Why is my LG TV not responding to the remote?

Three causes cover almost every case: tired batteries, a Magic Remote that lost its Bluetooth link to the TV, or a frozen TV. Change the batteries, unplug the TV for 60 seconds, then re-pair the remote by holding Back and Home for 5 seconds.

How do I reset an LG remote?

Point the Magic Remote at the TV and hold Back and Home together for at least 5 seconds until the Power button light flashes, then click the wheel (OK) to pair it again. Some 2021 and newer remotes use Home and Settings instead.

Why is the LG Magic Remote pointer not working?

Either the remote lost its pairing, or Audio Guidance is on, which hides the pointer. Holding Mute for about 3 seconds turns Audio Guidance on. Switch it off under Settings, All Settings, General, Accessibility, or re-pair the remote.

How do I turn up the volume on an LG TV without the remote?

Use the small joystick button under the LG logo, or pair a phone remote app once and drag the volume slider. A Decent Remote does this on an iPhone, and the pairing approval is the only step that needs the joystick.

Can I use my phone as an LG remote?

Yes, on any LG webOS TV from 2014 on. The phone and TV need the same Wi-Fi, and the TV shows one approval prompt the first time. After that the phone has a touchpad pointer, arrows, volume, apps and a keyboard.

My LG remote stopped working after a power cut. What now?

Unplug the TV for 60 seconds, plug it back in and wait for it to finish starting, then try the remote again. If only the pointer is dead, re-pair it with Back and Home held for 5 seconds.

LG TV Remote Not Working? Fix It, or Use Your Phone Now

An LG remote that goes dead is rarely broken for good. Most of the time the batteries are tired, the Bluetooth link to the TV dropped, or one hidden setting made the pointer vanish. Two minutes of checking tells you which, and if you want the TV back tonight, your iPhone can take over.

Is my LG remote broken, or is it the TV?

First, which remote do you hold? A plain LG remote has no scroll wheel and works by infrared. The Magic Remote has a wheel in the middle and a pointer on screen. It talks to the TV over Bluetooth, and sends infrared for power and volume.

Then match the symptom:

Nothing works and the Power button never lights: batteries. Fit two fresh AA, check the + and - ends, and wipe the contacts.
Power and volume work, but the pointer and other keys don’t: the Bluetooth link dropped. LG describes a lost connection this way. Re-pair it below.
Keys work but there is no pointer: Audio Guidance is probably on. See the pointer section.
No remote does anything, but the buttons on the TV do: the TV is frozen. Unplug it for 60 seconds.

The phone-camera test only helps on plain infrared remotes: point the remote at your front camera, press a key, and look for a flicker on screen. On a Magic Remote it can show the infrared keys working, which rules out the batteries but says nothing about Bluetooth. A Wi-Fi router closer than about 20 cm (8 inches) to the TV can also disturb the link.

How do I re-pair an LG Magic Remote that stopped working?

Fit fresh batteries, switch the TV on and stand a few feet away, pointing the remote at it.
Hold Back and Home together for at least 5 seconds, until the red light on the Power button flashes. That removes the old pairing.
Still pointing at the TV, click the scroll wheel (OK). A message on screen confirms the remote is registered, and the pointer returns.
Nothing happened? On remotes from 2021 on, some LG support pages give Home and Settings for 5 seconds instead.
Still dead: unplug the TV for 60 seconds and repeat. Skip the factory reset. It wipes your app logins and Wi-Fi password and rarely fixes a remote.

Why is the Magic Remote pointer not working?

The pointer hides when the remote sits idle, so shake it first. If it stays hidden, check these in order:

Audio Guidance. Holding Mute for about 3 seconds turns on spoken menus and hides the pointer. Switch it off under Settings > All Settings > General > Accessibility > Audio Guidance (2021 and newer). On 2020 and older sets the item sits directly under Accessibility. The arrow keys still move around the menus.
Pairing. Re-pair as above.
The wheel click. If only the OK click is dead, a worn switch is likelier than pairing, and no reset will fix it. Replace the remote, or use the phone as below.

How do I control an LG TV from my phone while the remote is down?

A Decent Remote runs LG webOS TVs from an iPhone over Wi-Fi.

Put the iPhone on the same Wi-Fi as the TV and switch the TV on.
Open the app and tap your LG in the list.
The TV shows an approval prompt. Accept it with the joystick button under the LG logo, or plug in a USB mouse. If your Magic Remote still has working arrows and OK, use those. A few sets show a number instead; type it into the app.
That’s it. The approval is stored, so later connections are silent.

You get a touchpad that moves the on-screen pointer (drag to move, tap to click), arrow keys, volume and mute, input switching, Netflix and YouTube buttons, and your iPhone keyboard for search. The app has no voice button, so spoken search is the one thing a working Magic Remote still does better.

To switch the TV on from the phone, Turn on via Wi-Fi must be enabled first, under TV On With Mobile in the TV’s General settings. The path changes between webOS versions, so use the settings search if you can’t find it. If the app can’t see the TV at all, this checklist covers the usual causes.

A Decent Remote is on iPhone today, and the Android version is being built now. Leave your email and you get one message the day it is on Google Play. The free LG ThinQ app also has a remote, but it needs an LG account.

No remote and no joystick within reach? This guide covers pairing with nothing in hand, and this one switches inputs.

Is a replacement LG remote worth buying?

A Magic Remote costs about $20 to $40 for an original. Cheap compatible ones exist, but some leave out the pointer or the microphone, so check the listing. Match the code on the back of your old remote (for example AN-MR20GA) to your TV’s year, because remotes from different years aren’t interchangeable.

For a household with one LG, a spare is cheap insurance. For anything else, the phone in your pocket does the same job and needs no batteries.