Block Internet On Smart TVs? Here's How (Solved)

It may seem counterintuitive to block Internet access on your smart TV, but sometimes you need to do it.

If you need to be out, and you want to block content your kids can watch, you may need to resort to blocking the Internet as a precautionary measure.

Although these are not 100 percent guaranteed, employing these steps might give you an added layer of protection for your peace of mind.

Table of Contents

Can you Block Access to the Internet on a Smart TV?

There are different ways of blocking Internet access on your smart TV:

Disconnect the Wi-Fi or Ethernet Cable:

While this is the most straightforward approach, someone can just connect the TV via mobile tethering or mobile Wi-Fi.

Set up a Parental Control:

Parental Control lets you toggle different security settings on your smart TV. One of the best features to do this is to block apps on the TV.

You can set the level of security, which covers all apps and restrict web browsing.

Since the goal is to block Internet access, you will have to set all Internet-related activities to block or deny.

Note that setting parental controls need a security code set by your manufacturer.

Contact your manufacturer for this security code.

Access your Router’s Control Panel and Block your Smart TV:

You will need to get the IP address of your smart TV and input it in the blacklist of your router in order to do this.

While it is more complicated than the other options, it still does the job.

How to Set up Parental Control on a Smart TVs:

Samsung:

To access parental control on your Samsung smart TVs, you will need to access a few settings:

First, set up the parental controls for broadcasting.
Press the home button on the remote control, and then go to settings.
Select Broadcasting, and then go to Program Rating Lock Settings.
At this point, you will be able to filter the kind of content your smart TV can receive from over-the-air channels.

You can also block TV programs based on their TV ratings and Film Ratings:

Select the padlock on the corresponding ratings that you want to restrict on your smart TV.
After locking TV programs based on broadcast, the next thing you need to lock in your apps.
Press the Home button on your remote control then go-to apps.
Open the Settings menu and look for the app you wish to restrict access to.
Enter your security code, and the app selected will need the security code to launch.

You may also want to block the browser in the app section to restrict browsing activities.

LG:

For LG smart TVs, you can access parental control by pressing the settings button on the remote control and clicking the “Advanced” menu on the right side of the screen.

Then select Safety and set it to “On”. You will be required to input the security code.

This will now restrict content from Digital broadcasts.

Under the Safety menu, you will be able to lock or unlock apps and inputs from external devices, including media players, and USB storage,

Sony:

Meanwhile, Sony has four (4) options for parental controls that you need to access.

The first is broadcast, which you can access through the Settings, and look for the Parental Control option.

You can choose from here different levels of restriction for programs from over-the-air channels.

For App access, or Home Screen restriction, go to your settings and look for the Security and Restrictions option beside the Parental Controls.

Select Restricted Profile, and set your security code. After this, you can choose which apps will appear on the home screen of your smart TV.

Using this option enables you to filter out all the apps that need to be restricted without going through individual apps on your smart TV.

Also, if you want to go to regular mode, you can switch from the home menu and requires your security code to activate.

Vizio:

On Vizio smart TVs, go to your settings and look for Parental Control.

From here, you can adjust which channels and TV ratings you can block.

But when it comes to app restrictions, you will have a hard time restricting Vizio, as it uses cloud-based apps through the Smart Cast systems.

You can set some restrictions by disabling Smart Interactivity, but this may not be enough.

To do this, go to your settings menu, and look for Reset and Admin.

Look for the Smart Interactivity Menu and set it to off.

How to Block Internet Access on Samsung Smart TVs

To disable Internet access on your Samsung Smart TV, access your Parental Controls as listed above, and block all apps that need Internet access, including the app store and browser.

How to Block Internet Access on LG Smart TVs

To block Internet access on your smart TV, access Parental Controls, and look for your Apps that access the Internet.

Block these apps, including the app store and browser.

How to Block Internet Access on Vizio Smart TVs

For Vizio Smart TVs, go to the Settings and look for Reset and Admin. Turn off Smart Interactivity.

How to Block Internet Access on Sony Smart TVs

Aside from removing Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections from your smart TV, you should set up Restricted Profiles and block all apps that need Internet Access.

Why Should you Block Internet Access on your Smart TV?

The most common answer to blocking the Internet connection on your smart TV is to restrict the content your children may access.

Another reason to block Internet access on your smart TV is to prevent unauthorized data collection.

As smart TV apps can track behavior, you do not want other people to know your viewing habits. What you watch is yours alone, and requires your consent before divulging.

Also, restricting Internet access deters hackers from accessing your smart TV.

Since it is not connected to the Internet, hackers won’t be able to reach your TV in the first place.