Unknown Device Trying To Connect To My Smart TV? Find And Stop!

If you get a notification on your smart TV that someone is trying to connect to it, there’s no need to be alarmed.

Actually, Getting a notification that someone is trying to connect to your smart TV can be confusing and concerning.

It is common to see this notification for Smart TV users, whether it’s LG, Samsung, or any other brand’s smart TV.

I have experienced this on my Samsung Smart TV as well as LG CX TV. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that someone has successfully connected to the TV or accessed anything.

As for me, it was my friends who pranked me by gaining access to my Smart TV via Wi-Fi and taking control of it.

Often, these attempts are simply from family, friends, neighbors, or someone who is trying to connect their own devices and mistakenly selects your Smart TV name.

You can tell if someone is actually attempting to connect to your TV by looking at the notification itself and seeing if there is anything specific about it that makes it stand out.

For example, if the message says “User X has attempted connecting”, then you can assume that person X was actually trying to connect and you may want to consider blocking their IP address accordingly.

Also, Identify if the attempt was a Bluetooth or wifi connection, though most often it is from someone who is already connected to the same wifi network as the Smart TV.

There are some basic steps you can take in order to protect your Smart TV from unwanted connection attempts:

  • Always keep updated security software installed on your devices, 
  • Use strong passwords
  • Make sure none of your devices are connected directly (or wirelessly)to the internet without being protected first.
  • Make a guest WiFi network where only your Smart TV will be connected, and use it to connect to the Internet.

If you’re concerned about whether or not your smart TV has been hacked before, one way you can test this is by going into the settings menu (Wifi and Bluetooth) and checking for suspicious networks or accounts that shouldn’t normally be present.

Ways to Identify the Person Who Is Trying to Connect to Your TV

Unknown devices can be trying to connect to your smart TV for a variety of reasons, including installing malicious software or accessing your personal data, or simply when someone selected your device name among available options while connecting their own device.

In an attempt to identify the person who is attempting to connect to your TV, there are several ways to do so, including checking the name of the device, look up the IP address of the device, and looking for the MAC address of that device.

When you’re not using your smart TV, disconnect it from the internet, change your password, and turn off your Bluetooth if you are concerned about someone accessing it.

How to Stop People from Connecting to Your Smart TV

How to stop connection from unknown device to smart tv

As said above in this post, If you’re seeing an unknown device trying to connect to your smart TV, don’t panic! It’s likely just a harmless hacker or curious individual who is trying to access your TV.

In addition, be sure to check to see if the connection attempt was via Bluetooth or Wifi so that you can easily figure it out and prevent this from happening again in the future.

To keep people from connecting to your TV without your permission, you can change your security settings, disable Bluetooth, and wifi, and use an ethernet-wired connection to connect your TV to the internet.

When it comes to securing smart TVs against unwanted access, it’s important to keep in mind that they’re essentially mini-computers, so it’s important to take the same precautions you would with any other computer to ensure it’s secure against unwanted access.

Quick Tip: 
In case your router supports the Guest WiFi network, you should switch your TV to the Guest Wifi network since guest networks do not have access to local network resources. In this way, all your friends, family, or guests will be connected to your primary wireless network and will not be able to identify your TV.

FAQ

How can I prevent others from connecting to my Samsung smart TV?

  1. If you want to prevent others from connecting to your Samsung smart TV, you need to remove all pre-authenticated or registered devices from the TV settings.
  2. Path for registered devices Settings> General> External Device Manager> Device Connection Manager> Device List
  3. If you don’t recognize the device that is trying to connect to your Samsung smart TV, don’t accept the connection request.

Is it possible for my neighbor to connect to my smart TV?

Yes, If your neighbor’s device (tablet, smartphone, etc) and your Smart TV are connected on the same wireless network, then your neighbor can connect to your TV easily.

How do I stop people from trying to connect to my Samsung TV?

If you want to prevent people from connecting to your Smart TV wirelessly, you can turn off your Smart TV’s wifi, and Bluetooth, use an ethernet cable, change your wifi password, and create a guest network exclusively for your Smart TV.

Conclusion

If you’re ever unsure about whether or not someone should have access to your smart TV, err on the side of caution and deny them access. Better safe than sorry!

As a result of the above post, you now know what it means when you receive a “someone is trying to connect” Smart TV notification, how to identify the devices which are trying to connect, and how to prevent it from happening to you.

To conclude, if you’re worried about someone connecting to your smart TV without your permission, there are a few steps you can take to prevent it. 

  • Make sure your TV is on a secure wifi network.
  • Try to use a guest wifi network where only your Smart TV is connected.
  • Keep its Bluetooth turned off when not in use.
  • Last but not least, connect it to the internet via an Ethernet cable and disable its WiFi so you can enjoy peace of mind from unwanted connections.

Keep in mind that hackers are constantly finding new ways to break into devices, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest security threats and how to protect yourself against them.

Feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions or queries, or need to share something regarding the above post.