In today’s age of smart devices, a TV is much more than a TV. It is a smart device that can install and utilize apps in the same manner as smartphones or for those who want to go back in time. What happens if you don’t want to use the smart features and apps of an Insignia Roku TV?
You can use your Insignia Roku TV without using Roku. Most who do not want to use Roku on their Insignia TV do so because they do not want to sign up for a Roku account, and it can be set up in that manner without reducing the functionality of the TV.
To use the Insignia TV without Roku, you must set up the TV correctly; otherwise, it may force you to utilize Roku and its apps and signup for a Roku account. Read on if you are interested in learning how to set up the TV without Roku correctly.
When It Comes To Connecting, Just Say No
When the TV is powered up for the first time, it will ask the user whether they want to connect to the internet. This is the point in the standard setup process where the user will then connect the TV to their home or work wireless network. At that point, they enter their username and password, and Roku stores that data.
If you want to use the TV without Roku, the user can choose the option of “connect to the internet later,” and the TV will move forward with the process, and the user can utilize the TV without the internet and Roku.
The downside is that there are reasons to connect to WiFi beyond using Roku. One of the biggest reasons is so the TV can receive updates as they come out.
If you decide you want to connect to the internet later, you can easily do so.
Keeping Up to Date
Television updates are crucial to ensuring the proper performance of the device. This can be said about nearly any electronic device, and TVs are critical to be kept up to date.
Updates typically contain changes to source code, firmware updates to components, and even security patches that ensure the TV is kept usable as technology changes. For example, TV signal encoding and formatting changes are very important and change from time to time.
If the TV is not connected, certain cards inside the TV will not know to process the codec changes that come over the cable line or even over ports such as HDMI. Additionally, there are manufacturer-specific updates that are put in due to usability improvements and feature enhancements that will be missed when not connected.
You won’t really have to worry about these updates, especially if you’re using your Insignia TV as a computer monitor. Further, you can use your Insignia TV without Roku or the internet for other things, such as playing video games.
Security
At least as important, likely more important, are security updates. When a manufacturer or the industry finds a new security vulnerability, the manufacturer typically closes the vulnerability by updating their codec and sending the code to existing devices in updates called “patches.”
They are called patches because they “patch” holes in existing security defenses. Even if the TV is not connected to the internet, the device may be susceptible to a vulnerability because the code, whether it is a worm or virus, existed on the device when it was manufactured and has been lurking ever since. There are thousands of examples of this throughout time.
The irony of the security vulnerabilities is that one of the biggest reasons users decide not to utilize Roku, signup for a Roku account, or even connect to the internet is because they deem it unsecured or unsafe. It is not secure if the TV isn’t connected to the internet, whether through WiFi or hardline, because these patches aren’t downloaded.
Is There Any Other Way?
Unfortunately, there is no other way to utilize your Insignia TV without signing up for Roku. If you decide to connect to the internet, the TV will force you to sign in to Roku. If you do not have an account, it will force the user to create one.
A possible workaround would be to create a dummy Roku account and receive the updates that come with connecting to the internet. Even brand new TVs out of the box require updating so that they can be started at that point. Once the update is completed, the Roku account could be abandoned or deleted.
The Roku account will be remembered when the TV starts up again; the Roku account will be remembered, except for one. If the TV is turned off with a factory reset, the Roku account information will be removed, but the updates will stay on the TV.
It Can Be Done
In conclusion, conceivably, for the most dedicated and secure users, you could create a Roku account, download the updates, and then factory reset your TV. If this was completed once every six months, you could reap the benefits of having an updated device while still staying disconnected from Roku.
