A VPN on a Hisense TV: how to check the system and what to do with VIDAA

Hisense TVs come with different systems, and the system decides everything. Below: how to find out yours in a minute and what to do in each case.

How to find out which system your Hisense runs

Hisense itself makes TVs on several systems: the company's US site lists Android TV, Google TV, Fire TV, Roku TV, VIDAA and XClass TV (Hisense USA). In Russia the picture is simpler. In the current catalogue of the Russian Hisense site we opened all 60 models on 28 September 2026: the Operating system line reads HomeOS U9 or U9.5 for 59 of them and VIDAA U9 for one. Not one says Android TV.

HomeOS is the new name of the same VIDAA: the version number continues the same series, and on the page of model 55A6S with HomeOS U9.5 Hisense itself writes “VIDAA OS”.

There are two ways to check your TV.

• Look for Google Play on the TV. If the Google Play store is there, it runs Android TV or Google TV — go to the section about them. VIDAA has its own app store, which Hisense calls the App Store (VIDAA page).
• Find your model on the Hisense site. The model name (for example, 55A6S) is usually on the sticker on the back panel and in the TV's papers. Open its page on ru.hisense.com (discontinued ones live in the archive) and in the specifications, in the Smart TV and OS block, read the Operating system line.

The words “Smart TV” in a description decide nothing: a smart TV can run any system, and Mayak needs Android specifically.

Why Mayak does not install on VIDAA

VIDAA is Hisense's own Linux-based system (Wikipedia), not Android. We have one app — for Android, version 7.0 and newer, and the same app runs on Android TV. An APK is an Android file, and on VIDAA there is simply nothing to run it. We do not make an app for VIDAA and give no dates.

The config file from your account is no way out either: it is made for an AmneziaWG client, and we know of no such client for VIDAA. We have not seen the VIDAA menus with our own eyes — we own no Hisense TV.

What to do if you have VIDAA

The situation is the same as for Samsung and LG owners, so here it is short, and the full walk-through is in the Samsung and LG article.

• An Android box. A small box in an HDMI port with its own system, remote and apps; Mayak installs on it, and the Hisense serves as its screen. Only what runs on the box goes through the secure connection, not the TV's own apps. An Android TV box is the most convenient: there you sign in with a code from your phone. Which one will do — in the TV box article; if you are thinking of a SberBox — a separate article.
• A router. Then the whole home goes through Mayak, the VIDAA TV included. One condition: the router firmware must know AmneziaWG 3.0 or newer. Stock Keenetic and Netcraze know only 2.0 so far and will not accept our file; OpenWrt with the awg-openwrt package will — we checked that in a virtual machine, not on a hardware router. Steps — in the router article.
• The TV as a screen. A laptop over an HDMI cable or screen mirroring from a phone: the device with Mayak holds the secure connection, the TV only shows the picture. We have not measured casting or mirroring — more here.

Tethering from a phone will not help. Android sends tethered traffic past the app that holds the connection, and the TV gets your carrier's ordinary internet.

A Hisense on Android TV: how to install Mayak

Such Hisense TVs exist. In the archive of the Russian site, for example, the A5730FA series is listed as “Smart TV – Android TV”. Of 241 archived models, 103 have the system line filled in, and all of them say VIDAA or HomeOS; the rest have no such line, and you need to look at the TV itself.

If your Hisense has Google Play, Mayak installs the same way as on any Android TV set, in four steps:

1. create an account on your phone or in your account page;
2. install Mayak from Google Play on the TV (not there — from a file at mayaknetworks.com/dl/app);
3. sign in with the code on the screen: the TV shows a QR code, your phone confirms it;
4. pick a country and connect.

You need Android 7.0 or newer. The TV takes a plan slot as one more device; the trial has two slots — a phone and a TV both fit.

What we tested

• The Hisense catalogue for Russia, 28 September 2026: the pages of all 60 current and 241 archived models on ru.hisense.com, the Operating system line of each.
• The app on Android TV — on an emulator: install, sign-in with a code from the phone and a connection up to “Protected” — details in the TV article.
• Android TV sets work for people: as of 18 September 2026, Mayak was installed and signed in on TCL, Haier, Xiaomi, Sber and HKC TVs and on boxes — according to our data on account devices.

What we do not know

• What the VIDAA menus look like. We own no Hisense TV, and we will not describe its settings from other people's stories.
• Which Hisense TVs on Android TV were sold in Russia. We named only what we found on Hisense's own site. A TV brought from another country can run any system from the list above — check for Google Play on the screen.
• Whether Mayak works for people on a Hisense with Android TV specifically — we have no separate measurement for this brand.
• Whether an app for VIDAA will appear. No plans, no dates.

Short answers

Can I put a VPN on a Hisense TV? If it runs Android TV (has Google Play) — Mayak, yes. If it runs VIDAA or HomeOS — no, you need a box or a router.

How do I tell VIDAA from Android? Google Play on the TV means Android. No Google Play — find the model on ru.hisense.com and read the Operating system line.

Is HomeOS not Android? No. It is the new name of VIDAA, Hisense's own system.

Can I install an APK on VIDAA? No: an APK is an Android file, and VIDAA is not Android.

Will sharing Wi-Fi from my phone help? No. Tethered traffic goes past the app, and the TV gets ordinary internet.

Which box will do? Any on Android 7.0 or newer, easier with Android TV. We recommend no specific models — more in the TV box article.