How to connect an LG TV to Wi-Fi without the remote

Getting a LG TV onto Wi-Fi without a remote is chicken-and-egg: the app needs the network the TV is not on. Ethernet breaks the loop. Also, the letter in an LG model number is the model year — UR 2023, UT 2024, UA 2025, UB 2026 — and it tells you which webOS generation you have.

The fastest fix needs no network: plug a USB mouse into the LG, and webOS shows a pointer you can use to open Settings → All Settings → General → Network → Wi-Fi Connection and type the password. No mouse to hand? Run an Ethernet cable from the router to the TV, pair a phone on the same router using the PIN the TV displays, and walk to the same menu from the phone. The joystick button under the LG logo covers power, input and volume — on most sets it stops short of the network menu.

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webOS, and the year is in the model number

Which LG TV you have — and how it takes commands

Every current LG runs webOS — webOS 26 on the 2026 range. What changes between sets is the version, and LG encodes the model year as a letter in the model number: UR is 2023, T and UT are 2024, A and UA are 2025, B and UB are 2026. That letter tells you how modern the software on your panel is.

LG TV model lines, the operating system each one runs, how it is reached over the network, whether pairing is required, and where the on-set button is.
Model line / series	TV operating system	How it is controlled over the network	Pairing	On-set button
Entry LED (UT / UR / UA / UB classes)	webOS	WebSocket over HTTPS on port 3001	PIN shown on screen	Joystick nub, bottom-centre under the logo
QNED (Mini-LED backlight)	webOS	WebSocket over HTTPS on port 3001	PIN shown on screen	Joystick nub, bottom-centre under the logo
OLED evo B / C / G series	webOS	WebSocket over HTTPS on port 3001	PIN shown on screen	Joystick nub, bottom-centre under the logo
Pre-webOS-4.0 sets	webOS 2.0 / 3.0 / 3.5	WebSocket over HTTPS on port 3001	PIN shown on screen	Joystick nub or lower rear edge

Older sets are not just slower — TVs below webOS 4.0 have documented app-compatibility gaps, so a set from the webOS 2.0 or 3.0 era behaves differently from a current one even on identical hardware.

Reaching the menu with no remote

A nub you find by feel

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.

Known LG failure mode

The pairing PIN never appears, or the app asks for a password you do not have

What helps: 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.

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An LG without its Magic Remote still has two ways in: a USB mouse, which webOS accepts directly, and the network. Once the TV is on Ethernet or Wi-Fi, My Universal TV Remote Control pairs with it over LG's webOS connection — WebSocket over HTTPS on port 3001 — using the PIN the TV shows once, and gives you a D-pad and keyboard for the Wi-Fi Connection screen. No LG account is involved. A TV that is on no network at all is out of reach for any phone app, because iPhones have no infrared emitter.

How it works

Connect Your LG TV to Wi-Fi — Step by Step

Step 1

Try the joystick under the logo

Feel under the centre of the bottom edge, directly below the LG logo, for a small nub. A press wakes the TV; tilting moves through power, input, volume and channel. On some sets that short menu also offers Settings — if yours does, you can reach the network screen from here. On most it does not.
Step 2

Plug in a USB mouse

A wired USB mouse is recognised by webOS without setup. Click the gear icon, then All Settings → General → Network → Wi-Fi Connection on sets from 2021 on; older webOS versions list Network or Connection at the top level of All Settings. Pick your network and click out the password on the on-screen keyboard.
Step 3

Or bridge with Ethernet

Connect the LAN socket on the back of the TV to the router. webOS uses the wired link immediately, which puts the TV on the same network as a phone joined to that router's Wi-Fi.
Step 4

Pair your phone with the PIN on screen

Open My Universal TV Remote Control on the phone and choose the LG from the device list. The TV shows a PIN the first time; enter it on the phone. If no PIN appears, the phone and TV are usually on different bands of the same-named network, or the phone has slipped onto mobile data.
Step 5

Set up Wi-Fi and unplug

Use the on-phone D-pad to open Wi-Fi Connection, select the network and enter the password from the phone keyboard. When webOS shows Connected to the internet, remove the Ethernet cable and select the TV again in the app — it has a new address on Wi-Fi.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Specific answers for LG TV users — including which LG lines run which system.

Where is Wi-Fi Connection on LG webOS without a remote?

On LG sets from 2021 on it is Settings (gear icon) → All Settings → General → Network → Wi-Fi Connection. Earlier webOS versions put Network, or Connection, at the top level of All Settings instead of under General. The year letter in the model number tells you which you have: UR is 2023, UT 2024, UA 2025, UB 2026. A USB mouse or a paired phone reaches either path.

It worked over Ethernet, and now the app cannot reach my LG on Wi-Fi — why?

On LG sets, pairing is rarely what goes wrong. Across the failed LG connections the app recorded in the last 90 days, more than half were sessions that dropped or timed out after working, while pairing itself accounted for under a quarter. Right after Wi-Fi setup the reason is simple: the TV changed address. Select it again in the device list, keep the phone on the same band as the TV, and switch mobile data off while it reconnects.

Does a phone hotspot work for an LG TV with no Wi-Fi?

Only if the LG has been on Wi-Fi before. Give the hotspot the exact name and password of the network the TV last used, and webOS reconnects to it as if nothing changed; a second phone on the same hotspot can then pair and move the TV to your real Wi-Fi. A new or factory-reset LG has no saved network, so it needs a mouse or Ethernet.

Does LG have its own remote app for this TV?

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.

Where is the button on the LG TV itself, and can it reach the settings menu?

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.

Why would a remote app fail to find my LG TV?

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.

How to connect an LG TV to Wi-Fi without the remote

Which LG TV you have — and how it takes commands

A nub you find by feel

The pairing PIN never appears, or the app asks for a password you do not have

Connect Your LG TV to Wi-Fi — Step by Step

Try the joystick under the logo

Plug in a USB mouse

Or bridge with Ethernet

Pair your phone with the PIN on screen

Set up Wi-Fi and unplug

Frequently Asked Questions

More Wi-Fi setup guides

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