Watching YouTube on Samsung TV

Samsung smart TVs don't run Android. They run Tizen, an operating system Samsung develops and controls itself, and it's a completely different platform from Android TV or Google TV under the hood. That distinction matters a lot for anyone searching for ways to customize YouTube on a Samsung TV, because most of the well-known Android tools simply don't apply here.

Quick answer

The official YouTube app is preinstalled on Samsung TVs and works the same ad-supported way it does elsewhere unless paired with YouTube Premium. If you want a modified YouTube client on Tizen, the relevant project is TizenTube — not SmartTube or ReVanced, which are built for Android and don't install on Samsung's platform at all.

The official YouTube app

Samsung TVs come with YouTube built in through Samsung's own Smart Hub app platform, and it behaves like the official app anywhere else: ads between and sometimes during videos, unless the signed-in account has YouTube Premium. Premium works exactly as it does on any device — sign in, and ads go away across YouTube's own apps, no extra installation required on the TV itself. For a broader look at how Premium compares to third-party alternatives, see this comparison.

Third-party options

TizenTube is a third-party project built specifically for Samsung's Tizen platform — it's the Tizen equivalent of what SmartTube or ReVanced do on Android. Installing it isn't as simple as sideloading an APK, though: Tizen doesn't work that way. The current version installs as its own standalone app and does not require TizenBrew — an older version ran as a module inside TizenBrew instead, and that path still exists but isn't the recommended one. Either way, setup means putting the TV into developer mode and using a companion installer from a computer — a meaningfully more technical process than installing an app on a phone or an Android TV box. See the TizenTube guide for the full setup walkthrough.

TizenBrew is a separate module-loader project for Samsung Tizen TVs — it's no longer required for TizenTube specifically, but it's still useful if you want to run other community modules. It uses the same installer tooling as TizenTube's standalone install: developer mode plus a companion installer from a computer. See the TizenBrew guide for the installation steps and how it relates to TizenTube's older module mode.

Compatibility

This is the key thing to understand about Samsung TVs: SmartTube and ReVanced are Android tools, and Tizen is not Android, so neither one runs on a Samsung TV in any form — not sideloaded, not through a workaround. If you've read about SmartTube working well on Android TV or Fire TV and assumed it would work the same way on your Samsung set, it won't; TizenTube is the option built for this platform specifically. YouTube Premium, as an official YouTube product, works on Samsung TVs the same as everywhere else.

Limitations

• Installing TizenTube requires developer-mode access and a companion installer running on a computer, which is a heavier lift than typical app installation (though the current standalone version no longer requires TizenBrew itself).
• Samsung TV firmware and Tizen versions vary by model year, and older TVs may run Tizen versions the current tooling doesn't fully support.
• Because it's not distributed through Samsung's app store, there's no automatic update mechanism — updates need to be reapplied manually as new versions are released.
• As with any actively developed third-party project, compatibility with new firmware or YouTube backend changes can lag behind the official app.

Alternatives

For a closer look at how TizenTube stacks up against Android-based options like SmartTube, see SmartTube vs. TizenTube. If you actually have an Android TV, Google TV, or Fire TV device rather than a Tizen-based Samsung set, the Android TV guide and Fire TV guide cover the tools that apply there instead.

Frequently asked questions

Can I install SmartTube on my Samsung TV?

No. SmartTube is built for Android TV and Fire TV, both of which run Android. Samsung TVs run Tizen, a different operating system, so SmartTube can't be installed on it in any form.

Does ReVanced work on Samsung TVs?

No, for the same reason — ReVanced patches the Android YouTube app, and Samsung TVs don't run Android. TizenTube is the comparable project built for Tizen.

Is installing TizenTube as simple as installing an app from the Play Store?

No. There's no Play Store on Tizen. Installing the current standalone TizenTube means using developer mode and a companion installer from a computer — more involved than a typical app install, though it no longer requires installing TizenBrew. See the TizenTube guide for the full process.

What's the simplest way to remove ads on a Samsung TV?

YouTube Premium, since it works through the official app without installing anything else on the TV. It's the no-setup option if TizenTube's installation process is more than you want to take on.