These smart TVs were apparently spying on their owners

[PP Mguire]

About a month after my parents got a new 4K Samsung smart TV we started experiencing intermittent internet problems every night around 8:00PM-1:00AM. I thought the problem was with our ISP so after a few weeks I called to complain. Time Warner told me they wouldn't do anything until I replaced our 5 year old router, so I did and the problem seemed to stop. A few days later it was back, so I complained to Time Warner again and they said everything on their end was fine. After a few months of this I got fed up and installed DD-WRT on our router and the next time the issue occurred I started looking at the metrics. Turns out the smart TV was uploading a HUGE file each night and killing our internet (we only have like 2Mbps up). I ended up limiting the upload on the TV to 56Kbps and the problem went away.

What model TV is this? I now have 3 Samsung TVs in my house without this problem.

 

[35g700]

It's a 48-inch UN50JU6500.

They also got a 65" Samsung TV for the living room (don't know the exact model) and it didn't have the same issues.

 

[PP Mguire]

48 or 50? UN50JU6500 is a 50". I have a UN65KS8500 and a UN48JU6700 along with my kid's TV which is a cheaper 40". All of them are hard wired ethernet and none of them upload data like that. Is there an app downloaded to Smart Hub that's uploading something?

 

[35g700]

Must be 50" then.

The only apps we have on SmartHub are Youtube, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, and the Playstation one so I don't think so. I didn't do any further investigating once limiting the upload to 56k 'fixed' the problem.

 

[PP Mguire]

Yea only app I have on mine besides the default ones would be Plex. I even checked my logs and nothing from any of them.

 

[Dude111]

These smart TVs were apparently spying on their owners

Yes and most of the ppl who use these DONT GIVE A DAMN!!!!!!

Its sickening........

 

[PP Mguire]

Yes and most of the ppl who use these DONT GIVE A DAMN!!!!!!

Its sickening........

Must not have read the thread.

 

[Dude111]

oops im sorry buddy.... I meant to say ALOT DONT CARE...

 

[PP Mguire]

oops im sorry buddy.... I meant to say ALOT DONT CARE...

That wasn't really the point. I mean yes, 99% of people out there don't care and 99.9% of them out there are uneducated on the matter (or bet yet pretty ignorant to it). The deal here was I proved from 2 different gens that nothing was being uploaded. I now have 4 smart TVs in my house with nothing being uploaded by them. What has been uploaded has been sent to Netflix but nothing direct to an odd source I need to investigate (outside of TCP ACK overhead). Actually on that note, Netflix is more of a data logger than most people would even begin to believe.

Edit: Netflix upstream overhead is also half the reason why I wanted such a big connection and actually bought a house in an area just to have gigabit fiber.

 

[acerinpa]

This thread brings up a concern for me- I am just about ready to update to a "smart TV" or a "smart AVR" from my nearly 10 years old Visio wiht a 15 year old Sony AVR. Not so sure I even want to as I could just buy a Roku, or other device to use with my current TV making it a "smart TV". However, would that device/stick I buy just do the same thing? I hate the whole idea that "big brother" or whomever is "watching me".