How to Fix LG Soundbar Remote Not Working? (Quick Fix)

If the LG soundbar remote not working, relax as there are a lot of things to attempt right now!

LG soundbars use an IR remote control, which is prone to interference, opening the door to a lot of possibilities for connection failure.

There is also the possibility of the soundbar glitching out or the remote batteries being dead, so it’s best to go through all the causes chronologically.

If your LG soundbar remote is not working, soft reset the soundbar and remote, clean the IR sensor of both devices, and ensure a clear line of sight.

If nothing helps, replace your remote’s batteries and reset the soundbar without the remote.

Let’s begin with a quick and easy remote functionality test!

How to Test if LG Soundbar Remote Control is Working?

Before you begin, we have a nice tip for you!

If you didn’t know you can immediately find out whether your LG soundbar remote is working by checking whether signals are being sent.

You need your smartphone because the naked human eye cannot see IR signals. However, your smartphone camera can, hence we can used it to test.

Here’s exactly what you need to do to test your LG soundbar remote:

1. Open the camera app on your smartphone.
2. Point the tip of the remote towards the lens.
3. Press the remote buttons and watch the screen.
4. Here’s the conclusion of your observations:

• If you see a flickering purplish light upon pressing, the remote is working. 
• If you don’t see the light when pressing buttons, the remote is not working.

Based on your findings, proceed with the in-depth solutions below!

How to Fix When LG Soundbar Remote Not Working?

Reminder: If you’ve spilled liquids on your remote recently, the device needs to dry up!

1. Power Cycle Remote & Soundbar

To begin with, let’s perform a quick power cycle on both your LG soundbar and remote control to hopefully clear system bugs affecting your remote. 

This method is simple, and harmless, and can be done simply by unplugging your soundbar from the power and ejecting the remote’s batteries.

• First, unplug your LG soundbar from the power for 60 seconds.
• In the meantime, eject both the LG soundbar remote batteries.

That’s it. After about 60 seconds, both the LG soundbar and remote will be discharged from the residual electricity, and you can set everything back together.

So, test if your LG remote works!

If your LG soundbar remote is still not working, continue with the next step…

2. Clean Remote Sensor & Polarities

Well, one of the most common causes the LG sound bar remote control not working is the IR (infrared) sensor on the tip of the remote and the battery springs. 

You need to clean both of these pieces as the sensor is responsible for communicating with the soundbar and the battery springs withdraw voltage from the batteries.

So, let’s check the quick, secure, and in-depth steps for cleaning!

Cleaning the Remote Sensors:

1. Get a toothpick and an ears tick for cleaning.
2. Find the IR sensor (remote’s “eye”) on the tip.
3. Use the toothpick to scrub dust accumulation.
4. Then, using the ear stick collect all the debris.
5. Repeat until the IR “eye” is completely clean.

Important: Also clean the IR receiver of the LG soundbar, either found in the center or towards one of the ends.

Cleaning the Remote Polarities:

When you open the battery compartment of the LG remote control and eject the batteries, you will notice the polarity contacts.

These are small springs that contact the battery and if they are missing or bent, the remote control won’t work and, will not communicate with your soundbar.

So, if the springs are there, but you see a coat of dust, hair, or other obstructions, you need to gently clean both of them.

When you’re ready, reinsert the batteries and test your LG remote.

3. Verify There is a Clear Line of Sight

The LG soundbar remote control uses IR (infrared) technology, which requires a direct line of sight with the soundbar to function.

Hence, anything blocking or obstructing the front of your soundbar can prevent the infrared signal from reaching, causing your remote not to work.

• Remove furniture in front of your soundbar.
• Try leveling your remote and LG soundbar.
• Go right in front of your soundbar and test.

If your LG soundbar is not picking up the commands from your remote even when you’re right in front of the device, the line of sight is not the culprit here.

Quick Tip: Try using your LG soundbar remote from different angles!

4. Replace your Remote’s Batteries

The most important and perhaps the step that will fix your LG soundbar remote control issues is to replace the batteries.

This might sound banal, but there is no point in further troubleshooting if the LG soundbar remote batteries are low-quality/dead, even if you’ve replaced them recently.

• The LG soundbar uses 2x AAA batteries!

So, we strongly recommend purchasing a fresh pair of Duracell or Energizer AAA batteries from the nearest store and replacing them as soon as possible.

This will immediately rule out most of the possibilities for non-working remote related to the batteries, so you can continue confidently.

Important: Verify that the remote batteries are not embedded in the opposite direction!

5. Identify and Resolve Interference

If you didn’t know, IR devices such as your LG soundbar remote are prone to interference due to their infrared signals.

In contrast to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (RF) remotes the IR signal can easily be blocked, interfered with, and weakened by nearby devices and even reflective surfaces.

So, what you need to do is make sure that there are no other working soundbars, IR remotes, or TVs in the room.

Additionally, we recommend dislocating electronic devices working on infrared signals, and covering mirrors temporarily, just to check whether the soundbar remote will work.

If nothing helps, continue reading…

6. Factory Reset Your LG Soundbar (Without Remote)

If nothing works, it’s time to factory reset your LG soundbar, considering that everything you can try with the remote is already done.

This only leaves the possibility of a software-related issue in the soundbar’s system, ignoring your remote IR signals and making it seem like it doesn’t work.

The normal way of factory resetting your LG soundbar involves the remote, but considering the situation, we’re going to show you alternative ways to do so.

However, based on your LG soundbar model, the reset without a remote might be different!

Method #1

To reset the LG soundbar without a remote control, turn on the speaker, and hold the Volume Mute button (crossed out microphone icon) for 5 seconds.

The display of your LG soundbar will say “RESET” and after a few seconds the soundbar will turn on and your remote should work.

Method #2

To reset the LG soundbar without your remote, turn on the speaker and then hold the Bluetooth + Input buttons for 5 seconds.

If this doesn’t work, press the Bluetooth and Power buttons for about 5 seconds and wait until your soundbar says “RESET.”

Method #3

If none of the other methods work, perhaps you can reset your LG soundbar without a remote by holding the Volume Down + Power buttons for 10 seconds.

Alternatively, inspect your LG soundbar for a small reset pinhole on the back and reach in with a pointy object to start a reset.

When your LG soundbar is reset, your remote should start working!

Final Thoughts

So, if your LG soundbar remote not working, sometimes a simple power cycle of the remote and soundbar solves the problem immediately. 

Other times you’ll need to clean the remote’s IR blaster and soundbar IR receiver or perform a factory reset without your LG soundbar remote.

The most helpful solution, however, is replacing the batteries with a fresh and high-quality pair!