How do I connect my TV to the Internet?

We show you the easiest ways to connect your television to the Internet, your router and your computer

If you've recently bought a new television from a big brand like LG, Panasonic, Samsung, TCL, Hisense or Sony in the last year it's likely that you’re going to need to connect it to the internet in order to get the most from it.

Most brand new TVs these days rely on and use the internet to access online services like IPTV, video-on-demand movies, streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, weather information, news updates and more. Some TVs can even access social-networking services like Twitter and Facebook.

If you're in a situation where you’ve bought one of these TVs and don’t know how to connect it to the internet, fear not, we've put together a quick guide on how to do so.

Step 1. Do you have working Internet?

Before messing with any cables, first make sure that you’ve got both an active broadband Internet connection in your home and a wired or wireless router that’s been set up to distribute that internet connection. Mesh Wi-Fi counts too.

Without the above, you're not going to be able to connect your Smart TV to the internet (for obvious reasons).

Step 2. Connecting wirelessly

Most new smart TVs are made for connecting to a wireless home network, which means upon plugging them in and starting them up, the TV should prompt you to enter your wireless password and then it will connect automatically. To connect successfully, make sure you have your wireless router on and broadcasting in your home. If your TV doesn't guide you to connect to your wireless network, use your remote control to navigate to the settings menu and find the option for wireless network setup, then follow the prompts.

Step 3. What if I don't have wireless?

If you don't have wireless Internet, you will need to try to connect to your TV with an Ethernet cable. Look for an Ethernet port on the back — it looks like an oversized phone jack (right).

Now simply plug one end of your cable into a free LAN port on the router and the other end into your TV.

Step 4. A Quick Trip To The Setting Menu

After that, enter your TV's settings menu and find the networking options. If you've got a standard network setup it should be as simple as selecting the setting to enable wired networking — everything will sort itself out automatically through your router.

If your new TV has neither wired nor wireless connectivity, there is one other option. Many televisions can also use wireless networking via an optional wireless USB adapter. These generally cost around $50. For example, this USB dongle for Samsung TVs is $36 on Amazon.

Once you've set up Internet access on your television, you should be able to access Web services directly — on most televisions there's a menu that allows you to choose and configure services as you want.

Connecting your TV to your router and the Internet will also give it access to your computer, allowing you share to share media files via DLNA and similar applications.

Step 5. Finishing Touches

Depending on the operating system powering your TV, you might be prompted to download a software update. However, aside from that, you’re pretty much ready to go.