Device Information and Firmware Q&A

The following questions are related to accessing device information and managing device firmware.

On a Samsung Smart TV, you can find the DUID by selecting "Menu > Support > Contact Samsung".

To retrieve the DUID from within your application, use the getDuid() method of the ProductInfo API.

TV
HTV
#duid

You can retrieve the TV language setting through the JavaScript navigator.language property.

TV
HTV
#tv language setting

The user agent string for Samsung TVs depends on the TV model year.

Product

User Agent

2017 models

Mozilla/5.0 (SMART-TV; LINUX; Tizen 3.0) AppleWebKit/538.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 TV Safari/538.1

2016 models

Mozilla/5.0 (SMART-TV; Linux; Tizen 2.4.0) AppleWebKit/538.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/2.4.0 TV Safari/538.1

2015 models

Mozilla/5.0 (SMART-TV; Linux; Tizen 2.3) AppleWebkit/538.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) SamsungBrowser/1.0 TV Safari/538.1

2014 models

Mozilla/5.0 (SMART-TV; X11; Linux armv7l) AppleWebkit/537.42 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/537.42

2013 models

Mozilla/5.0 (SMART-TV;X11; Linux i686) AppleWebkit/535.20+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0 Safari/535.20+

2012 models

Mozilla/5.0 (SMART-TV; X11; Linux i686) AppleWebKit/534.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0 Safari/534.7

2011 models

Mozilla/5.0 (SmartHub; SMART-TV; U; Linux/SmartTV) AppleWebKit/531.2 (KHTML, like Gecko) Web Browser/1.0 SmartTV Safari/531.2+

Table 1. User agent strings for Samsung TVs

For more information, see Retrieving Platform Information.

TV
HTV
#user agent

To find the model code on the TV, in the Smart Hub, select "Settings > Support > About This TV". The model code is a string that specifies various TV characteristics.

The following table shows the information contained in the model code, and its sequence:

Screen Technology

Region

Screen Size

Model Year

Screen Matrix

Series and Model

"H" (DLP)
"K" (OLED)
"L" (LCD)
"P" (Plasma)
"Q" (QLED)
"U" (LED)

"A" (Asia)
"E" (Europe)
"N" (North America)

Size in inches

"E" (2012)
"F" (2013)
"H" (2014)
"J" (2015)
"K" (2016)
"L" (2017)
"M" (2018)

None (FHD)
"P" (Plasma)
"Q" (QLED)
"S" (SUHD)
"U" (UHD)

Series and model number

Table 2. Model code information

For example, the "UN40MU9000" model code defines a TV with the following characteristics:

  • LED screen
  • North America region
  • 40-inch screen
  • 2018 model year
  • UHD screen matrix
  • Series 9 model

TV
#model code

To retrieve the MAC address of a Smart TV, use the getPropertyValue() method of the SystemInfo API with the applicable network adapter property:

  • For the Ethernet network adapter, use the ETHERNET_NETWORK property.
  • For the Wi-Fi network adapter, use the WIFI_NETWORK property.

TV
HTV
#network adapter
#mac address

To retrive the Smart Hub country code, use the getSystemConfig() method of the ProductInfo API with the CONFIG_KEY_SERVICE_COUNTRY key.

TV
HTV
#smart hub
#country code

To download the latest TV firmware, on the Samsung Web site, find your TV model. On the TV model page, select "User manual & Downloads". The "Upgrade File" contains the latest TV firmware.

TV
HTV
#firmware upgrade

No, forcing firmware updates is not supported.

TV
HTV
#firmware update

No. For security reasons, downgrading the TV firmware is not supported.

TV
HTV
#firmware downgrade

Since 2016 models, to reset the TV to original factory settings, in the Smart Hub, select "Settings > Self Diagnosis > Reset". The reset changes the DUID.

TV
#factory settings

It is not possible to detect when the user has clicked the TV power key. However, you can implement application behavior for the following related scenarios:

  • To implement behavior when the application is closed, use the window.onUnload() event handler.
  • To implement behavior when the application is hidden, such as when another application is launched, create a listener for the visibilitychange event.
    Since 2015 devices, if the user has switched on the "Instant On" TV feature, switching off the TV causes the application to hide, triggering the visibility change event listener.
    For more information, see Monitoring Visibility Changes.

TV
HTV
#power key
#visibility change

No. While an application is hidden, it is paused and cannot retrieve any information about the foreground application.

TV
HTV
#foreground application
#hidden

No. Retrieving the currently-active TV tuner is not supported, since it depends on the TV broadcaster.

TV
HTV
#tv tuner
#cable tv
#terrestrial tv

To retrieve the voice guide status:

  • On Tizen, check whether the voice guide is enabled using the getMenuValue() method with the TvInfoMenuKey.VOICE_GUIDE_KEY property:

    // Returns "true" if voice guide is enabled
    webapis.tvinfo.getMenuValue(webapis.tvinfo.TvInfoMenuKey.VOICE_GUIDE_KEY);
    
  • On Samsung Legacy Platform, check whether the voice guide is enabled with the IsTTSEngineEnabled property:

    // Returns "true" if voice guide is enabled 
    webapis._plugin("RECOG", "IsTTSEngineEnabled")     
    

TV
HTV
#voice guide

Since 2013 TV models, to change the Samsung Apps TV region:

  1. Factory reset and restart the TV.
  2. On the Terms and Conditions page, click the following key sequence on the remote control: "Mute, Back, Volume Up, Channel Up, Mute"
  3. Select the region you want.

TV
HTV
#region change

TV hardware is based on mobile technology, but for security reasons, the details are confidential.

TV
HTV
#cpu