How to download applications on a Samsung Smart TV

If Smart TVs are characterized by something, unlike the old models of televisions we had at home, it is the possibility of installing applications on them. Apps that range from streaming content consumption services, browsing the internet, file management or, among many other things, playing games. Today we want to explain how you can install official and unofficial apps on smart TVs from a specific manufacturer: the Samsung Smart TV.

How to install applications on a Samsung Smart TV

Before explaining how to do this, you may be wondering why talk about the installation process especially from this manufacturer. This is due to your operating system: Tizen. Unlike many other models, Samsung smart TVs have their own operating system that, although it may look like Android TV, has its own differences. For this reason, although where it really changes the most is in the case of "non-original" apps, we want to apply the process to these Smart TVs.

Now that you know this, let's see how we can download and install the officially available applications. To do this you just have to follow the following steps:

Check that your TV is Conected to internet. You can do this through the device settings, in the networks section from where you can connect to the WiFi From home. Depending on the model, you can also connect your screen to the internet through the Ethernet. The latter will be possible if your screen has the corresponding connection on the back.

Press the button "Home“, the one with the symbol of a house, from your TV remote controller.
In the menu that appears at the bottom of your screen, scroll to the "APPS» and press to access it. This is known by the name of Smart Hub and it is nothing more than the application store for Samsung smart TVs.
Once inside the app store, you can search for the application you want within the catalog, from the different categories, or using the search engine.
When you locate the app you want to download, click on it to enter and then select "Install" so that it begins to be part of the application catalog of your television.

In order to access the app store and install apps on your TV, your TV will ask you to sign in with an Samsung Account. If you do not have one, you must create it using a valid email and it will only take a few minutes to carry out this process that will allow you to squeeze the uses you give to your TV.

Interesting applications that you will find in Smart Hub

Although on our website we have an article dedicated to the essential applications that cannot be missing on a Samsung TV with Tizen, we did not want to miss the opportunity to recommend one to whet your appetite. And there are all kinds of apps:

Samsung TVPlus: It is the easiest way to watch free TV channels provided by the manufacturer, and which has programming for news, movies, series, documentaries, lifestyle, cooking and even spaces for the little ones in the house.
Series and films: They may not need too many introductions, but check out apps like Netflix, HBO, Disney+, etc.
Sports: for this type of content we can recommend LaLiga Sports TV.
Games: In addition to the games themselves, you might be interested in Steam Link.
Samsung Gaming Hub: Exclusively for the 2022 Smart TV models, we can have access to cloud gaming applications such as Xbox Cloud Gaming (with the titles of the famous Microsoft Game Pass), Stadia or GeForce NOW.

This is just an appetizer. If you want to know many more interesting apps for your Samsung TV, we recommend that you take a look at the article we wrote on our website.

How to install applications from a USB

The process we've seen so far is the official way to install apps on a Samsung Smart TV. You may find yourself with the problem of searching for a specific app within the store and it does not appear. This is because there are certain applications that are only compatible with the latest models of these televisions. In other cases, if an app isn't listed within your store, it may be due to regional limitations. For example, there are streaming services that have a version for our television but are not available in Spain. In both cases, we can circumvent these limitations unofficially.

This is a process that we will have to do under our own responsibility, since we will be the ones who will have to download the app externally to then “inject” it into our television from a pen drive. Remember that applications of this type can carry associated viruses that can infect the operating system and, therefore, cause us some kind of damage or theft of information. So, as we have already mentioned, this is something that you should perform at your own risk.

The first thing you should know is the model of our television. When it comes to downloading and installing unofficial apps on TVs with Tizen, there are two different types of apps depending on your TV model. To find out which one to download, you'll need to look at the letter right after the number of inches in the name on your TV model. For example, in the model "Samsung Crystal UHD 2020 55TU8005" would be the letter "T".

On the one hand there will be the applications for the J, K, M, N, Q, R and T models. And, on the other hand, the apps for the E, ES, F, H, J4 and J52 television models. You can be relatively calm in this aspect because there are usually apps for both families of models. But it is important to know this information, since the installation path between both families is different.

Enable installation of apps from unknown sources

Turn on your Samsung Smart TV by pressing the power button.
On the home screen, go to the Settings menu and select General admission.
Select the Personal tab and look for the option Security in the Security section.
You should now be able to see the settings option Unknown origins in your dashboard. To activate it, simply flip the switch next to it.
You will be able to download apps from sources other than the official Samsung store once this feature has been activated. Once this is done, we will proceed to do the process with the flash drive.

As in other ecosystems such as Android, taking the step of allowing applications of unknown origin to be installed It could be a security problem that not only affects the proper functioning of the television, but since this is a device more connected to the home network, it could become a kind of Trojan horse of much more dangerous threats for computers, mobile phones, tablets, etc.

Remember to always download applications from reliable, trustworthy repositories, in which you are sure that They have not been manipulated by third parties and may contain some type of malicious software. If you are not XNUMX% convinced that the file you are going to use is completely safe and clean, do not remove the installation block for apps of unknown origin from your Samsung Smart TV.

Installation process of third-party apps on Samsung Smart TVs

To be able to do this installation outside the official app store, once the data that we have just mentioned is known, you must do the following:

Locate the app in question: We cannot provide you with any repository of these applications since, as its name indicates, it is not an official form. Of course, we are sure that by doing a quick search on the Internet you will be able to locate it. Look for a reliable source with good references to minimize the risks and avoid infecting your TV with malware. Once this is done, download it to your computer and continue with the next steps on this list.
Prepare the USB stick: Now you must optimally "configure" the USB so that your TV can read it. All you have to do here is format it in FAT32 format. On a Windows PC, right click on the drive and select the format option, select the appropriate settings and click "Start". If your USB memory is larger than 32GB, in Windows you will not get the option to format in FAT32. To fix it, you can use the MiniTool Partition Wizard application. On computers with MacOS, you must do this by opening “Disk Utility”, select the drive and click on “Erase” configuring the format before clicking on “Start”.
With the clean USB memory, transfer the file of the app that you have downloaded to it and unzip it. Leave only and exclusively this application on this USB and no other files. Everything ready on your computer, time to go to the television to carry out the installation.
Turn off automatic updates of applications on your TV. You can do this from the system settings. We will do this to prevent Tizen from being able to rewrite our application with an update or with a different version of the software that we are going to install manually.
Connect the USB stick to the TV and, automatically, a notice should appear on your screen informing you that the application is being installed. If nothing appears, try another USB port on your TV. If still nothing appears, this app is probably not compatible with your Smart TV. In this case, you will have to find another compatible app online or throw in the towel. However, there is one more method that we show you below, but it is not a solution for all audiences.

Advanced Method: Activate Developer Mode

This last feature will allow you to install third-party apps on your Samsung TV or even create your own programs for your TV. It is a method only suitable for people with programming knowledge, and that Samsung makes available to users so that they can get the most out of their televisions. To do this, you must first download the Samsung App Development Kit for Smart TV and install it on a Windows computer.

It is possible to download third-party apps on TVs that are in developer mode. To activate this function, you must follow the following steps:

Turn on your Samsung Smart TV with the remote control.
Go to Settings and then Smart Hub and activate the option.
Go to the 'apps' section within Smart Hub.
After selecting this option, the TV will ask for a code before continuing. He pine you must enter is '12345'. It is common to all Samsung Smart TVs.
Now, a new window will open with the 'Developer mode'. Activate it by moving the switch.
Manually type the IP of the computer you have on the local network that is running the Samsung SDK.
Ready. Now you can do sideload from the computer to the TV and try third-party applications.

However, this method is very complex and you should not even activate it if you do not have advanced computer skills. Using this method we can brick our Samsung TV, that is, make it totally useless. For that same reason, only use it if you know what you're doing.

Everything you need to know about this option is available on the web for developers Samsung Developers. From there you can download the Samsung Tizen SDK to proceed to install the tools on your computer and test your applications manually.

With these tips, you now know all the ways that are available to install apps on your Samsung TV. As always, try to download apps only from trusted sources, otherwise you risk infecting your TV. In case you install something and your TV starts to behave strangely, restore the system to its factory state to avoid future problems. Finally, completely rule out the option of activating developer mode if you do not have advanced programming knowledge, as it is a very useful way, but only those experts who want to develop apps for Tizen can take advantage of it.

Impossible? Get a third-party device

If the app you want to install is not compatible with the operating system of your Samsung TV, the best thing you can do is use a third-party device to Expand your TV experience. In general, Smart TV systems become obsolete, so it is not unreasonable to use a dongle or a set-top box.

In the Samsung Smart TV, the ideal would be to get a external device that works with Android TV or Google TV. These are the best options you will find:

Xiaomi Mi TV Stick 4K: With this device you will be able to access an Android operating system on your Samsung TV. You will be able to access the entire catalog of applications from the Play Store, thus bypassing the limitations of Tizen.
Chromecast with Google TV: Hands down, one of the best dongles out there today. Although it is not a cheap device, it offers an almost unbeatable experience. Chromecast with Google TV also gives you the ability to install any app from the Google Play Store. Also, the device has support for output up to 4K resolution. Without a doubt, the best thing about this product is the system itself; a version of Android built around the content recommendation system.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max: Amazon's most advanced dongle has a good price and will also allow you to use those apps that are not available by default on your Samsung TV or are no longer available. Although the Fire TV system is based on Android, this time, we will be limited to the Amazon App Store catalog. However, we can bypass those limits by releasing the device.

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