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Mom’s VERY old TV is dying. She does not have cable or internet, lives alone in her home (at her insistence) with home aides 3-4 days a week. We need the most BASIC TV on the planet, NOT a “smart” TV, NOT Alexa/Echo, with a remote allowing on/off/channel/volume and that’s ALL. Suggestions? Also small… Thank you.

Look around for used/thrift shops.
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Reply to brandee
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Any TV can be a "dumb" TV if it is not hooked to cable or internet.
Pretty sure you will need a digital antenna though.
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Reply to Grandma1954
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RunningOnFumes Apr 3, 2025
Yes, we do have a digital antenna. But no streaming, no DVD, just "over the air" tv...
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RunningOnFumes, I don't think a basic TV exists anymore, unfortunately. There are days that I wish I had an older model TV, one where you can walk up to it and actually use dials or push buttons to do what you want. My smart TV needs two remotes just to turn it on and off.

Life was so much easier and less stressful when all one needed to do is remember 3 or 4 stations, and there was always a good show that was on. I still have the remote that my Dad made back in the 1950's which had only 6 buttons to remember :)
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Reply to freqflyer
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Facebook marketplace is a good place to look too. Older flat screen TVs are "dumb," though if you want to use them for streaming you can always add something like a Roku or fire stick. I use one of these (a Toshiba) in my bedroom, and the remote has on button, numbers for channels, a button to go up and down channels, volume, but also some other controls that could be confusing to your mom. (But I don't use the TV remote except for on and off because I have a separate remote for the Roku stick I've got attached.)

It sounds as though what you need for mom isn't a "dumb" TV per se but rather a "dumb" remote she can easily operate with any TV. Here's one I found on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Flipper-Button-Universal-Seniors-Dementia/dp/B0CR5S1BCN/

Modern "smart" TVs don't need to be used in their smart function, i.e., hooked up to internet for streaming. However, any TV is going to need some way to get a signal, even if you only want to have a few channels. If your mom doesn't have cable, is she using an antenna? Although I generally stream everything, I do have a flat panel antenna that works pretty well for most "over the air" network channels. Lots of brands of those on amazon and elsewhere. The flat antennas can mount on a wall or window, and can generally pick up signals from transmitters that are 40-60 miles away.
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Reply to newbiewife
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She uses an antenna? The old analog TVs don't work anymore. Everything is digital. See if any thrift shops carry the old digital.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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I would go immediately to Nextdoor and see if anyone is throwing out a tube tv.
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Reply to PeggySue2020
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JoAnn29 Apr 3, 2025
They have not made tube TVs sjnce the 70s. They went to circuit boards.
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