How To Add Apps To Your Vizio Smart TV [Done In Seconds!]

ByKern Campbell, MBA

If you buy a new or used Vizio TV, it may be your first Smart TV experience. The first thing you will want to know is how to add apps to a Vizio Smart TV.

Downloading apps onto your Vizio TV is how you enjoy the incredible benefits of owning a Smart TV. Through the apps, you can have all of your streaming services available to you all in one place and you can watch your favorite movies and shows on your large screen television rather than on a small computer or smartphone screen. 

How To Add Apps To Your Vizio Smart TV 1 How To Add Apps To Your Vizio Smart TV [Done In Seconds!]

Table of Contents

How do you add apps to a Vizio Smart TV?

To download apps, you will need to make sure your Vizio TV is connected to the internet. If your Vizio TV is a 2018 model or later, you will need to use SmartCast to stream your favorite TV and movie apps. Pre-2017, and you can install apps through the VIA or VIA Plus platforms.

However, if you own a 2016 to 2017 Vizio SmartCast HD TV, then you will need to stream apps from your personal computer, tablet, or smartphone and cast them to the TV using Chromecast or Apple AirPlay. If you own a Vizio SmartCast 4k UHD TV or a standard Vizio SmartCast TV, then all the apps come preloaded onto the television. 

If you do not see the app that you would like to use preloaded on your Vizio Smart TV, then keep in mind that any type of Vizio TV can use a Roku, Fire Stick, or some other 3rd party input device that will allow you to download all the apps that you need.

That being said, let us take a look at how you go about downloading apps to a Vizio Smart TV using Viva  and Viva Plus platforms as well as how you use SmartCast

To find all the information you need, all you have to do is do a quick web search and you should get hundreds of results. 

However, we have done that part for you and have reviewed some of the highest-rated tech websites as well as the Vizio website to provide all the information you need here in a quick and easy-to-read format.

How are apps installed on a Vizio TV?

If you have purchased a new Vizio TV, then you should have a SmartCast television and you will need to use SmartCast to stream your favorite apps. We will explain how to do this in a minute. 

If you have purchased a used 2017 or earlier Vizio TV that runs the VIA or VIA Plus platforms, then you may want to keep some of the apps that the previous owner has downloaded, however, you may have to make sure that all the apps have been logged-out of by the previous owner. 

Keep in mind that it may be easier to just wipe the TV and reset your Vizio TV to its factory settings so you can have a fresh start and download only the apps you plan on using. 

Either way, you will want to remove all the apps you do not plan on using to ensure you have enough space for all the apps you intend to install. Here is a breakdown of the step-by-step process of installing apps through the Viva and Via Plus platforms as well as how to use SmartCast.

How To Add Apps To Your Vizio Smart TV 1 1 How To Add Apps To Your Vizio Smart TV [Done In Seconds!]

How to connect your Vizio TV to the internet

The first step to downloading apps or casting streaming content from your computer, tablet, or smartphone is to connect your Vizio Smart TV to the internet. 

This is an incredibly easy process that can be done in a few short minutes. Yes, your TV will work without connecting to the internet if you are using a cable box or satellite dish to watch programming, however, to install apps and updates for your television, an internet connection is required. 

First, press the menu button on your Vizio remote and then select network Inside of the network tab there should be a network connection option. Select that and then hit wireless when it asks you what type of network connection you are looking to connect to. 

After you select the wireless option, you should see a list of available Wifi networks you can connect to. 

Find your in-house Wifi network name, enter your Wifi password, and wait for confirmation. Once you receive confirmation, you will be connected to the internet and then you can start to work on getting streaming content onto your TV.  

If you want to establish a wired connection, simply run an ethernet cable from the back of your TV to your in-house internet router.

Go through the same options as before, but this time select wired network connection rather than wireless. 

SmartCast

In order to use SmartCast Technology on your Vizio Smart TV, you are going to need to work with the Google Chromecast that is pre-built onto the SmartCast TV. This explains why you do not have to purchase a specialized Chromecast dongle and hook it up to your TV to use your streaming service apps. 

To use SmartCast on your Vizio TV, you will need to use a laptop, personal computer, tablet, or smartphone that contains the app you are trying to use. 

Make sure your personal device and your Vizio SmartCast TV are both connected to the same network. When you open the app on your personal device, locate the cast button and click on it. 

Your personal device should be able to connect to the television and you can begin to watch whatever content you want by playing it through the app on your personal device. 

SmartCast should be compatible with any device that uses the following operating system.

  • Android 4.4 and higher
  • iOS 9.0 and higher
  • Mac OS 10.9 and higher
  • Chrome OS
  • Windows 7.0 and higher

Viva

If your Vizio TV is running the VIVA platform, you should already have some of the most popular TV apps pre-load onto your TV. Apps like YouTube, Pandora, Netflix, and Hulu most likely will not need to be downloaded. Other less common apps may need to be downloaded. 

To download an app using the Viva platform follow these steps. 

  1. Press the Vizio button on your Vizio remote.
  2. Go to the Connected Tv Store option and select it.
  3. Go to the All Apps option and click OK.
  4. Browse through the list of available apps and find what you are looking for.
  5. Click on the app you want and select Install App.
  6. Wait for download then go back to the main screen and select the app.

Viva Plus

If your Vizio Smart TV is running the VIVA Plus, then you should too have a series of apps already pre-loaded onto your television

If you cannot locate the app you would like to use in the pre-load app banks, then you will need to download the app. To download the app you would like, follow these steps.

  1. Press the Vizio button TWICE on your Vizio remote.
  2. The VIA Plus Apps box should appear.
  3. Locate the My Apps option and select it.
  4. Browse through the available apps by looking at All Apps or the Latest and Featured Apps options.
  5. Find the app you would like and then press and hold the OK button until the app appears in the My Apps list. 

To delete an app you no longer use or that you would not like on your Vizio TV and you are using the VIVA platform, simply go to where your apps are located. Select the app you would like to delete and then press the yellow button on the remote. 

It should give you the option to Delete App. Simply select that option and click OK. 

The process is similar for the VIVA Plus platform, but instead of pressing a yellow button, simply click and hold down the OK button once you have the app selected. After a long hold, a secondary menu should pop up where you can select to delete the app. 

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