Jailbreaking Vizio TV lets you lift a lot of restrictions set by the company, like installing third-party apps and accessing a lot of hidden features. Although Vizio TV provides many features, you can get even more by jailbreaking the TV.
In this article, you will find how to jailbreak Vizio smart cast TV, access hidden features, and install third-party apps directly.
I will explain all the steps in the simplest way possible so you can follow along and do it yourself in less than 3 minutes.
What Is Jailbreaking Vizio TV?
Simply put, jailbreaking means removing all the restrictions set by Vizio on your smart TV. After jailbreaking, you will be able to do a whole bunch of things that the company initially restricted.
It is something similar to rooting Android.
Whether you want to install a third-party app that isn’t available on the Vizio TV natively or add additional functionality via external means, jailbreaking your Vizio TV is what you need to do.
Although TV manufacturers do not encourage you to jailbreak the TV, it is not illegal to do so. After going through the official website of Vizio, I did not find any point mentioning not jailbreaking the TV.
In short, jailbreaking is not illegal. But the only problem about jailbreaking Vizio TV is that it may void the warranty.
I wouldn’t suggest jailbreaking your Vizio TV if it is still under warranty. If any other hardware related problems show up during the warranty period, the company may reject it saying the TV is jailbroken. So only proceed further if you know what you’re doing and what the benefits and risks associated with the same
How To Jailbreak Vizio TV?
Now that you know the basics of jailbreaking and what it does to your TV, let’s see how to jailbreak your Vizio TV in less than five minutes.
Update The Vizio TV Firmware
The first thing you need to do to jailbreak your Vizio TV is to update the TV firmware. Your TV should be running the latest software to ensure everything works well and your TV has all the latest features.
Furthermore, updating your TV firmware will ensure there aren’t any bugs or technical glitches in the current version of the TV software.
Grab your TV remote and press the menu button. Go to Settings and navigate to the System option.
Select the Check for updates button and wait a few seconds to see if any new update is available.
If a new update is available, go ahead and update your TV. Depending on the update size, the time varies. Patiently wait till it is done.
Once your TV firmware is updated to the latest version, follow the rest of the guide to jailbreak your TV.
Get Code Converter
You need to download a code converter compatible with your Vizio TV, place it in a USB drive and connect it to your TV.
For starters, the code converter is a program that converts the language into something recognizable by the Vizio TV system.
You can search for a code converter specific to your model and download it online.
Once you download the code converter, copy it to a USB flash drive. Connect the same to one of the USB ports on your Vizio TV and follow the steps below.
Follow this guide if the USB drive is not detected by the Vizio TV.
Search For Code
After installing the code converter on your Vizio TV, press the SmartCast button on your TV remote to activate the smart cast smart hub.
On the search bar, enter ‘CODE’ and select the code converter app from the list.
As soon as you open the code converter app, it will start converting or translating the generic code to something understandable by the Vizio TV.
The process still takes a while. Wait till it’s done.
Convert Secret Code
Now comes the actual part. To jailbreak your Vizio TV, you need to open the code converter app on the TV and follow the steps below.
On the Convert From field, enter 1-8-9-1. Select the option – Hexadecimal. Under the Convert To section, select Binary. Once everything is selected properly, click the Convert button.
After the converting process is done, you have successfully jailbroken your Vizio TV.
Now that you have jailbroken Vizio TV, you can go ahead and install any third-party apps that were initially not supported by the TV or uncover and access all the hidden settings.
To sideload any third-party app or service to Vizio TV, you first need to download and copy the installer file on a USB flash drive.
Now connect the USB flash drive to your Vizio TV and perform the installation. Repeat the same process for any apps that you want to install.
Install Third Party Apps On Vizio TV
Now that you have jailbreaked your Vizio TV, you may start installing any third-party apps by directly sideloading them.
Jailbreaking has disabled all kinds of restrictions that were initially set by Vizio. Even if you try to install a third-party app now, it will safely go through, and you won’t face any difficulties in doing so.
The first thing to note is that you need to find the correct app compatible with your TV model.
Once you find it, copy it to a USB pen drive and then connect to the TV. Use a file manager to sideload the app and you may start using the same instantly.
Access Vizio TV Hidden Settings
If you are a tech-savvy person, you will be interested in exploring a lot of hidden settings on your Vizio TV. Now that you have successfully jailbroke your TV, accessing these hidden settings is just a couple of minutes away.
The service menu is one such hidden setting in Vizio TVs. The service menu is for troubleshooting and finding issues with the TV. Furthermore, it can be used to find bugs or technical issues with your TV as well.
Follow the steps below to access the service menu of your Vizio TV.
Power off your Vizio TV.
Press and hold the channel up and channel down button simultaneously for a few seconds.
While holding the both buttons, press the power button once to turn the Vizio TV on.
As soon as the TV turns on, release the channel up and channel down buttons.
From the TV menu, select the F icon. Now press and hold the menu button and the service menu will open up.
Now you may play with the service menu and explore the unexplored
Should You Jailbreak Your Vizio TV?
In the end, it’s your decision whether or not to jailbreak your TV. You do not need to jailbreak the TV just because you want to do it. Only do it if you have a solid reason to do so.
As you may already know, jailbreaking Vizio TV will void the warranty. In the near future, if your TV experiences any problem, the service team may deny the warranty because the TV is jailbroken.
Only jailbreak your Vizio TV if you want to install and access third-party apps or add additional functionalities.
After jailbreaking, you may access channels unavailable in your region or specific TV model.
What’s Next?
Jailbreaking a Vizio smart TV opens new possibilities and hidden features that would otherwise be impossible to access. Before proceeding to jailbreak your Vizio TV, you must keep a few things in your mind.
The first thing is that jailbreaking Vizio TV will void the warranty. Even if you have a legitimate reason to claim the warranty, the company may reject it, stating the TV is jailbroken.
If you are a tech enthusiast who wants to explore all the hidden features and options on offer on a Vizio TV, you may proceed to jailbreak the TV.
Once done, you can install third party apps, access unavailable channels, go to service menu and more.