LG webOS
How to control an LG TV with your iPhone
Nefarius Apps10 min read
Updated : Tivi now types on LG TVs, changes channels and can switch an LG back on, so the buttons and limits sections are rewritten and a typing section is added. The Samsung comparison is corrected, since Tivi now remembers Samsung TVs too.
An iPhone can control an LG webOS smart TV over Wi-Fi using LG's own remote protocol, SSAP. Both devices have to be on the same network, and the first connection asks you to enter a PIN shown on the TV screen. Once that PIN is accepted, webOS remembers the phone, and later connections don't ask again.
What do you need before you start?
Two things, and neither is complicated once they're sorted. LG has run webOS across its smart TV lineup for years now, so almost any LG smart TV bought recently qualifies — the giveaway is the interface, not the age printed on a box.
- An LG smart TV running webOS. If pressing home shows a row of colourful app icons across the bottom of the screen, that's webOS.
- The TV connected to your home network, by Wi-Fi or Ethernet, on the same network as the iPhone. Not a guest network, and not a second SSID the TV was never given.
- The TV switched fully on, for the first connection at least. An LG in standby drops off the network like any other sleeping device, and a set that isn't on the network can't be found by an app. Once Tivi has connected to it, it can switch the set back on itself — see the power section below.
What you explicitly don't need: an LG account, a ThinQ login, an HDMI cable, an infrared blaster, or an internet connection. LG's remote interface runs on the television and talks straight to the local network — it doesn't check who you are, and it doesn't care whether the router can reach the outside world.
Connecting for the first time
Finding an LG on the network takes a little more patience than finding a Samsung. Where a Tizen set calls out to announce itself the moment a scan starts, an LG doesn't advertise itself the same way — a remote app has to go looking for it rather than simply hearing it. The practical effect is timing, not reliability: an LG usually turns up in the same scan, just later in the list.
Put the iPhone on the TV's network
If the house has separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, or a guest SSID, pick the one the TV is on. The TV's own address is under Settings › Network › Wi-Fi Connection, or the equivalent network status screen on older menus.
Allow Local Network access when iOS asks
This appears the first time the app scans. Declining it leaves the app permanently unable to see the TV, with no error to explain why — what the permission gates covers how to switch it back on if you've already said no.
Give the scan time to find the LG
An LG typically takes longer to appear than a Samsung on the same network. Don't assume nothing's there after a couple of seconds — the set usually resolves within the same scan, just after the faster brands.
Look at the TV, not the phone
webOS puts a PIN on the TV screen and waits. Some firmware shows a plain accept-or-decline prompt instead of a PIN — either way, the next step happens on the television, not in the app.
Type the PIN into the app
Enter the digits exactly as shown. webOS PINs run from four to eight digits depending on the model and firmware.
Test with volume up
Volume gives unambiguous feedback on screen. Power is a poor first test, because switching the set off takes the connection down with it and leaves you unsure what actually worked.
Entering the PIN
Where Samsung asks a plain yes-or-no question, LG's webOS asks for proof: a PIN shown on the television, four to eight digits depending on the model, typed back into the app on the phone. Some sets skip the PIN entirely and show a straightforward accept-or-decline prompt instead — the effect is the same, but there's no code to enter.
Which buttons work
LG's remote interface, SSAP, carries named commands split across two channels — one for volume, power, playback and channels, another for the directional pad and the on-screen buttons. Tivi sends seventeen commands in total, and all seventeen work on a connected LG.
| Group | Commands | Works |
|---|---|---|
| Navigation | Up, down, left, right, select | Yes |
| Volume | Volume up, volume down, mute | Yes |
| Channels | Channel up, channel down | Yes |
| Playback | Play / pause, previous, next | Yes |
| Interface | Menu, home, back | Yes |
| Power | Power off | Yes |
Playback keys are transport commands sent to whatever's on screen, so what they do depends on what's showing. Inside a streaming app they generally behave as expected; on a source with no transport controls of its own they may do nothing at all — the app on the TV declining the command rather than the command failing to arrive. Channel up and down change channel on live TV, and when an input or app turns the request down, Tivi falls back to pressing the channel button a Magic Remote would.
Switching an LG back on
Turning the set on can't work like the other buttons, because once an LG is off the connection Tivi was using is gone. Tivi sends Wake-on-LAN instead — a broadcast the TV's network card listens for while the rest of the set sleeps. With no TV connected, the Remote tab shows Turn On TV, aimed at the most recent LG or Samsung that Tivi has connected to.
What Tivi doesn't do on an LG
| Not available in Tivi | What to use instead |
|---|---|
| Switching the input or source | Tivi has no input or source button. Moving from one HDMI input to another still needs the TV's own Magic Remote or its on-screen source menu. |
| A number pad | Tivi steps through channels with channel up and down, but has no number pad — jumping straight to a channel number still needs the Magic Remote. |
| Launching a specific app on the TV | Tivi has no app launcher. Home and the arrow keys get you to Netflix or YouTube. |
| Turning on a TV that isn't set up for it | Turn On TV needs Turn on via Wi-Fi switched on. Without it, the Magic Remote or the button on the set is the only way to switch it on. |
Input switching is worth checking for before installing anything. It's the most commonly assumed feature in this category, and Tivi doesn't offer it on any brand — LG included.
Can you type on an LG TV from your iPhone?
Yes — LG is the TV Tivi types on. Select a text field on the TV, tap the keyboard button at the top of the remote, and type on the iPhone; the app's own hint puts it as “What you type appears on your TV. Select a text field there first.” Text lands on the TV as you type, deleting on the phone deletes on the TV, and Send presses enter, so the search runs or the sign-in goes through.
It works because webOS gives an app two text channels rather than one: a way to insert characters and a way to delete them. The second is what lets the TV's field follow the phone's, typos and corrections included, and neither Samsung's protocol nor Android TV's offers the same pair — Tivi's keyboard doesn't reach either of them yet. For a password, Hide text masks the field on the phone; what the TV shows is up to the TV's own field.
Why an LG can be slower to appear than a Samsung
The short, honest answer is that Samsung and LG advertise themselves on the network differently, and LG's method is the slower one to resolve from an iPhone. A Samsung typically shows up within a second or two of a scan starting; an LG can take noticeably longer — sometimes several times as long — before it appears in the same list.
That's a real, verifiable difference, and not a bug in any particular app. Give an LG more time than instinct suggests before concluding it isn't there. A scan that looks finished at three seconds may still be waiting on the LG. Why LG TVs are slower to appear on a network covers the mechanism behind it, and the network settings that make it worse.
When it doesn't connect
An LG that never appears, or that shows up but won't pair, has almost always failed at one of a small number of places.
- Local Network access is off. The most common cause by a wide margin, and it fails silently: iOS returns no devices and no error, so the list simply stays empty every time.
- The phone and the TV are on different networks. Compare the first three numbers of each IP address.
192.168.1.xand192.168.4.xcannot reach each other regardless of what the Wi-Fi is called. - The TV is in standby. The light on the front means power at the socket, not a live network connection. Switch it fully on and scan again.
- The PIN pairing window closed before you finished typing. Start the connection again from the app; the TV will show a fresh PIN.
- LG's own network or connected-device setting is switched off. It's usually under the network or connected-devices area of the TV's settings. Menu names have moved between webOS versions, so search the settings rather than following one exact path.
The full ordered version, with the check for each cause and the causes that aren't LG-specific, is in the diagnostic checklist for a TV that will not appear.
Common questions
Do I need an LG ThinQ account?
Not for remote control. LG's remote interface runs on the television and the local network and doesn't check for an account — ThinQ needs one because it does a great deal more than remote control, not because the TV requires it. A single-purpose remote app connects with no sign-up at all.
Why did my LG only ask for a PIN once?
Because webOS returns a client key when you accept the PIN, and Tivi stores it. Later connections send that key back instead of asking again. Samsung's allow prompt works the same way — Tivi stores the token a Samsung issues and replays it, so a Samsung asks once too.
Can an iPhone turn on an LG TV?
Yes, if the TV is set up for it. Tivi's Turn On TV sends a Wake-on-LAN signal to an LG it has connected to before, and webOS answers it only when Turn on via Wi-Fi is switched on. With that setting off, an LG in standby isn't listening on the network, so nothing on the phone can reach it.
Will this work on an older LG TV running NetCast?
Probably not. webOS replaced LG's older NetCast interface, and NetCast used a different, largely unsupported remote interface. If the TV's home screen doesn't have the webOS launcher bar, treat compatibility as unlikely rather than assumed.
Can I control the TV from another room?
Yes, anywhere on the same Wi-Fi — the commands go over the network rather than by line of sight, so walls don't matter and neither does pointing the phone at anything. What doesn't work is controlling it from outside the house, because the connection is direct to the TV's local address with no server in between.
The short version
An LG webOS TV on the same Wi-Fi as an iPhone takes a little longer to show up in a scan than a Samsung does, asks for a PIN once on the television, and after that accepts navigation, volume, channels, playback and power off without asking again — plus typing from the iPhone's keyboard, and switching the set back on when Turn on via Wi-Fi is enabled. Tivi doesn't offer input switching or a number pad.
Tivi, a universal TV remote app for iPhone from Nefarius Apps, drives LG webOS, Samsung Tizen, and Android TV and Google TV sets end to end over the local network with no account and no cloud service in the middle. If your TV is a Samsung or an Android TV rather than an LG, the Samsung walkthrough and the Android TV and Google TV walkthrough cover those flows instead. You can see how discovery and pairing work on the home page, what Tivi Pro adds if you run several televisions, and the rest of the LG guides here. For the groundwork that applies to every brand, start with how to use your iPhone as a TV remote.