Hulu is not working on your Vizio TV because there’s a network issue or an issue with the app. The best way to make Hulu work is to power cycle your TV (unplug the power cord for 60 seconds and then plug it back in), reinstall the app, or reboot your router. Let’s talk about that, along with some more advanced fixes.
Table of Contents
1. Power Cycle Your Vizio TV
Whenever I have a problem with a piece of technology, one of the first troubleshooting methods I try is power cycling my device.
Why? Because it takes about 1 minute to do and more often than not, turning something off and then on again fixes many problems.
To power cycle your Vizio TV, you need to unplug it from the power outlet.
Using the remote puts the TV into a very low-power standby mode, but it’s not off.
By unplugging it from the wall, you force it to reboot all its processes.
Wait 60 seconds before plugging your TV back in.
That’s enough time to exhaust any residual power from the system.
2. Restart Your TV Through the Menu
If a hard reset doesn’t work, you can try performing a soft reset on your TV.
To do this, open your TV menu and select “Admin & Privacy.”
You’ll see an option to “Reboot TV.”
Click it.
Your TV will turn off, then boot back up again.
A soft reboot clears the system cache, which can resolve many issues.
3. Check Your Internet Connection
If your internet isn’t working, you can’t watch Hulu or any other streaming service.
You can diagnose this directly from your Vizio TV.
Press the Vizio logo button on the remote to open the system menu.
Select “Network,” then click “Network Test” or “Test Connection” depending on your TV.
The system will go through a series of tests to diagnose your network connection.
It will test whether or not you’re connected, and whether it can access the Hulu servers.
It will also check your download speed and warn you if it’s too slow.
If the download speed is too slow, you’ll need to reset your router.
Do this the same way you reset your TV.
Unplug it, wait for 60 seconds, and plug it back in.
When the lights come back on, your internet should work.
If it doesn’t, you’ll need to contact your ISP and see if there’s an outage.
If your internet connection is fine but Hulu can’t access its servers, Hulu may be down.
This is rare, but it occasionally happens.
4. Restart the Hulu App
You can restart the Hulu app, which works much like soft resetting the TV.
Restarting the app will clear the cache, so you’ll start over with a “clean” version.
Open Hulu, and navigate to your settings menu.
There’s a shortcut if you’re getting an error that says “We’re having trouble playing this title right now.
Please try again later or select a different title.”
Instead of hitting “OK,” choose “More Details,” and Hulu will take you straight to the settings menu.
In the menu, select “Get Help,” then scroll down to select “Reload Hulu.”
Hulu will close, and restart momentarily.
It may take a few seconds to load because it’s starting from scratch.
5. Update Your Vizio TV Firmware
If your Vizio TV’s firmware is out of date, the Hulu app could malfunction.
TVs update their firmware automatically, so this normally isn’t a problem.
However, they sometimes malfunction and an update fails to take place.
To check this, press the menu button on your Vizio remote, and scroll down to select “System.”
The first option in this menu will be “Check for Updates.”
Click it, then hit “Yes” in the confirmation window.
The system will run a series of checks.
Afterward, it should say “This TV is up to date.”
If your firmware needs to be updated, you’ll see a prompt to download your updates.
Hit the download button and wait for it to update.
Your TV may flicker or even reboot during the update.
When it’s done, you’ll see a notification.
6. Download the Vizio Mobile App
Vizio offers a companion app that lets you use your smartphone as a remote.
For whatever reason, this sometimes works when Hulu won’t launch by other means.
The app is free on Android and iOS, and it’s easy to set up.
Try installing it and launching Hulu from there.
7. Reinstall the Hulu App
If resetting the Hulu app didn’t work, reinstalling it might.
You can’t do this on all Vizio TVs, and even when you can, the process varies by model.
So before you can do anything, you need to know what software platform your TV is running.
There are four main Vizio platforms.
Here’s how to tell them apart:
- Vizio Internet Apps (VIA) is the original Vizio smart TV platform, used from 2009 through 2013. You can tell you’re using a VIA TV because there are small arrow icons at both ends of the bottom dock.
- VIA Plus is an upgraded platform, used from 2013 through 2017. It’s visually similar to the original VIA, but the icons at the bottom scroll seamlessly from side to side. There are no arrow icons.
- SmartCast with no apps is the original SmartCast platform, used on some Vizio TVs from 2016 through 2017. This platform has no apps or app store, but it supports casting from most smartphones.
- SmartCast is the current platform. It debuted in 2016 on Vizio’s 4K UHD TVs and has been standard on all Vizio TVs since 2018. You’ll see a row of icons in a dock at the bottom. When you highlight one of them, a second row of thumbnails will appear with featured content.
Once you’ve determined which platform your TV is running, you can consider reinstalling Hulu.
Here’s how it works on each platform:
- On SmartCast TVs, you have no control over the app selections. Vizio has a list of approved apps, such as Hulu. The streaming services develop their apps and deliver updates automatically. You can’t delete any of them or add any new ones. The good news is that you’re getting automatic updates, so a reinstall wouldn’t be helpful.
- On VIA Plus TVs, press the menu button, select “Apps,” then choose the Hulu app. Hit “Delete,” then “OK.” Now go to the apps screen and browse through to find Hulu. Press and hold OK until you get a confirmation message.
- On VIA TVs, press the menu button, then highlight the Hulu app at the bottom of the screen. Press the yellow button, select “Delete App,” then choose “Yes, Delete.” Hit your menu button again and select “Connected TV store.” Search for Hulu, highlight it, and select “Install App.”
8. Factory Reset Your Vizio TV
If nothing else works, you can factory reset your TV.
As with any factory reset, this will delete all your settings.
You’ll have to log back into all of your apps and reinstall anything you’ve downloaded.
First, open your menu, and navigate to the System menu.
Select “Reset & Admin,” then “Reset to Factory Settings.
Your TV will take a few minutes to reboot, and it will have to reinstall any firmware updates.
A factory reset is an extreme measure, but it’s sometimes your only choice.
In Summary
Fixing Hulu on your Vizio TV is normally easy.
You can usually fix it with a simple reset, or by rebooting your router.
But even if you have to take extreme measures, you’ll find a solution.
Hulu and Vizio have partnered to create a reliable app that works on all of Vizio’s TVs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I reset Hulu on my Vizio TV?
Open your Hulu settings, and select “Get Help.”
Within the submenu, click “Reload Hulu.”
This will restart the Hulu app and clear the local cache, which can fix many problems.
Why has Hulu stopped working on my smart TV?
There are many possible reasons.
You could have an issue with your internet connection that prevents you from streaming videos.
Your TV’s firmware could be out of date, or you may need to reboot your system.
A factory reset is the last resort, but it will solve your problems if nothing else works.
The only way to find out is to try several solutions until you find something that works.
