I deeply regret buying my LG. Originally the plan was to never connect it to wifi, and use an external device (chromecast, apple tv, or whatever) but my wife was too excited to try out whatever features. Unfortunately we can't sell the TV for anywhere what we paid for it new (to replace it with a different brand) so we're stuck with it for another ~7-10 years, or whatever the standard TV replacement interval is these days. New "apps" keep showing up on the main screen, which I have to "delete" from the main screen once a month or so (they're not deleted, they're just undeletable apps in some massive library of preinstalled spyware we can fortunately mostly hide). Apparently Sony OLED screens are LG "glass" but without the spyware.
I have a Sony A95K and have kept it in basic mode because I have a shield I like to game and stream from. The sony is very minimal and out the way, and after many software updates hasn't offered me any ads, or programs to run even while connected to WiFi.
However if you run Android, you have to accept some level of snooping.
>Apparently Sony OLED screens are LG "glass" but without the spyware.
Without independent verification from someone like GN, I wouldn't trust "we installed rootkits" Sony not to be spying too.
Since Sony TVs run Android at least you can probably use ADB to remove a lot of junk.
... if they're rootable ...
You can actually do a lot without root sometimes. You can revoke permissions and disable apps.
... if they're rootable without the ability for Sony to revoke that rootability ...
Sony TVs are handled by TCL now, so time will tell how Sony-branded models act (up) in the future.
https://www.tomsguide.com/tvs/sony-just-handed-its-tv-busine...
Excuse me, YOUR LG?
What’s stopping you from disconnecting it from wifi mow?
This is also my question, but I suppose the answer could be that we don't trust LG to actually forget the wifi password (and not use it surreptitiously later). You could also change the wifi info, but that might mean changing a whole lot of devices (including wife's and kids).
If someone is supposedly concerned about being recorded, having their privacy invaded etc. but they're too lazy to change the wifi password and deal with the trivial inconvenience of changing it on other household devices then in this case the revealed preference really is that they don't really care.
The gamers nexus thing touched on this.. Apparently some ignore that choice and connect to open wifi or something like Comcasts modem hijacking wifi.
So change the wifi password.
I did bring that up in the second sentence of my two-sentence comment.
As others have said, cut off access and/or factory reset it. My LG has never been granted net access, firmware upgrades through USB drives, and streaming through Onn 4K box(w/ a 3rd party launcher) and Apple TV. No surprise ads, apps, or anything.
What do you get from upgrading the firmware? I have a 10 yo smart tv that I simply treated as a dumb tv. Works fine.
I updated my LG C5 firmware via USB and my Nintendo Switch 2 now says “Switch 2” on the home page instead of “Unknown Device”. So that’s nice I guess. Also it seemed to fix something with the 120hz HDR 10:10:10 signal when connected to my PC if I recall correctly that before resulted in poor image quality.
Mostly bug fixes relevant to higher end home theatre setups. Typically bleeding edge stuff where a TV is released before a new HDMI spec is fully baked or whatnot. One of my older OLED panels needed a number of updates to get proper Dolby Vision profile support a few years back.
Typically not all that relevant most of the time to the average consumer, but if you’re having a persistent annoyance it’s worth looking through release notes from time to time.
This ignores that the vast majority of consumers actually use the smart tv features like the Netflix app. Then updates start to become far more relevant and eventually mandatory.
Sony uses Google TV. Doesn't inspire trust as far as spying and data collection goes.
My Sony with Google TV is pretty good in "Basic Mode" without an internet connection though.
Disconnect it from the internet, buy a streaming device, and use the streaming device. It’s really not that complicated.
If you want a bit complicated, you can probably unscrew the back panel and remove the wifi card.
> It’s really not that complicated.
You can do that no the average joe.
Buy a cast/apple tv anyway and then reset the LG screen to factory. Is that an option?
Why not reset it
It feels like there must be multiple completely different implementations of LG OLED TVs. I would not say that my LG has a "main screen" of any kind. When I turn mine on it shows the last input that had been used or, if that thing is off, it shows the bouncy egg and "No Signal". If I press the button on the remote that says RECENTS and has a picture of a house on it, which I guess is the "main screen", it maintains the bouncy egg but shows a ribbon of apps on the bottom. Those are my installed apps: Hulu, Prime, Peacock, YouTube, Netflix, Apple TV, and Disney+ happen to be today's recents. Where is this "main screen" where unbidden appvertisements arise?
That is WebOS 6.0 or older. Mine is the same. At some point they stopped updating older models. I think all those released before 2021 or so.
That ribbon got slammed full of advertisements at some point, last I knew.
Mine has been strictly MRU forever. When I look at this video, it does not resemble the software on my LG OLED TV at all. There must be several platforms or generations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8atmvE0ArA
But how do you know which LG model does what?
I don't. That's the point of my thread. But it's clear to me that not every LG owner is seeing the same things.
Hulu, Prime, Peacock, YouTube, Netflix, Apple TV, and Disney+ happen to be today's recents.
Where do you find the time to post on HN?
Those are just all of the apps I used in 9 years in the order that I last opened them.