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Door staff@engadget.com (Maddie Fisher) - 03 Nov 2026
Your first order of business in determining if you can turn your older TV into a smart TV is to make sure it has the appropriate slots to do so. In most cases, a simple HDMI port will do the trick, and you can check for them on the back. They can be on either side of the unit, sometimes directly in the middle if your TV has a larger back.
Annoyingly, some TVs come with the HDMI ports facing in an awkward direction that makes plugging something in a bit frustrating. It's rare, but if you find yourself unable to find an HDMI port, you can check to see if it's just in an odd position. If your TV really doesn't have an HDMI port, yet it has the old-school RCA inputs or an RF input, there are several adapters that make converting to a smart TV possible.
Once you've found a proper HDMI port, you'll need to grab yourself something like an Amazon Fire TV Stick or one of the many options available to you. These are tiny units that plug directly into your HDMI port; then you can simply tune your TV to that input, and you're off to the races. You'll need to log into all of your streaming services, but once that's done, you'll be good to go.
Annoyingly, some TVs come with the HDMI ports facing in an awkward direction that makes plugging something in a bit frustrating. It's rare, but if you find yourself unable to find an HDMI port, you can check to see if it's just in an odd position. If your TV really doesn't have an HDMI port, yet it has the old-school RCA inputs or an RF input, there are several adapters that make converting to a smart TV possible.
Once you've found a proper HDMI port, you'll need to grab yourself something like an Amazon Fire TV Stick or one of the many options available to you. These are tiny units that plug directly into your HDMI port; then you can simply tune your TV to that input, and you're off to the races. You'll need to log into all of your streaming services, but once that's done, you'll be good to go.