How I Fix My Laggy Smart TV in Under a Minute (Quick Steps)

Summarize This Article:

Are you tired of your brand-new smart TV suddenly slowing down and struggling to perform the most basic functions? Have you faced delays when changing the volume or channels using your remote? Well, you are not alone. Just like you, thousands of smart TV owners face these issues every day.

So, is it time for you to get a new smart TV, or is there something that you can do to solve such smart TV problems? We have a simple, easy-to-follow solution that will bring your smart TV back to life. Read on to know how.

What are Cache Files, and Why Should You Remove Them?

Lag is annoying, and it’s something you experience on smartphones, consoles, PCs, and all smart devices. And no, restarting or rebooting your smart TV will not get rid of the lag. The simplest fix for sorting out lags on your smart TV is to clear the cache files. Yes, performing this action does improve your smart TV’s performance.

Cache files are temporary files created by the operating system that are used to access and display information quickly. Cache files can contain app and OS data, such as thumbnails, so that the app or the OS doesn’t have to always download them whenever you launch a particular app.

Removing or deleting cache files is often recommended, as these files, over time, can eat up your smart TV’s storage, resulting in poor performance, navigation, and lots of lag. Deleting these files will not cause any problems or software-related issues. In fact, clearing the cache files will help your TV breathe better. App-related issues, such as crashes and non-stop loading issues, can be solved by removing cache files.

How to Clear Cache on Your Smart TVs

Now that you have an idea about the cache files and why you need to clear them, let’s take a look at how you can clear the cache files on different smart TVs.

Clear Cache on Samsung Smart TVs

Step 1: Select the Settings option and choose Support, followed by Device Care.

Step 2: Choose Manage Storage.

Step 3: Here, you will have to select the app whose cache you want to clear by selecting View Details, followed by Clear Cache.

Step 4: Do note that you will have to perform this action for every app that is installed on your Samsung smart TV

Clear Cache on Android Smart TVs (Sony, TCL, etc.)

Step 1: Select the profile icon from the home screen.

Step 2: Now choose Settings, followed by Apps, and then See All Apps.

how to clear app data and cache on android tv

Step 3: Browse through the apps whose cache you want to clear.

Step 4: For best results, clear the app caches for all apps installed on your smart TV.

Clear Cache on Hisense Smart TVs

Step 1: Grab the remote and press the Settings button.

Step 2: Scroll and select System Settings.

Step 3: Next, click the Advanced Settings option.

Step 4: Here, you will see an option to Clear Cache. Select it.

Clear Cache on LG Smart TVs

Step 1: Press the Home button on your LG Smart TV Magic Remote.

Step 2: Navigate to Settings, followed by General.

Step 3: Now, select OLED care and then select Device Self Care.

Step 4: Next, click Memory Optimiser, then Start.

Clear Cache on Roku Smart TVs

Step 1: Make sure you are on the home screen of your Roku smart TV.

Step 2: Grab the remote now and press the Home button 5 times.

Step 3: Now press the Up button once.

Step 4: Press the Rewind button twice and then press the Fast Forward button twice.

Your Roku TV will freeze for a moment and will reboot itself. Additionally, uninstalling and reinstalling the apps on your Roku TV will also help with clearing the cache.

Clear Cache on Amazon Fire TV

Step 1: Select the Settings icon on your TV.

Step 2: Now select Applications followed by Manage Installed Applications.

Step 3: You can choose to clear All Applications Cache by selecting the option, or you can choose to clear the cache for just a particular app.

What Settings Should You Change?

While cleaning the cache of your smart TV can help restore its factory settings performance, other settings might cause input lag and other issues while using your smart TV with other devices, such as a game console, PC, or even any streaming stick or streaming box.

Use Game Mode

Well, if you use your smart TV for gaming, it is recommended that you switch your TV to its dedicated game mode if the particular smart TV has one. Enabling game Mode will turn off or pause features and background processes that are not needed when using your TV with a gaming console.

If you don’t have game mode, your smart TV might have a PC mode that you can switch to. This mode works similarly to Game Mode

Disable Motion Smoothness

The next setting you need to check is the motion smoothness or TruMotion. For certain applications, having motion smoothness might seem sensible, but not everyone enjoys viewing content with motion smoothness on. With motion smoothness on, your TV tries to add some fake frames to your existing content.

For example, any movie out there will be playing in either 24 or 30 frames per second. With motion smoothness enabled, your TV will be using resources to turn those 24 or 30 frames to 60, 120, or 240 (depending on your smart TV’s hardware and display). When your TV has to generate these extra frames for your movie, it’s using up all of its resources, which will result in a slow/laggy/sluggish performance of your TV.

Disable Power Saving Modes

Yes, it is important to observe power and use as little as possible. But, if it’s causing problems when viewing content or playing games, it is ideal to turn such power-saving modes off. With power saving, your TV will automatically adjust the processor speed based on the power the TV is using.

Use External TV Speakers

A few users have also noticed that when the audio output is from the TV’s input speakers, they have noticed some form of input lag. In this case, you can try to connect your external device to a sound bar or external speakers instead of having the audio output via the built-in speakers.

Is There a Difference in the Performance of the TV?

Yes, you should see a noticeable improvement when performing various actions or functions with your smart TV. When your smart TV is no longer slow or laggy, you will have a better and smoother experience. However, you should keep in mind that it is ideal to always clear the cache files on your smart TV as and when you notice the TV is slowing down. Clearing the cache is a temporary yet repetitive solution.

What to do if your TV continues to lag?

You can try to perform a factory reset of your smart TV and see if it helps with getting rid of the lags and stutters. Do note that when performing a reset, you will lose all apps and data stored on your TV, so make sure to have a backup of all apps, data, and settings so that you can easily set up your TV once the reset process has been completed.

If you are fed up with such lag from your smart TV, it would be advisable to get yourself a dedicated streaming stick or streaming box. These devices have a better performance compared to your smart TV. These plug-in devices have better hardware, more optimized software, and do not have a lot of unnecessary features. Also, such devices get longer software and security updates as compared to smart TVs.

Or, if you feel like it’s time to switch to a newer and better smart TV that doesn’t have these problems, it is advisable to first do some research and see which TVs perform well by looking into reviews online, and also visiting stores to test out the demo units and check whether the TV is perfect for you.

Closing Thoughts

Well, getting rid of the lag and stutters on your smart TV is a simple, quick process that doesn’t take too much time. As long as you have the right settings for your TV, clearing the cache will simply take you less than a minute.

Now, it might not work out for everyone to clear the cache files, so in that case, it is best to get yourself a streaming stick or streaming box from the likes of Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku Streaming stick, or Apple TV, which gives you an overall better performance and less headache when it comes to lags and stutters. If you have queries, feel free to leave them below.

Related Articles:

How I Fix My Laggy Smart TV in Under a Minute (No Tech Skills Needed)