LG TV Not Connecting To WiFi? Try these Fixes

LG Smart TV is one of the top-notch products in its niche but many users reported that their smart LG TVs did not connect to WiFi. The issue is not limited to a particular model of the LG TV. In some cases, the issue occurred with the out-of-the-box TV, whereas, with others, the issue occurred with a perfectly working TV.

An LG Smart TV may not connect to a WIFI due to a lot of factors but the following can be regarded as the main culprits :

Location Country Settings of the LG TV: LG TV might not connect to WiFi if the location country settings of the TV do not match the router’s settings and this incompatibility can cause the issue under discussion.
Quick Start of the LG TV: Many modern devices including LG TV use a Quick Start feature to reduce the device’s boot time but sometimes, this feature fails to load essential device firmware modules (including Wi-Fi) and thus causes the issue at hand.
Auto Optimize Network Settings of the Router: If the router is configured to auto-optimize the WiFi network, then it can lead to the error under discussion as manipulation of the TV’s data packets by this auto-optimize feature of the router may break the compatibility between the TV and router.
Corrupt Firmware of the LG TV and Router: If the router’s or TV’s firmware is corrupt, then that can cause the one’s incompatibility with the other and cause the WiFi connection issue.

Perform a Cold Restart of the LG TV and Router

A temporary communication glitch may not let the LG TV connect to WI-FI and performing a cold restart may solve the problem. This is because the static current on many internal components will be discharged and put in their default state

Firstly, remove the WIFI from the LG TV settings (if possible).
Now power off the LG TV and remove its power cable from the power source.
Then disconnect all attached devices (like a USB, HDMI cable, etc.) from the TV and power down the router.
Now unplug the modem/router’s power cable from the source and remove any connected cables from the router’s ports.

Unplug Router from the Power Source
Then wait for 5 minutes and then connect back the power cable to the router.
Now, wait till the router is properly powered on and its lights are stable. Do not connect to any device either wired or wirelessly.
Then connect the TV’s power cable to a power source and power on the TV.
Once the LG TV is powered on, check if it connects fine with the WIFI.

Try Another Network

To distinguish if the problem is occurring due to a TV or router issue, connecting the TV to another network (preferably, a phone’s hotspot) may clear the idea. To do so:

Enable the hotspot of the phone and connect the TV to the phone’s hotspot.

Enable Hotspot of Your Phone
If the connection was successful, then most probably, the router is the root cause of the issue and you may follow the router troubleshooting section of this article.
If the TV did not connect to a phone hotspot, then most probably, a TV’s configuration or hardware failure is causing the issue and you may follow the TV troubleshooting section of this article.

Edit the LG TV Settings

Before diving into more technical solutions, make sure the TV is not connected to another Wi-Fi (like a Wi-Fi extender) having the same SSID and password as your Wi-Fi network.

Update the Firmware of the LG TV to the Latest Build

You may encounter a Wi-Fi connection issue on an LG TV if the TV’s firmware is outdated as it can create incompatibility between the TV and the router. In such a case, updating the firmware of the LG TV to the latest build may solve the problem. As the TV cannot connect to the Wi-Fi, you may use a hotspot from a phone or connect the TV through an Ethernet cable.

Launch Settings of the LG TV and open All Settings.
Now head to the General tab and select About This TV.

Check for Firmware Updates of the LG TV
Then enable Allow Automatic Updates and click on the Check for Updates button.
If an update is available, follow the on-screen prompts to install the updates. Make sure the TV stays powered on during the process.
Once the TV’s firmware is updated, restart it and upon restart, check if the LG TV is connecting fine with the Wi-Fi.

Change the Location Country of TV

If the location country of the TV does not meet the router’s location, then that may lead to the Wi-Fi connectivity issue at hand. Moreover, if the license agreement as per the TV’s location is not accepted by a user, then some of the TV’s features (including Wi-Fi) may not function properly and the TV may not connect to a WiFi. In such a case, you may fix the WiFi on your LG smart TV by changing the location country of the TV.

Launch LG TV Settings and open All Settings.
Now steer to the General tab and select Location.

Open Location of the LG TV Settings
Then change the Broadcast Country and LG Services Country to another country (e.g., in India, then switch to Australia). In some models, a user may have to disable Automatic Time Zone or Region.

Change Broadcast Country and LG Services Country in the LG TV Settings
If a license agreement is shown, make sure to accept (if agreed) the agreement and the TV will restart (otherwise, restart it).
Upon restart, check if the Wi-Fi of the LG TV is functioning fine. If so, then you may revert the country settings to the correct one.

Disable Automatic Date and Time of the LG TV

If there is a date/time conflict between the LG TV and router, then it may result in the Wi-Fi connection issue at hand as the router may fail to authenticate the data packets from the TV. In this case, disabling the automatic date and time of the LG TV and setting it up manually may solve the problem.

Launch the LG TV’s Settings and head to the General tab.
Then click on Time & Date and select Clock.

Open Time & Date Settings in the LG TV Settings
Now switch the Auto option to Manual.

Change Automatic Date Time to Manual in the LG TV Settings
Then set the correct values for date and time.
Now save the changes and restart your TV.
Upon restart, check if the Wi-Fi connection issue is resolved.

Disable Quick Start in the Settings of the LG TV

Quick Start puts the LG TV in standby mode when it is powered off, so, that the TV can quickly resume operation when powered on. But due to this Quick Start feature, many of the TV’s modules (like Wi-Fi) are not put to the default power state on powering off and a glitch in these modules may keep on happening, even on multiple restarts of the TV. In this case, disabling the Quick Start in of the LG TV may solve the problem.

Launch Settings of the LG TV and open All Settings.
Now head to the General tab and disable QuickStart (or QuickStart+) by toggling its switch to the off position.

Disable QuickStart in LG TV Settings
Then power off the TV and unplug its power cable from the power source.
Now wait for 1 minute and then reconnect the power cable to its power source.
Afterward, power on the TV and check if its Wi-Fi connection is operating fine.
If not, check if disabling Live Plus in the General tab of the LG TV settings and restarting the TV resolves the WIFI connection issue.

Reset the Firmware of the LG TV to the Factory Defaults

Your LG TV may not connect to WiFi if the firmware of the TV is corrupt. In this case, resetting the firmware of the LG TV to the factory defaults may solve the problem. Before proceeding, make sure to note down essential info (as all data on the TV will be lost).

Launch LG TV Settings and open All Settings.
Now steer to the General tab and select Reset to Initial Settings.

Reset the LG TV to Initial Settings
Then confirm to reset the TV to its factory defaults and wait till the process completes.
Upon completion, the TV will restart, and once restarted, check if its Wi-Fi connection issue is cleared.

Edit the Router’s Settings

Try a Different Channel of the Router

The LG TV may fail to connect to the Wi-Fi if the frequency channel on which the router is transmitting the network is overcrowded or if electromagnetic interference from another appliance (like a microwave)/device is blocking that channel.

Here, setting the router to broadcast to a different channel may solve the problem. But before that, check if changing the SSID and password of the Wi-Fi and adding the network to the TV’s WiFi solves the problem.

Open the router’s web portal and steer to the Advanced Settings.
Then expand the Wireless option and open the Channel dropdown.

Change the Router’s Channel
Now select a channel like 130, 149, or above (avoid DFS channels) and check if that resolves the WIFI issue. In the case of 5GHz, you may set the channel to 36 or 52. If you are having issues in finding a good channel, you may use a Wi-Fi analyzer app to find the best channel to broadcast the Wi-Fi network.
Once the channel is selected, apply the changes and restart both devices (TV and router).
Upon restart, check if the TV’s Wi-Fi issue is cleared.
If that did not work, check if putting the router in the legacy mode solves the problem.

Disable Auto Optimize of the Network in the Router’s Settings

Many modern-day routers are equipped with an Auto Optimize Network feature. This feature allows the router to connect the high-performance devices to the 5 GHz band and blocks traffic from the high-density wireless networks. If the mentioned feature is enabled on a router, then its auto-optimizing techniques may not let the LG TV connect to Wi-Fi. In such a case, disabling the Auto-Optimize Network feature of the router may solve the problem.

Steer to the web portal of the router and open Settings.
Now select Site and then disable Auto-Optimize Network by toggling its switch to the off position.

Disable Auto-Optimize Network
Then apply the changes and afterward, restart both devices (i.e., TV and router).
Upon restart, check if the LG TV connection issue is cleared.

Disable DNS Filtering of the Router

DNS filtering is used to block resolving DNS values of suspicious or malicious websites to filter out serving of any inappropriate or harmful content to the user. If the DNS filtering is enabled on the router and it blocks TV’s DNS requests, then it may result in the LG TV Wi-Fi connection issue at hand.

In this scenario, disabling the DNS filtering of the router may solve the problem. The actual guidelines may differ for some users, but the basic guidelines will be as under:

Launch a web browser and head to the web portal of the router.
Now open its Setup and in the left pane, head to the LAN tab (under Advanced Settings), and then in the right pane, head to the DNS Filter tab.
Afterward, toggle off the Enable DNS-based Filtering feature and apply the changes.

Disable DNS Filtering in the Router’s Settings
Then restart the router and TV.
Upon restart, check if the LG TV is connecting fine with the Wi-Fi network.

Disable Protected Management Frames (PMF) in the Router’s Settings

Protected Management Frame (aka PMF) is the enhanced security feature of the WPA3 protocol and ensures the integrity of the network management traffic on Wi-Fi-based networks. If the TV’s Wi-Fi module or its data packets are not compatible with the PMF feature of the router, then it may cause the Wi-Fi connection issue for the LG TV. Here, disabling the PMF feature of the router may solve the problem.

Steer to the web portal of the router and open its Settings page.
Now head to Wireless Settings and open WLAN Group.
Then click on the Edit icon (pencil icon) and select Advanced Options.
Now steer to PMF and select the radio button of Optional (or Disabled).

Disable PMF in the Router’s Settings
Then apply the changes made and restart both devices (TV and router).
Upon restart, check if the TV’s WIFI is operating normally.
If not, check if disabling the router’s built-in WiDi (an old technology, but still used by some routers), Miracast, or something similar solves the problem.

Disable 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz Band in the Router’s Settings

If a router is transmitting a multi-bands network (like 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz) using the same SSID, then that may not let an LG TV connect to the Wi-Fi if the TV does not support the band on which router is trying to connect the TV. In this context, disabling the 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz band in the router’s settings may solve the problem.

Steer to the web portal of the router and open its Settings.
Now navigate to the Wireless tab and disable 2.4 GHz by unchecking its selection box. Make sure the 5 GHz band is enabled.

Enable 5GHz Band in the Router’s Settings
Then apply the changes made and restart both devices (TV and router).
Upon restart, check if the LG TV is connecting fine to the Wi-Fi.
If not, check if enabling 2.4 GHz (while disabling the 5 GHz ) solves the LG TV problem.

If the TV connects fine to a single band, then you may separate names for 2.4 GHz SSID and 5 GHz SSID. Then you can connect the TV to the band it was connecting fine and use the other band for the other devices.

Reset Router to the Factory Defaults

An LG TV might fail to connect to a router if the router’s firmware is corrupt as it can make both devices incompatible with each other. In such a case, resetting the router to the factory defaults may solve the problem. Before proceeding, do not forget to note down the info/configuration required to re-setup the router after resetting it to the factory defaults.

Firstly, arrange a pointy-shaped object (like a paperclip) and find the reset button of the router (usually, on the back or bottom of the router).
Once the reset button is located, press and hold the reset button with the pointy object for 30 seconds.

Reset Your Router
Then release the reset button and wait till the router restarts.
Once restarted, configure the router, and afterward, hopefully, the LG TV connection problem will be solved.
If not, check if changing the router’s IP solves the problem.
If that did not work, check if trying another router solves the problem. If so, then the router’s incompatibility with the LG TV was causing the issue.

If the issue persists even after following the above solutions, then most probably a hardware problem of the TV is causing the issue and you may get the TV checked from an authentic hardware repair service (or get it replaced if under warranty). If you are enough techy, then check if cleaning the contacts of the Wi-Fi card of the TV after removing its back cover solves the problem.