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Comment by crazygringo | Hacker News Reader

Some people are suggesting just don't connect your smart TV to the internet, others are suggesting it might still connect to open (unsecured) Wi-Fi networks.

Is there any major brand of smart TV's that will attempt to connect to open networks, in order to download updates, ads, send back data, without your consent?

I've never in my life had a Wi-Fi-enabled device that would connect to a network I didn't tell it to, and I'd view that as a major breach of norms/ethics/security/everything.

Is it fine to just not configure the Wi-Fi? Or are there brands that are actually known, proven, to circumvent that, if you have open Wi-Fi nearby? (I've been googling but can't find anything.)

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This reddit user said their Samsung TV connected to a nearby open WiFi AP. see https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/bpr6xs/if_you_choo...

Features: 4K Pixelssize™ Dolby gave us some letters to put here HDMI, VGA S/PDIF, An old coat hanger Wardriving supported

There doesn't seem to be any shred of evidence in that post? Just a random statement?

This is exactly why I'm asking -- that story seems like it easily be made up or just plain mistaken. Maybe they've got a family member who tried to connect it to watch something without them knowing.

I've seen random anecdotes like this, but I've never seen anyone actually prove it. E.g. someone with a tech background or a journalist.

And since it would be so trivially easy to actually prove if true, and seemingly a major news story, it feels more plausible to me that it's false.

Yeah this could easily be someone with a kid who was annoyed that some app on the TV didn't work and so clicked on the first available network that worked, or the issue reporter could have clicked on that network by mistake, etc.

On the other hand, I've seen this story about 100 times online at this point and it's absolutely cost Samsung a ton of sales. How hard would it be for them to put out a firm denial that they do this?

It's a good question. But as a general rule, companies don't really bother responding to unfounded rumors until they get to the point where there's an article published about it in the New York Times, or it shows up in the first page of search results.

And I doubt there's really been any measurable effect on sales. The proportion of people who care are miniscule, and they'd likely not be buying Samsung even if they put out a statement.

On LGs you can just disagree with the online service agreements, and it will simply not do any weird stuff online.

I believe some devices sold by Amazon and Google (not TVs itself but things similar to a chromecast) have tried to connect to open networks because DNS requests (of advertising domains) were being blocked. I don't think a TV manufacturer doing the same thing is improbable if it didn't happen already.

in sigapore, connecting to someone elses unsecured personal hotspot is illegal. it's like entering an unlocked home.

One day, they might start using the cellphone networks... (If they havent already)

there's also ethernet over hdmi. I'm uncertain how that gets exposed - possibly game consoles, or collaboration with tv box manufacturers.

Samsung TVs have been reported to connect to any available open WiFi network.

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