How to Fix Being Unable to Power Off a LG Smart TV

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

It can be frustrating when your LG Smart TV won't respond properly, especially when you're just trying to turn it off.

This guide will walk you through, step by step, determining the cause and making sure your television functions properly.

2. Use Television Power Button

If your television was turned on using the power button on the television itself, rather than the remote, it may not respond to the remote.

1. Press the power button on the television itself.
   

3. Check Remote Batteries

1. Lift the back cover up and away from the remote.
2. Remove and re-insert the 2 batteries.
3. Reposition the back cover onto the remote, and slide down to click it into place.
   

1. If the remote fails to respond properly after this, replace the existing set of batteries with new ones.

4. IR Port Blocked

Depending on how your TV is set up, there may be some sort of obstruction that is blocking or makes it more difficult for your TV to see the infra-red signals that are being sent by your remote control.

Locate your television's IR sensor and ensure that there is no blockage that would prevent your remote control from making contact with it.

• On some low-profile televisions, the IR sensor may be hidden or less conspicuous. Sometimes, shining a flashlight around the outer bezel can reveal its location:
  

• Some televisions are are a bit more obvious when it comes to IR sensor location:
  

5. HDMI CEC Check

Many Smart TVs have a built-in feature called HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control), or can sometimes be referred to as "Control over HDMI." With HDMI CEC, when your cable, satellite, or Blu-Ray player device is turned on, that device sends a special signal over the HDMI cable to turn on your television as well.

With some Smart TVs, this may disable the power button on your remote.

Try turning off any devices you may have connected to your television, such as your cable or satellite box, any streaming media players, or Blu-Ray players. If HDMI CEC is controlling your television, it should turn itself off automatically.

6. Fluorescent Lights and Remotes

As a fluorescent light begins to die, it starts putting out a lot of wavelengths, other than just visible light. This includes both infra-red, and radio waves.

Your Smart TV relies on infra-red signals from your remote to control it. When that part of the spectrum has a lot of 'noise' in it, such as from a dying fluorescent light, your TV may have an issue properly sensing the infra-red signal being sent from your remote control.

Try turning off any lights in the area, then try your remote again. If it starts working properly, the lamp you turned off is the cause of the interference and should be replaced.

7. Hard Power Reset

Because your TV has not responded to the previous troubleshooting steps, it means your Smart TV's basic control system has crashed, and it will need to be physically power cycled.

1. Unplug your television from the power outlet.
   

1. Wait 10 seconds.
2. Plug the power back in.
3. Test, and make sure your television powers on and off properly.

8. What's next?