Why Is My Vizio TV Stuck On Downloading Updates? [FIXED!]

Vizio TVs are quality products that offer a great viewing experience, but there is nothing more frustrating than when your Vizio TV gets stuck downloading updates. Vizio TVs are great for anyone looking for above-average picture quality at a generous price however, the operating system that Vizio uses for its TVs isn’t nearly as polished as some of its higher-end competitors. Adding apps to your Vizio TV is a snap, too!.

When sitting down to watch your favorite show at the end of the day, you don’t want to be blocked from doing so by an endless update screen.

Table of Contents

• Why Is My Vizio TV Stuck On Downloading Updates?
• How Long Does It Take To Download An Update On A Vizio TV?
• How To Fix A Vizio TV Stuck Downloading Updates
  • Restart Your Vizio TV
  • Check Your Internet Connection
  • Reboot Your Router
  • Use An Ethernet Cable
  • Power Cycle Your Vizio TV
• Last Resorts
  • Contact Vizio Customer Support
  • Skip The Update

Why Is My Vizio TV Stuck On Downloading Updates?

If your Vizio TV is stuck on “Downloading Updates,” the best things to do are cancel the update and restart your TV and check your router’s WiFi connection. These solutions will allow you to easily continue with the update and watch TV again.

Having your TV time delayed because of a frozen update screen can be really annoying, especially when you are just trying to relax with your favorite show at the end of a long day. 

Although, however frustrating this problem may be, it’s simple and quick to fix with all of these potential solutions at your fingertips.

Over the years I’ve owned and tested out countless TVs from all of the biggest brands, so I’ve had lots of experience dealing with the many issues that may arise over their lifetimes. I can guarantee that if your Vizio TV is stuck downloading updates, these solutions will help you get back to watching TV in no time.

How Long Does It Take To Download An Update On A Vizio TV?

Vizio, along with most other electronics companies, releases firmware updates for their products on a regular basis to ensure proper functionality, eliminate bugs, and improve performance. Most new Vizio TVs update automatically while the TV is off, so you may never have never even noticed your TV downloading a firmware update. 

However, Vizio’s older TVs do not include this feature and so you will have to manually confirm the update and wait while the update is being downloaded and installed.

Most of the time, a Vizio TV will download an update within just a few minutes, but there are a few things that can affect the amount of time an update takes, including the size of the update and your own internet speed. 

As long as the percentage on-screen is increasing, the update is being downloaded. However, if you notice that the progress bar hasn’t moved for more than ten minutes, it’s safe to say that the update is no longer being downloaded and your TV has frozen.

How To Fix A Vizio TV Stuck Downloading Updates

If you find that your Vizio TV is stuck downloading updates, there are a few different options that could potentially solve your problem. 

Most of these fixes are simple and can be completed in only a few minutes, so you can be assured that you’ll be able to ditch the endless update screen and get back to watching TV in no time at all.

Restart Your Vizio TV

Probably the most simple and easy solution to this problem is to turn off your TV, wait a minute and then start it up again. 

Sometimes random little glitches in the system happen and these glitches can cause any number of issues, including causing your TV to get stuck on the update screen. If your TV experienced a glitch like this the only thing you need to do to fix it is reboot the device. 

This will give your TV a chance to give the update another try, most likely without being subject to the same random glitch again. 

Being that it is so simple, this is definitely the first thing you should try if your Vizio gets stuck on the update screen.

Check Your Internet Connection

Oftentimes, when your Vizio TV gets stuck downloading updates, it is simply a case of a bad or non-existent WiFi connection. 

Firmware updates can be quite large and if the connection is slow or times out together, it may cause you to get stuck looking at an unmoving progress bar. Luckily there are a few different things that you can do to help ensure that your Vizio TV has a strong and stable connection to your WiFi network.

First, you’ll want to check if your TV is currently connected to your wireless network. You can do this by pressing the menu button on your remote and selecting the network option. 

From here you will be able to access your TV network settings. Make sure that your WiFi network is selected and the TV has a stable connection.

If your connection is slow or not even showing up as an option, you should try moving your wireless router closer to your TV. 

Proximity can be very important when it comes to connection speed and a router down in your basement could have significant trouble delivering an adequate signal to a TV in your bedroom two floors up. 

Reboot Your Router

If your TV is still having connection issues when downloading a firmware update, the next step is to reboot your router. If a temporary glitch occurred in your router, it could easily cause the connection to time out and freeze your update. 

Again, simply shutting down the router, waiting a minute, and restarting it again should solve the issue. 

It’s worth noting that if rebooting your router doesn’t remedy the issue, it may be worth contacting your internet provider for further information. They may be able to inform you if they are experiencing service failures in your area or possibly help you further troubleshoot your router.

Use An Ethernet Cable

If you are still unable to connect to the internet wirelessly or your connection simply isn’t fast enough to perform the update, you can try using an ethernet cable. An ethernet cable can allow you to have a hard-wired connection to the internet by connecting directly to your router. 

Hard-wired connections are faster and more stable than wireless connections, so you’ll have a much smaller chance of having your connection time out or slow down to a halt. 

Power Cycle Your Vizio TV

Power Cycling your Vizio TV is a useful tool that can help fix a random glitch that occurred in the system. In theory, all you are doing when you power cycle something is simply draining all of the electricity left inside of the device to allow it to have a cold reset upon restarting.

Though it sounds complicated, it’s quite easy to power cycle your Vizio TV. All you need to do is turn off the TV and unplug it from its outlet. 

Then hold down the power button and wait a minute or two to ensure that all electricity has been drained from the TV. When you’re done waiting, just plug the TV back in and hit the power button. 

If all of the above fails, power cycling your Vizio TV will almost certainly fix the problem of getting stuck downloading updates.

It’s also worth mentioning that this method can be used on your wireless router as well. If you continue to experience connection issues after trying all of the fixes above, power cycling is a great way to get your router working properly again.

Last Resorts

By now, if your Vizio TV is still getting stuck downloading updates you are undoubtedly even more frustrated with the issue than before. However, all hope is not lost. There are still a few last resort things you can do to either get past or continue to try to fix the issue.

Contact Vizio Customer Support

If you’ve tried everything and your Vizio TV is stuck with its endless update screen, the best thing you can do next is contact Vizio customer support.

I know the idea of waiting on hold to talk to a customer service agent may not be the most exciting prospect but Vizio has agents available to assist you over the phone from 8:00 am – 11:00 pm CST on weekdays and 8:00 – 9:00 pm on weekends. 

If you don’t like doing things on the phone, Vizio support can also be contacted on their website. Here you can text chat with an agent or even send SMS messages to receive assistance and other valuable information. No matter what time of day there is a way to get in contact with them.

Skip The Update

As an absolute last resort, skipping the update can be a viable option to get back to enjoying your Vizio TV. 

If your TV keeps freezing on during the download of a specific update the only thing left to do is simply ignore the update altogether. Your firmware won’t be updated so you may be prone to problems that were recently patched out, but this will get you past the continuously freezing screen and back to watching your favorite show. 

Just make sure to watch out for the next firmware update that Vizio releases, so you can get your TV up to date again.