If you are having troubles with YouTube 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 YouTube or YouTube TV app to start working on your LG smart TV.
You are probably trying to open your YouTube on your LG smart TV, but it’s not launching at all, or the app does launch and it crashes or remains stuck loading.
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!
YouTube Not Working on LG Smart TV
If YouTube 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 YouTube app and it should start working.
There are so many factors that can cause the YouTube 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work on your LG smart TV ranging from device incompatibility to poor internet connection, corrupt app and cache files, outdated app, outdated LG TV webOS software, or even server issue from YouTube.
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 YouTube app. Before anything, you need to be sure that your smart TV is actually compatible with YouTube.
YouTube is only available on LG TVs manufactured between 2014 and now. On the other hand, if you are using a model released in 2013 or earlier, the YouTube app is not available on the content store and so, you cannot install or stream it directly from your TV.
If your LG webOS smart TV is compatible, then you can move to the next step below.
NOTE: If your TV is not compatible, but you still want to stream YouTube on your TV, there are at least 2 alternative means to watch YouTube 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 YouTube 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 YouTube 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 YouTube app to not work on your LG TV. 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 YouTube 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
- 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.
- Now, we will edit the network settings.
- Uncheck the option that says Set Automatically
- Then, edit the DNS Server and change it to 8.8.8.8
- 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 YouTube app and it should be working perfectly well if network is the source of the issue.
4. Update YouTube TV App
Another common reason why YouTube app stops working on LG smart TV is having an older version of the app installed. It can cause YouTube TV to show a black screen 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 YouTube TV . Here’s how to update YouTube app on LG TV:
- Press the Home button on your LG smart TV remote controller
- Click on the LG content store
- On the LG content store, click on Apps at the top of the page
- Select YouTube app
- If an update is available, you’ll see an ‘Update’ button, click on it to update YouTube app on LG TV. Otherwise, if the software is already up-to-date, you will see a button to launch the app.
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 YouTube or other apps crashing 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
- 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
- You will see the current software version of your TV, click on Check for Updates (you can also enable ‘Allow Automatic Updates’)
- If there is any update available, proceed to download it and allow it to be install completely.
- 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 YouTube 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.
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
- Select Location
- 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.
7. Re-install YouTube app
In some cases, app files also become corrupt causing apps like YouTube and others not to work on smart TVs. In most cases, reinstalling the apps will fix the issue.
Now, here’s how to reinstall YouTube app on LG Smart TV:
First, you need to remove the YouTube app.
- 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.
- 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:
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 ‘YouTube’. Scroll to the apps category, select YouTube and click on Install. Once installed, click on Launch. Now, log in with your YouTube account credentials and start streaming.
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
- Select ‘Wi-Fi connection’ and go to ‘Advanced Wi-Fi Settings’
- Toggle off IPv6
NOTE: If it is already turned off, toggle it on and toggle it back off immediately.
That should fix the issue and YouTube app should start working on your LG smart TV.
9. Consent to LG TV User Agreements
To use most streaming services on your LG smart TV, you need to give your consent to the user agreements. That is, you need to accept the privacy policy and terms of use.
Here’s how to do that:
- Go to Settings > General > User Agreements
- Tick the boxes for ‘Privacy Policy’ and ‘Terms of Use’. Then, click on Agree
Once done, you should now be able to access YouTube on your LG smart TV.
10. Check If YouTube 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 YouTube.
Although not common, YouTube streaming server can be down sometimes even in 2024. 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 YouTube app crashing suddenly, you may be logged out of your account out of nowhere and being unable to log back in or the app might just show a black screen on your LG TV.
- In some cases like this, the support team may post an update on their social media handle like the one below:
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 YouTube server is down (whether globally or only in certain locations). Click here to check it on down detector.
You can also check if YouTube 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.
11. Reset TV to Factory Settings
If you have done all of the above and YouTube 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
- Confirm to go ahead with the 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 YouTube app from the content store and you should be up and running.
12. Contact LG for Support
If you have followed all the tips stated above, your YouTube should be working by now.
However, if YouTube app is still not launching, crashing or showing a black screen on your LG TV after following the troubleshooting tips above, your next move is to contact LG for support.
Remember I told you I will show you other alternative methods to stream YouTube on your LG TV? Let’s look at them.
BONUS Tips: Alternative Ways to Use YouTube 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 YouTube. In that case, you can simply couple a streaming device that supports YouTube to your LG TV.
These streaming devices include Roku, Amazon Fire TV, 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 YouTube 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 YouTube app installed on the streaming device and the streaming device plugged into your LG TV, you can easily stream YouTube 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 YouTube app on your phone.
You can do this either via wired connection using HDMI cables, or wirelessly via screen sharing.
Bottom Line
If YouTube is not working on your LG TV, whether it crashes when you try to open it, shows a black screen, doesn’t even open at all or tells you “you’re offline check your connection“, 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 YouTube app on your LG TV
- Update LG smart TV software
- Update region & time settings
- Re-install YouTube app
- Turn off IPv6
- Consent to user agreements
- Check if YouTube streaming server is down
- Reset TV to factory settings
- Contact LG for technical support
Alternatively, you can couple a streaming device, install YouTube 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.