LG TV Remote App: Use Your Phone as a Remote for LG TV

No remote right now? Use your phone. NoRemote is free for one TV.

An LG TV remote app on your phone works over Wi-Fi, so it needs nothing from the lost or dead Magic Remote. Put your phone on the same Wi-Fi as the TV, open the app, tap your LG TV, and accept the connection prompt that appears on the TV screen once. After that you get the full remote, a touchpad for the pointer, and your phone keyboard for typing.

If no remote works at all, that one accept step is the catch: you need a working remote for a few seconds, then the phone takes over. The TV’s own jog button still handles power, covered below.

How an LG TV remote app connects to webOS

LG Smart TVs run webOS, and webOS accepts commands from apps on the same local network. That is why a phone with no infrared can still act as a TV remote for an LG TV. The signal goes from your phone to your router to the TV, so you can use it from another room or through a cabinet door.

Before you start, check two things:

The TV is already on your Wi-Fi. On 2021 and later models (webOS 6.0+), LG puts this under Settings, All Settings, General, Network, Internet Connection, Wi-Fi Connection. On 2020 models it’s All Settings, Connection, Network Connection Settings, Wi-Fi Connection, and on 2019 and earlier it’s All Settings, Connection, Wi-Fi Connection (LG US).
Your phone is on that same network. A guest network or mobile data won’t reach the TV. If your router has separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz names, pick the one the TV uses.

Here is the short version for anyone who wants to quote it. A Wi-Fi LG TV remote app talks to the TV through your home router, not by pointing at it, so the phone and the LG webOS TV must be on the same Wi-Fi network. The first time you connect, the TV shows a request on screen asking whether to allow the phone, and you accept it once with a working remote. From then on the app opens straight to the controls. You get power off, volume, channel, the D-pad with OK, back, home, number keys and input switching, plus a touchpad that moves the webOS pointer and a keyboard for search boxes. Turning the TV on from the phone depends on the TV’s settings: LG lists webOS 3.5 and later as supporting power-on from its own app, while older sets can only be switched off.

Not sure your TV qualifies? The Will it work? checker tells you in a few taps.

Set up a TV remote app for LG TV in five steps

Join the TV’s Wi-Fi on your phone. Use the same network name the TV shows in its Wi-Fi Connection menu.
Open the remote app. It scans the network and lists the TVs it finds.
Tap your LG TV. A connection request pops up on the TV screen.
Accept the prompt on the TV. You do this once. Use any working remote that the TV responds to.
Start using the remote. The D-pad, volume, inputs and home button work right away. Switch to the touchpad for the pointer, or open the keyboard when a text box is on screen.

If the app lists no TV at all, the phone and TV almost always sit on different networks. The TV not found guide walks through the checks in order.

LG TV remote features: touchpad pointer and typing

LG’s Magic Remote works like a mouse. You wave it and a pointer follows on screen. Many webOS menus and apps are easiest with that pointer, which is why losing the Magic Remote hurts more than losing a basic clicker.

A good LG remote app copies this with a touchpad. Drag a finger across the phone screen and the pointer moves across the TV. Tap to select. It’s quicker than stepping through a long app grid one arrow press at a time.

Typing is the other big win. Searching YouTube or entering a Wi-Fi or streaming password with on-screen letters takes forever. With phone keyboard text entry, you type on the phone and the text lands in the TV’s text box.

LG ThinQ: LG’s own app

LG’s own app for this is LG ThinQ, published by LG Electronics and free on the App Store (App Store listing). Its listing mostly describes smart home appliances, but LG’s support pages cover the TV side.

Per LG’s ThinQ TV FAQ, you open the app, tap Add a Device, choose TV, and pick your set from the list. Both devices must share a network, and for Wi-Fi LG specifies 2.4 GHz. Once added, you open the TV card and tap Remote Control (LG US). The same TV card also launches apps and switches inputs.

ThinQ is the obvious first try if you only own LG gear. A universal Wi-Fi remote makes more sense when the house also has a Roku, Samsung or Fire TV and you’d rather use one app for every TV.

Turn on your LG TV from the phone

Turning the TV off from a phone is easy. Turning it on is harder, because the TV has to be set to listen for the phone while it’s in standby.

LG says webOS 3.5 and later can be turned on from the ThinQ app, and older versions support power-off only. On webOS 6.0 TVs the switch is under All Settings, Devices, External Devices, TV On With Mobile, where you turn on both Turn On via Wi-Fi and Turn On via Bluetooth. iPhones use the Wi-Fi option only (LG US). Menu names differ on other webOS versions, so look for a similar “mobile TV on” option.

If the TV won’t wake from the phone, use the jog button. LG says pressing it turns the TV on and pressing and holding it turns the TV off. Some versions also tilt left and right for volume (LG US). LG doesn’t give one location for every set, so check under the bottom edge of the screen near the center first, then the back panel.

How NoRemote helps with an LG TV

NoRemote: Universal TV Remote works with LG Smart TVs running webOS. NoRemote is not affiliated with LG. The first connection works the same as above: pick the TV in the app, then accept the prompt on the TV once.

What you get for free, for one saved TV, with no account and no ads:

The full remote: power, volume, channel, D-pad and OK, back, home, number pad and input switching (HDMI, TV, AV).
The touchpad, which on LG webOS works like the Magic Remote pointer. NoRemote offers it for LG only.
Phone keyboard typing for search and password boxes.
An app launcher to open streaming apps on the TV.
Wake-on-LAN power-on where the TV supports it.

The same app also handles Samsung, Roku, Vizio, Google TV and Fire TV sets, so a mixed household doesn’t need a different app per TV. If you have another brand in the house, see the Samsung guide or the Hisense guide.

The honest limit: NoRemote is Wi-Fi only. It can’t control an LG TV that isn’t on your network yet, a non-smart LG set, or anything through infrared. It won’t work over mobile data or on hotel Wi-Fi that blocks devices from seeing each other. If your TV has never been on Wi-Fi, you need a remote first.

If your LG remote stopped working

Sometimes the phone is a stop-gap while you fix the remote itself. LG’s two common remotes behave differently.

Magic Remote: takes 2 AA batteries and uses Bluetooth. LG says power can still work through basic remote functions, but the pointer and voice need the remote registered. To register, turn the TV on, wait about 20 seconds, point the remote at the TV and press Wheel (OK). If the pointer doesn’t appear, hold Home and Back together for more than 5 seconds and follow the on-screen steps (LG UK).
Standard LG remote: takes 2 AAA batteries (LG US). It’s an infrared remote with no pairing step, so it needs a clear line of sight to the TV.

Replace both batteries together and don’t mix old with new. For a step-by-step diagnosis, try the TV remote not working tool.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an app to control an LG TV?

Yes. LG’s own ThinQ app can control LG TVs, and third-party Wi-Fi remote apps work with LG webOS TVs too. Both need the phone and the TV on the same home network.

Is there a free LG TV remote app?

LG ThinQ is a free download on the App Store. NoRemote’s full remote is free for one saved TV, with every button included and no account. Premium only adds photo and video casting and extra saved TVs.

Can I turn on my LG TV with my phone?

Often, yes, but the TV has to allow it. LG says webOS 3.5 and later can be turned on from ThinQ, and on webOS 6.0 the switch is under All Settings, Devices, External Devices, TV On With Mobile. On older webOS versions the phone can only turn the TV off.

How do I connect my phone to my LG TV without the remote?

If the TV is already on your Wi-Fi, join that same network on your phone, open the remote app and pick the TV. Accept the prompt on the TV screen once; that one step needs a working remote, such as a borrowed or inexpensive standard LG remote. If the TV is not on Wi-Fi yet, you need a working remote to set up the network first.

Why can’t my phone find my LG TV?

The usual cause is the phone and TV sitting on different networks, such as the guest network on one and the main network on the other. Check the TV’s Wi-Fi connection in Settings and confirm the phone uses the same network name. Hotel and guest Wi-Fi with client isolation will not work.

Does the phone app replace the Magic Remote pointer?

In NoRemote, the touchpad moves the on-screen pointer the way the Magic Remote does, and you tap to select. The touchpad is available for LG webOS TVs only. Voice search is not part of it.

Sources

NoRemote is a free Wi-Fi remote app that works with LG webOS TVs, among others.

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