Vizio TV Is Stuck Downloading Updates (11 Solutions)

When your VIZIO TV is doing an update, there is the potential that it will get suck. This can make it hard to use the smart TV and watch some of the shows you would like. 

What to do if your Vizio TV is stuck downloading updates? First, cancel an update and restart your TV. To do this, press the menu button on your TV remote and choose System>Reset&Admin>Soft Power Cycle. If it didn’t work, perform a power reset of your TV. Turn your TV off, unplug it from the wall, wait for 1-2 minutes, plug it back in. After that relaunch the update.

Let’s take a look at some of the factors that influence your VIZIO update and how you can get your TV unstuck when you do an update. Check out the list of the Best Streaming Devices on Amazon now!

How Long Does a VIZIO Take to Update?

The good news is that the VIZIO smart TV will not take as long to complete as some of the other TVs you may have used in the past. While it depends on which update needs to be done and your internet speed, most VIZIO updates will be done within a few minutes. 

You can turn on the update, go get a few things done around the house, and come back to watch your favorite show, rather than waiting all day. 

How Do You Know Your VIZIO TV Is Updating?

If you have a newer VIZIO smart TV, you may not know it is updating at all. These updates are done automatically and will happen when you turn your TV off. 

When the TV is turned back on, the update will be paused. This can prevent the updates from running when you just want to enjoy your favorite TV show on Netflix.

Older VIZIO TVs will not do these automatic updates though. You will need to manually do the update in order to get the new features. You will know the TV is doing the update because you have to confirm it. 

During the manual update, your TV will restart a few times to get the update done. It will alert you when the full update is done. 

Why Is My VIZIO TV Taking So Long to Update?

Most of the time, your VIZIO TV will complete the update in just a few minutes. This can be done while the TV is turned off in most instances, though you will have to restart your older TV manually to install all the necessary updates. There are different aspects that will slow down the updates done on your VIZIO smart TV.

  • Weak internet connection. When the internet connection is not strong, it will slow down the update and could get your TV stuck during one.  It is a good idea to check the speed limits and see how they work with any updates you want to do on the TV.
  • Configure the router settings. You may need to configure the router settings so you get as much bandwidth as possible. This will make the update speed go a little faster and can prevent your TV from getting stuck. Consider using an Ethernet cable for a faster connection.

What To Do If VIZIO TV is Stuck Downloading Updates?

Sometimes your VIZIO TV will get stuck downloading some of the updates. This can be frustrating and may make it hard to use your TV and watch the shows that you want.  There are a few steps that you can use to help get your VIZIO TV un-stuck from the downloads. These include:

1. Check the Internet

The main reason that your VIZIO TV is stuck doing a download is that your internet connection is slow or having other issues. It may be a good idea to do a speed test to check how the internet connection is doing. 

Changing the position of the router can help too. Bringing it a little closer to the TV may speed things up. 

Sometimes the Wi-Fi is the problem. Connect the Smart TV to a modem rather than the router. This will speed things up and can give you the faster internet connection that you need. 

2. Restart your TV

After you have checked that everything is fine with your WiFi connection, the next step to try to do is to simply restart your TV. Your TV might be stuck on downloading updates due to some minor software glitch. If that is the case, a TV restart should fix that.

To do this, press the menu button on your TV remote and choose System>Reset&Admin>Soft Power Cycle. After choosing the soft power cycle, your Vizio TV will power off and restart. After the process is complete, try downloading the updates.

3. Power Reset your TV

This is my personal favorite way to troubleshoot almost any TV-related problem. You will find it in every other post here on my blog. Do you know why? Because it works like a charm.

  • Turn your TV off
  • Unplug it from the wall
  • Wait for 1-2 minutes
  • Plug it back in

Give your TV a few minutes to configure itself, then turn it on and try downloading the updates.

4. Try a Different Network

It is best to try the tip above to help check the internet and see if the speed is the problem.  If you have tried some of the options above and you still have some issues with the update, you should switch over to a new network. 

Try connecting over to another network that you have at home and then continue the update. Many homeowners may not realize it, but your mobile network will be different from the network on the router. 

When the router is not working, see if you are able to connect the smart TV to the hotspot on your phone to see if this will help. 

5. Reboot Your Router

Try rebooting your router. Routers can develop connection issues over time as they are left running for long periods. Sometimes a simple power cycle can put things right. Before you begin poking around your router, make sure that other devices in your home are connecting to the WiFi network. If nothing is connecting, the problem is unlikely to be with your TV, it will rather be a connectivity issue.

6. Use Ethernet Cable

Let’s try using an Ethernet cable to connect your TV directly to the router. This might help if there are some issues with your wireless connection. This will also give you a higher connection speed and will help to finally load the updates.

7. Check For Any Interference

Some electronic devices can cause your WiFi connection to fail. Check for the following:

  • You have a few routers on the same frequency. Such interference can often occur when you live in a block of flats. Try changing the frequency and see if it helps.
  • Make sure that there are no electronic devices, such as microwaves, placed near your TV or router.

8. Do a Power Cycle

A Power Cycle is going to do some troubleshooting for your TV to help force it back to factory settings. This can be effective, but it will erase some of your settings. 

Your TV will warn that this is an extreme option too. Some of the steps you need for the Power Cycle include:

  1. Turn off the TV
  2. Unplug the TV from the power outlet. 
  3. Press and then hold the Power Button on the TV. This needs to be done for 15 seconds to drain out the rest of the power. 
  4. Turn the modem or router off. 
  5. Plug the TV back into the power outlet. 
  6. Turn the TV back on with the remote control. 
  7. Turn on the modem or router and connect the TV. 

This should provide a good restart to the TV so that it will work and get unstick from that update you want to do.

9. Use A 2.4 GHz Wireless Connection

Start with renaming your WiFi spot. To do this, you will need to search for WiFi configuration and name your 2.4 and 5.0 wireless connections differently, then turn on your TV and connect to the 2.4 GHz wireless connection. Or, vice versa, if you were using a 2.4 GHz connection, switch to a 5.0 GHz one. That should speed things up for you.

10. Skip the update

This tip is almost the last one on our list. If none of the above steps have helped, you can simply skip the update altogether by pressing the Skip button on your software update tab.

We don’t really recommend it because your TV definitely benefits from all the new updates getting the newest version of firmware and new safety features. So if you want your TV to work better and longer, it’s best to try to fight this issue rather than forget about it.

11. Contact Vizio

The last thing to try is to contact either Vizio directly or the shop/company from which you purchased the TV. Hopefully, it is still under warranty and if there is something wrong with your TV, it will be fixed free of charge. Check out the list of the Best Streaming Devices on Amazon now!

Conclusion

Today we have shared all the tips that can help you to tackle the problem of your Vizio TV being stuck downloading updates. It can be very annoying when you thought it would take just a few minutes, but it’s taking much longer, and you don’t know what to do.