You recently bought a new LG television, you were happy and connected it to the socket and antenna right away, but to your already disappointment, you discovered that you couldn’t watch even just one channel.
Well, it seems obvious to me that you need to tune the TV first. If you want to do this, I can explain how to do it. So give me five(05) minutes or so of your precious free time and I will show you, in a simple way but at the same time a detailed way, how to tune LG TV channels.
I know that, maybe you are thinking right now that this is a difficult thing and that perhaps it would be hope better to leave everything to your friend who is more expert than you on the matter but, you can believe me, it is not. The channel tuning procedure is a real breeze, whether automatic or manual. Just figure out where to put your hands in the settings menu of your LG TV and, in the specific case of the manual one, know the exact frequencies of the stations of interest and it’s done.
Are you ready to do it? Okay, Position yourself comfortably in front of your television from the famous company, grab the remote control, and read all the instructions on what to do below. I’m sure that in the end, you will be able to say that you are very happy and satisfied with what you have learned and that you will also be ready to say that it was actually very easy. How about we bet?
Preliminary operations
Before getting to the heart of this guide and explaining to you, in practice, how to tune LG TV channels, I advise you to carry out some preliminary checks, in order to avoid that tuning does not bring any advantage (or causes the diametrically opposite effect).
First, make sure that the digital terrestrial antenna cable is connected firmly to the Antenna/Cable IN (or similar) input on the back or side of the TV; also check that the antenna cable is correctly secured to the appropriate wall entry if your system requires it.
Also, check if your TV is compatible with the latest digital terrestrial standards ( DVB-T2 HEVC10 ) as explained in my guides on New Digital TV and how to tell if your TV is DVB-T2. If, on the other hand, you are using a satellite antenna, make sure that the CAM is correctly inserted into the CI input of the TV and that the cable coming from the dish is screwed firmly into the LNB/Satellite IN input
Secondly, even before returning the channels, make sure that there are no extreme weather phenomena in progress, such as severe thunderstorms, storms, violent gusts of air, or the like: the lack of reception of one or more channels, in fact, could be caused by a temporary malfunction of the broadcaster’s transmission system.
As far as the types of tuning supported by LG televisions are concerned, there are mainly two: automatic tuning, during which the current channel list is eliminated and replaced by the one containing the new channels received; and manual tuning, which consists in adding only the channels relating to a specific broadcaster, leaving all the others unchanged.
In the latter case, you must, first of all, identify the correct frequencies of the channels you want to add to the current list, if you haven’t already detected them: to do this, just visit the websites of the broadcasters that interest you and look for the section dedicated to frequencies and/or coverage on the national territory.
For example, by visiting the appropriate page of the Mediaset website, you can search for the frequencies city by the city of Canale 5, Italia Uno, and all the other broadcasters of the group by selecting the region, province, and municipality from the appropriate menus and then clicking on the View channels button it’s down below.
As far as the other broadcasters are concerned, you can search on Google using keywords such as [name of the broadcaster] frequencies. This way, you should be able to find the information you need without any particular problems; you can also go to the Dtti website, an independent portal not connected to any broadcaster, which allows you to identify the frequencies of all digital terrestrial channels for each city.
To find the frequencies relating to the stations that interest you, connected to the home page of the site and select the name of your region from the latter; finally, click on the exact name of your city and you will see the complete list appear with digital terrestrial channels and frequencies.
In all cases, then try to identify the frequencies relating to the station you are interested in and take note of the information obtained so that you can use it at the right time. Personally, I advise you to opt for automatic tuning if, for example, you have moved your television from one municipality to another or if you have completely changed your digital (or satellite) reception system; if, on the other hand, you struggle to receive only specific channels, you can safely opt for manual tuning.
How to tune LG TV channels: Smart TV
Once the appropriate checks (and research) have been made, the time has come to explain, in concrete terms, how to tune digital terrestrial channels on LG Smart TVs. To begin, therefore, take the TV remote control , press the Home button on it (the one in the shape of a house ), and, using the directional arrows or the joystick, select the gear symbol you see at the top, called Settings.
Once this is done, press the OK button on the remote control, select the All settings item from the new menu that appears in the overlay (identified by the ⋮ symbol) and press OK again to access the main TV settings panel.
Similarly, go to the Channels and Tuning and channel settings sections and, if prompted, enter the PIN to unlock the settings; if you have never customized it before, try entering the codes 0000, 1111 or 1234; if you are unable to unlock the tuning, try resetting the default PIN code, following the instructions found here.
Subsequently, make sure that the Program mode drop-down menu is set to Antenna, move the Channel list update lever to the ON position and, if you intend to proceed with Automatic tuning , select the dedicated item and click OK. Finally, put the check mark next to the wording Antenna, indicate that you want to use the automatic sorting for the channels, and start returning the channels by pressing the Next button twice consecutively. After the search is complete, if necessary, resolve LCN conflicts that will appear, by selecting the channel you wish to add to the list from those available and pressing the OK button.
Instead, to perform manual tuning, choose the dedicated option from the Tuning and channel settings menu and, after giving OK , specify the frequency, band and channel of the station of your choice. Finally, press the Update button and wait patiently for the new channels to be detected and added to the list. That’s all!
How to tune LG TV satellite channels
The procedure to be followed to tune satellite channels on LG televisions is not very different from that seen for tuning digital terrestrial channels. Before proceeding, however, make sure you have correctly installed the CAM module relating to the satellite service you have chosen to use (it must be inserted in the slot identified by the words CI , Common Interface or PCMCIA ) and make sure that the LNB coaxial cable (the one coming from dish illuminator, which should have been developed in your home) is connected to the LNB, Satellite IN or SAT IN connector of the television.
Once this is done, press the Home button on the remote control, highlight the gear symbol that appears on the screen and, after giving OK, open the All settings menu, using the new bar displayed in the superimposition. Now, go to the sections Channels> Tuning and channel settings, highlight the Program mode menu and, after giving OK, set the reception mode to Satellite.
At this point, unless your satellite configuration requires further parameters (which happens, for example, for condominium systems), choose whether you want to start automatic tuning immediately, by selecting the Yes button that appears on the screen and pressing the OK; otherwise, enter the necessary information in the fields that appear on the screen and, when you’re done, select the item Automatic tuning and press OK to start searching for channels that can be picked up by the satellite.
If you encounter problems or difficulties in completing the above procedure, take a look at my guides on how to view satellite channels on LG TVs and how to orient the dish, in which you will find everything explained in great detail.
Have you noticed that, following the automatic tuning of the channels, they appear in random order (or at least different from what you were used to)?
To enable sorting according to LCN, proceed as follows: press the Home button on the remote control, select the Settings button from the overlay bar that appears on the screen and go to the All settings > Channels > Tuning and channel settings sections; now, give OK and switch the Channel list update switch to ON. Once this operation is completed, repeat the automatic program tuning operation, as I explained to you previously.
If you then want to rearrange the channels according to an order you like, go instead to the menu Settings > All settings > Channels > Channel management > Modify all channels, highlight the one to move and, after selecting it by pressing the OK button on the remote control, press the blue key on the latter and enter the new number to be assigned to the chosen channel. When you’re done, hit the OK/Enter key and you’re done.
Keep in mind that, if another channel is already present on the selected number, this will take the position of the one with which it was exchanged. More info here
Tune LG TV channels without the remote control
Would you need to re-tune your TV but, alas, you no longer have the original remote control? No problem. In this regard, you will be pleased to know that you can access all the features of LG Smart TVs (and more) by purchasing a good quality universal remote control, explicitly compatible with the devices produced by the big Korean.
If your TV is connected to the Internet, or if you have a smartphone equipped with an infrared port (IR), you can also use one of the many remote control applications available for free on the Android stores (even the alternative ones), iOS and iPadOS, including the official LG ThinQ app for Android and iOS/iPadOS. If you are interested in going this route, read without hesitation my tutorial on how to turn on the LG TV without a remote control.
How to tune LG TV channels: password
Were you unable to retune the TV channels because, starting the procedure, you are asked for a password or PIN that you have never set or which, even worse, you no longer remember? Do not despair, there is a very good chance that you will be able to restore it by following the instructions that I am about to give you.
Before doing anything, when asked to enter the code, try entering the sequence 0000, the TV’s default one: if you haven’t set any PIN before, that should be enough to continue. Otherwise, you can try to reset the 0000 code using the so-called master password: however, I recommend you do not abuse this procedure and only carry it out to unlock a television on which you are authorized to intervene. Personally, I will not take any responsibility for the incorrect use of the following indications.
All clear? Great, let’s proceed. To get started, open the TV settings by pressing the appropriate button visible in the Home menu, go to the All settings > Security sections, and select the Reset password item, without however pressing OK.
Now, press the buttons on the remote control Page Up twice in sequence, then Page Down, then Page Up again: if you have performed this last operation suitably quickly, a superimposed field should appear, in which to insert the Master Password. Finally, enter the code 0313 in it and press OK, to instantly reset the PIN code to the sequence 0000.
From now on, you can perform any operation that requires entering the PIN code by entering the sequence 0000 when prompted. For more details, check out my guide on how to reset your LG TV password.
How to move channels to LG tv
If, for some reason, the channels on your LG TV are messed up and don’t match the numbering they should have, you can easily fix the problem through the TV settings. Also, note that you can follow the same procedure regardless of which model you have — Smart TV WebOS 5. O and later, TV WebOS 4.0 or 4.5 or earlier models, it doesn’t make a big difference.
To proceed, you can use two different methods: the first consists of automatic sorting, and the second in manual sorting. To automatically order the channels according to the Italian LCN order, you can follow the procedure I described previously.
In the second case, however, if for example only one or a few channels are in the wrong position, you can sort them manually: then press the Power button to turn on the TV, then press the Settings button (represented by a gear), always present on the remote control.
At this point, from the left/right side menu that you see appearing, use the wheel of the remote control or the arrow keys to reach the All settings option, then select the Channels item, press the OK button, choose the Channel management option, press the OK button on the remote control again and select the item Modify all channels followed by the OK button.
Now, on the new screen, you will be able to see the list of all the channels on the TV: to change the position of one or more channels, press on them to select them, then press the Move option and use the scroll wheel or the arrows Directional buttons on the remote control to place it in another position in the target channel list. Once you have found the right position, press the OK button to confirm what has been done. Simple, right?
In case of doubts or problems
Have you slavishly followed all the above instructions but still can’t tune the channels on your LG TV or has some other problem arisen? I thought about this too, don’t worry.
If, for example, you are unable to view one or more channels or you are able to do so but intermittently, let’s say, the cause of the problem could be due to a malfunction of the appliance deriving from an internal fault in the same or to a problem of signal due to poor use of local broadcasting systems or your antenna.
To deal with this, you can try returning as seen together in the previous steps. If you can’t solve it in this way, I strongly suggest that you contact a specialist in the trade (an antenna installer, in short) who will certainly be able to help you.
If you then want to try a new challenge and you also have a good dose of concentration and attention, you can try to adjust the orientation of the TV antenna by yourself by following the instructions I have provided you in my tutorial on how to orientate the TV antenna or in the one on how to point the satellite dish. However, I would like to clarify immediately that the procedure is not at all simple for those who have no experience in installing television systems. So, please, follow it only if you feel fully convinced, forget it and leave everything in the hands of a good technician.
If you are experiencing problems other than those mentioned above or are looking for more precise information on your LG TV model, I strongly suggest that you visit the support area attached to the company website and consult manuals and ad hoc solutions available on the net.
Once the site has opened, fill in the Enter Product Code/Keyword field on the left by typing in the exact code of your TV (you can find it on the back of the appliance, on a special label) or its name (generally always shown on the back or on the sales package) and click on the relevant suggestion among those you see appearing in the list.
On the page that you will then see appear you will find all the info relating to your TV model, the files for updating drivers and software, and manuals in digital format as well as a series of indications relating to the most common questions.
Alternatively, you can search by model by pressing the appropriate button on the left, selecting TV and Home Entertainment from the Category menu, then TV from the Product menu, and selecting what you want to know from the further section that appears. Then click on the OK button to be taken to the relevant page that contains the information you need.
If then, despite proceeding in this way, you are unable to solve your problems, the advice I can give you is to put you in direct contact with customer assistance. You can do this via chat, email, or telephone by visiting the contact section of the support area, selecting the desired method, and then following the on-screen instructions.