LG ThinQ app not connecting to your TV? Causes and fixes

What the ThinQ app needs to connect to an LG TV

LG gives the conditions in two guides. The first is how to register your TV with LG ThinQ, dated July 2026. The second is how to set up the LG ThinQ app on your LG smart TV, dated July 2024.

If one row is not true for your setup, correct that item first. If all rows are true, find the stage where the connection fails.

Find where the connection fails

The registration has three stages. The app finds the TV, the TV shows a PIN, and the app accepts the PIN. The stage that fails tells you the cause.

ThinQ cannot find the TV

The app looks for the TV on the network that the phone uses. LG's registration guide says that a network setting error screen appears if the smartphone and the TV are not on the same Wi-Fi network. Check the network on each device.

1. Make sure that the TV is on.
2. Open the Wi-Fi menu of the TV and read the name of the network.
3. Connect the phone to the same Wi-Fi network.
4. Turn off mobile data on the phone until the registration is complete.
5. Open the ThinQ app and tap Add a Device again.

The path to the Wi-Fi menu is in LG's guide to internet connection problems. On 2021 and later LG TVs with webOS 6.0 or later, the path is Settings, All Settings, General, Network, Internet Connection, Wi-Fi Connection.

LG also says that a TV far from the router can have latency or performance problems during the registration. If the signal is weak at the TV, move the router nearer for the registration.

Use the 2.4 GHz band for the registration

LG gives the Wi-Fi band condition in three places. The setup guide says that the two devices must be on the same 2.4 GHz network. The registration guide says, "The product does not support 5G Wi-Fi." LG's other pages name the 2.4 GHz band, so 5G in that sentence most likely refers to the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band. LG's ThinQ support page for Canada, current as of September 18, 2026, gives the same limit. It says that LG appliances and the ThinQ app support only the 2.4 GHz band. That page is about LG products in general and does not name TVs.

If your router has a different network name for each band, connect the phone and the TV to the 2.4 GHz name. Do this before you start the registration.

Check for a guest network or AP isolation

Two router functions keep devices apart, and each function can stop a remote app. TP-Link's page about AP isolation defines it as "a router setting that prevents devices on the same Wi-Fi network from communicating with each other." TP-Link published the page in July 2026. The same page says that a guest network "creates a completely separate Wi-Fi network with its own name."

If the phone or the TV is on a guest network, move it to the main network. If AP isolation is on, turn it off in the wireless settings of the router. These faults are not special to LG. The guide to a phone and a TV on the same Wi-Fi that still do not connect shows how to find them.

A user report shows the effect of the home network. In an AVForums thread from August 2025, the app found no device at the owner's home. The same TV registered on a different network. That result points to the home network, not to the TV or the app.

On an iPhone, check the permissions

LG's registration guide tells you to allow the access permissions when you open the app for the first time. If you refused a permission, the app possibly cannot find the TV. LG's ThinQ support page gives two settings for iPhones:

• Local Network: on
• Location: While Using the App or Always, with Precise Location on

The App Store listing says that the app uses Local Network "To obtain the device connecting Wi-Fi info when adding devices". It uses Location "To find and connect to nearby Wi-Fi when registering the product."

You can change the Local Network setting after the first start. Apple's page about local network access, published in April 2026, gives the steps:

1. Open Settings on the iPhone.
2. Tap Privacy & Security.
3. Tap Local Network.
4. Turn on access for LG ThinQ.

Then close the ThinQ app, open it again, and add the TV. For more about this setting, read the guide to the Local Network permission on iPhone.

ThinQ rejects the PIN from the TV

During the registration, the TV shows a PIN code. LG's instruction is short: enter the PIN code that appears on the TV screen and tap Next. LG's guides do not say why the app refuses a PIN that you typed correctly.

User reports give one cause. In a Reddit thread from June 2022, the owner of a new LG TV described this fault. The app refused the code from the screen each time. The top reply says that the app does not work with a VPN. Replies from 2023 to 2025 say that the app worked after the VPN was off. A reply from July 2026 reports the same fault with no VPN. These are user reports, not a statement from LG.

Do these steps in order:

1. Turn off the VPN on the phone, if you use one.
2. Close the ThinQ app and open it again.
3. Start the registration again with Add a Device.
4. Enter the PIN that the TV shows and tap Next.

The TV is registered, but the app cannot turn it on

For this fault, first check a setting on the TV. LG's setup guide says that TVs with webOS 3.5 and later can be turned on and off from the ThinQ app. On older webOS versions, the app can only turn the TV off.

The power-on setting of the TV must also be on. For webOS 6.0 TVs, LG gives this path: All Settings, Devices, External Devices, TV On With Mobile. Then turn on the option Turn on via Wi-Fi. LG adds that iPhones use only Wi-Fi to turn the TV on. Android phones can use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The menu names can be different on other webOS versions.

ThinQ stopped after a router change

A new router usually gives a new network. LG's ThinQ support page says that after you replace the router, you must update the network of each registered product. The steps on that page are: open Device settings, select the product, and tap Change network. That instruction is for LG products in general.

For a TV, do these steps:

1. Connect the TV to the new Wi-Fi network in the Wi-Fi menu of the TV.
2. Connect the phone to the same network.
3. Open the ThinQ app and try the remote.
4. If the TV does not respond, register the TV again with Add a Device.

If nothing works, test the network and register again

LG's guide to internet connection problems has two procedures that help here. The first procedure is a restart of the network devices:

1. Unplug the power cable of the modem.
2. Wait about 10 seconds, then plug the cable in again.
3. Do the same with the router.

The second procedure is a test with a phone hotspot. Turn on the mobile hotspot of a smartphone and connect the TV to it. LG says that if the TV connects, the TV works correctly and the fault is possibly in the router or with the internet provider.

The AVForums thread adds two tests from other users. Try the ThinQ app from a different phone on the same network, to see if your phone is the cause. Or connect the TV to the router with an Ethernet cable, to remove the Wi-Fi from the test. The same thread suggests a factory reset of the TV. Keep the reset as the last step, because you must set up the TV again after it.

Control the LG TV without ThinQ

The ThinQ app requires an LG account, and the registration has many conditions. If you only need a remote, a different app can do that job. Tivi, a universal TV remote app for iPhone from Nefarius Apps, finds the TVs on your Wi-Fi network by itself. Tivi needs no account.

When Tivi connects to an LG TV for the first time, the TV shows a PIN. You type the PIN into the app one time. Tivi stores the key that the TV sends back, so later connections do not need the PIN. The guide to the LG pairing PIN shows each step. Tivi has the arrow pad and OK, volume and mute, play and pause, back, home and menu. It also controls Samsung, Android TV and Google TV devices from the same app.

Tivi has limits:

• Tivi needs the phone and the TV on the same Wi-Fi network.
• Tivi needs Local Network access on the iPhone.
• A guest network or AP isolation stops Tivi too.
• Tivi does not control Roku devices or Apple TV.

So do the network checks in this article before you change apps. The full setup is in the guide on how to control an LG TV with your iPhone. If the TV is slow to appear in the list, read why LG TVs are harder to find on a home network.

The short version

• LG requires an LG account, a TV from 2017 or later, and the phone and the TV on the same network.
• For the registration, turn off mobile data and use the 2.4 GHz band.
• If the app cannot find the TV, look for a guest network or AP isolation on the router.
• On an iPhone, turn on Local Network and Location access for LG ThinQ.
• If the app refuses the PIN, turn off the VPN on the phone and start again. This fix comes from user reports.
• If the app cannot turn the TV on, turn on TV On With Mobile on the TV.
• If you only need a remote, Tivi controls an LG TV with no account, on the same Wi-Fi network.

Common questions

Sources

• LG (2026). LG ThinQ - How to Register Your TV With LG ThinQ.
• LG (2024). LG TV - How to Set Up the LG ThinQ App on Your LG Smart TV.
• LG (2026). LG TV - How to Fix Internet Connection Issues.
• LG Canada (2026). ThinQ support.
• LG Electronics (2026). LG ThinQ on the App Store.
• Apple (2026). If an app would like to connect to devices on your local network.
• TP-Link (2026). What Is AP Isolation? (And When to Enable It).
• Reddit, r/LGOLED (2022). can't connect via LG thinQ app.
• AVForums (2025). thinq app (can't or won't) recognize my lg tv.