Why Is Toshiba TV So Slow?

You are sitting at home after a long, exhausting day; you just want to sit on the couch, relax and watch some TV.  Unfortunately, the apps on the TV are working really slowly.  It can be frustrating to have to try and troubleshoot a modern TV, but you may just need to run some simple tests or set up some additional hardware.

Toshiba TVs are slow because they make great TVs for a discount rate. The only problem with a budget television is that great discount comes with some trade-offs. The smart features in many budget TVs aren’t usually that great, and running an external streaming device will yield better results.

Here are some easy-to-follow instructions on some tests and fixes to see if you can speed up that Toshiba TV, so you still feel you got a great deal!  If those fixes don’t work for you, there are also some recommendations for some external hardware that will get you up and streaming in no time!

Always Try A Power Cycle First!

Anytime you are troubleshooting any problem with a piece of modern technology, such as a Toshiba TV, you should always do a simple power cycle first and foremost.  

The IT adage of “have you tried turning it off and on again?” is a common joke for a reason.  Simply unplugging the power from your Toshiba TV and giving it a few minutes to power down can work wonders for modern devices. To do a simple power cycle, we are going to do it two different ways to make sure it does the power cycle properly:

A simple power cycle:

• Unplug the power cable from the back of the Toshiba Television
• Wait five minutes
•  Plug the power cable back into the back of the Toshiba Television
• Test to see if the TV is still slow

Another method to try after the simple power cycle is a soft reset:

• To perform a soft reset, simply press and hold the power button on your Toshiba remote
• The TV should power off and power back on again
• Test to see if your problem persists.

Perform An Internet Speed Test On Your TV

Another common problem these days is slow internet connection due to heavy traffic at certain times of the day.  Your TV may not be the problem.  If you navigate to your Toshiba Smart TVs web browser, you can run an internet speed test that will determine if your TV is getting enough speed to stream video and operate properly.

• Navigate to your Toshiba Smart TV Web Browser
• Go to speedtest.net
• Run a speed test and see if you are getting the speeds you expect through your Internet Service Provider.
• If your internet is running slow, you should power cycle your router and modem and try again.

Power Cycle Your Router and Modem

Just as with the TV itself, if your internet is slow, you can power cycle your router and modem by simply unplugging them and plugging them back in, modem first, then the router.

To power cycle your router and modem, unplug your router and modem (these may be separate devices or a single all-in-one device) and wait five minutes.

If your device is one of the all-in-one models:

• Plug it back in and wait five minutes
• Test to see if your problem persists

If you have a separate modem and router:

• Plug the modem back in; Usually, the modem doesn’t have any antennas. If you have a cable modem, it will have a coax cable (like cable TV) going into the back of it. If you have DSL, you will see a landline telephone line going into it
• Wait five minutes
• Plug the router back in
• Wait five minutes
• Test to see if your problem persists

Try Uninstalling The Slow Moving Apps

Sometimes Apps can get stuck when their caches get full, or a one turns into a zero at the wrong time.  Computers and technology can be finicky.  Sometimes the only way to fix something is to uninstall it and reinstall it.

If power cycling the devices and your internet didn’t seem to make any difference, you could try uninstalling and reinstalling the apps.  Sometimes files get corrupted and make programs act as they shouldn’t.  A simple reinstall will delete the old cache and refresh all the files, so if the TV starts acting slow again, it is likely the hardware and not the software acting up.

A Hard Reset to Factory Settings

In the MENU settings of your Toshiba Smart TV, there should be a method to perform a hard reset to set your TV back to factory settings.

• In the Menu, go to Settings.
• Then Setup
• Reset TV
• If the TV asks for a PIN code and you haven’t set a personal PIN code, try ‘0000’ – it’s the default Toshiba PIN code.
• Then just follow any prompts and allow the TV to reset itself
• Test to see if the problem persists

If All Else Fails…

If all of these methods don’t work, don’t fret!  Many budget TVs cut corners in the smart department.  It’s an easy area to cut corners and save money in production. They also are still worth buying for a few years’ use. The good news is there are many products out there that can turn even old, non-smart TVs into the streaming smart TV of your dreams.  

The US version of Toshibas all come pre-equipped with Amazon Fires already installed, but if the hardware is giving you troubles, you can always upgrade to an external one or another brand.

Here are a few of the internet’s favorite streaming devices:

1. Chromecast with Google TV
2. Nvidia Shield TV
3. Roku Streaming Stick 4K Plus
4. Apple TV 4K

A Great Deal, No Matter What

As of 2022, Toshiba offers great deals on many of their TVs.  You can get a 55” LED 4K for around $500 MSRP, and even cheaper if you wait for a sale.  Worst case scenario, you get a great TV with mediocre hardware, which can be frustrating.  However, many of the external streaming devices work better than even the most expensive smart TVs.