Samsung Smart TVs Back Online After Global App Outage

Samsung’s smart TVs are back up and running after a sudden global outage left many users unable to access popular streaming apps. The blackout hit on Thursday around 5PM ET, when frustrated owners flooded Reddit and Samsung’s community forums with reports that apps like YouTube, Apple TV, Hulu, and Prime Video wouldn’t open.

Although the apps still showed up on the TV menus, opening them triggered different error messages — from server maintenance notices to certification and connectivity errors. Interestingly, Netflix was mostly unaffected, likely because it uses its own independent content delivery network, hinting that the disruption may have been linked to third-party streaming servers.

So far, Samsung hasn’t issued any public statement about the outage on its website or social media. One Reddit user claimed that Samsung support acknowledged the glitch, saying the company was “aware of a potential disruption of service on your Samsung TV” and that engineers were working to fix it “as soon as possible.”

The problem didn’t appear limited to one region, with reports coming in from Samsung TV users around the world. While the root cause remains unclear, most users say their apps are now working normally again. For anyone still facing problems, some have found success by pressing and holding the power button on their remote until the TV restarts.