Planning on buying an LG smart TV? It pays to know what issues you may encounter when using LG TVs so you can work around any problems that may arise.
Here are six of the most common problems encountered with LG TVs and their fixes.
1. False Contouring or Posterization
You may encounter some unrealistic strips of solid color within an image onscreen. This issue is called False Contouring or Posterization.
Unfortunately, LG has yet to address these issues, which many users have reported.
But you can spot this issue early on, before your purchase.
If possible, when buying a TV, it would be good to test the actual unit you are intending to take home to check for any display issues.
2. Colors are Inconsistent
Problems with color usually start when the TV turns off by itself, followed by a popping sound. After this, you will notice some changes in color consistency.
Unfortunately, this happens when the TV is overused and is often rooted in the power supply in your TV.
Often, a capacitor inside the TV is the culprit.
- Should that be the case, all you need to do is take the TV to an authorized repair center and have the damaged parts replaced.
- Don’t forget to ask for a repair warranty when available.
3. No Sound Output
There are instances that your LG TV may not have any audio signal or sound coming out from the speakers.
This may be remedied by a reboot of your TV.
- There are two ways of rebooting an LG TV.
- The first is to turn it off, unplug it, and plug it again after a minute or two.
- Another way of doing it is to press and hold the volume down and power key on the remote control at the same time until the TV reboots. Once you see the LG bootup logo, release the buttons on your remote control.
Should there still be no sound, try plugging in a set of external speakers and see if the audio comes out through the speakers.
If there is sound coming from the external speakers, you need to have the speaker connections checked.
Otherwise, it is probably a parts issue involving the amplifier inside the TV.
You will need to have it checked by a licensed repair center to replace the defective part.
4. HDMI 2.1 Ports Not Displaying Properly
Issues with the HDMI 2.1 ports are particularly troublesome for LG’s OLED TVs, particularly the 9 and X series. Luckily there is a firmware update for this issue.
That issue is particularly unusual since LG promotes its OLED TVs’ gaming capabilities, considering it has a high 48 Gbps bandwidth, with HDMI support on the 9 series and 40 Gbps HDMI support for the 2020 X series.
There are two issues you may encounter when it comes to HDMI 2.1 on the OLED TVs.
#1 First of all,
You only get a black screen when integrating Nvidia’s G-Sync Variable Refresh Rate at 120 Hz frame rate. This issue happens in all bit depth or resolutions.
#2 The second issue,
happens more often with the X series and reduces output signals in RGB/120 Hz/4:4:4 to 4:2:2 chroma subsampling.
The issue happens even when G-Sync is off and regardless of output resolution, as the image quality is notably degraded.
Some people theorize that the issue might be with the Nvidia video card, or the HDMI cables being used are not formally certified for 2.1 by HDMI.org.
Others also wonder if the second issue involves the X series having a lower bandwidth, but it turns out it also happens with 8 and 10-bit sources.
To fix this issue, LG released a firmware update in September 2020.
- You can access the firmware update by going to the Settings menu at the upper right corner of the Home screen.
Go to All Settings, then select the General menu on the left. - From here, you can scroll to About this TV, then look for the Check for updates option. Download and install the update, then reboot your TV for the firmware to take effect.
5. Streaming Apps not Working
Many LG TV users noted instances of some streaming services, like Netflix or Hulu, not working with their TVs.
- The first thing you need to do is make sure your LG TV is connected to the Internet.
- Assuming your TV is connected to the router, and your network is doing fine, consider checking if the streaming platform works on other devices, such as your smartphone or computer.
For this troubleshooting, let’s use Netflix as an example. (These tips will also work for other apps installed on your LG TV.)
- If the app works on your other devices, consider rebooting the TV, as outlined earlier.
- You may also restart your router by turning it off, unplugging the power cable, and plugging it in again after two minutes.
- Consider updating your TV’s firmware and the Netflix app. Ideally, you should be running the latest updates for flawless operation. They don’t update at the same time, so you ought to check periodically for updates.
Another thing to consider is to delete and reinstall Netflix.
- There are instances when files get damaged, rendering the whole app unusable. By deleting and reinstalling, you get to restore the app to its original working state.
- To uninstall Netflix, press the Home or Start button on the remote to open the launch bar.
- Go to the Netflix app and hover until an arrow appears. Click on the arrow, then choose the X symbol. Confirm the deletion of the app by pressing Ok.
- To reinstall, open the launch bar as in the uninstall process, then launch the LG Content Store.
- Look for the App tab and open it. Search for Netflix, then click install.
The next thing to check is the location settings on your TV.
- Location refers to the country that you set in the profile of your TV.
- When you first set up your TV, you were asked to input your location.
- If you set up your location to a different country, chances are it is conflicting with the location of your Internet provider. That will cause issues with Netflix.
- Remember that Netflix has content meant for different locations. You need to set it to your current country to resolve this issue.
To change the location:
- Press the Home or Start button and open the launch bar.
- Click on the Settings button at the upper right corner then go to All Settings.
- Open General on the left side of the screen, then go to Location.
- Select your country, and that should fix things.
Should fixing the Location settings still not work, your last resort is to do a Factory Reset.
- A Factory Reset should be your last option, as this entails setting up, reinstalling apps, and logging in all your credentials from scratch.
- To do a Factory Reset, open the launch bar and open the Settings menu.
- Go to General, then click Reset to Initial Settings. You’ll be asked to input your password after.
- Depending on your TV, you will be prompted with instructions on how to proceed.
- Once the reset is done, you will have to set up your account and apps again.
6. Horizontal lines appear on the screen
Some LG TV users have reported seeing horizontal lines on the screen that are very noticeable when the TV is turned off and on.
The problem is often attributed to a low signal strength from HDMI ports. This issue may be remedied by swapping out HDMI cables.
Look into our article which reads about Are LG TV Remotes Universal?
General Pros and Cons of LG TVs
OLED TVs have better image quality
While you may still get plain LED TVs from LG, the company is busy ramping up its OLED TVs.
- OLED, or Organic LED, is a technology that uses a carbon-based film that’s sandwiched between two conductors that light up the film.
- The primary benefit of this technology is that it lets the screen light up pixel by pixel without affecting the color quality of other pixels on the screen, unlike traditional LED panels that light up everything at the same time.
- That means you can get deep blacks while other pixels maintain sharp colors. Colors are more natural, as well.
And while other TV manufacturers have OLED TVs too, they all get their panels from LG.
You might be able to get OLED from other brands, but nothing beats the pioneer.
Better HDR Experience
LG TVs supports Dolby Vision and HDR10 content, which come in handy when watching content from Netflix and Apple TV.
- These image enhancements increase the dynamic range of the screen and improve the contrast between whites and blacks to deliver more realistic picture quality.
- If you compared it to one of its strongest competitors, Samsung, LG TVs delivers a 12-bit color gamut and 10,000 nits of brightness, while the latter can only handle a 10-but color gamut and 4,000 nits of brightness using its proprietary HDR10+.
- Likewise, Dolby Vision is used more often by streaming services.
Disadvantages of LG TVs
- LG TVs are slightly more expensive than their direct competitors.
- OLED TVs from LG are more prone to burn-in or permanent image retention than LED TVs. This is true of all OLED TVs.
- The webOS interface is not as sleek as other smart TV platforms.
Final Thoughts
Many of the common issues involving LG TVs are common among other brands of smart TVs.
Save for the HDMI 2.1 issue, which has a firmware fix, you will most likely encounter the issues above with other brands. So don’t let these issues dissuade you if you are leaning toward LG!
For more information on LG TVs, check out our articles Are LG TVs Reliable? and Are LG TVs Good For Gaming?.
Sources:
Netflix not working on an LG TV? Here’s how to fix it.
LG OLED TVs Having Issues With Latest Nvidia RTX 30 Graphics Cards

