Look, we’ve all been there. You're trying to stream the latest hit on Netflix, but your LG screen is just spinning that annoying loading circle, or maybe the apps are crashing faster than a cheap laptop. It’s frustrating. Your TV is supposed to be the centerpiece of your living room, not a $1,000 paperweight that refuses to connect to the Wi-Fi.
Sometimes, you just need a fresh start. Whether you’re selling the set, giving it to a cousin, or just trying to fix a glitchy webOS interface, knowing how do you reset a lg smart tv is a basic survival skill in the modern smart home. It isn't always as simple as pulling the plug, though that's actually a great place to start.
There is a huge difference between a "soft reset" and a "factory reset." People mix these up constantly. One is like a quick nap for your TV; the other is total amnesia. We're going to walk through both, because honestly, you probably don't want to delete all your login info if you don't have to.
The Quick Fix: Soft Resetting vs. Hard Resetting
Before you go nuking your settings, try the "Power Cycle." This is the oldest trick in the IT playbook, and it works surprisingly often on LG sets. LG's webOS can get bogged down with cache files and temporary data, just like a smartphone.
To do a soft reset, don't just hit the power button on the remote. That usually just puts the TV into "Standby Mode," which means it's still technically on and holding onto whatever error was bothering it. Instead, physically unplug the power cord from the wall outlet. Leave it unplugged for a full 60 seconds. While it's unplugged, press and hold the power button on the actual TV frame (not the remote) for about 15 seconds. This drains the remaining electricity from the capacitors. Plug it back in, and you've effectively cleared the temporary memory.
If that didn't work, you're looking at a factory reset. This is the "nuclear option." It wipes everything. Your calibrated picture settings? Gone. Your Disney+ and Hulu logins? Erased. You'll be back to the "Welcome" screen just like the day you unboxed it from Best Buy.
How Do You Reset a LG Smart TV via the Settings Menu?
The process changed slightly depending on how old your TV is. LG updates their webOS version almost every year, and they love moving the menus around just enough to be annoying.
For most LG TVs made after 2020 (running webOS 5.0 or newer), the path is pretty straightforward. You'll want to grab your Magic Remote and hit the Settings gear icon. From there, navigate to All Settings, then General. Look for a sub-menu labeled System, and inside that, you'll find Reset to Initial Settings.
Older sets—think 2014 to 2018—usually have it under General -> Reset to Initial Settings directly, without the "System" middleman.
A prompt will pop up. It’s going to ask for a PIN. If you never set one, don't panic. The default LG PIN is almost always 0000 or 1234. If you bought the TV used and the previous owner set a custom PIN, you'll need to do a manual override, which involves a specific sequence on the remote (usually pressing the channel up/down buttons in a specific pattern while in the PIN entry screen).
What if the Screen is Black or the Remote is Broken?
This is where things get tricky. If your screen is totally unresponsive, you can't exactly navigate to the "General" menu.
Some people think there's a hidden pinhole reset button on the back of every LG TV like there is on a router. There isn't. LG stopped putting physical reset buttons on most models years ago. If you're stuck with a black screen but the power light is on, you might be facing a hardware failure, but you can try a "blind" reset if you're feeling adventurous.
Using the physical joystick button usually located under the LG logo at the bottom of the frame, you can sometimes trigger a reset. Long-pressing that button for 10-15 seconds while the TV is on can occasionally force a reboot, but it's not a guaranteed factory wipe.
✨ Don't miss: Why the Laugh Cry Face Emoji Won't Actually Die
If your remote is the problem, download the LG ThinQ app on your smartphone. As long as the TV and your phone are on the same Wi-Fi network, your phone acts as a fully functional remote. You can navigate the menus and trigger the reset from your couch without ever touching the Magic Remote.
Why Your LG TV Keeps Glitching Even After a Reset
Sometimes a reset feels like a temporary Band-Aid. You spend twenty minutes re-entering your passwords only for the YouTube app to crash again two days later.
Often, the culprit isn't the TV's software, but the "Quick Start+" feature. This feature is designed to make your TV turn on instantly, but it essentially prevents the TV from ever fully shutting down. Over weeks and months, small errors in the RAM pile up. If you find yourself wondering "how do you reset a lg smart tv" every other week, go into your settings and disable Quick Start+. It adds five seconds to your boot time, but it forces the TV to clear its system memory every time you turn it off. It’s a lifesaver for stability.
Another thing to check is your storage space. LG TVs don't have massive internal hard drives. If you’ve downloaded fifty different streaming apps you never use, the system will crawl. Before you do a full factory reset, try just deleting the apps you don't use.
The "Secret" Service Menu (Proceed with Caution)
There is a way to do a deeper reset through what technicians call the "In-Stop" menu. This isn't for the faint of heart. Accessing the LG Service Menu usually requires a special service remote (which you can buy for $10 online) or a programmable universal remote.
By entering the code for the Service Menu, you can see the total "Power On" hours of your panel and perform an "In-Stop" command. This is even more thorough than a standard factory reset. It resets the internal clock and basically tells the hardware it's brand new. Warning: messing around in here can void your warranty or "brick" the TV if you change the wrong voltage settings. Unless you're a hardcore tinkerer or a repair pro, stick to the standard menu options.
Moving Forward After the Reset
Once the TV reboots and you see that "Life's Good" logo, you're back at square one.
- Update the Firmware immediately. A lot of the bugs that lead people to search for "how do you reset a lg smart tv" are actually fixed in software patches. Go to Settings > Support > Software Update and grab the latest version.
- Skip the "User Agreement" bloat. You have to agree to the basic terms to use the TV, but you can often opt-out of the "Voice Information" and "Interests-based Advertising" checkboxes. This reduces the background data the TV is processing.
- Calibrate your picture. Factory resets wipe your "Expert Dark Room" or "Game Mode" settings. Take a photo of your preferred settings before you reset so you can dial them back in quickly.
If you've done the factory reset and the TV is still flickering, showing vertical lines, or refusing to stay connected to the internet, it’s likely a hardware issue with the main board or the Wi-Fi module. At that point, a reset won't save you, and it's time to check if you're still under LG's one-year manufacturer warranty.