You have a movie night planned and want to make sure everything is ready, so where do you start? Well, having snacks and refreshments on hand is certainly important, but have you recently restarted your smart TV? This might seem like a silly question, but nothing ruins the mood like Netflix randomly crashing or the movie buffering like crazy before the big action scene.
It’s worth keeping in mind that even if you have the best smart TV, it will eventually show its age. Fortunately, if you notice that your TV is slow, there are a few things that might help it out. The best first step is to simply restart the Smart TV. This is a classic fix that works like magic on many modern devices because it stops all background processes and frees up short-term memory.
What if it doesn’t help? In that case, there are a few alternative smart TV tricks that might help it run a little faster. Uninstalling a few apps, updating software, and turning off power-saving modes can be annoying, but they can save your movie night from chaos. Even so, restarting is usually a good place to start, and for good reason.
Why should you restart your Smart TV frequently
You may already know this, but technically a smart TV is never turned off. Using the power button simply puts it into sleep mode, meaning background processes continue to run even after the screen goes black. Naturally, these processes can hog RAM, leading to slow performance and buffering issues. This alone is a good reason to restart your device regularly.
So, how do you properly restart a smart TV to be sure to nip these resource eaters in the bud? It depends on the manufacturer, but with many models it’s as simple as holding down the power button on the remote for five to ten seconds. For example, Sony TVs will display the power off message, after which the TV will reach dreamland and then restart after a few minutes.
In most cases, this will clear the memory and kill all background processes. Otherwise, you can always go old school. Unplug it from the power outlet and wait a few minutes, then plug it back in and turn it back on.
What to do if the TV is still slow?
In case restarting your Smart TV isn’t enough, it might be time to free up some storage space. If you’ve been using this particular TV for a while, chances are you’ve installed apps that you haven’t opened in months or even years. Decide what’s going on and go to the “Applications” section in your TV’s “Settings” menu and start deleting.
It also doesn’t hurt to update the TV’s software, which should happen automatically. However, if for some reason automatic updates are turned off, your device may actually be years behind. If so, it’s definitely a good idea to try updating your firmware to see if that fixes your performance issues. For many models, you can find this option in menu sections with names like Settings, Network, or Device Preferences.
Another solid strategy for troubleshooting smart TV issues before movie night is to turn off power saving mode, or Eco. This option is very useful because it helps you manage your power consumption, but it can also reduce overall performance. The method to turn off power saving mode depends on the device. On Sony TVs, for example, you can find it under the Power & Energy option in the System section in Settings. Follow these steps in order, starting with a simple reboot, and you may be able to avoid any problems that could ruin a fun evening.
