Home » Streaming » Hulu Not Working on Vizio Smart TV (QUICK Fix) in 2024

Hulu Not Working on Vizio Smart TV (QUICK Fix) in 2024

If Hulu is not working on your Vizio smart TV even though other apps like Netflix and Prime video are all working fine, then you are not alone. 

You may see error messages like “no network connection”, “your user session has expired” or the app won’t just open at all!

In this guide, I am going to show some quick and proven ways to fix this issue and get Hulu app to start working on your Vizio SmartCast TV in 2024.

Hulu not working on Vizio TV

Without any further ado, let’s dive right in!

Hulu Not Working on Vizio Smart TV

Below are proven ways to get Hulu app to work on your Vizio TV:

1. Check if Your Vizio TV is Still Compatible

Not all Vizio SmartCast TVs are compatible with Hulu app. Before anything, you need to be sure that your smart TV is actually compatible with Hulu. 

If your Vizio smart TV is not compatible with Hulu, you will see the message, “Hulu is no longer supported on this device” or “Your user session has expired”.

The following Vizio smart TV models no longer support Hulu.

E241i-A1 E241i-A1W E291i-A1
E321i-A2 E322AR E390i-A1
E401i-A2 E420d-A0 E320i-A0
E420i-A0 E420i-A1 E320i-A2
E421VT E422AR E422VLE
E423VL E470i-A0 E472VLE
E500d-A0 E500i-A0 E500i-A1
E502AR E550i-A0 E551i-A2
E551VA E552VLE E601-A3
E601i-A3 E601i-A3E E650i-A2
E701-A3 E701i-A3 E701i-A3E
M320KD M320SL M370SL
M370SR M370SV M3D420SR
M3D421SR M3D460SR M3D470KD
M3D550KD M3D550KDE M3D550SL
M3D550SR M3D651SV M420KD
M420SL M420SR M470KD
M470SL M470VSE M472VL
M550KD M550SL M550VSE
M650VSE E322VL E3D320VX
E3D420VX E3D470VX E3DB420VX
E422VA E422VL E472VL
E552VL ISV-B11 (Co-Star LT) M220NV
M221NV M261VP M320SR
M3D650SV M420SV M421VT
M470NV M470SV M550NV
M550SV SV422XVT SV472XVT
VF552XVT XVT323SV XVT373SV
XVT3D424SV XVT3D474SV XVT3D554SV
XVT3D650SV XVT423SV XVT473SV
XVT553SV

If your Vizio SmartCast TV is still compatible, then you can move to the next fix.

Otherwise, if you have an older Vizio TV model that no longer supports Hulu (models released before 2016), the app may no longer allow you to sign in (or you may not even find the app at all). You may also see similar Hulu error messages displayed on your TV screen. 

In that case, there are two alternative ways to get Hulu on your old Vizio TV shown below. 

Alternative Ways to Get Hulu on Old Vizio TVs

A. Couple a Supported Streaming Device

You can simply couple a streaming device that supports Hulu to your Vizio TV.

These streaming devices include Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 console, Chromecast and Apple TV.

Roku and amazon firestick 

You may even have any of this streaming devices already in your home. In that case, you are in luck. .

For Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast and other supported USB stick streaming devices, you need to plug the streaming device to your Vizio TV’s HDMI port. Switch your TV source to the HDMI port you’ve plugged into and the streaming device should be running.

Depending on which of the streaming devices you are using, you can simply add Hulu channel on it under the apps/channel section either by using the search icon or voice search prompt (on Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV).

With Hulu app installed on the streaming device and the streaming device plugged into your Vizio TV, you can easily stream Hulu on your Vizio TV without any issue.

B. Connect Your Phone/PC to Vizio TV

This is also easy to set up.

Even more, you do not need to spend an extra dollar purchasing an extra streaming device if you already don’t have one.

All your need to do is share your screen from your phone, windows or Mac PC to your Vizio TV while streaming Hulu app on your phone.

You can do this either via wired connection using HDMI cables, or wirelessly via screen sharing. 


2. Power Cycle Your Vizio TV

Power cycling can help fix a lot of streaming issues on your smart TV. It can help fix unresponsiveness, black screen, crash, lag while streaming. 

It does this by removing corrupt cache files

Power cycle is also known as a ‘Soft reset’ (in case you are wondering, all your settings, installed channels/apps and configurations will still be intact).

Here’s how to power cycle your Vizio TV and fix this issue with Hulu app not loading:

  • While the TV is on, unplug it directly from the power outlet
  • Leave it unplugged for 60 seconds
  • Plug the TV back into the power outlet
  • Open Hulu app, and you should be good to go!

Alternatively, you can also perform a soft reset directly from the TV menu.

  • To do that, click on the menu button on your Vizio remote controller and go to System > Reset & Admin > Soft Power Cycle
soft power reset Vizio smart TV

If that fixed the issue for you, great! Otherwise, move to the next tip.


3. Troubleshoot Network Connection & Update DNS

A slow or unstable internet connection can cause Hulu app to not work on your Vizio TV.

You may also see the error messages like, no network connection“, “connection disconnected, check the network settings then try again” even when other apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube work just fine

First thing you can do is restart your network router

check network router

To do this, unplug your router, wait for 30 seconds and plug it back in. Once this has been done, connect your Vizio SmartCast TV to your router and try to access Hulu again.

There are a couple of other things you can do to fix any potential network issue, you can find some of them below:

  • Restart your network router: Unplug your network router, leave it unplugged for 30 seconds and plug it back in. Wait for the router to be back online and ensure that your TV is connected back to it. Finally, open the Hulu app again and you should be good to go!
  • Reduce activity on your network connection: If there are other devices connected to your network router, these devices may be using up a large amount of the network bandwidth, thereby slowing down your network. Therefore, try disconnecting other devices that are connected to your network and see if that fixes the issue.
  • Connect to a different network router: If Hulu stops freezing or buffering after switching to a different network connection, then you know for sure that the issue is with your network connection. On the other hand, if nothing changes, then the issue likely has nothing to do with your network connection or (maybe the alternative network connection is also not fast enough).
  • Try an ethernet cable: Some users have reported that switching to an ethernet cable has fixed the freezing or buffering issue for them. This is not surprising since hardwired connections are generally faster than Wi-Fi connections. 
  • Update DNS Server to Google DNS: Google has one of the fastest DNS servers. By switching your DNS, Hulu app should start working on your Vizio TV.

How to Update DNS Server on Vizio TV:

  • Click on the Menu button on your TV remote and go to Network > Manual Setup.

network manual setup

  • Under Pref. DNS server, enter 8.8.8.8
  • Under Alt. DNS server, enter 8.8.4.4

enter DNS server manually

  • Click on ‘Save’.
  • Wait for it to be reconnected to the new DNS server and then restart your Vizio TV.
  • Finally, open the Hulu app again and it should work without any issue. 
To fix Hulu app not working on Vizio TV, press the Home button on the remote and click on the Settings icon at the top right corner. Then go to All Settings > Network > Edit. Now, click on the option to ‘Set Automatically’. Finally, under the DNS server, enter 8.8.8.8 and the app will start working.

4. Update Vizio SmartCast TV Software

If your Vizio SmartCast software is outdated, you might experience issues like Hulu or other apps crashing or showing a black screen when you try to open it.

What you need to do is simple: update the software version to the latest one. 

Here’s how to update your Vizio TV software:

  • Click on the Menu button on your Vizio TV remote
  • Under TV settings, scroll down to ‘System’, select it.

click on system settings

  • On the system settings menu, click on ‘Check for Updates’

check for update on Vizio TV

  • You will see a prompt asking if you want to check for update. Highlight ‘Yes’ and click enter button.

select yes to check for software update on Vizio TV

  • If there is an available software, your TV will proceed to download and install it (as long as it is connected to the internet)

Vizio TV software up to date

Now, open the app and it should start working.


5. Check If Hulu Server Is Down

At this point, before we continue looking for other potential causes of the issue on your Vizio SmartCast TV, you need to check if Hulu server is down. 

When this happens, you could experience a number of things like Hulu app crashing suddenly, you may be logged out of your account out of nowhere and being unable to log back in or the app might just show a black screen on your Vizio TV.

  • In some cases like this, the support team may post an update on their social media handle like the one below:

Hulu server is down

So, go ahead and check if there’s any such update on their social media handles (Twitter and Facebook).

  • In other cases, the server could be down and no such update will be posted. So, how do you know in such cases?

There is an online tool you can use to check if Hulu server is down (whether globally or only in certain locations). Click here to check it on down detector.

You can also check if Hulu app works on other devices like mobile phone, PC or other streaming devices other than you Vizio TV. If it doesn’t, that’s another proof that it could be a general issue.


6. Reset TV to Factory Settings

If you have done all of the above and Hulu is still not working on your Vizio TV, then you should hard reset the TV (i.e restore factory settings).

Here’s how to reset your Vizio TV to factory defaults:

  • Press the ‘Menu button’ on your TV, select ‘Admin & Privacy’

select admin and privacy

  • Then, select ‘Reset TV to Factory Settings’ or ‘Clear Memory’

reset to factory settings

NOTE: On some older Vizio TV models, you will find this under the ‘System’ settings and not under ‘Admin & Privacy’.

  • You will get a prompt asking you to confirm the reset, click on ‘Reset’ to confirm it

confirm Vizio TV reset

Once the reset has been done, proceed to set up your TV from afresh while selecting all the appropriate options. Open up Hulu app and the app should work. 

Alternatively, you can reset it without your TV remote by following the steps below:

  • Look for the buttons on your Vizio smart TV (could be behind your TV or at the lower edge depending on the model of your TV)
  • While your TV is on, press and hold the Volume down + Input/Source buttons simultaneously until you get a memory/factory reset prompt on your TV.

buttons at the back of Vizio TV

  • nce you see the prompt, press and hold the INPUT button alone for 10 seconds (you will see another prompt on your TV showing that it is being reset/memory is being cleared if done right)
press input button for 10 seconds

Once done, your TV will restart and the sound should now be in sync once again.


7. Contact Vizio or Hulu for Support

If you have followed all the tips stated above, your Hulu should be working by now.

However, if Hulu app is still not launching, crashing or showing a black screen on your Vizio TV after following the troubleshooting tips above, your next move is to contact Vizio and/or Hulu for support.

You can find the contact details below.

You can contact Hulu here

You can find the contact details for Vizio TV below.

Chat & SMS:

  • For SMS support text 205-301-3729.
  • For Chat, click here.

Monday-Friday 8am-8pm CST

Saturday-Sunday 9am-8pm CST

Phone:

For phone support dial (844) 254-8087

Monday-Friday 8am-11pm CST

Saturday-Sunday 9am-8pm CST


Bottom Line

If Hulu is not working on your Vizio TV, whether it crashes when you try to open it, shows a black screen or doesn’t even open at all, do the following to fix it:

  • Make sure your Vizio TV is compatible with Hulu
  • Power cycle your Vizio TV
  • Troubleshoot the network connection and update DNS
  • Update Vizio SmartCast TV system software
  • Check if Hulu server is down
  • Reset TV to factory settings
  • Contact Vizio support for further assistance

If your TV does not support Hulu app, you can couple a streaming device, install Hulu app on it, plug it into your Vizio TV and you are good to go.

Let know which of these tips worked for you in the comment section. Also, kindly share the content with others by using the share buttons.

Leave a Comment