VIZIO | WatchFree+ Reviews

by 1nsyte

It seems like every time we want to use the screen mirroring option it turns into HOURS or troubleshooting. And then there are other apps wanting monthly subscriptions to get an app that supposedly works. You sell a TV, why can’t you give us a built in function with a link that works? TVs get outdated so fast anyway. Give me an app that works for the TV I bought. Provide good services and we want to buy your product again. But when it’s glitchy, frustrating, and we can’t use our device to share in time with family we don’t get to see often, it creates a memory we won’t soon forget: one of a glitchy tech device that stole hours of quality family time.

I had to reboot the TV to get the ChromeCast/screen mirroring function to work on the TV again (tell us to reboot after updates if it’s necessary), and then it still won’t read a single device in the house to screen share. (We have a family member with Disney+ who wanted to share their account, and it won’t work).

So frustrated.

by FallColors44

We have had a vizio smart tv that uses this smartcast app for about 3 years now. The tv did not come with a normal remote it forced us to use VIZIOWatchFree. VIZIOWatchFree has constantly crashed for me on multiple occasions, despite the number of updates I have gone through with VIZIOWatchFree. If I force close VIZIOWatchFree and restart it the issue is only resolved about half the time. If I hit a button in app it is delayed by about 10 seconds before something happens on the tv. The tv mysteriously turns on everyday without us even having VIZIOWatchFree open. Now VIZIOWatchFree wants to use my location?? I don’t believe that’s a necessary thing, I am not one who allows apps to use my location unless it’s something that needs it such as a weather app. I don’t believe there is a reason for VIZIOWatchFree to require the use of my location seeing as the tv and my phone are already synced up to the same WiFi network. I am not comfortable with this at all. The next tv I buy will not be a Vizio due to the unsatisfactory experience I have had with VIZIOWatchFree. I would give this a no star if that were an option.

by Bibbles 2

Vizio’s marketing dept. wants me to change my review. So after multiple calls to their tech support I was told that SmartCast doesn’t work with my newish Vizio tv. They wanted me to buy MORE of their products (a new remote w a menu button) to make my brand new Vizio soundbar work w my Vizio tv. Pretty insulting, and a shady business practice. I pointed out this absurdity and they refused to send me the remote for free, claiming some out of warranty nonsense(clearly not a warranty issue). They offered to “go up a level” in their tech support, and then called when I wasn’t available, and never called at the time previously arranged by them. I left a voicemail and they never called back. I’m left with hundreds of $ of Vizio products that won’t connect with each other and thus won’t work. I left a message and they never called back. I cannot recommend VIZIOWatchFree or brand. My original review follows below:

VIZIOWatchFree is useless if you have a Vizio e48-D0 tv and Vizio M51A-H6 and follow all set up directions, including troubleshooting options. To connect the phone (iPhone 12) to the tv, You need to use a tv remote that has a “menu” button, but the e48-d50’s remote doesn’t have a menu button because Vizio is too cheap to add one. Only way to get devices to work together is to cut the power to tv and sound bar at the beginning of EACH use. Stay away from Vizio, what a joke

by BasicBlak

Below is my previous review of an update that wreaked havoc on my setup. Now the latest update yet again fails to disappoint...NOT! With this update, my got unpaired and won’t re-pair. When it does manage to get going in the process, it detects my WiFi connection (sometimes) but when it asks for my password, it tells me WiFi network is out of range. Oh, but it just detected it in the prior step! And, oh, did I mention that my WiFi modem is a great big giant 6 feet away from the TV and my iPhone??? Ridiculous!! Between VIZIOWatchFree and my constant pairing issues, TV has been had been and utter headache to own!

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I love my Vizio TV...except for when I don’t! Maintaining consistent internet connection via WiFi has ALWAYS been spotty (a hardwire connection is not feasible for my setup, so I’m dependent on WiFi). But now with the new updates, WiFi connection is kaput! Bad enough that I have to use a tablet for a remote (luckily, you newer Vizio owners don’t have to deal with that). But now it won’t even pair via Bluetooth. Disgraceful!! FIX THIS NOW!!!

by FierceEffect

So let's take a moment to honest in what we actually want from VIZIOWatchFree if you are a soundbar user- just be able to control our smart cast device (i.e. My soundbar). The rest of the bloat ware and nonsense in VIZIOWatchFree is pretty much ignored by everyone else.

With all these updates the key feature of always being able to control the soundbar do not work correctly. When my soundbar has been on for a while it's like VIZIOWatchFree loses connection and claims the soundbar is off even though it's on. Whats worse is thAt the volume buttons still work on VIZIOWatchFree to control the soundbar that's on even though VIZIOWatchFree claims it's off. If the soundbar is off then how could I be changing the colume to what's currently playing... it just doesn't make sense. I expect to be able to control my soundbars features completely when it's on including bass treble etc. please fix.m

Update: please just have VIZIOWatchFree open to the remote. That’s what we want to use this for. Also have a button to quickly switch between the audio mode movies and Audio.

by Sdkga;lskjdg'ajg

I bought an expensive Vizio TV about 4 months ago. Vizio just pushed an update that made it substantially harder to impossible to cast things to the TV. In order to do so, I have to use VIZIOWatchFree. VIZIOWatchFree is essentially unusable. I don't even have words for how bad the navigation and UI are. They took something that was working, removed it, and replaced it with something I did not ask for, is substantially more complicated, and most importantly doesn't work. TV companies should stop trying to be software companies. They are terrible at it. Make a tv that has a nice picture. Let people who can actually write good usable software like Apple and Roku write the apps. It's incredibly frustrating to have a thing that was working stop working because Vizio decided to push an update I didn't ask for or agree to. If you want a concrete example of stupidity, here is one: Vizio let me know I had to order a new remote from them that had navigation buttons on it (left, right, up, down) to use VIZIOWatchFree. Fine. In order to close the notification that I had to order this remote, I was supposed to press the right arrow button. Which my remote does not have, which was the entire point of he pop up message I was trying to close.

by Bridgette77

Well Visio, here it comes again! Yes it’s another bad review for another bad product! When are you guys going to fix VIZIOWatchFree? I am getting so tired of it constantly not working whenever you guys update. I have called your support team, nothing. They just keep telling me to wait for an update. Really? We have spent a lot of money on these products, and never again! Over the last few months our TV became unusable, and now both of our sound bars are unusable. This is absolute trash! So when are you guys planning on updating? So here’s my story. doesAfter our TV broke down, we got a new one, then looking at the reviews finding out it has something to do with a software update, as our TV was doing the same as others, turning on and off randomly. then none of our sound bars are working with the SmartCast app, unable to connect to the SmartCast app at all. Come to find out, VIZIOWatchFree is broken after the latest iOS update. This is awful! Not only has this cost us money, but it’s making everything unusable for me, as I am visually impaired and have to use VIZIOWatchFree instead of the remote. Please fix this! I am very disappointed! I don’t think I will buy any more Visio products.

by Hsbsnms Sn S

This is a huge problem for Vizio, I have multiple problems with their brand, On how they require many updates on the TVs and constantly how to reboot, not only that but their app as well, for starters I do not like the fact that VIZIOWatchFree requires you to use log into your Wi-Fi through there app, like what’s the whole point of that I obviously I had to have internet or WiFi to downloaded it from iOS to my phone obviously I have WiFi through my phone RIGHT! So why? Do we have to login again on your app to our Wi-Fi just to use VIZIOWatchFree for our TV, When doing that you’re allowing your TV to be set up as a some type 2nd modem, it basically allows others to log into your Wi-Fi through your TV with no password! THIS IS REALLY BAD, I have neighbors that constantly Login through my tv display name! How in the F does that happen?? Like are you guys trying to hack peoples IP address or something, You guys honestly have a lot of work to do with this brand, Like my father said you pay for what you get that’s why this brand is very cheap at Walmart. At least fix it stop taking peoples money for these crappy smart devices

by SmhNoob

I’ve had several Vizio LCD TVs from varied product model groups with the Quantum Series being my current daily driver and VIZIOWatchFree as well as others have a flaw that has a huge impact on this being a viable interface. Vizio has adopted the minimalist approach regarding remote controls shipped with their TVs with devotion. This has resulted in the directional keys in the circled layout of the remote being a singular failure point. No matter the device VIZIOWatchFree is installed on the directional buttons will randomly cease to have any affect and when they do function often behave as the center tap. No method of restoring the navigation function seems to work. Power cycling individual system components or as a group, reinstalling VIZIOWatchFree doesn’t fix the issue at will. I don’t know the cause and given the model range affected, likely is an obstacle that currently has no acceptable solution. But I am not by any means educated in the field, nothing more than a spectator really..I regret the one star and it is unfairly applied, my hope is the developer will highlight the obvious oversight caused by own ignorance the bug squashed and I won’t author any reviews for some time.

by Dmintun

The fact that I have to use VIZIOWatchFree in order to get to the menu on the tv is ridiculous in the first place. Anything menu related at all has to go through VIZIOWatchFree since the remote only has vol+/ vol-, Chan+/ chan-, power, input, picture mode, play/pause and mute.... I understand they wanted the remote simplified but Why no menu button? I set my sleep timer every night and using VIZIOWatchFree wasn’t that bad since I always have my phone.
Then everything just changed!! I go in VIZIOWatchFree and after a half of a second, it error messages me that I need to update VIZIOWatchFree before I am able to use it anymore... okay, understandable. It takes me to VIZIOWatchFree Store.. that tells me there is no update to download and I am current!! I go back to VIZIOWatchFree , and within a half a second, it error messages me again and takes me back to VIZIOWatchFree Store!
I can still click things but I have been having to rush to beat the error message in order to set the sleep timer every night. Usually ending up in about 8-9 attempts if I’m lucky before I succeed. I don’t understand, it’s frustrating the crap out of me! I paid a lot of money for a tv I am unable to do simple general tasks with just because they have a broken app.

by Texasdoesitbest

Latest update broke the pairing cannot pair same problems as all other latest reviews

Update: just now (about 5 min from writing this review) I decided to use my old iPod running iOS 9 and my iPhone 5s running iOS 10 and download the Vizio app which of course is not supported until you go to your purchase history and download it there. It then asked me if I wanted to instal most recent version compatible to the device. BAM it worked perfect in fact as soon as i opened VIZIOWatchFree it instantly worked better than it ever has and recognized device instantly. So clearly this latest update is to blame.

Response to developer: My issue? I stated my issue and it’s exactly the same as all the tons of latest reviews…. Your latest update broke the connection and communication with app and soundbar. Meanwhile, previous version immediately connects and works without issue. And yes I’ve reset, removed device on app, attempted re establishing connection, I’ve tried everything possible and no go. I’ve looked at your responses at “solutions” on other reviews and it seems they are all the same a typical cut and copy response to everyone telling you that latest update broke the connection and communication. It’s not an issue with soundbar or network otherwise previous app version wouldn’t connect instantly and work like a charm. But rather, with this latest version of VIZIOWatchFree you get a message indicating unable to connect.

by KaileeAlwaysKnows<33

I recently bought a brand new Vizio television for my bedroom, as I have a newer (about a year and a few months old) Vizio in my living room that I really like. That one has the Smart TV function where you log in to your apps on the TV. I read how bad the reviews were of SmartCast but I bought this model of new TV anyway because I thought people were exaggerating. Boy, was I wrong. I have had so many problems with this TV, including randomly having to re-setup everything (settings, SmartCast, WiFi, accepting terms, etc) every few times I turn on the television. My final straw was tonight I tried to watch a movie on one of the pre-installed apps (one you don’t have to play on your phone and cast it to the TV). I got about an hour in and I lost my WiFi connection. I restarted my WiFi about 5 times before I gave up as the problem persisted. Just for laughs I decided to go see if it would work on my other tv. It did, and I wasted 2 hours trying to fix my WiFi when it was my stupid TV and stupid SmartCast the whole time. Bottom line, if you’re gonna get a new Vizio, GET ONE WITHOUT SMARTCAST.

by Gliding Shiv

I don’t know what’s going on that broke VIZIOWatchFree , but it’s barely useable now. Anytime you open it up you get a pop up saying it wants Bluetooth access to find new devices (even if you’re not trying to connect anything new). You can close it once, and it’s fine. But if you go out of VIZIOWatchFree and come back the pop up returns. And this time it doesn’t go away. As soon as you hit close it pops back up. It happens so fast you can’t even close or switch out of VIZIOWatchFree (at least on newer iPhones without a physical button). The only way to get out of the endless requests for Bluetooth permissions is to let it take you to the settings (it takes you to the wrong area by the way) and then open up VIZIOWatchFree switching menu and close VIZIOWatchFree from there. So unless you’re just sitting there with your phone awake and on VIZIOWatchFree, you’ll have to do this whole work around every time you want to open an app or use your phone as a remote.

And you know the extra kicker? VIZIOWatchFree has Bluetooth permission. I gave it Bluetooth permission the first time I used it to connect my TV. It’s literally broken over asking me for something that it already has.

by Choesoph

Update:
I have 4 Vizio smart cast devices. A 65” E Series, 75”Quantum Series, and 2 different Smart Cast surround sound systems. VIZIOWatchFree use to work well until the regular app updates that have resulted in it being unusable on any of my Vizio devices. Since VIZIOWatchFree is unusable on multiple devices it’s not the devices it’s definitely VIZIOWatchFree . You can open VIZIOWatchFree , select the device, it works for a few seconds, then the screen disappears. You can repeat as much as you want with the same results. Very frustrating. The one Quantum Series television I purchased was over $1,500 alone. A big selling point was VIZIOWatchFree . I’m not wanting excuses, responses, or reasons. Please just get on this and fix the problem. Don’t release updates unless they are needed and stable. Vizio is a great product, let’s keep it that way and let’s start by making VIZIOWatchFree as reliable and remarkable as it once was. Like when I wrote the original review below. Thank you!

The apps works great for me. Pairing this Vizio tv with an Apple TV and it's been nice to finally not have to ever use a traditional remote. My remote is my phone and my phone is always with me.

by Kolby 'Jack' Andrews

the issues I experience with this remote control app on a daily basis are astounding.
I’ve had to delete and download VIZIOWatchFree over again more than 10 times since I started using VIZIOWatchFree , during January of 2020. Very rarely can I get the television to power on with the first attempt; usually I have to unplug it and reset my iPhone at the same time and wait for all of that to try again. A lot of the time, I have to repeat the process 1-3 more times before it will come on and even then, it’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to navigate the menus to a desired position. I’ve had VIZIOWatchFree crash during viewings on a number of occasions and not come back from it while half of a decent show is on. I really don’t have much good to say about this other than the fact that it’s cool, I guess, that you can control the tv with a phone, but that’s only cold comfort, really. Hopefully, something great happens soon will VIZIOWatchFree, because I refuse to use something that wasn’t created by the manufacturer of the television itself. Who knows, who cares??

by Word Fiend

Our actual remote stopped working exactly two years after purchase of our 65” Vizio SmartCast. After the recent update, remote on my phone rarely works. It will turn the tv on, and I can select an app, but that is the end of its ability. I then have go to my TV, reach around the side and manually shut it off, then try again with phone remote, some times it works the second time, it can take three to five attempts. We do not have cable or any other products attached to this tv. Super frustrating- #becausepandemic we are watching Netflix and Prime far more often than 3 months ago.
Update: One month later, still not working well, must close and reopen app multiple times to get it to communicate with the TV.

by Vivlavisi7

I've had no problems whatsoever with my Vizio p series or the smart cast mobile app until this latest firmware update, I'm not sure why or if they intentionally did this but they removed the eq equalizer in the audio settings and now you can't choose an eq setting, this is very unfortunate now because my tv and the volume does not sound the same at all its really quiet and hardly no rich sound unlike before, before I had the equalizer setting on dynamic and my tv sounded amazing just by itself no soundbar needed it was really loud and sounded very rich and alot of crisp sound and great bass, now the volume is so flat and so quiet I have to turn my tv up all the way to 50 just to hear it decently! I really hope they didn't intentionally take down the TV audio equalizer and hopefully they bring it back in the next updates because the sound is really disappointing now! Even with the treble and bass level all the way up its nowhere near as loud or sounds as good as it did before! Please bring back the equalizer choice setting for the TV audio settings so the TV will sound better like it did before I really miss how great my tv sounded now it's way too quiet and not a good quality sound it's ridiculous that I have to turn the volume level to 50 just to hear decently! This is my only complaint and it's only been from the newest latest firmware update on the Vizio p series!

by Kurt4203

12 months ago i wasn’t using my vizio tv due to the lame wifi phone remote not working anywhere even close to 25% fluidity. Quite simply it sucked! They offered free remotes by mail to pretty much the whole line of tvs besides mine of course. So i patiently waited- what else could I do. I’d purchased the tv refurbished and couldn’t return it. Well more than 12 months later, I can proudly say I can use my tv with ease again. Best part is I can start a stream from my iphone or on the tv itself (using my phone as the remote) and then still use my phone for other things while I’m watching. VIZIOWatchFree has made huge improvements in too many areas to list. It’s still has a ways to go before it’s complete fluid and quick. There is lag, but at least they are finally constantly working to improve it as I get updates more than once a month now. I’m finally back to confidence on vizio for the price point.

by User 146

You’re in your favorite comfy spot, ready to start your favorite show. Nibble on some snacks, sip a tasty beverage, reach for the....”HEY!!! Where’s the remote?!?!” Your eyes fix on a button dinosaur 10’ away from you. Your life shatters. The comfort. Is it worth it? It’s 2021, I’m a lazy American, there’s gotta be a solution. *Googles* Wait a minute...there’s a Vizio SmartCast App for my phone?!?! Rays of light beam down from the heavens above.

This makes the remote a thing of the past. The only downside would be if internet was out on the TV and phone, so don’t throw the button dino out yet. I’ve been dying for a solution that would allow me to use a keyboard to type in search fields and login information for apps. You should promote VIZIOWatchFree in system settings. I love it! It has all the functions of my standard remote and more. The favorite section is the best because it lets me quick launch all my favorite apps.

A nice addition would be a feature where we could organize the layout of our TV’s SmartCast home page.

by Branden The Man

I had bought a vizio 65” E-series 4K smart tv 2years old and for some reason as soon as the update was pushed out the tv started to power on and off by itself never had any problem till now didn’t buy the extended warranty because I have 2 other vizio TVs that are 8-9 years old never had any issues with them. I believe they are getting ahead of there selves with there software updates. Until today I was nothing but vizio, Now not so sure unless they prove there selfs to take care of loyal customers like me! I called vizio and they said there was nothing they can do for me so there is nothing I can do for you but let other people know what I’m dealing with after spending a lot of money on your brand all these years!!! And still I went and bought the 2018 version with a 4 year warranty because that’s how loyal I am another 800 so if something happens I will never ever buy a vizio tv again we’ll see how it goes this time please know what your doing with these updates before you push them out! Also it’s Christmas and I have 3 kids so this is a really bad time for me! I thinking twice about giving you another chance and taking this new one back and going with someone else!

by TexasPride020116

I originally bought a Vizio because my parents have one that you can link your accounts to certain apps and play them through the tv. I love their tv. My biggest mistake was not looking at the reviews for the TVs that have SmartCast capability. This was the biggest waste of money as it barely works, then to have to get a new remote essentially making it impossible to utilize the tv without using VIZIOWatchFree .
VIZIOWatchFree though, when we first got the remote I liked VIZIOWatchFree and rarely had an issuer with it. Now after the update VIZIOWatchFree is just as useless as the remote. Having to wait 4-8 weeks for a remote that is required for the tv is absolutely ridiculous. How about you ask customers whether they want bogus updates for their TVs as well as making major changes to VIZIOWatchFree . With the rating that VIZIOWatchFree gets and customers not just coming down on VIZIOWatchFree but the tv as well, you would think Vizio would get it together. Leave the software technology to Apple and Roku. Just focus on the picture because that’s all Vizio is good at.

by Caged.canary

Every time there’s an update to VIZIOWatchFree, I have to resync my TV with my phone. To sync the tv and phone, I have to touch the phone and television physically. This wouldn’t be so bad if I weren’t physically disabled and had mobility issues. But I do. And even when I do pair the two it’s not guaranteed to work.

In order to get apps to work correctly on the tv, I have to cast from my phone to my tv. If they’re properly synced, great, but the interface is so clunky that it often just fails to work correctly. The interface is also supposed to work as a remote. It doesn’t. Not always. And so I was forced to purchase a second remote for my tv because the one they shipped with the tv wasn’t good enough. I tried to get some sort of response as to why the first was defective, as it seemed perfectly good to me, and got some canned answer.

I will never buy a vizio tv again. Unfortunately this television was sitting on my floor a long time before I was able to mount it on the wall and find out how truly garbage it was, or else I would have returned it, because if an app is advertised as being able to control your product and can’t, your product is lying.

by CobraBK

I would like to know why location access is required to use VIZIOWatchFree as a remote control. The claim is that it needs it "to enable wifi discovery of smartcast devices on the network" which is a load of you know what. If you set it to 'never' even after pairing it, it will refuse to work as a remote until you turn it back on to 'while using app'. There is absolutely no need for a remote to have location access. Your remote control doesn't need location access to function, neither does VIZIOWatchFree when functioning as a remote. Fix this and remove the requirement of it is set to never, otherwise it makes it look like you are tracking users. Also it needs to stop disabling background apps from playing music on the phone whenever VIZIOWatchFree opens because it is not playing music or audio.

by Zach2992

Okay, I like the concept of the way this works. I love technology and I am all about reducing the number of things I need to carry and keep track of in life. Very forward-thinking. However, why do I have to go through so many steps when I open VIZIOWatchFree to get to the spot I need to turn on the TV and sound bar??? Opening VIZIOWatchFree should default to the TV controls, not to the “discover” section. You have to open VIZIOWatchFree , click on “control”, then click in the upper right hand corner on devices, wait for your devices to load up, then choose the device, then wait for the buttons to load up (when it works right). Not a smooth process....especially for tech in 2019. I could lose my remote, find it, and turn on the TV in the same amount of time it takes me to use VIZIOWatchFree. Overall, disappointed, and my next TV will not be a Vizio SmartCast unless this is improved. Customer service seems to think this is a non-issue...maybe this review will inspire some change for a more streamlined process?? Please?!??

by Wahoo1980

I just put VIZIOWatchFree to use with a new Visio M series tv. I had the Visio sound bar in use for year. It did not pair or function with my iPhone last year. In the meantime I got a new iPhone, upgraded the WiFi router and service and received the tv. I hooked the tv up to the WiFi and it took a 5 minute software update immediately.
Today I went to set up VIZIOWatchFree . It worked seamlessly. My wife loaded it on her iPad subsequently and that too worked just fine. The controls worked fine but I would agree the UI is still a bit clunky. It seams to me people are not using the most up to date equipment to operate VIZIOWatchFree and the equipment may need a software update. Very happy for now - May change if WiFi fails or app updates are not clean. Would but the sound bar and tv again.

by Soc7-1

I have spent a lot of time just trying to get the sound bar to generate sound. Initially everything worked and then the remote seemed unable to communicate with the sound bar. Downloaded VIZIOWatchFree initially everything worked. Then as the update came out it became more anymore difficult for the sound bar to recognize an input wether set by me or by asking the sound bar app to detect the active input source. Gave up imputing from TV. BUT, I was still able to get it to recognize my Sony tuner though AUX PORT ON SOUND BAR. Now nothing works. VIZIOWatchFree is useless I have wasted a lot of time and money. I give up throwing out and we NOT buy another VIZIO product again. Really aggravating.
DO NOT BUY PRODUCT. SOFTWARE IS THE WORST I HAVE SEEN IN A LONG WHILE.

by Purplam8

I am just downloading VIZIOWatchFree today, so I cannot vouch for the efficiency of the Visio app. However, I can say that I have had only success with using the Vizio cast system with my smartphone. I have an iPhone X and have been able to download apps onto my phone and then cast (after entering my service provider). I am very satisfied with the smart tv. I do not have any expectations for the Vizio app, but decided to move forward with downloading it since a few apps (AMC) do not have the cast option. I’m hoping there is someway to cast this station even if the AMC app does not offer it.

by Alexhfyvsd

When my old tv finally died, I went out and bought the newest Vizio SmartCast tv. I was actually planning on buying another tv and was talked into the vizio, so I wasn’t even aware there was an app to control the tv. I downloaded it and honestly, there was a bit of a learning curve in how to navigate VIZIOWatchFree and control the various settings/inputs/apps you wanted on the screen, but man. Once I figured it out it is amazing. Literally can control every aspect of the tv. Volume, channel, settings. And the fact that you can have Netflix playing on the tv one second and then cast the movie trailer you are watching on your phone to the screen the next is amazing. Learn how to work it and it’s awesome!