Question :

I have my Samsung SmartTV set to automatically do its software updates (actually, these should be called automatic firmware upgrades), and when I let my TV search for new software updates, it tells me no new updates were found.

However, on the internet I found info that suggests that newer versions of the firmware are available for my Samsung SmartTV, just not in my region for some reason.

Is there any way to get these upgrades anyway ?

Answer :

If you want to upgrade the firmware on your Samsung SmartTV manually, do this :

• turn on your TV
• press the MENU-button on your remote control
• in the window that opens, on the left, select Support
• on the right, scroll down entirely and select Contact Samsung 
• on the page that opens, at the bottom, the Model Code is displayed : write this down ! ( eg. “UE50JU6400” or “UE32J5200” )
• then ‘arrow to the left’ on your remote control
• then, on the left, select Support
• on the right, select Software Update
• now, on the right, the Current Version is displayed : write this down ! ( eg. 1530 )
• now, on your Mac (or PC), go to https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/search/
  • note : for unknown reasons, go to the UK website, not the US website, to find the latest firmware upgrades
• there, typ your model number in the entry field and press the ENTER-key
• all available firmware upgrades for your TV will now be displayed
• if the latest version that is available for download is newer than the version listed at Current Version on you TV, download the latest version from the website
• when the download is done, macOS will automatically unzip it for you to a folder with the firmware upgrade in it
  • if your download turns out to be a .exe-file, use TheUnarchiver.app (available for FREE on the Mac AppStore) to unzip it
• your firmware upgrade file should now be a folder named “T-….”, and have a folder named “image” inside it
• plug an empty USB-stick into your Mac
  • the USB-stick must be FAT32 formatted (as nearly every brand-new USB-stick will be)
• then, drag&drop the folder with the firmware upgrade onto the USB-stick
• when the copying is done, select EJECT to disconnect the USB-stick from macOS
• then, you can safely unplug the USB-stick from your Mac
• now, you can plug the USB-stick into your TV
• then, turn on the TV (if it wasn’t already on)
• wait for about 2 minutes, then press the MENU-button on your remote control
• in the window that appears, on the bottom left, select Support
• then, select Software Update from the list
• in the next window, select Update Now
• now, a pop-up window should display “Do you want to search the connected USB device for update files?”
• if so, click YES
  • if not, make sure your USB-stick is properly plugged into your TV (if that still won’t work… go back to your Mac and check if your USB-stick is okay)
• when the TV finds valid firmware files on the USB-stick, the text “A new software version is available. Update from version **** to version ****?” will be displayed
• then, click YES to start the firmware upgrade
• a window with a progress bar will be shown now
  • note : during the upgrade process, do NOT unplug the USB-stick or turn the TV off !
• when finished, the TV will shut down and restart by itself
• just to make sure if the firmware upgrade was successful, click the MENU-button on your remote control
• then, select Settings, then Support, then Software Update
• check if the version listed at Current Version is newer than the version you previously had

That’s it… you’re done !

enjoy 😉