Samsung Smart TV Not Downloading Apps? A Quick Solution!

Uh-oh! Is your Samsung Smart TV not downloading apps when you want it to? Let’s solve this puzzle together, step by simple step, and make your TV happy and smart again!

Why won’t my Samsung Smart TV download apps?

If your smart TV won’t download new apps, there are a few different things that you can try. Some of the best fixes are rebooting your device, checking your internet connection, or, in extreme cases, performing a factory reset. Any of the fixes can help you get back to downloading apps.

Be sure to read our article: YouTube Not Working On Smart TV: How To Troubleshoot

Problems downloading apps on your Samsung Smart TV could stem from a number of different issues, both simple and more complicated.

Sometimes, it’s simply a case of bad internet connection but in other cases, it could be issues with the firmware or operating system or even an issue with the specific app you are trying to download. 

Whatever the issue, you’ll find plenty of potential solutions here. You can even connect your Samsung TV to an iPhone hotspot if you’re really in a pinch.

In my time in the industry, I´ve owned and tested several Samsung Smart TVs myself, so no matter what problem your TV is having, I can assure you that these solutions will help you get back to downloading your new favorite app as soon as possible.

Temporary Glitches and Simple Solutions

In general, Samsung Smart TVs are really great products and it’s not common to experience a whole lot of issues with your smart TV throughout its lifetime.

However, It’s important to remember that, as with any piece of tech, no matter how amazing, temporary glitches do happen.

These glitches can affect your TV, your router, the app store, or even the specific app you’re trying to download and they are some of the most common issues when it comes to your TV not being able to download a new app.

Though they are annoying, the good thing is that these glitches are temporary, and all you need to do to fix them is simply reboot everything.

Sometimes the glitch just occurs with the TV and you can turn it off and back on again, but if that doesn’t work, just move on to reboot your router, too. 

There’s a good chance that simply rebooting these two things will fix the problem immediately, and you’ll be able to download apps again with no problem.

Is It A Problem With A Specific App?

If rebooting everything doesn’t work and you’re still having problems downloading a new app, the next thing you’ll want to do is figure out whether you cannot download any apps or just this one. 

Obviously, the solution to this is to try to download another.

If you are able to download other apps on the app store but still can’t download the one you want, then it is simply a problem with the app itself.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can really do to address this issue other than wait.

The developers behind the app are the only ones who can fix this, so if this is the case, wait until the next update of the app gets released and try again.

The Best Solutions For Samsung Smart TVs That Won’t Download Apps

If you have tried rebooting your TV and Router and you’ve also determined that it is not an issue with a specific app, there are still many potential solutions to your problem.

Whether it’s power cycling your TV or performing a full factory reset, there’s bound to be a solution that will work for you here.

Sign Out Of The App Store

Sometimes, the issue is related to the app store and can be easily fixed by logging out and then signing back in again. 

To do this, first, you must launch the app store. From there, go to settings and select log out. Once logged out, you’ll want to wait a minute or two and log back in. If the issue was with the app store, you should be able to download apps again.

Check Your Internet Connection

First, you’ll want to confirm that your TV is currently connected to the internet. You can do this by going into settings, clicking on general, and then clicking on the network.

The window that pops up will tell you whether you are connected to the internet or not or if the connection is weak. 

If it is a problem with the internet connection, there are a few things that you can do. As mentioned above, simply rebooting your router may solve the problem. 

However, if the issue persists, try moving the router closer or connecting it to the TV with an ethernet cable as this may make for a stronger and faster connection. 

Disconnecting from the Wi-Fi network and reconnecting again may also help your connection problems.

However, be sure to make the TV forget the network so that you have to put the password in again, as this way of doing it offers the best results.

If you are still having connection issues, your TV’s location settings are the next place to look.

If your smart TV thinks it’s in a different location than it is, it will refuse to connect to the internet at all. Just find the location settings in your settings menu and make sure that your TV thinks it’s in the right place. 

If not, change the region in the locations settings menu and you should be back online with no further problems.

It may be worth contacting your internet provider for additional assistance if all else fails. They may be able to walk you through the issue or at the very least, inform you of any outages in your area or about potential problems with your router.

Though it doesn’t solve your Wi-Fi problems, connecting your smart TV to a hotspot connection from your phone can help you download whatever you want in the short term, and may also give you a bit more information about the issue.

If your TV has a slow connection with your phone, you’ll know that the problem is with the TV itself and not with your router or internet connection, giving you a little more insight into what problem you are experiencing.

Power Cycle Your Samsung Smart TV

Power cycling sounds complicated, but it is very simple and can often fix the issue. Essentially, you power off the TV and unplug it.

After a minute or so, all of the electricity will have been drained from the TV, allowing you to cold boot the device when you plug it back in and turn it on again.

This can often fix issues that simply turning your TV off and on again just won’t.

Update Your Samsung Smart TV

Oftentimes, problems arise related to the firmware of your smart TV.

Though these issues are much less common than many of the other problems you might face, they do occur and usually either because the firmware is out of date or there was a firmware update that went wrong. 

Though your TV should be set up to update your firmware when new updates are released automatically, any number of issues could cause your TV not to update.

If your firmware is out of date, you’ll need to press the home button on your remote and go to settings. From the settings menu choose system information and click on software update.

If there are updates available, they will be listed here. However, if no updates are available, this solution will not be an option for you. Just start the update and make sure that the whole update is completed before doing anything else with your TV.

Some Samsung Smart TVs may need to restart after performing the update as well, but this depends on your TV model.

Either way, the TV will tell you if you need to reboot once the update is completed so no need to worry about what exact model of TV you have. 

Perform A Factory Reset

If the Issue still persists after trying out all of the above solutions, you really only have one other option to try. Performing a factory basically gives your smart TV a fresh start.

It reverts all of the settings back to how they were when the TV was produced in the factory, including removing all software and firmware updates downloaded onto your device. 

The nature of the factory reset allows it to fix any problem that you’re having with your smart TV, including app downloading issues. 

However, it is important to remember that a factory reset is an absolute last resort when it comes to fixing your TV.

Factory resets erase everything the TV didn’t have installed at the factory, so any settings you’ve tweaked or apps you’ve downloaded will be gone.  

Make sure that you are aware of the consequences and absolutely positive you want to perform the reset before doing so. If you have any data on configurations that you want to keep, back them up to the cloud or another device.

If you decide that you do want to carry on with the factory reset and you’ve backed up everything that you want to restore later, you’re ready to start the reset.

You will need to have a stable internet connection, but other than that, the process is quite simple.  Just go to general settings from the home menu and select Reset.

You will need to enter your PIN (If you don’t have one, it should be 0000), and then the reset will start. After the reset is complete, your TV will restart and everything will be reverted back to its original settings, allowing you to download whatever apps you would like.