How to use an LG TV without a remote

The joystick LG hides behind the logo, how to re-pair a Magic Remote, where SIMPLINK lives, and the one thing LG does that Samsung does not — show your HDMI inputs by name.

On this page

1. LG hides the button behind the logo
2. What the joystick does
3. LG ThinQ and the phone route
4. SIMPLINK — let a console turn the TV on
5. The thing LG does that Samsung does not
6. Magic Remote: re-pairing and replacing

1. LG hides the button behind the logo

On an LG the control is easier to find than on most televisions, once you know it is not on the edge at all. It sits underneath the panel at the centre, tucked directly behind the LG logo — so people run their fingers along the bottom-right corner, find nothing, and conclude there is no button.

Model / era	Where the control is
Most webOS sets, roughly 2014 onward	A single joystick under the centre of the panel, directly behind the LG logo. Reach under the logo and feel for a stub you can push in four directions.
OLED C, G and B series	Same place — centre, behind the logo. On wall-mounted or very thin OLEDs it can be hard to reach; tilt the panel slightly rather than groping blind.
Some entry-level and older LCD models	A row of physical buttons on the rear right-hand side, or along the bottom-right underside.
Pre-webOS LGs (NetCast era and earlier)	Physical buttons on the rear or the bottom edge. These sets accept no network remote at all, so the buttons are the only way in.

If you are reaching under a wall-mounted LG and finding nothing, check the model number on the rear label — it starts with letters such as OLED, UP, UQ, NANO or QNED. Searching that number plus “joystick” brings up a photo of exactly where to reach on your set.

2. What the joystick does

It is a slow but complete remote. The behaviour is consistent across webOS generations:

Press once while the set is off — the television turns on.
Press once while it is on — an on-screen menu appears with power, volume, channel and input.
Push up or down — moves through that menu.
Push left or right — changes channel, or moves across the menu.
Press and hold — turns the television off.

That is enough to reach All Settings, and All Settings is where everything below is switched on. Do it in one sitting: pushing a stub behind a logo through webOS menus is not something you want to repeat.

3. LG ThinQ and the phone route

LG's own ThinQ app carries a remote for webOS televisions, and third-party remote apps use the same underlying interface. Either way the phone talks to the set over your network, not by infrared.

The first connection on an LG works differently from Android TV, and this surprises people:

There is no code to type. The television puts a permission box on screen and you approve it with the set's own remote or the joystick. The app stores the key the TV hands back, so it is asked only once.
The phone and the set must be on the same Wi-Fi network. A second access point or a guest network fails quietly — the app simply never finds the television.
To switch the set on from the phone later, enable Mobile TV On in All Settings, under General or Network depending on the webOS version. Leave it off and the phone stays a remote for a set someone else has already switched on.
If you approve the permission box and the app keeps asking again, the stored key is not being kept. Reconnecting once more usually settles it; this was a real bug in some remote apps rather than a fault in your TV.

webOS arrived in 2014, and that is the practical cut-off. Older LGs running NetCast have no network remote interface, so no app on any phone can control them — and no phone can imitate an infrared remote, because no iPhone has an infrared emitter.

4. SIMPLINK — let a console turn the TV on

SIMPLINK is LG's name for HDMI-CEC. With it on, a console or streaming stick can power the television up and select itself, which makes any game controller a spare power button. The menu path moved between webOS versions, so check both:

Open All Settings with the joystick or a working remote.
On most sets look under General for SIMPLINK (HDMI-CEC).
On webOS 6 and later it may sit under General, then Devices, then HDMI Settings.
Switch it on, then test with a PlayStation controller's PS button or any button on an Xbox that has HDMI-CEC enabled in its own settings.

Most Blu-ray players, soundbars, Fire TV sticks and Chromecasts will do the same once SIMPLINK is on. It costs nothing and gives you a permanent way to wake the set without an app.

5. The thing LG does that Samsung does not

LG exposes the names you gave your inputs. If you labelled HDMI 2 as your console in the television's own settings, a remote app can read that label and show it. So the source list on your phone can say the console's name instead of “HDMI 2”. Samsung's protocol offers a source key but no labels, so this is genuinely an LG advantage.

Two quirks are worth knowing, both measured on real hardware rather than taken from documentation:

Unlabelled inputs can be missing from the list. A set that reports its named inputs may omit the HDMI ports you never renamed — even though switching to them works perfectly. A good remote app fills in HDMI 1 to 4 itself so nothing is unreachable.
Renaming an input in the TV changes what the phone shows. If the list looks wrong, rename the port on the television and reconnect; the app is reading LG's labels, not guessing.
Inputs appear to the protocol as apps. That is why an LG can jump straight to a named source, while sets that only expose a source key have to cycle through inputs one at a time.

6. Magic Remote: re-pairing and replacing

An LG Magic Remote is not infrared — it is a Bluetooth pointer, which is why it can lose its pairing and appear completely dead while the television is perfectly fine. Before buying anything, try this:

Register it again. Stand a metre or so from the set, aim the Magic Remote at it and keep the scroll wheel — the part you click as OK — pressed until the pointer shows up, about five seconds. The pointer appearing is the confirmation; there is no other message.
If that fails, unpair first. Hold Back and Home together for five seconds to deregister the remote, then repeat the step above.
Buying a replacement: look for AN-MR. LG's Magic Remotes carry model codes beginning AN-MR, and the number after it is tied to the model year. Standard LG remotes use codes beginning AKB. Match the code, or search your television's model number and let the seller tell you which fits.

A universal infrared remote will cover power, volume, channel and input on an LG, but it cannot reproduce the pointer, the wheel or the voice button, because those travel over Bluetooth rather than infrared.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Where is the button on an LG TV?

Under the centre of the panel, directly behind the LG logo — not on the bottom-right corner, which is where most people look. Reach under the logo and feel for a small joystick you can push in four directions and press in. Some entry-level and older LCD models instead have a row of buttons on the rear right-hand side.

How do I turn on an LG TV without a remote?

Press the joystick behind the LG logo once. If you cannot reach it on a wall-mounted set, press a button on anything connected by HDMI: with SIMPLINK enabled, a console or streaming stick will switch the television on and select its own input.

How do I re-pair an LG Magic Remote?

Aim it at the set from a metre or so and keep the scroll wheel — the same part you click as OK — held down until the pointer appears, roughly five seconds. Nothing on screen after two attempts means the old registration is in the way: deregister with Back plus Home held together, wait for the set to confirm, then register again. Because the Magic Remote is a Bluetooth pointer rather than an infrared remote, a dropped registration looks exactly like dead batteries.

What is SIMPLINK and where is it?

SIMPLINK is LG's name for HDMI-CEC, which lets a connected device turn the television on and select itself. Look in All Settings under General; on webOS 6 and later it may be under General, Devices, HDMI Settings.

Which LG TVs can a phone control?

webOS models, roughly 2014 onward, over Wi-Fi. The phone and the television must be on the same network, and the first connection is approved with a permission box on the TV screen rather than a typed code. Older LGs running NetCast have no network remote interface and cannot be controlled by any phone app.

Can a phone remote show my HDMI inputs by name on an LG?

Yes — this is something LG does and Samsung does not. LG exposes the labels you gave each input in the television's own settings, so the source list on your phone can show the console's name instead of “HDMI 2”. If a port looks missing from the list, it is usually one you never renamed.

How do I make an LG TV turn on from my phone?

Enable Mobile TV On in All Settings, under General or Network depending on the webOS version. Pair the phone once while the television is on so the app learns the set's network address, and after that it can wake the television from standby.

Which replacement remote fits my LG?

Magic Remotes carry codes beginning AN-MR, tied to the model year; standard LG remotes use codes beginning AKB. Match the code on your old remote, or search the television's model number from the rear label — it starts with letters such as OLED, UP, UQ, NANO or QNED. A universal infrared remote covers power, volume, channel and input but cannot reproduce the pointer or the wheel.

Using your phone instead

On any webOS LG — roughly 2014 onward — Zap turns an iPhone or iPad into a full remote over Wi-Fi, and it reads your input names straight from the television, so the source list shows your console by the name you gave it. Wake-on-LAN can start the set from standby once Mobile TV On is enabled. The remote itself is free.

Download on theApp Store