Vizio TV Keeps Switching To Smartcast Input? (2 Quick Fix)

Have you suddenly noticed that your Vizio TV keeps switching input to Smartcast? Would you like to stop this from happening in the future?

Historically, Vizio’s TVs have been the best because they didn’t force their SmartCast software on their users, but now when they are seeing their Vizio TV change input to Smartcast automatically, they feel disheartened.

Obviously, Turning on the TV should always take you directly to your last input, so you would not need to navigate any smart TV software menus when using a streaming player, game console, or cable box.

Vizio has changed its behavior, unfortunately.

I, along with numerous Vizio TV users, noticed that, after the 2.7+ firmware update was rolled out at the end of 2021, Vizio TV automatically switched to SmartCast when it did not see input “instantly”.

You get a pop-up asking if you want to go back to SmartCast if it cannot find a source fast enough, even if you try choosing a source.

Considering that so many users do not intend to use SmartCast, this is extremely annoying. So is there a way to disable this “feature” or to completely disable SmartCast? If you dig deep into Vizio’s settings menu, you can still restore the old behavior.

Why Does My Vizio TV Keep Changing Input To Smartcast?

The Smartcast input has been replaced with the default input on Vizio TV, so if you turn it back on after it has been turned off or in sleep, the Smartcast dialog will appear. Because Vizio decided to push its Smartcast capabilities after the late 2021 official update.

From 2016 onwards, most Vizio SmartCast TVs have been affected by this update.

With this move, Vizio is heavily emphasizing SmartCast as their main selling point and the key component of their latest smart TVs. SmartCast offers both cable TV and other smart features through streaming.

Actually, Users’ input preferences shouldn’t be disrespected in this way, except as a cynical ploy to monetize “post-purchase” smart TVs.

But if we see Vizio’s side of the story to this, they did respond to it citing the financial issues.

Listed below are all the scenarios where Vizio TV switches the input to Smartcast automatically:

• When your TV is awake after sleep mode.
• When you Turn on your TV.
• If the TV doesn’t detect any active last input.
• If you manually switched the default input to “Smartcast”.
• There’s No Signal on The Previously Used Port

Fortunately, The number of users who don’t want to use Smartcast is much higher than those who do, which is why Vizio TV gives its users the ability to disable and avoid Smartcast by default.

So without further ado, let’s see how you can prevent your Vizio TV from showing Smartcast input when you turn it on or wake it up.

How To Stop Vizio TV From Switching To Smartcast Automatically?

The Smartcast can be disabled, turned off, or avoided from appearing as default input on your Vizio TV in several ways.

Disable Automatic Input Switch

To switch back to your last input instead of Vizio’s SmartCast software when the TV is turned on, follow these steps:

1. First, Rather than clicking the “Menu” button on the app’s main screen, click “remote”.
2. On the SmartCast app, click on the button that looks like a remote (next to the menu button).
3. To navigate the on-screen menu, click “Menu” and use the app.
4. Navigate to “System” -> “Input at Power On”.
5. Lastly, The previous input should be changed to “Previous Input” or you can select the input you want to start with every time

Note: To get to the "input at startup", you'll need the Vizio app, and the remote control will be accessible within the app.

You should now be able to watch Vizio TV without having to load the SmartCast interface every time you turn it on or it awakens from sleep mode.

Turning Off Internet To Avoid Smartcast Input

If you need to avoid the Smartcast at the beginning of your Vizio TV, you can also disconnect your Vizio TV from the internet completely. Although this is not a preferred solution, it is nevertheless a viable alternative.

You’ll lose some smart TV features, such as Chromecast, AirPlay, and HomeKit, but you’ll also prevent Vizio from installing updates that may ruin your dumb TV experience.

To disconnect Vizio’s internet connection, follow these steps:

1. Press the Menu button on your remote control.
2. Then, Select “Network.”
3. From the list, choose your Wi-Fi network. (A Wi-Fi icon should be displayed on the left side.)
4. Lastly, Select “Forget.”

When you turn on your TV next time, you won’t see the Smartcast input but the last active input source instead because all smart features requiring an internet connection have been disabled.

Quick Tip: When the countdown begins, use your remote control to select Cancel. Alternatively, turn off Smart Interactivity Option to disable the 10-second switching.

Conclusion

Flexibility, like seeing the same input on our TV as we left it, can make it easier to find something, but that’s not the case with Vizio TV, which switches to Smartcast automatically when it wakes up from sleep or turns on.

A feature enabled by firmware updates by Vizio in late 2021 that automatically switches the input to SmartCast when there is no input on the previously used port, or even on the current HDMI port, leads to Smartcast as the default input source.

Due to this, Here’s what happens:

• During startup, input is switched to SmartCast if there is no signal on the previous input.
• Whenever the TV is on and there is no signal on the input you are using, the input switches to SmartCast with a countdown and notification.

By choosing the “last input” or by choosing manual input in the TV settings, it is easy to disable Smartcast as the default input.

You should therefore ensure that your TV is configured correctly if you do not want to change the Input to Smartcast At the “Power On setting”.

FAQ

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