
Hisense TVs force owners to watch intrusive ads when switching inputs, visiting the home screen, or even changing channels
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/hisense-tvs-force-owners-to-watch-intrusive-ads-when-switching-inputs-visiting-the-home-screen-or-even-changing-channels-practice-infuriates-consumers-brand-denies-wrongdoing

46 Comments
Ads when you change the input on your own TV is wild. At that point you’re basically paying to watch ads.
Never hook your TV up to the network. If you need to update the firmware, do it with a USB stick.
Instead use a third party device that has no ads: Apple TV, ~~Firestick~~, Chromecast, etc.
Another one that should be named and shamed is xiaomi. Forcing you to watch ads when you use many system apps on their phones.
At this point, the TV i want has only:
– screen
– speakers
– a bunch of HDMI and DisplayPort inputs
– remote
TV would be going right back to were I got it the moment an ad came up. Jesus these people.
Nosense in buying it then.
My Hisense Roku TV is blocked on the network. So it thinks it has an internet connection, but it’s blocked at the router.
Correct me if I’m wrong/dumb, but can’t you just bypass this by turning the wifi off of your TV? That’s what we do on our Hisense because we use Roku instead since it’s faster and more reliable
I am looking at buying a new TV at the moment and every review I read on Hisense TV’s mentioned this and how infuriating it is… Guess which brand of TV I’m not considering.
I’m about to disconnect the damn thing from the internet completely. Between that and the fact that I can’t turn off motion smoothing I’m really fucking mad I spent all this money on this shitty TV.
Hinsense TVs force me to never be an owner.
I have a Hisense TV and it’s just bloody ridiculous at this point. Every time you update the software, they show more ads. I’ve stopped updating and now it nags me while I’m watching a show. I’ll never buy any Hisense products ever again. What makes them think consumers will endure this.
Take back your networks people.
Wireshark and block the requests.
An immediate return as faulty, IMO.
Better option is to buy a computer monitor as – currently – these don’t show ads of their own, just the ads forced by your OS maker.
This is why my Hisense TV has and never will be connected to the internet
This is why I’m not buying a new TV.
And also I’m broke.
The Hisense sub blew up a few months ago when this updated was pushed out “accidentally”.
You had to call into customer service and get your TV manually added to an ad blacklist.
“Hardware and software laden with ads have, unfortunately, become part and parcel of modern life, but there are occasions when the hunt for revenue goes too far. ”
The day it went to far was the first time it was introduced.
Not if you never give it access to the internet!
At this rate, we’ll have smart door lock that’s touch screen keypad where you’ll have to watch ads just to unlock your door
You didn’t pay for our subscription? Gotta watch ads to unlock.
In this world where so much capital is being spent buying and selling ads, I just don’t believe it’s actually generating real revenue for anyone. I’ll be playing a “free” game on my phone and they’re basically advertising for the same 5-6 games, which all use the same ads to generate revenue. It’s like a snake eating its own tail. Either something is wrong or this is some sort of financial scheme.
If I pay for the TV, I shouldn’t have to watch ads to use it. At that point it’s not a smart TV — it’s a billboard with a screen.
This is why all my smart tvs don’t have internet access.
I have a Hisense tv and haven’t had this issue. I’m watching it right now. Is this a regional thing maybe?
External media box
Don’t connect tv to the Internet
Don’t buy another Hisense product for the rest of my life.
Problem solved.
Just bought a Hisense tv and none of this happens to me. I don’t have any ads when switching inputs?
My new, freshly calibrated, Samsung OLED, has never seen the internet. No updates to destroy the perfect settings, no Samsung registration, no commercials. I have a simple $100 Certified Android TV box that is absolute TV Bliss! We have to defend ourselves against this enshitification! Best TV ever; even better than the Panasonic Plasma I had years ago.
There must be a way to stop them. Ie don’t connect your tv to the internet. Or better yet destroy the wifi receptor on the TV.
Never let your tv connect to the wifi. always get external boxs for the netflix or whatever apps you need. Once you connect, is hard to get it off.
1 more reason not to buy hisense.
Scratch HiSense from any future purchase, ever!
I will only buy TVs that allow me to set them up without internet connection as “dumb” TVs, then plug my streaming box of choice into them so our corporate overlords can never brick my screens for not paying my RokuSamsungTraderJoesHaliburton+ subscription or not watching the required 5 minutes of ads on startup. If your TVs can’t do that, I will never be your customer.
I have said this from the beginning: I don’t need a TV to be anything more than a dumb display with ports. TVs don’t need an operating system or apps.
This is why I never, ever have connected my TV to the internet.
Use a streaming device you trust via HDMI.
You should never connect a TV to the internet. Just get any dedicated Streaming hub.
The TV better be free if it’s going to make me watch ads for switching sources
This is why I don’t actually connect my smart tvs to an internet connection. They’re simply computer screens anyway.
Thanks to the comments here, I’ve decided to go and disable the network to my Hisense TV. I don’t use Prime and YouTube TV is an absolute nightmare to use and I have a YouTube addiction. I just use my Macbook on Brave, and sail the seven seas for new, upcoming movies.
I recently watched Fallout, without the intrusive Prime ads! LETS GOOOO
Good thing my hisense tv just died I guess
Enshittification. Why must everything become shit?
This is why my tv was never connected to the internet, and won’t ever be.
maaan the six people who own everything have been doing whatever and getting away with it for way too long
I made my Smart TV dumb.
It’s a LG C5 4K and I plugged it into an Apple TV 4K and then disabled its network access.
It’s a great panel and that’s all I’m interested in, my TV shouldn’t have to update or do anything else, it’s one job is to take and display inputs, nothing should happen on device.
Interested if people have taken similar approaches?
You know what NOT to buy.
Got it. So, no Samsung TVs and no Hisense TVs.
Simple fix – don’t connect the tv to the internet and use a roku or apple tv.