You cannot install Facebook on a smart TV anymore, because there is no working Facebook app for TVs to install. Meta has ended service for the Facebook Watch TV app, and its help center now points people to the Facebook mobile app and website instead. The two setups that reliably replace it are casting from your phone and running Facebook on a browser or computer connected to the TV, and both take a few minutes to set up.
Why the app is gone from TV stores
Facebook's presence on TVs was the Facebook Watch app, a video-only app for watching clips and shows from the couch. Meta's help center now carries a short notice: the service for the Facebook Watch app for TVs has ended, and you can no longer use it. Meta has not published a detailed reason on that page. What it does say is where Facebook video still lives: the Facebook website, the Facebook mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android, and Facebook Lite for Android, plus streaming from the Facebook app to your TV.
That tells you how Meta now thinks about the TV. It is a screen you send things to, not a place where Facebook runs by itself. Every method that works today follows from that.
What you may still find on your TV
Three things tend to confuse people who go looking for the app.
- An old icon. Some TVs still show a Facebook or Facebook Watch tile from years ago. Because the service has ended, opening it will not give you a working feed or video library. You can remove it.
- No search results. Searching the Samsung, LG, Roku, Fire TV or Google TV app store for Facebook finds no official Meta app, which is expected, not a fault with your TV.
- Lookalike apps. Any app offering Facebook on your TV is not Meta's own TV app, since that service no longer exists. Do not type your Facebook password into one. Logging in through an unofficial app hands your account details to whoever made it.
Replacement one: cast from your phone
This is the closest thing to the old app, and it is the method Meta documents. Your phone plays the video's source and the TV shows it. Meta describes it in terms of reels, because Facebook now shares all posted videos as reels, so the steps below work for any Facebook video.
Before you start
- Your TV needs built-in streaming, or a connected streaming device. Meta names Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
- Your phone and TV must be on the same Wi-Fi network.
- The Facebook app should be updated from the App Store or Google Play.
Step by step
- Turn on the TV, or the streaming device plugged into it.
- Open the Facebook app on your phone.
- Find the video in your Feed or the Reels tab and tap it to open the player.
- Tap the Cast icon (a TV symbol or Chromecast icon), or tap the three dots and then Cast video.
- Pick your TV from the list of available devices.
- If you use an iPhone, tap OK when Facebook asks for access to your local network, then tap Cast video again if needed.
If your TV does not appear
- Check the network. A phone on mobile data, a guest network, or a different band of a mesh system will not see the TV.
- Check local network access on iPhone. Open your phone's settings, search for Facebook, tap it, and make sure Local network is switched on.
- iPhone with a Chromecast. Meta states that Chromecast is not available to cast from Apple iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Use an AirPlay receiver instead, such as an Apple TV or an AirPlay-compatible TV.
- Roku. Roku does not support Google Cast. From an iPhone, compatible Roku devices accept AirPlay. From an Android phone, use the phone's screen mirroring feature, which Roku supports on most current models.
When you want more than one video
The Cast video button sends a single video. To show your feed, photos or a group, mirror your whole screen. On an iPhone, open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring and choose the TV. On Android with a Chromecast or Google TV, open the Google Home app, press and hold the device tile, tap Cast, then Cast my screen. Turn off notifications first, since everything on your phone will appear on the TV.
Replacement two: a browser or a connected computer
The second setup puts the Facebook website on the TV. It suits people who want the full site, a keyboard, or no phone in the loop. There are two ways to do it.
Use the TV's built-in browser
- Open the web browser on the TV. On an LG TV, press Home and select Web browser. On a Samsung TV, open it from the apps on the Smart Hub. On a Fire TV, use Amazon's Silk browser.
- Select the address bar and enter the Facebook web address.
- Log in with your email or phone number and password, and have your phone ready if you use two-factor authentication.
- Navigate with the remote's arrow keys or pointer.
- Log out when you finish if other people use the TV.
TV browsers are slower and more limited than a computer's, which LG says directly about its own. Roku devices do not include a general web browser, so this route does not apply there.
Connect a laptop
- Plug one end of an HDMI cable into the laptop and the other into a free HDMI port on the TV. Laptops with only USB-C ports need a USB-C to HDMI cable or adapter that carries video.
- Switch the TV to that HDMI input with the Input or Source button.
- If the laptop screen does not appear, use its display settings to duplicate or extend the display.
- Open Facebook in the laptop's browser and log in as usual.
A laptop can also cast without a cable. On the Facebook website, open a video full screen, click Options in the player's top right corner, then Cast video, and choose your TV. Meta notes that not all smart TVs support streaming from a computer, so the cable remains the fallback that always works.
Which one to set up
If you mostly watch videos, set up casting from your phone once and it will work every evening after that. If you want to scroll, comment and read on the big screen, keep an HDMI cable by the TV and use a laptop. Skip the TV app store entirely, and treat any app claiming to be Facebook for TV with suspicion.
