LG TV setup guide: what to enable, disable and adjust (2023)

Premium televisions are becoming smarter, but also more complex. To help you get acquainted with the ins and outs of LG's latest smart TVs, we've researched and cataloged the ins and outs of theLG E7 OLED (OLED65E7P), the latest premium smart TV the company currently offers. With the LG E7 being the company's top-of-the-line option, the menus and features should be representative of LG's full range of smart TVs. (Advice found here also applies to all LG devices running WebOS 3.0 or later; current LG systems use WebOS 3.5.) If you're in the process of setting up a new LG Smart TV, this guide should be a good place to start.

initial setting

When you turn on your LG Smart TV for the first time, you will go through an initial setup process.

In the first step, your remote control will be automatically paired with your television.

Then select your language and time zone and configure the TV for home use.

You also need to agree to some legal terms: allow connected services to access cookies and data, and allow LG Voice Control to interact with the different apps and services you have installed.

How to pair and configure the remote control

If your remote doesn't pair automatically, or you need to pair it again, there are a few extra steps you need to take. Press and hold the Home and Back buttons at the same time while pointing the remote at the TV. After 5 seconds, a warning in the top right corner of the screen should inform you that the remote control has been unregistered.

To register the remote control again, point it at the viewfinder again. Now hold down the Home button. Once the on-screen prompt tells you that pairing is complete, you can browse at your leisure.

Optimize the display

To get your perfect new TV, you should customize the display. There are two ways to do this: via the quick settings menu on the home screen, or via the separate settings menu. To access the quick settings menu, go to the home screen and navigate to the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen.

In the quick settings menu, the second icon from the top is for the picture mode settings. From here you can switch between TV display presets: Standard, Vivid, Cinema, Game, Sport, APS (Auto Power Save) and HDR Effect, with two expert modes for bright and dark rooms. In the HDR effect mode, you will see a second HDR effect level setting with three options: Light, Medium and Strong.

It is worth noting that LG TVs have the power saving mode enabled by default, which limits the overall brightness of the screen. Whichever mode and settings you prefer, disable auto power save mode to get the best picture.

A list of all display settings can be found in the full settings menu. Select the bottom icon in the quick settings menu; The first option in the menu that appears is for the full list of display settings. In addition to the preset modes mentioned above, there are several other settings here including noise reduction, black level, color and tint.

While most of these options are self-explanatory, others, such as B. TruMotion, which optimizes image quality for fast on-screen actions; Motion EyeCare, which adjusts screen brightness in sync with on-screen movement to prevent eyestrain from glare; and Real Cinema, which adjusts the TV's refresh rate to 24 frames per second, making what you see look more like a movie theater.

Optimize the sound

Whether you use the TV's built-in speakers or oneSoundbar, you may want to customize your audio experience. As with the display settings, you can do this in two ways. The first method is to access the audio options in the quick settings menu. This gives you the ability to switch between different sound output options, including the TV's internal speakers, an external soundbar, Bluetooth headphones, or a combination of these.

The other method is to access the full settings menu where you have finer control. This allows you to tweak everything from sound modes to dialogue timing and display. You can also turn other audio features on or off, like Dolby Atmos Surround Sound, LG's Smart Sound mode, or LG's Magic Sound Tuning, which uses the microphone on the remote control to hear the TV's sound from your position and adjust the audio accordingly for better sound no matter what room you are in.

voice control and gestures

Once the remote is paired correctly, you can set up voice and gesture control. To activate gesture control, first point the remote control at the screen and press and hold the Caption button. In the top right corner of the screen you will see a warning saying the remote is registering, then it will change to indicate it's done.

Once the remote control is activated, you will see a circular cursor on the screen that can be maneuvered by pointing and moving the remote control. This method offers more intuitive control than navigating menus with the remote's directional buttons, but whether you prefer it is a matter of personal preference.

To activate voice control, simply press and hold the microphone button, which will open a search box and on-screen keyboard. When a microphone icon is highlighted next to the search field, the system is ready for you to speak into the microphone. With voice control, you can search for apps and programs, and adjust settings like screen brightness and audio volume.

Connect to the Internet

As part of the initial setup, the TV guides you through the process of connecting to a network. First, choose the appropriate connection type: wired or wireless.

If you select a wireless network, select the network name from the list of available Wi-Fi networks.

You will then be prompted to enter the password. Then click Connect to complete the process.

Once the TV is connected to the network, LG presents you with a snazzy graphic to let you know you're done.

If you skip this step or need to check your network settings for any reason, open the Network tab in the Settings menu to view available networks, switch connections, or adjust other settings.

Discover the home screen

The main interface of LG's smart TV operating system (WebOS) is the home screen. Navigate there by simply pressing the home button on the remote control. At the bottom of the screen you'll see a series of tiles, each with an app or feature logo. (You can change the order of these icons, which we'll discuss in the next section.) At the top right are three additional icons for Settings, Inputs, and Music, the last of which lets you play music files.

Scroll right to see individual feature blocks, including the TV user guide and the option for remote technical support.

Add, move and remove apps

To add apps to your LG Smart TV, go to the LG Content Store, which has its own tab on the home screen ribbon. This will open the content store where you can search apps by name, popularity, or category.

Once you find the app you want, press the Install button to download and add that app to your start menu.

You can change the order in which apps appear in the Start menu by entering Edit mode. To switch to edit mode, scroll right on the ribbon and select the tab with the pencil icon.

In edit mode, you can move or delete apps. When you select an app, you can move its position left or right. If you press up to select the X icon, you can delete the application completely.

Sign up for streaming apps

There are several streaming apps that you might want to install on your smart TV, from Netflix and HBO Go to Spotify and Pandora. Once you've installed all the streaming apps you want to use, you'll need to sign into each one individually. We used Netflix in our example, and while each app has its own sign-up process and on-screen keyboard, the overall process is the same.

Open the app and you will be prompted to sign up for a new account or sign in to an existing one. If you're already using the app on other devices, simply log into your existing account. Then use the on-screen keyboard to enter the email address associated with the account. Once you've done that, the screen will ask you for your password, which you'll need to re-enter using the on-screen keyboard. After completing this step, you will be connected to this service.

MORE:The best streaming services

Configure over-the-air channels

As part of the TV setup, you will be asked what type of source will be used for live TV, with cable, satellite and antenna options. Select the appropriate fonts for your configuration and enter your zip code.

MORE:Best HDTV Antenna

Once you have completed the preliminary steps, you need to connect your antenna to the coaxial jack on the back of your TV. Press Start to start the channel search.

Regardless of which primary source you choose, the tuning process checks all sources, including digital and analog antenna signals, then digital and analog cable signals.

After scanning the channels, switch to Live TV. Channels are displayed in the top left corner of the screen.

To edit your channel's schedule, go to your home screen. Then select the settings icon in the top right corner of the screen. After opening the quick settings menu, navigate to the bottom option to select all settings and open the full settings menu. In the full settings menu, navigate to Channels and locate Channel Manager.

In Channel Manager you can edit channels, set favorites and manage parental controls. To remove channels, go to the Edit Channels option and select the channel source (Antenna or Cable) or select All to edit all available channels.

This will bring up a list of available channels, with selectable toggles next to each. You have the option to exclude or block any channel.

Connect devices (Blu-ray player, game console, etc.)

Plugging in a new device should be a simple matter of plugging it into the right port. This should be the case, whether it's a Blu-ray player, gaming console, or any other device.

If no signal is detected, you will be asked if you want to scan again. Press yes and if the device is powered on and connected correctly it should connect at the end of the re-verification process.

If for some reason this doesn't work or you need to manually remove a device, go to the Inputs menu located in the top right corner of the home screen next to the Settings button. Scroll to the bottom of the list to open the full menu. From this interface, you can view active and inactive inputs, rescan devices, and even rename inputs.

Pair Bluetooth devices (speakers, headphones, etc.)

You can also pair the TV with Bluetooth headphones or speakers. The process isn't much different than pairing these audio devices with a phone, although you'll need to use the remote to navigate the menus.

First, open the quick settings menu from the home screen and navigate to the audio options. Select the LG Sound Sync/Bluetooth option and select Device selection to open the relevant part of the settings menu.

Then put your audio device into pairing mode, just like you would pair it with a phone. If the device does not appear in the list of available Bluetooth devices, press Search to search for other Bluetooth devices again.

Once the Bluetooth device is found, it will appear in the list of available devices.

Select the device to initiate pairing, and you'll be listening through your headphones in a moment or two.

MORE:Best Bluetooth Headphones

Configure mobile streaming/mirroring

Mirroring content from a phone or tablet to a smart TV is done via LG's TV Plus app (available for bothAndroideiOS(opens in new tab)). With this app you can share your photos, videos and music between your devices and your smart tv or screen mirror to share other content. This app also has a remote control feature that allows you to operate the TV and navigate the Smart Hub menus from your phone or tablet.

After installing and launching the application on your smartphone or tablet, you will be prompted to connect to the same network as your TV. In the app you can select the TV from a list of devices that you want to connect for sharing.

The TV will ask you to allow sharing, so select Yes with your TV remote. Once your device and TV are paired, simply select your phone's photos, movies, or music from either the TV's on-screen menu or the device's on-screen menu. You can also select Mirror to duplicate your device's display on the TV.

You can also use your phone or tablet as a remote control for your TV, with all the features of the LG Magic Remote available on the touchscreen.

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