You can set up Private Internet Access on Samsung smart TV through SmartDNS, a virtual router, a TV console, or a PIA-compatible router.
Any of these setups will let you access geo-restricted content on your Samsung smart TV since Tizen OS isn’t compatible with VPNs.
By the end of this article, you’ll know how to get your Samsung smart TV working harmoniously with Private Internet Access. So read on for more.
How to Set Up PIA on Your Samsung TV?
Before we dive into the guides, here’s a summary of how each method ranks regarding set-up difficulty.
Criteria | SmartDNS | Virtual Router | Fire Stick | VPN Router |
---|---|---|---|---|
Set-Up Difficulty | Medium | Medium | Medium | High |
Encrypts Traffic? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Hides Your IP? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Speeds | Fastest | Fast | Fast | Fast |
Method #1: Using Smart DNS
SmartDNS offers the fastest streaming speeds as there’s no encryption involved.
Here’s how you can set it up:
- Subscribe to Private Internet Access with my fantastic discounts.
- Log into your online PIA account.
- Click “Smart DNS” in the left panel of your Client Control Panel.
- Click “Add New Device.”
- From the drop-down menu, choose “Other Smart TVs.”
- Choose a Smart DNS server depending on what you want to unblock. PIA offers 5 Smart DNS locations in Germany, the UK, the US, the Netherlands, and Japan.
- You will see a Smart DNS IP address. Note this for later.
- Go to the DNS settings section of your Samsung TV. The video guide below helps.
- Enter the Smart DNS address you saved from step 9 and click OK to finish. Your Samsung smart TV can now access any content in Japan from anywhere.
- That’s how I unblocked Gintama on the Netflix app for Samsung smart TVs.
Method #2: Setting up a Virtual Router on a PC
This method entails setting up an encrypted hotspot shared with your Samsung smart TV. Here’s how to get it working:
- Grab your Private Internet Access subscription with these one-time discounts.
- Download the PIA Windows app. This method only works on Windows PCs.
- Install the VPN on your PC.
- Sign in using your username and password.
- Check that the kill switch is active, as this failsafe protects you from IP leaks if the VPN connection drops. Go through Settings > Privacy to toggle the kill switch on.
- Connect to a PIA server.
- Now, set up your PC for internet connection sharing. You can adapt the video guide below to do so.
- Connect your Samsung smart TV to the PC hotspot you’ve just created.
- Unblock content on your Samsung smart TV. I used a New York server to stream NBA replays with great success.
Method #3: Using Amazon Fire TV Stick
While Samsung’s Tizen OS doesn’t work with VPN apps, it’s compatible with TV consoles like Amazon Fire TV, which run on Android and allow VPN installations.
Here’s how to use such consoles to get PIA on the TV:
- Subscribe to Private Internet Access.
- Plug your Amazon Fire TV into your Samsung Smart TV and set it up.
- Follow this detailed guide to install PIA on an Amazon Fire TV stick directly from the app store or by sideloading the APK version.
- Launch PIA on the Fire TV and sign in using your username and password.
- Connect to a server of your choice and unblock the content you want. Amazon Fire TV supports Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, and Amazon Video, among many others, and it can stream in 4K.
- For this method, I plugged my Fire TV stick into my Samsung smart TV to access Love & Death through the HBO Max app.
Method #4: Using a PIA-Compatible Router
Private Internet Access is compatible with some routers.
Hence, you can set it up on those routers and directly connect to your Samsung smart TV to get the VPN’s encryption.
Here are stepwise guides for multiple PIA-compatible routers.
This method is the most effective as it lets you encrypt the network your Samsung smart TV is connected to. However, setting up a router for PIA is very technical.
So, contact PIA support if you run into trouble with the setup.
Ready to Stream Without Restrictions?
Samsung Smart TVs’ incompatibility with VPNs isn’t the end of the road.
After all, you can use any of these four PIA setup methods to unblock content on the TV from anywhere.
In general, SmartDNS offers the best speeds, but you won’t get encryption.
Setting up a virtual router and using an Amazon Fire TV stick offer more control but require extra devices. Getting a PIA-compatible router is the most effective method, but the setup is complicated.
Remember to get your Private Internet Access discounts before choosing the best method for your Samsung smart TV.