When a buyer brought home their new Samsung TV, they found out that getting started wasn't as simple as they expected.
Once they powered on the TV, they found that the appliance would not offer full functionality without the installation of the SmartThings app, the creation of a personal Samsung account, and the acceptance of several terms of service.
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The customer eventually got the television running another way, but only by sacrificing the connected features that made it a smart TV in the first place. They then took to Reddit's r/MildlyInfuriating forum to share their story.
The original poster wrote that their "brand new Samsung TV won't function correctly unless I agree to shady spying ToS and connect to a personal account via an app on my phone." The OP added that attempts to skip that part of the process left the TV "heavily restricted."
Reddit users quickly hopped into the comments section to offer their suggestions and share in the outrage.
Some commenters pointed the OP to the same fix: reset the TV, press the right button, and complete setup without connecting to the internet. The compromise, as the OP described it, was clear: "This works fine; none of the smart features in the TV is available this way, but I prefer this solution over selling myself out to some big corp."
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A separate commenter said they ran into much the same problem while helping a friend set up a Samsung TV for a nearly 90-year-old mother-in-law with failing eyesight. That Reddit user said they wound up attaching the TV to their own Samsung account just to get the Spectrum app installed, adding, "Thanks, Samsung, for making a 10-minute process take an hour."
Stories like that helped drive the reaction in the thread. Some commenters said the experience alone was enough to rule out Samsung for future purchases, while others said account-based setup hurdles are increasingly common across smart TV brands.
Several commenters said the TV should simply be returned. In that same discussion, the person describing the Spectrum setup said the ordeal had nearly pushed them toward buying a non-smart TV.
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