Sling TV might be one of the oldest live TV streaming services around, but it sometimes takes time to catch up on features, and profiles are a prime example. In spite of launching in 2015, Sling TV only introduced the option to add additional profiles in January of 2023.
Whether new to this live TV streaming service, or a longtime user, here’s a quick overview of how Sling TV’s profile support works, and what you can expect.
In general, Sling profiles work very much like they do on many other services. They can be customized by name and color, and make it easy to separate individual preferences and settings. However, profiles are not currently supported on every platform and device, and that’s the first issue and limitation to be aware of.
While support for profiles will be expanded to more platforms and devices in due course, it might not currently be available on your preferred device.
How many Sling TV profiles can you have?
Another limitation is the number of profiles that a single account can actually have. In total, Sling offers the option to add an additional 4 profiles. This means that 5 profiles, including the original subscriber’s profile, is the ultimate total available.
This distinction between the original profile and the additional profiles is another important point to note, as it can result in additional limitations.
For example, while it is possible to delete any of the additional profiles, it is not possible to delete the original subscriber’s profile, and even if other profiles exist. Changes can be made to this profile, including the name and color, it just cannot be deleted like the other profiles can.
How to add more profiles to Sling TV
Providing a device does support Sling’s profiles, then setting additional profiles up is fairly easy to do.
To create a new profile:
- Click on the profile icon (top left corner)
- Select Add Profile
- Choose a name (2 characters minimum)
- Choose a color
- Select “Save” to create the profile
How to add more profiles (in pictures)
Once created, the user will be able to switch between any of the profiles by navigating to and clicking on the profile icon (top left corner).
The user will then be redirected to the main profile screen (shown at the top of this article) where they can select a different profile, add another profile by repeating the steps above, or make changes to any of the existing profiles.
Profiles and streams are not the same
A final, but important, point to note about user profiles is that they are not the same as simultaneous streams. In other words, how many profiles an account can have has no impact on how many devices the account can be used on at the same time.
In Sling TV’s case, and in spite of allowing the creation of up to five profiles per account, the number of profiles that can stream at the same time depends on the plan. Sling Blue allows streaming on up to three devices at the same time while Sling Orange is limited to just one stream at a time. Naturally, those signed up to the combined Sling Orange & Blue plan get both allowances.
However, these allowances remain separate allowances. If signed up to Sling Orange & Blue, 3 profiles can watch Blue channels and 1 profile can watch an Orange channel at the same time.
To sum up, there are no situations where all 5 Sling TV profiles can be used to stream live TV, on-demand videos, and/or recordings at the same time.
