What TV do I have?

Open this page on the television and it identifies the platform underneath: Tizen, webOS, Android TV, Fire TV or Roku. That tells you which app store you have, what apps you can install, and roughly which generation your set belongs to.

Your TV

This check needs JavaScript to run. The guide below still explains how to identify each platform by eye, so the page is useful either way.

Identifying...

This takes a moment. We read what your browser reports about itself and match it against the known TV platforms.

Details

Show the raw identification string

The user agent your browser sends. Occasionally useful in a support request.

Quick answer

What TV Do I Have identifies the Smart TV platform from the TV's own browser: Samsung Tizen, LG webOS, Android TV or Google TV, Fire TV, Roku and others. The platform decides which app store the set uses and which apps it can install, and the browser's engine version gives away roughly which generation the TV belongs to. Open the page on the television itself; a phone or laptop can only report itself.

Keep testing

Next test TV Capability Test See resolution, HDR, codecs and copy protection, all in plain language.

Or jump straight to another test:

Browse all tests

What this check can and cannot tell you

Websites are told far less about your TV than people expect. Here is the line.

Your exact model number

Depends on the platform. Samsung and LG browsers usually do not send a model. Android TV, Fire TV and broadcast-app (HbbTV) browsers often do, inside the identification string the browser sends anyway. Where it is missing, the model number is on the sticker on the back and in the TV's own settings menu.

The platform and its version

Usually yes. Samsung and LG both report their platform, and often the version. This is the reliable part.

Which year your TV is from

A rough guide only. The version-to-year table below is the vendor's own release schedule, but sets ship with whatever version was current at manufacture and update unevenly, so it dates the software rather than the television.

Screen size or panel type

Not directly. No browser interface reports a diagonal in inches or the panel type. The one indirect route: on platforms that send a model name, size and panel type often follow from the model itself, the way a 65 in an LG model name is the diagonal.

Results on a phone or laptop

They describe that device. To identify the television, the page has to be open on the television.

Identify your TV platform by eye

If you cannot open a browser on the set, the home screen gives it away immediately.

Samsung: Tizen

A horizontal bar of apps along the bottom of the screen, with a second row appearing above it as you highlight things. The remote has a colored Samsung Smart Hub button. App store is called Samsung Apps.

LG: webOS

A ribbon of colored app tiles across the bottom. The remote is the Magic Remote with a pointer you wave at the screen and a scroll wheel. App store is the LG Content Store.

Android TV or Google TV

Rows of content recommendations filling the whole screen, with a Google Assistant microphone button on the remote. Apps come from the Google Play Store. Used by Sony, Philips, TCL and Hisense among others.

Amazon Fire TV

A dark blue interface heavy on Prime Video, with an Alexa button on the remote. Apps come from the Amazon Appstore. Either a stick plugged into HDMI, or built into the television.

Roku

A simple purple grid of square channel tiles, and a remote with a purple or gray directional pad and shortcut buttons for streaming services. Used on TCL, Hisense and Sharp sets as well as Roku's own players.

Something older

A sparse menu with only a handful of apps, or nothing beyond a web browser, usually means a pre-2015 set or an HbbTV-only television. These will not receive new apps.

Why it matters which platform you have

It decides which apps you can install

Each platform has its own store and its own catalog. An app on Android TV may simply not exist for webOS, and there is no way around that other than plugging in a streaming stick.

It decides how long you keep getting updates

Streaming services drop support for older platforms every year. Knowing your platform version tells you how exposed you are, and it is usually the reason an app suddenly stops working on a TV that is otherwise fine.

A streaming stick resets the clock

If your TV's platform is the limitation but the panel is still good, a Fire TV stick, Chromecast or Roku player gives you a current platform for very little money. The television carries on as a screen.

Questions people ask

Can you tell me my exact TV model?

Often, yes. Fire TV, Android TV, Google TV and broadcast-capable (HbbTV) sets usually put a model name or code in the identification string their browser sends anyway, and this page decodes it, always labeled as reported by the device. Samsung and LG browsers send no model; there it is on the sticker on the back of the set, or in Settings under Support or About. The platform and its version, which decide your apps and features, are identified either way.

How do I find my TV's model number and year?

Samsung and LG both encode the year in the model number. On Samsung, the letter after the screen size indicates the year, so a UE55TU7100 is a 2020 set. On LG, the digit after the series does the same, and OLED55C1 is a 2021 model. The full number is printed on the back of the television and repeated in the settings menu.

Why does it say this is not a TV?

Because you are reading this on a phone, tablet or computer. The check reports the device the page is actually open on. To identify your television, open its own web browser and go to tv-test.com.

My TV shows as unidentified. What does that mean?

It is a Smart TV, but it does not announce its platform in a way we recognize. That is most common on older sets, on regional brands, and on some HbbTV-only televisions. The raw identification string, expandable above, may still contain a clue.

Does knowing my platform tell me if I can get a particular app?

It tells you which app store to look in, which is most of the answer. Beyond that, availability depends on the individual app's support for your platform version, and on your region. Older platform versions are dropped by streaming services regularly.

More apps from 2kit consulting

More apps from 2kit consulting · Made in Germany

TV Remote
TV Remote Control any TV from your phone. No lost remote, no dead batteries.
Get the app