How to Add Apps to a Smart TV: Samsung, LG, Hisense, Vizio

Yes, you can add apps to almost any smart TV. What matters is the system the TV runs, more than the name on the front. A Hisense, for instance, is sold with VIDAA, Google TV, Roku TV or Fire TV, and each of those has a different store.

Find your system in the table, then follow its steps. Each step is the maker’s own, from its support pages or manuals. We have not handled these TVs.

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Where the app store is on each TV

System	Brands that use it	Where the app store is	Account
Tizen	Samsung	Apps, on the Home screen	Samsung account required
webOS	LG	Apps, or LG Content Store on older sets	LG account required
Google TV and Android TV	Sony, TCL, Hisense, Philips and others	The Apps tab on Google TV, the Google Play Store app on Android TV	Google account required on Google TV
Roku TV	Roku’s own TVs, TCL, Hisense, Philips, Sharp, onn, JVC and others	Streaming Store, on the Home screen	Roku account, needed to activate the TV
Fire TV	Amazon’s own TVs, Hisense, Toshiba and others	Find on the main menu, or the Appstore	Amazon account for the full Appstore
VIDAA, now being renamed HomeOS	Hisense, Toshiba	App Store, under More Apps or My Apps	Not stated as required
VIZIO OS	Vizio, and onn TVs “powered by VIZIO”	The Apps menu, a list that Vizio supplies	Vizio account required

If your brand is not in the table, look at the home screen. A Google Play Store icon means Android TV or Google TV, and a Streaming Store tile means Roku.

Samsung

These are the steps on Samsung’s US support page.

From the Home screen, go to Apps and select the Search icon in the top-right corner.
Type the name of the app, select it, then select Install.
Press Home and open the new app from the Home screen menu.

Samsung’s Indian support page puts Search on the left of the Apps screen, so its position varies. If the app is not on the Home menu afterwards, open Apps, select Settings in the upper right, highlight the app and choose Add to Home.

Two limits. Samsung says only apps in its own store can be installed. It also says a Samsung account, which is free, is required for streaming apps. Without one the TV only shows what is plugged in by HDMI and, on sets with a tuner, over-the-air channels. Samsung’s page is Use apps on your Samsung Smart TV.

LG

LG’s help article gives a route for each generation of webOS. On sets from 2024 onward, with webOS 24 or 25:

Press the Home button on the remote and select Apps.
Select the magnifying glass at the top right.
Type the name of the app and select Search, then choose the app and install it.

On sets with webOS 5.0 and later, which LG dates to 2020, press Home, search for the app and install it. On webOS 4.5 and earlier, press Home, open LG Content Store and search there. LG warns that installing may be limited on models released before 2015.

LG says you need an internet connection and must agree to the app’s user agreements, and its webOS pages say streaming apps require an LG account. If the app is missing from the store, LG says to check the network and the TV’s country setting: All Settings, General, System, Location, then LG Services Country. A TV set to “Other” may have trouble installing apps.

Google TV and Android TV

Google’s help page gives two ways to add an app on Google TV. The quick one is search.

Press the Assistant button on the remote, or select Search on the home screen.
Say or type the name of the app.
If the app is available, its page appears. Select Install.

To browse instead, scroll to the Apps tab at the top of the home screen, move through the categories, select an app and follow the instructions on screen.

Older sets run Android TV without the Google TV home screen. There, Google’s steps are: scroll to Apps on the Home screen, open the Google Play Store app, browse or search, and select the app.

One catch. A Google TV set can be set up as a “basic TV” with no Google account, and Google lists installing apps among the things basic TV cannot do. To switch, select the Google TV banner on the home screen and choose Set up Google TV. Google’s page is Install apps on Google TV.

Roku TV

Press Home on the Roku remote.
On the Home screen, select Streaming Store. You can also use Search to find one app.
Select an app to read about it.
Select Add app and follow any steps to sign up, if the app needs a subscription.

Those are the steps in Roku’s support article. The app lands at the bottom of the Home screen, and you can move it up. Roku’s website and mobile app can add apps too.

Roku adds the app to your Roku account, so it appears on every Roku device linked to that account. If a new app does not show up, Roku’s advice is Settings, System, Software update, then Check Now. Its article is What is Roku’s Streaming Store.

Amazon Fire TV

Go to Find on the main menu and search for the app. The Alexa voice button on the remote also works.
Select the app.
Select Get, or the shopping cart icon.

That is the whole of Amazon’s help page. You can also open the Appstore itself and search there.

Some TVs with Fire TV built in can be used without an Amazon account, in what Amazon calls the Basic experience: select Apps from the Fire TV menu, download the app and sign in with that app’s own account. Basic offers Prime Video and a selection of other apps. The full Appstore needs the TV registered to an Amazon account, and Amazon says Basic is not offered on the TVs it makes itself. See Amazon’s Download Apps on Your Fire TV.

Hisense and Toshiba with VIDAA

Hisense’s user manuals for its VIDAA sets give these steps.

Press Home and open More Apps, called My Apps on older versions, then App Store.
Use the navigation buttons on the remote to select the app you want.
Select Install.

The manual notes that the TV must be connected to the internet, and that adding apps is free although some charge once you use them. Hisense’s US FAQ describes a second route: open App Store from the Home screen, go to the Search tab, type the name and press the green button on the remote to add the app.

The company behind VIDAA now calls itself V and is renaming the system HomeOS. It says installed apps, accounts and subscriptions carry on as before, and that its phone app can also install and remove apps on the TV.

Vizio

Vizio works differently. The Vizio pages we read never tell you to download or install an app. Its site says VIZIO OS comes preloaded and that you do not need to download anything to start using apps. What you do is choose, from an Apps menu of more than 300, which ones sit on your Home screen.

Vizio’s support article on finding, adding and managing apps gives two procedures.

To look for an app: from the Home screen, press the Left Arrow on the remote, select Apps, then App Search, and type the name. Select the app if it appears.
To put apps on the Home screen: press the Left Arrow, select Apps, then Home Screen Apps, and follow the instructions to add, remove or rearrange.

The same article says an app that App Search does not find may not be available on VIZIO OS at present, and that new apps and app updates may arrive automatically while the TV is online. For an app Vizio does not offer, it suggests Google Cast, Apple AirPlay 2 or an external streaming device. It adds that menu names vary with the model and software version.

Vizio’s site also says a customer account is needed to use VIZIO OS. Its support site turns away automated visits, so we read the article as a search engine had it indexed. It is How to Find, Add, and Manage Apps.

If the app is not offered for your TV

Each store carries only what its maker offers for that system and country. V, for one, says app availability varies by market. Check the TV’s country setting first, as LG advises.

If the app really is not there, plug a streaming stick or box into a spare HDMI port. Vizio suggests exactly that. The stick brings its own system and its own store, and the TV becomes a screen for it.

Roku Streaming Stick Plus: uses Roku’s Streaming Store, which Roku describes as thousands of apps. It needs a Roku account, which is free. Roku Streaming Stick Plus on Amazon
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K: uses the Amazon Appstore, on your Amazon account. Amazon’s news site prices it at about $60. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K on Amazon
Google TV Streamer (4K): runs Google TV, so apps come through the same Apps tab. Google says it needs a TV with an HDMI port, an internet connection and a Google account. It is about $150 on the Google Store. Google TV Streamer on Amazon
Apple TV 4K: uses Apple’s App Store. Apple sells it from $199.

Pick by the account you already have. With an Amazon account and a tight budget, take the Fire TV Stick 4K. If your phone is an Android, the Google TV Streamer uses the same Google account, at more than twice the price. The Apple TV 4K costs more than three times as much as the Fire TV Stick and only makes sense in a house of iPhones. The Streamer is also in our guide to Google Home devices, and our list of Netflix alternatives covers which services are worth installing.

Update or delete an app

Where a maker’s pages are silent, we say so.

Samsung: for updates, open Apps, scroll down to App Settings and turn Auto Update on. To delete, open App Settings, select the app, then Delete, and Delete again. Samsung’s recommended apps cannot be deleted, only removed from the Home screen.
LG: select the app, hold the OK button to enter the app editing mode and select the bin icon above the app. On webOS 4.5 and earlier, do the same from inside LG Content Store. LG’s article has no steps for updating an app.
Google TV: to remove, go to the Your apps row, hold Select on the app, then View Details and Uninstall. To update, open Google Play Store, go to the profile picture at the top right, then Manage apps and games, Updates, Update all.
Android TV: to delete, open Settings, Apps, pick the app under Downloaded apps, then Uninstall and OK. To update, open the Play Store, choose My Apps and look under Updates available.
Roku: to remove, highlight the app on the Home screen, press the Star button and select Remove app. Roku says to cancel any subscription first. Updates are automatic: Roku says its devices check when switched on and then every 24 to 36 hours.
Fire TV: go to Settings, Applications, Manage Installed Applications, select the app and choose Uninstall. The Amazon help pages we read give no steps for updating an app.
VIDAA: in More Apps, select the app, choose Remove and confirm with OK. Hisense’s manual says only apps you installed can be deleted.
Vizio: Home Screen Apps is where you remove an app from the Home screen. Vizio says updates arrive on their own.

Quick answers

Can you add apps to a smart TV?

Yes, from the store the TV’s maker runs. Most makers require an account with them first.

How do I add apps to the Samsung smart TV home screen?

Open Apps, select Settings in the upper right, highlight the app and choose Add to Home.

How do I download apps on a smart TV without Google Play?

Only Google TV and Android TV sets use Google Play. Samsung, LG, Roku, Fire TV, VIDAA and Vizio sets each have their own store or list, with the steps above.

How do I add apps to a Hisense smart TV?

It depends on the system. Hisense’s US site lists Fire TV, Google TV, Roku TV, VIDAA and Xumo models, so read the home screen and follow the steps for that system.