”
Take note of the numbers next to Default Gateway. This is your IP address.
Enter the IP address into any web browser’s address bar.
Sign in using the account provided by your ISP.

If you don’t know your account, this should be:

“admin” for the username.
“password” for the password.

However, if that didn’t work, contact your ISP.

After this, you now have access to your interface. Now, let’s change your settings:

Step 2A: Change connection limit

Connection limit refers to the maximum number of devices that can connect to your Wi-Fi.

This is often enabled by default to prevent bandwidth stretching. However, you can easily disable it by doing the following:

On your interface, go to the Wi-Fi tab on the left side of your screen.
Head to Wi-Fi Options.
Tap Max Wi-Fi.
Select the maximum amount of devices that can connect to your network.

Step 2B: Switch frequency band

Think of frequency bands as the medium in which your Wi-Fi travels.

Most routers nowadays only use 2.4 GHz or 5.0 GHz.

Each has an advantage over the other. Most notably, 5.0 GHz is faster, but 2.4 GHz can connect to devices easier.

That’s also why you need to switch from 5.0 to 2.4. And this is how you can do that:

Head to the Advanced Settings tab.
Press Wireless.
Select Wireless Signal.
Set Channel Optimization to Off.
Change 2.4 GHz to On.
Change 5.0 GHz to Off.

You may also be interested in: Samsung TV Won’t Connect To WiFi

Will any WiFI adapter work on Samsung TV?

Any Wi-Fi adapter will work on Samsung TV. However, the best adapter you can get is Samsung’s own LinkStick.

For other recommendations, check out the section in this article titled:

“#1: The best wireless adapter for your Samsung TV.”

Does Samsung TV need a wireless adapter?

Your Samsung TV doesn’t need a wireless adapter unless it’s broken. And, even then, it’s always better to use ethernet over Wi-Fi adapters.

Furthermore, non-smart Samsung TVs can’t use a Wi-Fi adapter or ethernet at all. Instead, you can give it internet access using a streaming device.