How to connect an iPhone to an LG smart TV

If you have an LG TV and have explored its smart platform, you will have noticed that LG’s webOS can do a lot — give you quick access to apps like Netflix, browse your favorite channels, stream music, and plenty more. But if you’re an iPhone fan, you may have also picked up on a particular limitation: LG TVs don’t support innate connections to iOS or iPadOS.

Ordinarily, that means that you can’t use your iPhone to mirror or cast content from your phone to the larger LG TV screen. However, there are a few workarounds for this issue that can give you the desired outcome. Let’s take a look at the most effective ways of linking your iPhone to your LG display.

Use a third-party app to connect your iPhone to an LG TV

This approach has its pros and cons, but it’s generally one of your best options. It’s typically free (although some ads may be involved), it’s very quick, you don’t need any additional devices, and you can use the app to manage multiple types of media. On the downside, compatibility with certain LG TVs may be an issue, bugs can crop up more easily with this method, and you’ll have to add yet another, slightly invasive app on your phone.

If that sounds like a fair trade to you, there are a number of apps you can try. We like the TV Assist casting app, which does a good job of staying updated with the latest versions of iOS and is more likely to run smoothly on your phone. The LG TV Screen Mirroring app from AirBeamTV is also a good pick, as it’s designed specifically to work with LG. Whichever you choose, here’s what to do:

Step 1: Double-check that your LG TV and your iPhone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. This isn’t usually a problem, but you may want to make sure they’re both on the same band, and that you aren’t using a VPN or similar filter that could block connections.

Step 2: Download the app onto your iPhone. Open it and sign in as necessary. No matter which app you choose, you will probably have to give it permission to access content on your iPhone for mirroring, and maybe send notifications as well. There’s not really any way around this, although you can block the app in Settings once you are finished casting to your TV.

Step 3: Wait for the app to detect available devices, and select your LG TV to make sure the two are connected successfully. Follow the app’s instructions for mirroring content. You may need to browse through the content that your app detects on your iPhone, and choose an option like Start Broadcasting or something similar.

Step 4: For video, you can expect some lag — one or two seconds — when casting to your TV, so it’s not a good idea to try watching on your phone and the TV at the same time. When you’re finished, apps will have a stop mirroring option you can use to exit out.

Apple Airplay on iPhone. — Nate Barrett/Digital Trends

Connect an Apple TV device

Does using a casting app seem a little clunky to you? If you have an Apple TV set-top box or want to buy one, there is a much easier way. Apple TV supports AirPlay, Apple’s own casting standard, so you can use your phone to cast to your Apple TV, which in turn will display content on your LG TV. As long as you have an available HDMI port, Apple TVs work well with LG TVs, and of course, iPhones are naturally compatible. Apple’s latest version of its Apple TV 4K, announced in 2022, has improved compatibility with TVs and a new budget option at $130.

With everything connected, all you need to do is find the content you want to mirror, select it, and select Apple’s Share button. Wait for your iPhone to detect your Apple TV and choose it for casting. The first time you set up mirroring, you’ll have to enter a code shown on your TV so your iPhone knows which device to use.

A Chromecast hanging from the back of a TV.

Connect a Google Chromecast device

Your other option is to buy a device like Chromecast with Google TV. While this dongle may not be quite as compatible with your iPhone as an Apple TV, it still works well and is significantly less expensive if you need to buy a new device.

With the Chromecast connected, you can open your content app and find the casting button icon, which looks like a Wi-Fi signal and a TV together. This works just the same as AirPlay. If you’re streaming from the web, you’ll want to use Chrome and probably pin the Cast button on the toolbar using your settings options.

Screen mirroring limitations for your LG TV

Screen mirroring allows you to share a lot of your content on an LG TV, but there are built-in limitations. Certain apps block any type of mirroring as part of their DRM (Digital Rights Management) policies to protect their own content. Unfortunately, this does include popular apps like Netflix and Disney+. On the plus side, LG’s own smart platform supports these apps so you can download them right to LG WebOS to use them on your TV.