Home » How To » Hulu Not Working on LG Smart TV (12 PROVEN Fixes!)

Hulu Not Working on LG Smart TV (12 PROVEN Fixes!)

If you are having troubles with Hulu on your on LG TV, then worry no more because you are on the right page. In this guide, I am going to show you a step-by-step troubleshooting guide to fix this issue and get Hulu app to start working on your LG smart TV in 2024.

You are probably trying to open your Hulu channel on your LG smart TV, but it’s not launching at all, or the app does launch and it crashes or remains stuck loading.

hulu not working on lg smart tv

Whatever it is that you are facing exactly, it doesn’t matter because I will show you exactly what you need to do to fix it whether it’s a sound or picture issue.

So, if that sounds like what you are looking for, let’s dive right in!

Hulu Not Working on LG TV

If Hulu is not working on your LG TV, turn off your TV, unplug it from the power source and wait for 30 seconds, then turn it back on. Next, restart your network router and connect your TV. Open the Hulu app and it should start working.

There are so many factors that can cause the Hulu app to not work on your LG smart TV ranging from device incompatibility to poor internet connection, corrupt app and cache files, outdated app, outdated LG TV webOS software, or even server issue from Hulu.

Now, let’s take a look at a step-by-step process to fix the issue, starting from the most common causes with highest chance of fixing the issue, down to the less likely but still effective methods.

1. Check if Your LG TV is Compatible

Not all LG smart TVs are compatible with Hulu app. Before anything, you need to be sure that your smart TV is actually compatible with Hulu.

The latest version of Hulu app comes pre-installed on all LG TVs with webOS 3.5 or higher, select devices with webOS 3.0 (does not include B6, UH6350, and UH6330 models, or the UH77, UH76, and UH61 series) and LG Roku TVs.

Older LG models running on WebOS 3.0 have the classic Hulu app. While you can access the streaming library with this older version of the app, you will not be able to access certain features, Premium Add-ons, or live TV.

However, if you are using LG smart TV with webOS 2.0, then you may not be able to access Hulu directly from your TV.

NOTE: If your TV is not compatible, but you still want to stream Hulu on your TV, there are at least 2 alternative means to watch Hulu on your LG TV which I will discuss later in the guide.


2. Power Cycle Your LG TV

Power cycling can help fix a lot of streaming issues on your smart TV. It can help fix unresponsiveness, black screen, crash, lag while streaming. It also removes corrupt cache files that can cause streaming apps like Hulu not to work on your smart TV.

Power cycle is also known as a ‘Soft reset’ (in case you are wondering, all your settings, installed channels/apps and configurations will remain untouched).

Here’s how to power cycle your LG TV and fix this issue with Hulu app not loading:

  • Unplug your TV from power outlet
  • Leave it unplugged for 60 seconds
  • Press the power button on your TV for 30 seconds (if your TV does not have a power button, you can skip this step). 
  • Plug the TV back into the power outlet and it should start working normally now.

If that fixed the issue for you, great! Otherwise, move to the next tip.


3. Check Network Connection & Update DNS

A slow or unstable internet connection can cause Hulu app to not work on your LG TV. It can also cause other issues like freezing, buffering, dropping quality (blurry stream) or constantly crashing stream. 

First thing you can do is restart your network router. To do this, unplug your router, wait for 30 seconds and plug it back in. Once this has been done, connect your LG smart TV to your router and try to access Hulu again.

There are a couple of other things you can do to fix any potential network issue, you can find some of them below:

  • Switch to hardwire connection (i.e ethernet cables)
  • Check ethernet cables (in the case of wired connection)
  • Check your network or connection speed (from other channels or from another device)
  • Switch to a dual-band router and use the 5.0GHz frequency
  • Update DNS to Google DNS

How to Update DNS to Google DNS

  • Press the Home/Start button on your LG TV remote to show the launcher bar
  • Click the Settings icon at the top right corner
  • Click All Settings option at the bottom right corner
all settings icon
  • Click on Network from the left bar options
  • Select any of the networks that you are currently connected to (either wireless Wi-Fi network or wired ethernet network). The network must be showing connected to the internet at this point.
connected network settings
  • Now, we will edit the network settings.
edit advanced network settings
  • Uncheck the option that says Set Automatically
  • Then, edit the DNS Server and change it to 8.8.8.8
server dns settings
  • Click on Connect

Wait for it to be reconnected to the new DNS server and then restart your smart TV.

Now, go back to your LG webOS TV, open the Hulu app and it should be working perfectly well if network is the source of the issue.

To fix Hulu app not working on LG TV, press the Home button on the remote and click on the Settings icon at the top right corner. Then go to All Settings > Network > Edit. Now, click on the option to ‘Set Automatically’. Finally, under the DNS server, enter 8.8.8.8 and the app will start working.

4. Update Hulu App

Another common reason why Hulu app stops working on LG smart TV is having an older version of the app installed. It can cause Hulu to show a black screen, freeze or crash suddenly on your LG smart TV.

In that case, you need to check if you have installed the latest version, and if not, you need to update and install the most recent version of Hulu on your TV.

Here’s how to update Hulu app on LG smart TV:

open LG content store
  • On the LG content store, click on Apps at the top of the page
click on apps
  • Select Hulu app
  • If an update is available, you’ll see an ‘Update’ button, click on it to update Hulu app on LG TV. Otherwise, if the software is already up-to-date, you will see a button to launch the app.
launch Hulu on LG TV

Now, the app should be working on your LG smart TV.


5. Update LG Smart TV Software

If your LG web OS software is outdated, you might experience issues like Hulu crashing, buffering, freezing or showing a black screen when you try to open it.

What you need to do is simple: update the software version to the latest one. 

To check for software update and install (if any), follow the procedures below:

  • Press the Home button on your remote controller
  • Click on the Settings icon from the top right corner, then click on the All Settings icon at the bottom right corner.
  • Go to General tab, then scroll down to About This TV section and click on it
click on about this TV
  • You will see the current software version of your TV, click on Check for Updates (you can also enable ‘Allow Automatic Updates’)
check for software updates
  • If there is any update available, proceed to download it and allow it to be install completely.
confirm to download updates
  • Once installed, your TV should reboot itself
  • Now, open the app and it should start working.

6. Update Region & Time Settings

If your LG TV Hulu app is not working, it could be due to region settings or wrong time. In that case, you want to check the region settings to see if it is properly set.

The location might have been set wrongly, or in cases of specific apps, the application might not be available in your region due to streaming rights. It may cause your LG TV to show the message, “Hulu is not available in your region”. 

Updating the time can also help fix network connection issues on your LG TV which can cause Hulu to constantly become blurry, freeze, buffer or even crash. 

To check your region settings:

  • Press the Home/Start button on your LG TV remote to show the launcher bar
  • Click the Settings icon at the top right corner
  • Click All Settings option at the bottom right corner
  • Select on General from the options
general settings
  • Select Location
region settings
  • Enter your zip code and click Enter, your location information will be automatically updated.

You can also change Time & Date to ‘Auto‘ from the General menu option or set it manually.

While on that, Hulu subscription is intended for use by members of a single U.S. household. Therefore, you will need a U.S.-issued form of payment when you sign up.


7. Re-install Hulu App

In some cases, app files also become corrupt causing apps like Hulu and others not to work on smart TVs. In most cases, reinstalling the apps will fix the issue.

First, you need to remove the Hulu app. Here’s how to do that:

  • On the Home menu panel, scroll all the way to the right until you see the edit button (pencil icon). This will switch the app panel to edit mode.
click on edit icon
  • Scroll to the app you intend to uninstall and navigate to the ‘X’ icon floating on it. Click on it.
  • You will get a prompt asking you if you want to delete the app, click on ‘OK’ to remove the app.

Now, to re-install the app on your LG smart TV:

search for Hulu app on LG content store

From the Home menu, select LG Content Store. Browse to the Search box on the LG Content Store to find a new app, and type in ‘Hulu’. Scroll to the apps category, select Hulu and click on Install. Once installed, click on Launch. Now, log in with your Hulu account credentials and start streaming.

install Hulu on LG TV

8. Turn Off IPv6

IPv6 is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP) for communicating and routing traffic on the internet. However, some apps and networks are still not compatible with this protocol.

What you need to do is simple.

  • Go to Settings > All Settings > Network
connected network settings
  • Select ‘Wi-Fi connection’ and go to ‘Advanced Wi-Fi Settings’
  • Toggle off IPv6
turn off IPv6

NOTE: If it is already turned off, toggle it on and toggle it back off immediately.

That should fix the issue and Hulu app should start working on your LG smart TV.


9. Check If Hulu Server Is Down

At this point, before we continue looking for other potential causes of the issue on your LG smart TV, it’s about time we looked at a potential cause from Hulu.

Although not common, Hulu streaming server can be down sometimes. In such instances, the issue is a general one from their servers and is not specific to you or your LG smart TV.

When this happens, you could experience a number of things like Hulu app crashing suddenly, freezing, buffering, becoming blurry, showing a black screen or you may be logged out of your account out of nowhere. 

  • In some cases like this, the support team may post an update on their social media handle like the one below:
Hulu server is down

So, go ahead and check if there’s any such update on their social media handles (Twitter and Facebook).

  • In other cases, the server could be down and no such update will be posted. So, how do you know in such cases?

There is an online tool you can use to check if Hulu server is down (whether globally or only in certain locations). Click here to check it on down detector.

  • You can also check if Hulu app works on other devices like mobile phone, PC or other streaming devices other than you LG TV. If it doesn’t, that’s another proof that it could be a general issue. 
  • Finally, you can also check if their website (www.hulu.com) is online and working by accessing it from another device (your phone or PC). In addition, try to login to your account on the website and see if you are able to login.

NOTE: The last method is not as definitive as the other ones mentioned earlier since the streaming server could be the one with an issue while their website server is actually still running. 

NOTE: It’s better you try to access the website while in incognito mode, after clearing your browser cache or preferably from a device you hadn’t accessed Hulu website from in the past.

This is to ensure that your browser tries to load a fresh page directly from their server and you are not seeing a cached version of the website on your browser in a case where their server is down.


10. Check Your Hulu Subscription

Hulu is a subscription-based streaming service where you can stream classic movies, exclusive original content, and stories from Star Wars, Marvel, National Geographic and more.

That said, you need an active Hulu subscription is required to stream content. 

If your subscription has expired and has not been renewed or you do not have an active subscription, then you need to sign up and pay for one on Hulu website.


11. Reset TV to Factory Settings

If you have done all of the above and Hulu app on your LG TV is still not working, then you should hard reset the TV (i.e restore factory settings).

Resetting your TV will restore the default settings from when you first set it up. Hence, if some settings have been altered on your LG TV, this will fix that.

Now, here’s how to reset your LG TV:

  • Go to Settings > All Settings > General
  • Scroll down and click Reset to Initial Settings
reset lg tv to initial settings
  • Confirm to go ahead with the reset.
confirm to factory reset

Once the reset has been done, proceed to set up your TV from afresh while selecting all the appropriate options. Now, go back and install the Hulu app from the content store and you should be up and running.


12. Contact Hulu or LG for Support

If you have followed all the tips stated above, your Hulu should be working by now.

However, if Hulu app is still not launching, crashing, freezing, buffering or showing a black screen on your LG TV after following the troubleshooting tips above, your next move is to contact Hulu or LG for support.

Remember I told you I will show you other alternative methods to stream Hulu on your LG TV? Let’s look at them.


BONUS Tips: Alternative Ways to Use Hulu on LG TV in 2024

A. Couple a Supported Streaming Device

I mentioned earlier that some older LG smart TV models are not compatible with Hulu. In that case, you can simply couple a streaming device that supports Hulu to your LG TV.

These streaming devices include Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 console, Chromecast and Apple TV.

You may even have any of this streaming devices already in your home. In that case, you are in luck. Otherwise, it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it anyway.

For Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast and other supported USB stick streaming devices, you need to plug the streaming device to your LG TV’s HDMI port. Switch your TV source to the HDMI port you’ve plugged into and the streaming device should be running.

Depending on which of the streaming devices you are using, you can simply add Hulu channel on it under the apps/channel section either by using the search icon or voice search prompt (on Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV).

With Hulu app installed on the streaming device and the streaming device plugged into your LG TV, you can easily stream Hulu on your LG TV without any issue.


B. Connect Your Phone/PC to LG TV

This is also easy to set up. Even more, you do not need to spend an extra dollar purchasing an extra streaming device if you already don’t have one.

All your need to do is share your screen from your phone/PC to your LG TV while streaming Hulu app on your phone.

You can do this either via wired connection using HDMI cables, or wirelessly via screen sharing. 


Bottom Line

If Hulu is not working on your LG TV, whether it crashes when you try to open it, shows a black or blue screen or doesn’t even open at all, do the following to fix it:

  • Check if your LG TV is compatible
  • Power cycle your LG TV
  • Check internet connection and update DNS to Google DNS
  • Update Hulu app on your LG TV
  • Update LG smart TV software
  • Update region & time settings
  • Re-install Hulu app
  • Turn off IPv6
  • Check if Hulu streaming server is down
  • Ensure your have an active Hulu subscription
  • Reset TV to factory settings
  • Contact Hulu or LG for technical support

Alternatively, you can couple a streaming device, install Hulu app on it and plug it into your LG TV.

Let know which of these tips worked for you in the comment section. Also, kindly share the content with others by using the share buttons.

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