How to Browse the Internet on a Smart TV: Built-in Browsers vs Your Phone or iPad
Some smart TVs come with a web browser and some don't. Samsung, LG and Fire TV have one, Google TV depends on who made the TV, and Roku and Apple TV have none. Where there is one, it's fine for a quick look, but slow going for anything longer, because you steer and type with the remote. This guide shows what each TV platform ships, how to get more out of it, and the other ways to get the web on your TV: casting, mirroring, a laptop, or a desktop browser run from your iPad or iPhone.
The quick answer
- Samsung, LG and Fire TV have a browser. On Samsung it's the Internet app, on LG it's Web Browser, and Fire TV has Amazon's Silk.
- Google TV depends on the maker. TCL adds its own browser to many models; Sony says its Android TV sets come without one and points you to the Play Store.
- Roku and Apple TV have none. Neither lets you browse the web on the TV itself.
- For more than a quick look, bring the browser from another device: a laptop on HDMI, or your iPad or iPhone, mirrored or running a desktop browser on the TV.
Which TVs have a web browser
Checked against the TV makers' own support pages · October 2026| TV platform | Built-in browser | How you move around |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung (Tizen) | ✓The Internet app (Web Browser on older models) | The remote's arrow keys, or a USB or Bluetooth mouse and keyboard on supported models |
| LG (webOS) | ✓Web Browser | The Magic Remote's pointer, where the TV has one, or a USB or Bluetooth mouse and keyboard |
| Amazon Fire TV | ✓Amazon Silk, listed as Internet | The remote's direction pad moves a cursor; a keyboard works too |
| Google TV and Android TV | ⚠️Up to the TV maker | Depends on the browser app |
| Roku | ✗Streams video and music, no browsing | Roku points you to apps instead |
| Apple TV | ✗No Safari on Apple TV | Show a browser from an iPad or iPhone over AirPlay |
Browsers, remotes and menus vary by model, year and country. If your TV isn't listed, look for a browser in its apps list, or check your model's support page.
How to open the browser on your TV
- Samsung: open the Internet app from the home screen or your apps; older models call it Web Browser. You move a pointer with the arrow keys and press Enter to click. Samsung's steps differ by country and model year, so check your TV's manual if yours looks different.
- LG: press Home on the remote and choose Web Browser. Its menu has Favorites, zoom, History, an ad blocker you switch on with Use Ad Blocker, and TV View, which splits the screen so you can browse while watching TV.
- Fire TV: select Apps on the home screen and open the Internet app, which is Amazon's Silk browser. The direction pad moves the cursor and the center button clicks.
- Google TV and Android TV: look in your apps for a browser the maker included, such as BrowseHere on many TCL Google TV models. If there isn't one, search the Play Store on the TV for “browser”, as Sony suggests for its Android TV sets.
- Roku: there's no browser to open. Roku says its players and Roku TVs stream video and music from the internet but don't let you browse it on the TV, and points you to apps in its Streaming Store.
- Apple TV: no browser either, and no Safari to download. You can still put a full browser on an Apple TV from your iPad or iPhone.
What a TV browser is good at, and where it gets awkward
Good for
- It's free and already there. Nothing to buy, plug in or pair.
- A quick look. A score, a recipe, opening hours, a news story: a page or two at a time.
- It's made for the TV. It fills the screen, and on LG, TV View keeps the program playing beside the page.
Where it gets awkward
- Typing with a remote. Web addresses, searches and passwords go in one letter at a time on an on-screen keyboard.
- Steering a cursor. On Samsung and Fire TV you push the cursor around with the arrow keys or the direction pad, which is slow across a big page. LG's Magic Remote works more like a mouse: you point it at the screen.
- Websites made for computers and phones. Sites are designed for a mouse or a touchscreen, so some menus, pop-ups and buttons are hard to reach with a remote. LG notes that its browser can do less than a PC or phone.
- Video and streaming. For Netflix, YouTube and other services, use their own TV apps instead: that's what the services build for TVs.
- Signing in. Every login means typing an email address and a password with the remote, and two-step codes arrive on your phone for you to copy across by hand.
Making a TV browser easier to use
- Plug in a keyboard and mouse. Samsung and LG TVs take USB keyboards and mice, and Bluetooth ones on models that have Bluetooth. Samsung says a mouse clicks and right-clicks in its Internet app, and that some of its models don't support a keyboard and mouse, so check yours.
- On LG, use the Magic Remote as a pointer. LG describes it as a pointer you use like a computer mouse, and you can change the pointer's size and speed in the TV's settings.
- On Fire TV, adjust the cursor. Silk's settings have Cursor Speed, for the cursor and for scrolling, and a Calibrate Screen Size option. A connected keyboard works too: arrow keys move, Enter clicks.
- Save the sites you go back to. LG's browser has Favorites and Silk keeps bookmarks, so you type each address only once.
Other ways to get the web on your TV
If your TV has no browser, or using it with the remote is too slow, bring the web from a device that already has a good browser. Each route below works differently.
Cast from an app on your phone or iPad
If what you want is a video, casting is the easiest route. In YouTube and other apps with a Cast button, tap it and pick the TV: the TV plays the video itself, and your phone becomes the remote. It's free, but it sends that app's video, not a web page: YouTube notes that you can't cast from youtube.com in a mobile browser.
Every way to get YouTube onto the TV, compared: YouTube on a TV from an iPad or iPhone.
Mirror your iPad or iPhone
Screen Mirroring sends an exact copy of your iPad or iPhone to a TV with AirPlay or to an Apple TV. A USB-C to HDMI cable does the same on any TV with HDMI, from any USB-C iPad and most USB-C iPhones. It's free and built in, and every app comes along, Safari included.
But it's a copy. The TV shows the device's own shape, so an iPad leaves black bars at the sides, and an iPhone held upright becomes a narrow strip in the middle of the screen, with text sized for a phone. You tap the device in your hand while looking at the TV, and Netflix and other streaming services go black over AirPlay mirroring.
Step by step: connect an iPad to a smart TV or an iPhone to a TV. How a copy compares with a browser drawn for the TV: screen mirroring vs a full-screen browser.
Plug in a laptop
A laptop with an HDMI port, or a USB-C to HDMI adapter, turns the TV into its screen: a full desktop browser with your own bookmarks, extensions and logins. If you have one, it's the most capable route. The catch is control: the laptop sits at the end of an HDMI cable, so browsing from the sofa takes a long cable or a wireless keyboard and mouse.
A desktop browser on the TV, steered from your iPad or iPhone
ScreenCommand is an iPad and iPhone app that puts a desktop web browser on the TV, full screen at the TV's own resolution, while the device in your hand becomes the trackpad and keyboard. Nothing is installed on the TV, so it doesn't matter whether the TV has a browser of its own, or which platform it runs.
- Desktop websites, edge to edge: pages load their desktop layout on the TV, with no black bars.
- Your iPad or iPhone as trackpad and keyboard: glide a finger to move the cursor, tap to click, and type on the device's own keyboard. A Bluetooth or USB mouse or trackpad also works on iPad, and a hardware keyboard on iPad and iPhone.
- Sign-ins without the remote: Password AutoFill fills in saved passwords and one-time codes from your iPad or iPhone, and logins stay between sessions.
- Tabs and windows: up to 4 windows of 12 tabs each, shown one at a time or two side by side, with a built-in ad and pop-up blocker.
- Any TV with HDMI, over a cable, which gives the lowest cursor lag, or AirPlay to an Apple TV, with a little more lag.
- Streaming over a cable: Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Paramount+ and Peacock play in ScreenCommand over a USB-C cable, not over AirPlay. YouTube and other web video play over either.
- Websites, not apps: it shows web pages, and can't put iPad or iPhone apps on the TV. For an app, use mirroring.
- $4.99 one-time: no subscription, no account to create, zero data collection.
Not promised: AirPlay built into smart TVs
Many Samsung, LG and other smart TVs take AirPlay. We haven't verified ScreenCommand with AirPlay built into a smart TV, so we don't claim it works there. If your TV has a free HDMI port, use a cable.
It needs an iPad with USB-C on iPadOS 17 or later, or an iPhone on iOS 17 or later. From an iPhone, a cable needs USB-C video out: iPhone 15 or later, except iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e and iPhone Air.
Why streaming goes black over AirPlay, and what plays where: the Netflix black screen, explained.
All the options side by side
| Feature | TV's own browser | Casting from an app | Mirroring an iPad or iPhone | Laptop on HDMI | ScreenCommand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, if your TV has one | Free | Free over AirPlay; a cable needs an adapter | Free if you have one, plus an HDMI cable | $4.99 once, plus a cable or an Apple TV |
| Full desktop websites | ⚠️LG says its own can do less than a PC | ✗Only the app's video | ⚠️The device's own view, scaled up | ✓A full desktop browser | ✓Desktop layouts at the TV's resolution |
| Fills the TV screen | ✓Made for the TV | ✓The TV plays the video | ✗Black bars: it keeps the device's shape | ✓The TV becomes its display | ✓Edge to edge |
| Pointer and typing from the sofa | ⚠️The remote, or a mouse and keyboard on some TVs | ✗You control the video, not a page | ⚠️You touch the device, not the TV | ⚠️Needs a long cable, or a wireless mouse and keyboard | ✓The iPad or iPhone is the trackpad and keyboard |
| What you need | A TV with a browser, like Samsung, LG or Fire TV | An app with a Cast button | AirPlay on the TV, an Apple TV, or a cable | HDMI out, or a USB-C to HDMI adapter | A USB-C iPad or an iPhone, on iPadOS or iOS 17 or later |
Mirroring and ScreenCommand also work over a USB-C to HDMI cable on any TV with HDMI. ScreenCommand is supported over a cable and over AirPlay to an Apple TV; we haven't verified it with AirPlay built into smart TVs, so the table doesn't claim it.
Which one to use
- A quick look-up, like a score or a recipe: the TV's own browser, if it has one. Nothing to buy or connect.
- Just watching Netflix, YouTube or another service: its app on the TV, or cast from its app on your phone. They're made for the TV and play best there.
- Showing something from your iPad or iPhone, like photos, an app or a page you already have open: mirror it.
- Longer browsing, like shopping, forms, sign-ins or web apps: a real desktop browser, from a laptop on HDMI, or ScreenCommand with your iPad or iPhone as the trackpad.
Frequently asked questions
Do smart TVs have a web browser?
Many do. Samsung TVs have the Internet app, LG TVs have Web Browser, and Fire TV devices have Amazon's Silk browser. On Google TV and Android TV it depends on the maker: TCL adds its BrowseHere browser to many models, while Sony says its Android TV sets come without one and suggests the Play Store. Roku and Apple TV have no web browser. On any TV with an HDMI port, you can also bring a browser from another device, such as a laptop, an iPad or an iPhone.
How do I open the web browser on a Samsung TV?
Open the Internet app from the home screen or your apps list; older Samsung TVs call it Web Browser. Type an address with the on-screen keyboard and move around with the remote's arrow keys. A USB or Bluetooth mouse and keyboard make it easier: Samsung says a mouse clicks in the Internet app, though some models don't support a mouse and keyboard. Steps differ by country and model year, so check your TV's manual if yours looks different.
Does an LG TV have a web browser?
Yes. Press Home on the remote and choose Web Browser. LG lists Favorites, zoom, History, an ad blocker and TV View, which splits the screen so you can browse while watching, and notes that the browser can do less than a PC or phone. If your TV came with a Magic Remote, you point it at the screen like a mouse. LG smart TVs released after 2012 also take a keyboard and mouse over USB, or Bluetooth on models that have it.
What is the best browser for Google TV or Fire TV?
On Fire TV, start with Amazon's own Silk browser, listed as Internet in your apps: you move a cursor with the remote's direction pad, and a connected keyboard works too. On Google TV, it depends on who made the TV. TCL includes its BrowseHere browser on many of its Google TV models, and Sony suggests searching the Play Store on the TV for a browser. For longer browsing, a laptop on HDMI or a desktop browser run from an iPad or iPhone is easier than any remote.
Can I get a web browser on Roku?
No. Roku says its players and Roku TVs stream video and music from the internet but don't let you browse it on the TV, and it points you to apps in its Streaming Store instead. To see a website on a Roku TV, show it from another device: many Roku devices take AirPlay from an iPad or iPhone (Roku lists which by model number), or plug a laptop, iPad or iPhone into a free HDMI port.
Can I use a keyboard and mouse with a smart TV browser?
Often, yes. Samsung and LG TVs take USB keyboards and mice, and Bluetooth ones on models with Bluetooth, though Samsung says some of its models don't support them. Fire TV's Silk browser works with a connected keyboard's arrow keys and Enter. Another option is ScreenCommand, an iPad and iPhone app: it shows a desktop browser on the TV over a cable or an Apple TV, and your iPad or iPhone becomes the trackpad and keyboard.
More product questions (pricing, gestures, privacy) are covered in the main FAQ.