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Comment by tga | Hacker News Reader

Aren’t all smart TVs dumb if you don’t connect them to the internet?

I wouldn’t be surprised if manufacturers start selling TVs that need to be activated online before first use, but I don’t know of any that do that already.

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Mine quite happily works as a dumb TV without a connection, and I know many others who do the same. Though I hear stories of TVs being annoying to use without a connection (timing out waiting for a server response that can never come, before falling back to an ad free menu, or just constantly nagging, even while content is playing, about the lack of connectivity).

My 'smart' TV has no internet connection configured as I use a Chromecast for streaming services and beaming local content.

That you know of.. Alexa auto-connects to other Alexa networks (like your neighbors). Some TVs have Alexa built-in. Bingo, telemetry.

That’s Alexa hardware using something like LORAWAN or zigbee or something. Bandwidth is low.

I doubt that (at this stage) TVs have something similar builtin. When they come with Alexa/GHome/... it’s usually the software and not an actual Alexa device built in.

Amazon just announced Sidewalk, where their Echo/Ring devices share their internet connection. If it's not happening yet, it will be soon.

Likewise (s/Chromecast/Mac Pro/), but mine (LG) has no apparent means to disable Wi-Fi Direct, so it's still potentially vulnerable to local wireless exploits.

Yeah I worry about this sort of “annoy the customer into connecting” behavior becoming more common as integrating ads becomes more a part of the business model. Also could connect to open wifi networks in more densely populated areas

The real problem will be integrated cellular connectivity with no option to disable.

I hate my Samsung. All of our TV content comes through our Xfinity internet (no digital antenna, no cable box). However, when you turn the TV on the Samsung defaults to "Samsung TV" set of stations that look like local TV and have commercials. They hijack your internet, bandwidth that you pay for, to feed you commercials that they get paid for.

How the hell is this legal???

I have a Samsung but use an Apple TV, I'd recommend disconnecting it and going this route. I was paranoid to give this TV any access to a network, and actually kind of freaked out on my poor wife when she connected it one time when I wasn't home.

If it comes with an unlimited data plan, I'd happily buy that TV just to open it up to take the SIM out of it and use it in another device.

Yeah, but if/when that situation comes about, they're not going to let you do that. They'll brick your TV when you pry it out after forcing you to void your warranty by burying it in some difficult-to-access electronic guts.

I'm waiting on some high quality "dumb" TV. I'll happily pay more for not having to worry about all this nonsense and my sense is that I'm not alone (though most people will happily continue to buy non-privacy respecting brands for a lower price).

SIMs in IoT devices are soldered down. They look like a regular surface-mount chip, black package and all. It's called an "eSIM".

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