LG TV remote not working?

The Magic Remote pairs to the TV over Bluetooth, and that registration can silently break after a webOS firmware update or a power outage. Deregister it by holding HOME and BACK together for 5 seconds, then press the scroll wheel to re-pair. If the remote still doesn't respond, the Bluetooth module or buttons may have failed — batteries alone rarely explain a Magic Remote that stopped working overnight.

Two ways: the joystick button under the LG logo on the TV itself (short press for power, hold and tilt for volume and inputs), or an iPhone app over Wi-Fi. Our free app finds your webOS TV on the local network, shows LG's 8-digit pairing PIN on the TV screen, and gives you full navigation, volume, input switching, and app launching. Basic controls are free forever — no account, unlike LG ThinQ which requires an LG login.

The app uses precise D-pad navigation instead of the motion pointer. Everything the pointer reaches — apps, settings, webOS menus — is reachable with directional taps, and text entry is faster because you type on the iPhone keyboard instead of clicking letters one by one with the pointer.

Any LG smart TV running webOS that's connected to your home network — that covers virtually every LG smart TV sold since the mid-2010s. The TV and your iPhone must be on the same Wi-Fi. IR-only LG sets without network connectivity are the one exception: with no Wi-Fi radio there is nothing for a phone to connect to.

Yes. Firmware updates are exactly when many Magic Remotes lose their Bluetooth registration, but the app pairs through LG's on-network protocol instead. At most, webOS may ask you to confirm the 8-digit PIN once more after a major update — a 10-second re-pair rather than a dead remote.

LG ThinQ. LG retired the standalone LG TV Plus app in late 2023 and moved its remote features into ThinQ. ThinQ reaches the TV over local Wi-Fi using LG’s own protocol, so no infrared hardware is involved on either end.

LG puts a single joystick nub under the centre of the panel, directly below the logo, and on many sets it is recessed far enough that you locate it by touch rather than sight. A press powers the set; tilting moves through volume, channel, input and the power menu. Some models place it on the lower rear edge instead. The nub reaches basic navigation but not the full network menu on every model. ThinQ is LG’s intended path once the TV is on a network; Ethernet gets you through first-time setup when it is not.

LG’s pairing flow asks for either a PIN shown on the TV or the set’s Wi-Fi Direct password, which lives on the TV’s own device screen — a flow that has stayed broadly the same from webOS 2.0 through webOS 26. The usual reason nothing appears is a band mismatch: the TV on 2.4 GHz and the phone on 5 GHz of the same-named network, or mobile data quietly taking over. Put the phone on the 2.4 GHz band of the same network and switch mobile data off while pairing. If the app wants the Wi-Fi Direct password, read it from the TV’s own device or home dashboard screen.