Smart TV won’t connect, keeps dropping, or apps won’t load

Possibly, but it is not where we would start. If the television can see other networks but not yours, the issue is almost certainly your router, the band or signal strength — not the TV. If the television cannot see any networks at all, then a hardware fault becomes much more likely.

That is a DNS or security-certificate problem, not a connectivity problem. Older smart TVs eventually lose the ability to negotiate modern encryption standards, and apps stop loading even though the network connection is perfectly fine. A firmware update sometimes fixes it.

Sometimes. If the app provider has dropped support for your television’s platform — and they do, on older sets — then no amount of repair will bring it back. In that case a streaming stick costs a fraction of a new television and gives you a fully current app platform. We will tell you honestly which situation you are in.

Almost always, yes, if you can run the cable. Ethernet is more stable, faster and immune to the interference and congestion that plague Wi-Fi. If your television is close enough to the router, it is worth doing.

The module itself is generally replaced rather than repaired, and it is not usually expensive. Antenna connections, which fail more often than the module, can frequently be repaired — and a loose antenna connection is a far more common cause than a dead module.

Almost certainly not. A streaming device gives an older television a fully modern smart platform for a small fraction of the cost of replacing the set. If the panel and the picture are still good, replacing the whole television because of an app is poor value.