Since Samsung released the smart TV in 2008, every year has brought different ways to how Samsung Apps are used and access. It may not be so obvious how to close apps on your Samsung smart TV since there’s isn’t a close button on the remote. Sometimes apps on your Samsung Smart TV can freeze, crash or just stop working properly. On newer versions, these crashes rarely happen but if you have an older Samsung TV model, then chances are that you’re always having issues with apps. Closing apps, also known as quitting or killing an app is a useful step to know because some apps have functions that run in the background that you may want to stop. For example, music apps. Music apps play in the background even when you go off the app and this can cause your Smart TV to crash a lot – closing background apps will stop background processes from running.

How to Close Background Apps on Samsung TV

  1. Press the RETURN button on your remote.
  2. A Window will appear labeled Edit.
  3. Move your cursor on Exit and press the Enter key to execute. Note: Some apps won’t bring up a window asking if you want to exit. In cases like this, the app will close as soon as you press the RETURN button on your remote. If an app is causing you problems, you update your Samsung Smart TV to a newer version, or you can delete the app that’s causing you problems. To check for a software update, go to Support > Software Update > Update now. To delete an app that keeps crashing:
  4. Press the home button on the remote control
  5. Move the cursor to the app you’d like to remove and press the down button
  6. Move the cursor to Remove and press the enter button
  7. Move the cursor to Remove and press the enter button again

Force Close Apps

If, for some reason, an application won’t close normally or your app is frozen, you can very easily force close the application. There are multiple ways to do this. To perform this task, navigate to Settings. Select ‘Apps’ and select the app you want to close. Then, simply select ‘Force stop’. If this does not work, you can soft reset the TV by holding the power button on the TV remote for 5 seconds.

Hard Reset Samsung TV

Hard resetting your Samsung TV is not always necessary and is generally viewed as a last resort for fixing any problems with your TV, as all your apps, logins, settings and data on your TV will be wiped. If you do choose to factory reset your TV, you will have to re download all applications and re login to all your services. To perform a hard reset, follow these easy steps;

  1. Open ‘Settings’ and select ‘General’.
  2. Select ‘Reset’ and enter your PIN (0000 is the default PIN)
  3. Select ‘Reset’ once again. A window will pop up informing you everything on the TV will be deleted following the hard reset, and will ask if you want to continue.
  4. Select ‘Yes’. If these steps do not match your TV, navigate back to ‘Settings’, select ‘Support’, then select ‘Self Diagnosis’. A reset button will be located in this menu. Your TV should now turn off, and upon turning back on it will be wiped clean, like it just came out of the factory.

Remove Apps

You may want to remove an application from your Smart TV for a number of reasons; you don’t use the app anymore, you want to clear up storage, or the app no longer works. Here’s how to uninstall an application from your TV:

  1. Press the Home button on your remote and Head to ‘Apps’ on your TV, located at the bottom left-hand side.
  2. Select ‘Settings’.
  3. Select the app you wish to remove and select ‘Delete’. If the ‘Delete’ option is greyed out, this means the app is preinstalled onto the TV by default and you cannot remove it. Simple as that! The app you wish to be gone will now be removed from your TV.

Reinstall an App

You may want to reinstall an app if the performance of that app is slow or you uninstalled the wrong app. Luckily, this is very easy to do.

  1. From the home screen of your smart TV, select ‘Apps’.
  2. Select the ‘Search’ icon located in the top right corner.
  3. Enter the app you’d like to reinstall and select it. \
  4. Select ‘Install’. As long as your TV has enough memory and your internet connection is stable, the app should be re-downloaded back onto your TV, just like it was before. To open the reinstalled app, press the ‘Home’ button, and if the app is visible, use the remote’s directional pad to navigate to the app and open it. If the desired app isn’t listed on the Home menu, it should be in ‘Apps’.

Clear Apps Cache

Regularly clearing your apps cache and data has multiple benefits. This can not only prevent your apps from running slow or crashing, it can also serve as protection from malware that may be residing in your stored cache files. Follow these *** easy steps to get your TV running like new! Clearing app cache on your Smart TV is similar to doing it on your mobile devices; you will need to repeat the process for every app you wish to clear the cache of. Luckily this process is simple and shouldn’t take very long at all.

  1. Tap the Home button on your Samsung Smart TV’s remote control.
  2. Go to Settings located at the bottom of your TV along with your installed applications.
  3. Select Apps.
  4. Go to the System Apps.
  5. Choose the app you’d wish to clear the cache of.
  6. Tap on ‘Clear Cache’, and tap OK to confirm. If this is your first time cleaning an apps cache it may take a few seconds, however after the first time, clearing your cache should complete instantly.
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