You’ve just unboxed your shiny Hisense TV, or maybe you’re trying to connect it to a new network, but there’s a frustrating snag. Your TV simply won’t ask for your WiFi password. It either connects without prompting you, connects to the wrong network, or just sits there doing nothing at all.
This issue is more common than you’d think, and the good news is that most of the time, you can fix it yourself without calling a technician. Your TV’s WiFi settings can get confused for several reasons, but once you understand what’s happening behind the scenes, the solution becomes pretty straightforward. Throughout this guide, you’ll learn exactly why your Hisense TV skips the password prompt and discover practical fixes you can try right from your living room.
Why Your Hisense TV Skips the Password Prompt
Your Hisense TV relies on a set of instructions stored in its memory to connect to WiFi networks. When something goes wrong with these instructions, your TV might think it already knows your password, or it might not recognize that it needs to ask for one at all.
This usually happens because your TV has connected to this network before, and it’s pulling up old credentials from its memory. Even if you’ve changed your WiFi password since then, your TV doesn’t automatically know that. It keeps trying the old password in the background without bothering to ask you for the new one. Sometimes, the TV might be trying to connect to a completely different network that it remembers from a previous setup.
Another scenario involves your TV connecting to an open network nearby. If there’s an unsecured WiFi network within range, your Hisense TV might latch onto it automatically since it doesn’t require a password. This can be confusing because you’ll see that your TV is connected to WiFi, but it’s not the network you intended to use.
The TV’s network settings can also become corrupted after a software update or power surge. When this happens, the interface that normally prompts you for a password might malfunction or skip that step entirely. Your TV essentially loses track of the proper sequence it should follow when connecting to a secured network.
Hisense TV Not Asking for WiFi Password: Likely Causes
Before you can fix the problem, it helps to know what’s causing it. Your Hisense TV might skip the password prompt for several specific reasons, and identifying the right one will save you time. Here are the most likely culprits behind this frustrating issue.
1. Saved Network Credentials
Your TV has a memory bank where it stores information about networks you’ve connected to before. Each time you successfully enter a WiFi password, your Hisense TV saves those credentials for future use. This feature is meant to make your life easier by automatically reconnecting you when you turn the TV back on.
The trouble starts when you change your router’s password or get a new router with the same network name. Your TV still has the old password stored and keeps trying to use it. Since it thinks it already knows the password, it never asks you to enter a new one.
What makes this particularly tricky is that your TV won’t tell you it’s using an outdated password. It just fails to connect silently, leaving you wondering why the password prompt never appears.
2. Network Auto-Connect Feature
Hisense TVs come with an auto-connect feature that’s supposed to make reconnecting seamless. This setting tells your TV to automatically connect to any known network within range without asking for confirmation or credentials. While convenient most of the time, it can backfire when you’re trying to connect to a different network or need to update your password.
Your TV prioritizes networks based on signal strength and connection history. If it detects a network it recognizes, it’ll attempt to connect immediately, bypassing the setup screen where you’d normally enter a password.
3. WPS Connection Interference
WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) is a feature that lets devices connect to your router with the push of a button instead of entering a password. If your Hisense TV previously connected using WPS, it might be trying to use that method again automatically. This means the TV expects to connect without a password prompt because it’s looking for that button-press handshake with your router.
Even if you didn’t intentionally use WPS, your TV might have activated it during initial setup. Some routers have WPS enabled by default, and if someone pressed the WPS button on your router while your TV was searching for networks, the connection could have been established without you realizing it.
The TV then stores this WPS connection in its memory and attempts to use it again, which is why you’re not seeing a password screen.
4. Corrupted Network Settings
Software glitches can scramble your TV’s network settings, causing unexpected behavior. A failed firmware update, sudden power loss during setup, or even accumulated cache data can corrupt the files that control how your TV handles WiFi connections. When these settings get corrupted, your TV might skip essential steps in the connection process, including the password prompt.
You might notice other odd behaviors alongside the missing password prompt, like your TV showing it’s connected when it’s not, or displaying network names incorrectly.
5. Router Configuration Issues
Sometimes the problem isn’t with your TV at all but with your router’s settings. Certain router configurations can confuse your Hisense TV’s connection process. If your router is set to allow device connections based on MAC address filtering or has special security protocols enabled, your TV might not know how to request credentials properly.
Routers with hidden SSIDs (network names that don’t broadcast publicly) can also cause this issue. Your TV might detect the network but fail to display the proper interface for entering a password because it can’t fully identify the network type.
Hisense TV Not Asking for WiFi Password: How to Fix
Getting your Hisense TV to ask for your WiFi password again is usually straightforward once you know which buttons to press. These solutions address the root causes we just covered, and you can work through them one at a time until your TV cooperates. Let’s get your connection back on track.
1. Forget the Network and Reconnect
The most effective fix is to make your TV forget the problematic network entirely. Head to your TV’s settings menu by pressing the Home button on your remote. Look for Network Settings or Network Configuration (the exact wording varies by model).
Once you’re in the network menu, you’ll see a list of available WiFi networks. Find your network name and select it. Look for an option that says Forget Network, Delete, or Remove. Select this option to wipe the stored credentials from your TV’s memory.
After forgetting the network, go back to the WiFi list and select your network again. This time, your TV should treat it as a brand new connection and ask you to enter the password. Type in your current WiFi password carefully, and your TV should connect without issues.
2. Perform a Network Reset
If forgetting the network doesn’t work, you need to reset your TV’s entire network configuration. This is different from forgetting a single network because it clears all WiFi-related data and returns your TV’s connectivity settings to factory defaults.
Navigate to Settings, then find System or Device Preferences. Look for an option called Reset or Advanced Settings. You should see a choice for Network Reset or Reset Network Settings. Select this option and confirm when prompted.
Your TV will restart automatically after the reset. Once it powers back on, go through the network setup process as if you’re connecting for the first time. Your TV will scan for available networks, and when you select yours, it’ll ask for the password since all previous network data has been erased.
This fix is particularly effective if corrupted settings were causing the problem. You’re essentially giving your TV a clean slate for network connections.
3. Disable Auto-Connect Features
Your Hisense TV might have settings that automatically connect to known networks without asking permission. To fix this, go into your Network Settings and look for options related to automatic connections. These might be labeled as Auto Connect, Quick Connect, or Smart Network Switch.
Turn off any automatic connection features you find. This forces your TV to ask for your input every time it tries to connect to a network, including requesting the password when needed. After disabling these features, manually select your WiFi network from the available list, and you should see the password prompt appear as expected.
4. Check for and Disable WPS
If your TV is trying to use WPS instead of a password, you need to disable this feature on both your TV and router. On your Hisense TV, go to Network Settings and look for WPS or WiFi Protected Setup. If you see this option enabled, turn it off.
Next, you’ll want to disable WPS on your router as well. Access your router’s admin panel by typing its IP address into a web browser (commonly 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1). Log in with your router’s admin credentials. Find the Wireless Settings or WiFi Settings section, locate the WPS option, and disable it.
After turning off WPS on both devices, restart your TV and router. When you try to connect your TV to WiFi again, it should ask for the password since WPS is no longer available as a connection method. This ensures your TV uses the standard password authentication process.
5. Update Your TV’s Firmware
Outdated software can cause all sorts of connection problems, including the missing password prompt. Check if your Hisense TV has any pending firmware updates. Go to Settings, then System or About, and select System Update or Software Update.
If your TV can’t check for updates because it’s not connected to the internet, you might need to use a mobile hotspot temporarily or download the update to a USB drive from Hisense’s website. Connect your TV to your phone’s hotspot (which should prompt for a password since it’s a new network), then check for updates. Once the firmware is updated, restart your TV and try connecting to your home WiFi again.
Software updates often include fixes for known bugs and improve how your TV handles network connections. After updating, your TV’s connection process should work more reliably.
6. Perform a Factory Reset
If nothing else works, a complete factory reset will definitely solve the problem, though it’ll erase all your TV’s settings and installed apps. This should be your last resort, but it’s highly effective. Back up any important settings or take photos of your picture settings before proceeding.
Go to Settings, then System or Device Preferences. Find the Reset option and select Factory Data Reset or Reset to Factory Defaults. Your TV will warn you that this action will erase everything. Confirm and let the TV restart. The entire process takes about five to ten minutes.
After the factory reset, your TV will guide you through the initial setup process again, just like when it was brand new. When you reach the network setup screen, select your WiFi network, and your TV will definitely ask for the password since it has no memory of any previous connections.
7. Contact a Professional Technician
If you’ve tried every fix on this list and your Hisense TV still won’t ask for your WiFi password, there might be a hardware issue with your TV’s wireless adapter. At this point, it’s best to contact Hisense support or a qualified TV technician. They can run diagnostic tests to determine if your TV’s WiFi module is faulty and needs replacement. Hardware failures are rare but can happen, especially if your TV has been through power surges or physical impacts.
Wrapping Up
Your Hisense TV skipping the WiFi password prompt is frustrating, but it’s rarely a sign of serious hardware failure. Most of the time, the issue stems from saved credentials, automatic connection settings, or minor software glitches that you can resolve yourself. Start with the simpler solutions like forgetting the network or resetting your network settings before moving on to more involved fixes like factory resets.
The key is being patient and methodical as you work through each solution. Once you get that password prompt back and connect successfully, your TV should remember the correct credentials and work smoothly from then on. Your streaming sessions are just a few troubleshooting steps away from getting back to normal.