Do Vizio TVs Have Bluetooth? (Two Approaches That Work)

Have you recently purchased a Vizio Smart TV and you’re wondering whether or not it supports Bluetooth?

Unfortunately, most older Vizio TVs don’t natively support Bluetooth. Vizio’s SmartCast mobile app won’t work either. Newer Vizio TV models have a low-energy Bluetooth app called “Bluetooth LE,” but this only works if you connect to the SmartCast app! There are no ways to connect Bluetooth headphones or speakers on older models.

In this post, we’ll cover alternative solutions you can use to enable Bluetooth on your Vizio TV!

Contacting Vizio’s support to confirm this

I decided to contact Vizio’s customer service live chat to confirm this, and here’s what they responded with:

“I apologize for the inconvenience, but you can’t use Bluetooth headphones on the TV alone, however you can get a “Bluetooth Transmitter”. That device will have to plug into the Optical or RCA cables on the back of the TV. You can then pair the headphones to the transmitter and get the audio you are looking for. Another alternative is you can get wireless headphones that have a charging doc. They would then plug into the Optical or RCA on the TV. Those would work as well.”

Now that we’ve confirmed this, let’s cover what you can use Vizio’s SmartCast App for, and the workarounds we found for connecting Bluetooth to your Vizio Smart TV.

Connecting using Vizio’s SmartCast App

Vizio has a cool streaming platform called SmartCast which works natively with all Vizio TVs; it lets you stream, control, or cast to your TV without any external software or hardware.

Does SmartCast work as a Bluetooth alternative?

Unfortunately, SmartCast isn’t a viable Bluetooth alternative at this time.

It would be great to listen to your Vizio TV from your phone, but it’s not something that Vizio has launched yet — who knows, hopefully in the future.

Now let’s get into what you can use SmartCast for!

Streaming Options

One of the most popular features that SmartCast has is its streaming apps.

It includes all of your favorites, such as:

• Hulu
• Netflix
• HBO Max
• Disney Plus
• YouTube TV
• Peacock
• Discovery Plus

There are too Vizio SmartCast apps to list, but you can see the full list here.

NOTE: You will need an active subscription to whichever services you’re looking to use; SmartCast only offers a way to stream these services, not a subscription.

Control Options

Another way to use SmartCast is to download their free mobile app from the App Store, or Google Play depending on which device you’re using.

Once downloaded, you can easily connect your phone to your TV using Vizio’s Bluetooth LE.

You can now use your phone as a remote control for your Vizio Smart TV.

There are a couple of other cool features, such as:

• Speech commands to control your TV
• Having a keyboard on your phone to type faster
• Being a backup if your remote dies suddenly

Casting Options

Last but certainly not least, you can cast your device (phone, laptop, computer, etc) to your Vizio TV using Apple Airplay or Chromecast, both of which come on your Smart TV.

So whether you want to create a slideshow for your next gathering or you’re looking to show a video on the big screen, this will work well for you!

NOTE: Vizio’s team is constantly improving the SmartCast app, so you’ll receive automatic updates from time to time.

Workarounds to enable Bluetooth on your Vizio Smart TV

There are two different workarounds you can use to get your audio outputted on an external device.

Using an external Bluetooth transmitter

If your Vizio Smart TV has a headphone or aux jack (not all of them do — double check this, you can purchase an external Bluetooth transmitter.

A Bluetooth transmitter is a product that plugs into a non-Bluetooth device and turns it into a functioning Bluetooth device!

Most transmitters nowadays have low latency, meaning you’ll be able to hear the sound without any annoying delays.

NOTE: Even if your Vizio TV doesn’t have a headphone or aux jack, you may find a transmitter that connects with Optical or RCA input cables instead.

Using the “Audio Out” port on your TV

You may connect a speaker, sound bar, or home theater audio system using the “Audio Out” ports on the back of your TV.

To do this, check your TV’s manual to find the “Audio Outputs” section; this will help you find out what connections are available for your TV model!

Then, look at your speaker or audio device to see its connections.

If the TV and your audio device have the same ports, you can connect them to play the audio from your TV onto the speaker.

RELATED POST: Vizio TV Has Sound But No Picture (Try This Quick Fix FIRST)

Final thoughts

That’s everything you need to know about whether or not Vizio Smart TVs have Bluetooth.

Although Vizio TVs don’t natively support Bluetooth, we offered a couple of workarounds to help you as much as possible so it shouldn’t cause any headaches or hassles.

Hope this helped!