LG Magic remote control does not work, how to fix it

In this article, I will explain why you may have problems with the Magic (Smart) remote that now comes with practically all LG TVs. A Smart remote is a remote that controls your TV via Bluetooth; you can quickly determine what remote you have if the center of the remote has a wheel like a computer mouse, and you know it yourself if you use such a remote. And the most common problems with such remotes are as follows You used the remote, which was fine, but you turned on the TV, and that’s it; the TV doesn’t respond to the remote; you can only turn it on or off. You press the buttons and the red LED flashes, but nothing happens. Here’s what the problem could be and how to fix it.

How the Magic Remote Works 

As I said, the Magic Remote is a remote control that works via Bluetooth. And as you know, any Bluetooth device must have a pair to work; such a pair is created between the remote and the TV. When you buy a new TV and remote control, the remote control you took out of the box is new and not tied to the TV. Just turn on the TV and press the OK button on the remote, it’s the wheel in the center of the remote; since the remote is uninitialized, it will automatically pair with the TV. After that, it will only work with that TV. 

When the TV is turned off, the Bluetooth module does not work. Infrared signals are used to turn on the TV, or rather, a signal is used to turn the TV on or off. You need to point the remote control at the TV and press the power button; the TV will turn on, the operating system will boot up, the Bluetooth module in the TV will turn on, and the TV will find the remote control and establish a connection. After that, the TV can only be controlled via Bluetooth. 

LG Magic Remote troubleshooting

The Magic remote control is a rather complex device; there are three essential elements in the remote control:

Infrared module (turns the TV on and off)
Bluetooth module (controlling the TV)
Gyroscope (moves the pointer on the screen).

All these elements work together to make the remote work. Many situations and problems can occur with the remote, but here are the most common ones.

The remote does not work at all: On the Magic remote control, the Power button lights up when any button is pressed, indicating that the remote responds to a command. If the Power button does not light up when you press any button, your remote is not powered. Check and replace the batteries in the remote control. If you have replaced the batteries (make sure they are inserted correctly). When the batteries are connected, the power button should flash three times – this is the remote starting up and tells you that it has started. Check the remote when you press any button to see if the Power button lights up; if it does not, your remote is probably broken and needs to be replaced.

The remote only turns the TV on and off: This means that only the infrared module in the remote is working, and Bluetooth is not working. In this case, you must turn off the TV by unplugging it for 1-2 minutes. This is necessary for the TV to reset the RAM cache, which can cause errors in the operating system. Remove the batteries, wait a few minutes, press any button on the remote a few times, then reinsert the batteries. See how the remote behaves. If that doesn’t work, you must unpair (reset) and repair between the remote and the TV. I will explain how to do this below, as the procedure for resetting and pairing differs depending on the TV year.

LG Magic, remote power light, stays on: If the Power button on your remote is constantly lit, the button is pressed in 90% of cases. Check if all buttons are on the same level; maybe one is pressed. Maybe water or other liquid has gotten into your remote control. If you find a pressed button, fix it. If your remote was dropped or water got into it, you must remove the batteries and disassemble Magic.

LG TV remote is not working after the battery change: If the remote does not work after the battery change, check if the batteries are installed correctly. Once the batteries are installed, the power button should blink three times. If it blinks, but the remote does not work, the problem is Bluetooth. It would help if you reinitialized the Bluetooth pairing.

The remote control does not work periodically: As a rule, this situation occurs when the remote control batteries are discharged; their charge is so low that the distance between which can work Bluetooth is significantly reduced, and they periodically lose connection. Replace the batteries.

The Bluetooth service must be initialized LG TV: This message appears on the screen when the TV cannot detect the Bluetooth module. The Bluetooth module is not working; it is defective, and you must repair the TV.

LG TV home button not working: The Home button is often used to call up the menus on your TV. If the Home button does not work, it can be caused by various reasons, for example, the remote control or malfunction of the TV. First, check the batteries in the remote control; we recommend replacing them with new ones. If the problem is not solved after replacing the batteries, try reconnecting the Magic Remote to the TV. To do this, remove the pairing of the remote control and the TV and then pair it again. It is also possible that the contact pad under the Home button is dirty. In this case, you must disassemble the remote and clean the contact pads under the buttons. This is most likely the case, especially if one button does not work.

Magic LG remote control reset and pairing (2011-2023)

Since the introduction of LG Smart TVs, LG remote controls have changed their appearance and design several times. For example, the Magic remote control received a new design in 2021. Magic remotes have also been improved: some models have received NFC modules to make it easier to work with mobile devices.

The remote works with your TV via Bluetooth. When the TV is turned off, pairing is maintained. However, the software or protocol of the Bluetooth connection is not working correctly, in which case the remote seems to be connected, but it does not work. This is similar to Bluetooth headphones – the headphones are paired and the phone, but there is no sound; reconnect the headphones, and everything works.

The picture below shows which remotes have been released for LG TVs. The first Smart remote began shipping with LG TVs in 2011 under Magic Motion Remote. The remotes were different depending on the year the TV was manufactured, and the order in which they were connected was slightly different. You can tell what year the remote control is by its appearance.

Connect the new LG Magic Remote to your TV

Pair the new LG Magic Remote with the TV (2012-2022): To pair your new remote with your TV, turn on the TV, insert the batteries into the remote, point the remote at the TV, turn on the TV by pressing the power button on the remote, wait for the TV to turn on, and press the OK button (this is the mouse wheel on the remote). A message on the TV screen indicates that the remote and TV are paired.
If the TV has worked with the remote before, the old pairing will be deleted, and the TV will create a new pairing.

Pair the new LG Magic Remote with the TV (2011): Magic Remote Control for TVs 2010-2011 This is one of the first remote controls for smart TVs. LV and LK series. To pair the remote control for the first time, place it at arm’s length from the TV (optional but recommended) and press and hold the OK or MUTE button for about 5 seconds. Wait for a message on the TV screen that the pairing is complete. During pairing, the remote control’s power button backlight will flash to indicate that the pairing process is initializing.

Reset LG Magic remote control

To re-pair the remote control with the TV:

• Reset the previous pairing.
• After resetting, the remote control will be the same as when you purchased it and can be paired with the TV again.
• Note that the procedure differs for TVs manufactured before 2021 and after 2021.

Turn off the TV to prevent the remote from automatically pairing during the reset.

TVs manufactured before 2021: To reset the remote control, press the BACK and HOME buttons on the remote control simultaneously. Hold down the buttons for at least 5 seconds. The remote control will reset and become as good as new.

LG TVs after 2021, MR20, MR21, and MR22 remotes: For these remotes, simultaneously press and hold the Home and Settings buttons for at least 5 seconds, then the Power button will blink three times, and the remote is reset. If you continue to hold down the buttons, the remote will pair with the TV turned on. The Magic remote is paired if the Power button lights up when you press these two buttons.

Automatically reset and connect the Magic Remote to the TV.

You have two options if you want to reset and reconnect the remote.

Reset the remote, turn on the TV, and click the mouse wheel to connect the remote to the TV.
You can also automatically reset and reconnect the remote.

To automatically reconnect, you need to do the following.

2015-2020 MR600, MR650, MR18, MR19, MR20 remote: press and hold the GUIDE button on the remote for 5 seconds. The Magic remote automatically disconnects from the TV (resets pairing) and reconnects to the TV.
Remote control from 2021 MR21, MR22, and MR23: the HOME and SETTING buttons must be held down. The power button will blink three times; the remote control settings will be reset; continue holding the buttons, when the power button lights up with a steady light, the bluetooth

Tips for pairing your Magic remote

Here are some requirements for pairing your remote with your TV. These simple rules will help you avoid problems when setting up your remote and your TV.

• The TV must be turned on: If other LG TVs are nearby, turn on only the one you want to pair with and turn off the others. The remote supports only one Bluetooth connection
• Pairing starts 20-30 seconds after the TV is turned on, as the TV needs time to start its operating system.
• For successful pairing, all settings on the remote must be made close to the TV, and there must be a high Bluetooth signal strength between the remote and the TV. This helps prevent accidental pairing with another TV. The remote will pair with the TV that detects the highest Bluetooth signal strength.
• You can read our article LG Magic 2011-2022 LG Remote Control Compatibility List if you need to know which remote control you need for your LG TV.

How to test your Magic remote.

The Bluetooth protocol is universal in 2016 remotes, so you can use your smartphone to test them. Here’s how to test the MR650, MR18, MR19, MR20, MR21, MR22 and MR23 remotes. These are TVs from 2016 to 2023.

Here’s how to check if your Magic remote works.

• Turn off your TV.
• Reset the settings on the remote, MR21 through MR23 (HOME and SETTINGS). Press and hold the remote, MR650, MR18-MR20 (BACK and HOME) for 5 seconds.
• Take your smartphone, turn on Bluetooth, and tap Search for Bluetooth Devices.
• Press the wheel on the remote, pairing mode.
• Look at the smartphone; you will see on the smartphone the list of available devices LGE MR**. This is the Magic Remote.

If you see the Magic remote in the list of available devices, the remote is probably good. Now try connecting the remote to your TV.

LG universal remote control does not work

If your LG TV’s standard remote control does not work, follow the steps below to troubleshoot the problem.

Check that the standard remote control works. To do this, take your phone, turn on the camera, and point the camera at the remote control (infrared LED) located on the front of the remote control. Then press any button on the remote control; if it works, the LED will blink. Notes: A standard remote control emits infrared light; humans cannot see the light in this range, but the camera sensor responds to infrared optical waves.

If the LED on the universal remote is blinking, the remote is working. The TV is not receiving a signal. Check if something, such as a soundbar, is blocking the signal. Since modern TVs are computers, you should restart the TV by unplugging it from the wall outlet for 1-2 minutes. After 1-2 minutes, turn on the TV and see if the remote works; if so, the problem was a software problem in the TV. It must be repaired if the TV still does not respond to the remote.

If the LED on the remote does not flash, replace the batteries with new ones. If replacing the batteries with new ones does not solve the problem, you must purchase a new remote.

LG TV remote control some buttons do not work

In general, the most commonly used buttons on the remote may not work well. These are the volume and channel select buttons. The cause of the malfunction is dirt on the contact areas of the circuit board. Disassemble the remote and clean these areas with an alcohol-based cleaner to restore operation. In 90% of cases, this will restore functionality to the remote control buttons.

How to control your TV without a remote control

If the remote control is broken, you can use smartphone apps to control the TV with your phone. LG TVs can connect to a Wi-Fi network and work with your phone. The TV and the phone with the TV control app must be connected to the same network. For phones, LG has developed smart home apps for Android and an app to control your LG TV from your Apple iPhone or iPad. This app lets you control your TV when you don’t have a remote control.

You can also use the control buttons on the TV – usually a joystick. When not pressed, the joystick controls the volume and changes channels. Press the button to open the menu.