Owners of older Vizio Smart TVs will no longer be able to access Netflix after December 1, 2019, according to a report by Cord Cutters News.
Netflix on Vizio TVs
Netflix recently confirmed that it is ending support for Roku players from 2008-2011. You can add older Vizio Smart TVs to that list.
Neither company has published a full list of affected Vizio models but it appears to affect Vizio Smart TVs that are 4 years or older. If your Vizio TV is losing access to Netflix via the built-in app, you should see a warning when you launch the app. The Netflix app will cease working after December 1, 2019.
- "Due to technical limitations, Netflix will no longer be available on this device after December 1st, 2019," the message says.
It is not clear if the change will also affect Vizio Blu-ray players.
Due to "technical limitations"
Netflix ascribes the change to "technical limitations" without further explanation. Often when streaming services discontinue support for older devices in batches, it is in preparation for a platform update or another significant change.
This is certainly not the first time that Smart TV apps or features disappear after a few years. Besides the aforementioned example of Netflix on Roku, Amazon, Hulu and YouTube have all ended support for older devices, including on Nintendo Wii. Sometimes Smart TVs even lose advertised features. One such example is Sony's SideView app.
How long can one expect a streaming device to last? We presume that most buyers would expect a key feature such as built-in Netflix to last longer than 4 years.
- Source: Netflix, Cord Cutters News
