New Vizio TVs require a Walmart account to use smart features

[thewayne]

You may not be aware of this, but Walmart is getting into the advertising business in a big way. And one of their moves was buying Vizio in December '24. Now if you buy a Vizio TV, in order set it up and use any "smart" features, you'll have to configure a Walmart store account and sign in to your TV, so you can get personalized ads and offers.

Oh, brave new world that has such things in't!

Theoretically this only applies currently to 'select' models, but it probably won't be long until it's all the way up and down the product line. You might be able to sign in, configure the TV, then unplug or disconnect the WiFi, but I have a feeling that it's going to want to check in with its mothership on a regular basis and will plague you with popups until its reconnected.

Recommendation? Don't buy Vizio products. A few years ago they started making more money selling analytics on their users than on the TVs themselves. THIS is what Walmart wants to spur their advertising, just like Google does with search results and "anonymously" analyzing your email.

This is also why I will do my best to avoid buying a smart TV and will stick with an Apple TV for my streaming needs. Apple does not sell advertising. While you will need an Apple account to configure the Apple TV, you don't actually need any other Apple devices if you don't want them.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/newly-purchased-vizio-tvs-now-require-walmart-accounts-to-use-smart-features/

Comments

[gatheringrivers]

There is still a line of "dumb tv's" but they're usually used as digital signage. That's something to consider at least, for anything you're looking for in the future - digitial signage "televisions".

[thewayne]

Indeed!  I'm keeping these in the back of my mind, just in case.  There's also large computer monitors that can be used for the same purpose.  Since almost everything is streamed these days, the lack of a TV antenna isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I've gotten used to living in the sticks these last 20 years and not having broadcast.

Buyer Beware

[frith]

When I went to select a large computer monitor, I went to a store with over a dozen models on display. All were running a series of trailers for games and a movie. I chose the _one_ monitor that displayed the movie trailer in true colour. All the others were too blue.