Vizio TVs Now Require Walmart Accounts For Smart Features (arstechnica.com)
- Reference: 0181109098
- News link: https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/26/03/26/197231/vizio-tvs-now-require-walmart-accounts-for-smart-features
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/newly-purchased-vizio-tvs-now-require-walmart-accounts-to-use-smart-features/
> Prospective Vizio TV buyers should know there's a good chance the set won't work properly without a Walmart account. In an attempt to better serve advertisers, Walmart, which [1]bought Vizio in December 2024, announced this week that select newly purchased Vizio TVs now [2]require a Walmart account for setup and accessing smart TV features . Since 2024, Vizio TVs have required a Vizio account, which a Vizio OS [3]website says is necessary for accessing "exclusive offers, subscription management, and tailored support." Accounts are also central to Vizio's business, which is largely driven by ads and tracking tied to its OS.
>
> A Walmart spokesperson confirmed to Ars Technica that Walmart accounts will be mandatory on "select new Vizio OS TVs" for owners to complete onboarding and to use smart TV features. The representative added: "Customers who already have an existing Vizio account are being given the option to merge their Vizio account with their Walmart account. Customers with an existing Vizio account can opt out by deleting their Vizio account." The representative wouldn't confirm which TV models are affected. Walmart's representative said the Walmart account integration is "designed to respect consumer choice and privacy, with data used in aggregated, permissioned, and compliant ways" but didn't specify how.
[1] https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/24/12/03/2328236/walmart-closes-23-billion-acquisition-of-vizio
[2] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/newly-purchased-vizio-tvs-now-require-walmart-accounts-to-use-smart-features/
[3] https://www.vizio.com/en/vizio-os
Makes sense (Score:5, Interesting)
For context, Walmart acquired Vizio and its SmartCast OS for approximately $2.3 billion in December 2024.
This is just the next step of an overarching plan to compete with Amazon's smart device ecosystem.
As strategies go, it seems kind of cargo cult-y but what do you expect from Walmart.
The only safe route... (Score:2)
I don't watch much TV, but when I do I watch it on the 25-year-old flatscreen that we inherited from the in-laws or my 20" Sony Trinitron CRT. No way I'm buying a spamware-packed television that'll be a security risk with a lifespan dictated by the corporation's decisions about what is best for their bottom line.
Re: (Score:2)
Look for a gaming monitor with no WiFi option. Most are 'dumb' making them simple and usable. If it has Ethernet leave that unconnected. Then pair it with something like Kodi running on a recent RPi using LibreELEC. With some effort you can pair Kodi with an old Fire TV remote left over from when you binned your Fire TV due to it's death by enshitification, or buy a clone remote from China. If it is broadcast TV you want most stations now have a stream you can use with Kodi. With that set up you can r
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Projectors are a good option too most of those are unmolested by "smart tv" features so far. They are only just starting to creep into some of them. I've got a nice 1080p Epson 1985WU connected to a Google TV Streamer that projects on to a 100" screen. It's got two HDMI inputs that can do split screen video sources so it's like having 2 50" tvs side by side. Those two HDMI inputs go into a 4x2 HDMI matrix switch and I can put any of those 4 inputs on the switch into 2 of the HDMI inputs on the projector.
Re: (Score:2)
LOL 25year old flat screen? What is it a 5 inch thick 480p EDTV Plasma?
Bullshit (Score:3)
"designed to respect consumer choice and privacy, with data used in aggregated, permissioned, and compliant ways"
Re:Bullshit (Score:5, Interesting)
What, you don't believe them, given their stellar track record?
[1]https://www.classlawgroup.com/... [classlawgroup.com]
[1] https://www.classlawgroup.com/vizio-smart-tv-privacy-lawsuit
Reason #6 (Score:5, Funny)
That's about reason #6 why I won't be buying a Vizio.
My TV is a monitor (Score:3, Interesting)
A little computer with Mint on it does a great job accessing streaming as well as my NAS. And it doesn't report my activities to anyone.
Re: (Score:2)
> A little computer with Mint on it does a great job accessing streaming as well as my NAS. And it doesn't report my activities to anyone.
What are you using for the streaming services? Netflix etc? A web browser?
If so, that's a complete non-starter; it fails the ease of use expectations of watching TV of the wife using a remote control to turn it on and make it go. (and honestly it fails my own expectations for that matter too; having to reach for a keyboard or mouse to watch a movie or stream a show is just clunky). It also limits you from watching content in 4k.
At the moment, I've got a RokuHD of some sort on one TV, and an nvidia shield on
Missing Details (Score:4, Insightful)
I permanently disconnected by Vizio from the internet specifically because connecting to the internet blocked OTA antenna access and replaced it with a WatchFree+ streaming app which requires internet. They made a vague claim the app "includes local channels" but I seriously doubt it has all the local channels, and it was so unusable at the time it was hard to even verify anyway.
I honestly wouldn't trust that these TVs will even work anymore without connecting it to the internet and signing up for a Walmart account (unless stated very specifically).
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specifically because connecting to the internet blocked OTA antenna access and replaced it with a WatchFree+ streaming app
I threw up a little.
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That's odd. I can still view OTA channels, and their WatchFree+ channels as well.
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Probably has to do with the model and/or the software updates. For me, it was pretty much OTA channels were working one day and weren't working the next. The WatchFree+ app froze more than it actually played video and was extremely slow when not frozen. I tested the app without an internet connection and was just as bad. I don't know the true agenda behind WatchFree+ or what's going on under the hood, but I can't imagine throwing random streaming channels in with my local channels would personally bene
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> For me, it was pretty much OTA channels were working one day and weren't working the next.
Maintenance Menu | Factory Reset
Then just rescan the OTA channnels.
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Don't worry, they will fix that for you in the next enshitification update.
This is why I bought hisense (Score:5, Informative)
My favorite part of my HiSense TV was turning it on the first time. It asked if I wanted a 'standard TV' or 'Google TV'. I picked standard and that was that. No wifi, no apps, just HDMI ports.
Replace main board with simple panel driver? (Score:3)
I've often thought it would be nice to simply replace the smart TV motherboard with a generic screen panel driver that only has HDMI. Unfortunately 4K really complicates things over the older LVDS interface standard. It's still possible, but not easy.
Reject "smart" TVs, return to CRTs (Score:2)
I'm unfortunate enough to own a Vizio TV at this point in time, and I've seriously contemplated getting rid of it and just getting a CRT. I think it would pay off for several reasons:
1) there wouldn't be any of this "smart" bullshit bogging down the experience of just using a TV. And if I really decided I needed any of that, I can probably pick up a cheap old Roku and be about my day. It's unlikely that I'd need it, but if I did, it's certainly better than having the whole thing baked into the TV. All I'd n
Only going to get worse from here. (Score:3)
1. TV's where if you don't enable them and keep it connected to the Internet , they don't turn on the HDMI ports. All you can do is watch OTA TV
2. Cellular modems in TV's so you can't bypass ads sent through the cellular modem.
3. All sales final return policy
4. Potted and sealed electronics with tamper grids.
4. DMCA lawsuit if you modify the TV and they find out.
I guess at this point people won't but TV's anymore.
What features? (Score:2)
I rarely look at the features. I use a firestick. I don't touch anything beyond the sound and the basics. I haven't the slightest idea why I'd need to make an account unless they make me use it to access sound and source settings. If that is the case, I'd send it back and by a real TV.
Doesn't change anything (Score:3)
Most of us didn't need any more reasons to not buy a Vizio. I got an old Vizio 720p free when I bought my house, I gave it away to my ex's brother. In other words, even at a price of $0, I don't want one!
Not my Vizio! (Score:2)
My Vizio is so old that I doubt the thing would even receive updates if I did connect it to the Internet. I just have a raspberry pi connected to it instead. Works great.
Blessing in disguise? (Score:5, Insightful)
If you don't have a Wallmart account, it becomes a dumb TV, which is a significant improvement for many people.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I would assume most "smart TVs" require an account for the "smart" part, which is only an issue if you make usage of the smart part mandatory.
Roku TVs need a Roku account, for example.
This is an article which raises alarm bells over something quite normal and, given "smart" just means "Can run apps from the cloud, so will need some kind of cloud account", actually quite reasonable. It's only unreasonable if your HDMI ports are locked if you don't sign in.
Re:Blessing in disguise? (Score:5, Interesting)
The last Vizio I bought wouldn't let you past the screen-covering EULA without signing in or creating an account. Which is why it went back to the store and it's the last Vizio will ever buy. It also lacked a sleep button on the remote... and required 8 button presses EACH time you wanted to use the sleep feature.
Years ago, they were my favorite brand of TV, worth paying a bit extra for. Never again. I'm so tired of the enshittification.
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Aren't they Wallmart's own brand, as in innately shit?
I've liked Panasonic TVs before, but now they have sold the business to a Chinese company I will have to properly evaluate one when the time comes. My main Panasonic is from 2012 and still going strong. It's used as a dumb display with an Nvidia Shield, which Nvidia has replaced twice outside of warranty. Their hardware may be unreliable crap, but at least they give you a replacement for free.
Honestly, if you don't care about games, get a Mi Box, not a S
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They are now. But they used to be a solid brand that you could get at Costco. I think back in the 90s they even sold computer monitors.
Thanks for the box recommendation. Does a Mi Box work with local media (on a NAS)? I switched from Roku (tired of the ads and constantly added apps) to Apple, which solved those annoyances, but it doesn't play media off the local network.
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The Mi Box is just an Android TV box, so you can run Kodi and use whatever network sharing method you like.
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Interesting.
I bought a Shield TV Pro when they came out in 2021, and it's been rock solid right up to today. I even still got a software update for it last week, so they're still doing development on an Android device 5 years after launch, and they might be the only company doing that.
I couldn't have been happier with the purchase, and I don't use it for games. I wanted a STB that does real HDMI audio passthrough so I can use high definition formats with my high definition AV receiver.
Just make sure it is
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Paying extra for a Vizio TV? I thought they were almost always in the "budget category" A Samsung, LC, Panasonic, Sony would almost always cost more.
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That sounds like a feature to me, as long as it doesn't constantly nag you to log in.