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How to set up a Samsung TV device for testing
How to set up a Samsung TV device for testing

Learn how to set up your Samsung TV device for testing

Nikola Jonic avatar
Written by Nikola Jonic
Updated over a week ago

Motivation

Samsung is one of the biggest-selling brands around the world when it comes to Smart TVs. They have their Tizen OS in their Smart TVs, and if you want to test on your Samsung TV, you should know a few things about installing apps and using Tizen Studio. Because of that, we have created this article. Sometimes, a customer might provide the app as a .tmg or .wtg file, which you must install on your Samsung TV to start testing. The .tmg file requires a USB flash drive to install the app, while the .wtg file requires Tizen Studio. This article will cover both installation methods, but let's start first with First-time setup.

First-time setup

If you have bought a new Samsung TV, after the first launch, you will need to set up the TV for use. Samsung has a simple first-use setup process, and usually, you will go through the following:

  1. Select the Country or Region screen. Here you will need to select your Country/Region.

  2. Wireless Connection screen. Here you will need to connect to your WiFi network.

  3. Terms & Conditions, Privacy Notice screen. Here you need to accept their terms, privacy, etc..

  4. Sign In with Your Samsung Account screen. Here, you should sign in with your Samsung account or create one if you do not have a Samsung account.

  5. TV Registration screen. Here you will need to Register your TV with your Samsung account.

  6. Back-Up screen. Here is where you can select, if you want, to Back Up Data or Skip this.

  7. You can experience some additional screens in the meantime or after the Back-Up screen, this depends from TV to TV, but in general, that is all. You have successfully set up your TV, which is ready for use.

Installing .tmg file

The easiest way of installing the apps on Samsung TV is by using a .tmg file. As we already mentioned, you will need one USB flash drive for this installation method, and that's all.

Usually, the customer will provide a .tmg file in the "userwidget" folder, which you will need to copy onto your USB flash drive and afterwards plug the USB flash drive into your TV, and that's all. So basically, you just need to follow a few short steps to install the app as a .tmg file on your Samsung TV.

  1. Plug the USB flash drive into your PC.

  2. Download the folder given in the test instructions to your PC.

  3. Navigate to the download destination and copy the userwidget folder to your USB Flash drive.

  4. Plug your USB flash drive into your TV.

And that's all, no more steps. The installation process should start automatically after you plug your USB flash drive into your TV.

Installing .wgt file

To install the app as a .wgt file on your Samsung TV, you will need additional software on your PC called Tizen Studio. Installing the app as a .wtg file through Tizen Studio is a bit harder than installing it as a .tmg file, but don't worry; it is just for the first time. So, let's start.

First, we need to put your Samsung TV in the develop mode. To do this, you should follow the next steps.

NOTE: Ensure your PC and TV are connected to the same network. Also, please note that obtaining the IP address is different on Windows and macOS, future in this article, you will find how to get an IP on Windows and macOS. Also, please note that you may experience that some applications are not installable through Tizen Studio, so you may need to use the Command Prompt for this. These instructions you can find in the part Troubleshooting - Installing .wgt through Command Prompt.

Windows

  1. On your Windows PC, open the Command Prompt.

  2. In Command Prompt, type ipconfig and press Enter on your Keyboard.

  3. Remember the IPv4 address (Example: 192.168.31.163).

  4. Turn on your Samsung TV.

  5. Open the Apps app.

  6. In the Apps app, press the following buttons on your Remote Control Unit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

  7. After pressing the last number (5), you should see a Developer screen. Switch Developer mode to On, and in the Host PC IP, enter the previously remembered IP from Step 3.

  8. After entering the Host PC IP, select the OK button.

  9. You should now see the Information screen; you can close this screen, then turn it off, and turn on the TV.

  10. After turning on the TV, that would be all. No more steps need to be done on TV.

macOS

  1. Open the System Preferences.

  2. Click on Network.

  3. Select the connected network and remember the IP address located under the Status.

  4. Turn on your Samsung TV.

  5. Open the Apps app.

  6. In the Apps app, press the following buttons on your Remote Control Unit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

  7. After pressing the last number (5), you should see a Developer screen. Switch Developer mode to On, and in the Host PC IP, enter the previously remembered IP from Step 3.

  8. After entering the Host PC IP, select the OK button.

  9. You should now see the Information screen; you can close it, turn it off, and turn on the TV.

  10. After turning on the TV, that would be all. No more steps need to be done on TV.

Now we should set up and configure the Tizen Studio.

Please note that you may experience some problems on macOS; if so, please check Troubleshoot part.

  1. Go to the Tizen Developers website, and download Tizen Studio with IDE installer.

  2. Navigate to the download location and open the installer.

  3. Accept Software License Agreement.

  4. Set the SDK and Data location (or leave the default location).

  5. Click on the Install button.

  6. On the Installation Complete screen, the Launch the Package Manager checkbox should be checked; if not, please check it and click the Finish button. When you click the Finish button, please wait for Package Manager to be opened.

  7. When the Package Manager is opened, under the Main SDK menu, scroll down the list to the end and click on the install button for Tizen SDK tools. After you click the install button, please wait for the installation to finish.

  8. After installing the Tizen SDK tools, navigate to the Extension SDK menu and click on the install button for Extras.

  9. When the Software License Agreement screen is shown, please click on Accept All button. After you click the Accept All button, wait for the installation to finish.

  10. When the installation is complete, you can close Package Manager by pressing the X (Close) windows button. After you click the X (Close) windows button, you should see one more box (Before exiting the Package Manager...). Please check the Launch the Tizen Studio checkbox and click the OK button.

  11. Tizen Studio should now be automatically started. When you see the Select a directory as workspace screen, set the location of Workspace (or use the default one), and press the Launch button.

  12. If you see Windows Security Alert from the Windows Defender Firewall that some features are blocked from this app, please Allow access.

  13. Now is the time to make a connection between the PC and TV. To do that, navigate to the Tools menu, and select the Device Manager option. On the Device Manager window, click on the Remote Device Manager icon, and there, click on the Scan Devices option.

  14. You should see your TV in the list when the scan is complete. Toggle the Connection option and afterward close the Remote Device Manager and Device Manager windows.

  15. Now we need to add Certificate to install the apps on TV. To add Certificate, hover on the Tools menu, and click the Certificate Manager option. On the Certificate Manager window, click the + button to add Certificate and select the Samsung option.

  16. Select the TV option in Step 1 of the Create Certificate Profile window and press the Next button. In Step 2, leave the Create a new certificate profile option marked, enter any Certificate profile name (For example, Testing), and press the Next button. In Step 3, leave Create a new author certificate option marked, and click the Next button. Then you need to enter the Author's name and Password; you can enter any name and password (that meets the requirements). After entering the name and password, you can leave Apply the same password for the distributor certificate option checked and press the Next button. Now a popup will notify you that you need to sign in to your Samsung account, so please check the OK button and Sign in to your Samsung account. After a sign-in is made, you should see Congratulations! message, click on the Next button. Now you will land on Step 4, leave Create a new distributor certificate option marked and click the Next button. On the next screen (Step 4-1), you do not need to change anything, so you can click again on the Next button. Now you should see it again Congratulations! message and confirmation box after clicking on the Finish button. You can close them, and you can also close the Certificate Manager window.

  17. Few more steps left. Open the Device Manager window again by hovering on the Tools menu and selecting Device Manager. Then Right click on the Connected device (Your TV) and select the Permit to install applications option. After selecting this option, a confirmation message should be displayed, and you can close this box and the Device Manager window.

  18. Now we need to import the app and run it on the TV. Navigate to the File in the menu, and select the Import option. Under the Tizen folder, select Tizen Project and click on the Next button. Select the Archive file option and click on the Browse button. Now navigate to the location where the .wgt file is downloaded, select it, and open it. After adding the location, you can click on the Next button. On the next screen, open the Profile dropdown menu, and select the tv-samsung option. After applying the tv-Samsung option, check the checkbox before the app name and click the Finish button.

  19. When the project is imported, right-click on the project name, hover on the Run As option, and then select the 1 Tizen Web Application option. After selecting this option, the app will be automatically installed and started on your TV. You can also find the app afterwards in the Apps app on your TV under the Settings screen.

Troubleshoot macOS:

  • You may be asked for additional permissions while installing Tizen Studio; please allow them all. While allowing them, you may be asked to restart the PC; please wait for the package manager to finish with every installation, and then restart the PC. If the Tizen Studio does not work properly after the PC restart, please try to reinstall Tizen Studio.

    • In order to uninstall the Tizen Studio, you need to go to the tizen-studio folder, open the package-manager folder, and start the package-manager-uninstaller app.

  • You may experience that not all tools are installed, you can ignore this, and this should not be a problem for future usage.

  • While trying to connect to your TV, you may experience a "failed to connect" message, if so, try the following:

    • If the server is started on port 26099, open the Terminal, type sudo lsof -i:26099 and execute the command. This will list all processes that use the 26099 port. Now kill all processes which use this port with the command kill PID (replace PID with a corresponding number). After you kill all processes, try to connect again to your TV.

  • In Step 4-1, the Create Certificate Profile process, the DUID may not generate. If so, please open the Device Manager and check if the connection is still active. If the connection is not active, please enable it and in Step 4-1 of Certificate Profile Creation, simply go back to the previous step, and go again to the Next step.

Troubleshooting - Installing .wgt through Command Prompt

In some cases you may experience that the given app is not installable thought Tizen Studio. In this case you will need to use the Command Prompt to install the app. To do so, please follow the following steps:

  1. If you find difficulties installing the app using the Tizen Studio, please navigate to the tizen-studio folder (this is the folder where you have installed Tizen Studio).

  2. Then open the tools folder and launch Command Promt in that folder.

    2a. You can open the Command Prompt in the folder by clicking on the free space in the Address bar of File Explorer, and when the File path is shown, just type cmd and press Enter on the keyboard.

  3. In opened Command Prompt, type sdb devices and press Enter on your Keyboard. Make sure that you see your device (TV) under the List of devices attached part. Note: If you do not see your device there, please open the Device Manager in the Tizen Studio and connect to your TV.

  4. When you make sure that you are successfully connected to your device, under the previously opened tools folder, now navigate to the ide folder, open the bin folder, and launch Command Prompt in that folder.

  5. In opened Command Prompt you can type the command: tizen install -n path-to-the-wgt-file and press Enter on the keyboard, the installation process should start after this.

How to set up a VPN connection for your Samsung TV on your Windows 10 PC

An important request from customers might be to use a VPN on your Samsung device for testing. To do that, you must set up a virtual router on your desktop device because Samsung doesn’t support installing VPN clients directly.

The easiest way is to download and install the VPN client on your PC, register, log in, and connect it (it works with paid VPN clients like Avast Secure Line, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, privateVPN, or Windscribe).

  1. After that, you need to click on the Wifi icon on the Taskbar and click on the Mobile Hotspot to enable it.

  2. Now enter the keyword Settings in the Search field and press Enter.

  3. Click on the Network & Internet>Mobile Hotspot>Change Adapter Options.

  4. Right-click on your VPN Name Network Adapter and then click on the Properties.

  5. Switch to the Sharing tab, and check the Allow other network to connect through this computer's Internet connection. When the popup window shows up, click on the OK button.

  6. Underneath, you will see a Home networking connection. Click on the drop-down and select Local Area Connection* 16.

  7. Click on the OK button to save the settings.

  8. Open the Settings of your Samsung device and navigate to Network.

  9. Select Set up Connection and then select Wireless.

  10. In the list of available wireless networks, select the one you created for VPN and enter your Password.

  11. Select Connect.

Note: After you finish testing, you can turn off the Mobile Hotspot by clicking on the Wifi on the Taskbar and then clicking on the Mobile Hotspot.

How to set up a VPN connection for your Samsung TV on your Macbook

⚠️ Some VPN Services no longer support L2TP/IPsec connections.

An important request from customers might be to use a VPN on your Samsung device for testing. To do that, you must set up a virtual router on your desktop device because Samsung doesn’t support installing VPN clients directly.

The easiest way is to download and install the VPN client on your PC, register, log in, and connect it (it works with paid VPN clients like Avast Secure Line, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, privateVPN, or Windscribe).

Important: You must connect your Macbook to an ethernet cable (This is the only way your Macbook can hotspot the WiFi connection to your other devices). Some Macbooks don't have an ethernet port and you need to use the adapter instead. Before setting up your Macbook, login into your VPN client account and obtain the following data: L2TP/IPsec Username, Password, and server address.

  1. Open System Preferences.

  2. Click on the Network icon.

  3. Click on the + button.

  4. Click on the Interface drop-down and select VPN.

  5. Click on the VPN Type and select L2TP over IPSec.

  6. Enter your VPN service name.

  7. Click on the Create button.

  8. For the Server Address, enter the one provided by your VPN client (e.g. xyz.com).

  9. In the Account Name field, enter the Username provided by your VPN client.

  10. Click on the checkbox Show VPN status in the menu bar.

  11. Click on the Authentication Settings.

  12. In the Password field, enter the password provided by your VPN client; in the Shared secret field, enter 1234567 and click the OK button.

  13. Click on the Advanced button.

  14. Click on the checkbox Send all traffic over VPN connection and click the OK button.

  15. Click on the Apply button.

  16. Select the VPN network you just created and click on the Connect button.

  17. Go back to the System Preferences and click on Sharing icon.

  18. Click on the Internet Sharing.

  19. In the Share your connections, from the drop-down, select the L2TP/IPsec VPN you created above.

  20. In the To Computers using, select Wi-Fi.

  21. Click on the Wi-Fi Options.

  22. In the popup window, fill in the data as follows: Network Name (Associate it with your VPN for more visibility), don't change anything in the Channel or Security (the default should be WPA2 Personal), and enter the password you like. Confirm the settings by clicking on the OK button.

Note: If you disabled the wireless connection, you must enable it after completing the settings above. Afterwards, you must click the Start button to share your internet connection with other devices.

Note: After you finish testing, you can turn off the Internet Sharing by navigating to the System Preferences>Network>Select the name of your VPN network>Disconnect.

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