A lot of people run into problems when they change their TV settings. If you recently switched your Samsung Smart TV’s region or country code to get apps from another country, you may have noticed that Samsung TV Plus stopped working right away.
The app might not load, show a playback error, or even disappear from your home screen.
The good news is that this problem is simple to understand and even easier to fix.
Why does changing your region break the app?
Samsung TV Plus is a streaming service that only works in certain countries. The channels you get depend on the country where you live.
If you change your TV’s country settings, like switching from Canada to the United States to get US-only apps, your TV expects to see a US internet connection. But if your home internet still shows your real location, Samsung’s servers will notice the difference right away.
To protect broadcasting rights, Samsung blocks the stream if your TV’s region code and your internet location do not match. Because of this, the app will stop working until the regions match again.
If you have this problem, the easiest fix is to set your TV back to your real location. This will bring back your local Samsung TV Plus channels right away.
How to reset your Smart Hub to your home country
You cannot change your region back using the regular settings menu. Instead, you need to enter a special remote control code during the TV setup to unlock the hidden location screen.
- Open your TV menu and go to Settings > Support > Device Care > Self Diagnosis.
- Click on Reset Smart Hub.
- Enter your PIN to clear the system cache. If you have not changed it, the default PIN is 0000.
At this point, you should start the initial on-screen setup process.
- Move through the language and network connection screens.
- When you reach the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy page, stop and get ready for the next step.
While the Terms page is active on your screen, click the buttons on your physical remote control in this exact order:
- Mute > Volume Up > Channel Up > Mute
If you have an older Samsung remote with dedicated playback keys, press: Fast Forward > 2 > 8 > 9 > Rewind.
A hidden menu called “Internet Service Location Setup” will appear. Scroll through the list, pick your real country, accept the terms, and let the TV finish setting up.
Force a reboot
After your TV finishes setting up, you might see an empty channel guide. Do not worry because this just means the system needs to clear out its old cache.
- Take your remote and hold down the Power button for five seconds.
- Keep holding the button until the TV screen goes black, turns off, and then restarts with the Samsung logo.
- This will do a hard reboot, clear out the old region errors, and make your TV load your local channel guide.
When your TV’s region code matches your real location, you can fix playback errors and enjoy your free TV channels without any trouble.
Turn off VPNs and smart DNS services
Before you reset your TV, make sure your home internet shows your real location.
If your home Wi-Fi router uses a VPN, log in to your router’s settings and turn it off. If you share the internet from a computer, turn off any VPN software there, too.
If you changed your TV’s DNS settings before, you should remove those custom addresses.
- Go to Settings > General > Network > Network Status > IP Settings > DNS Settings.
- Switch this option from “Enter manually” back to “Get automatically.”
This will make your TV use your local internet provider’s normal settings.