Zapp / LG
LG TV remote app for iPhone
Control an LG webOS TV from your iPhone over Wi-Fi, with the Magic Remote pointer and a keyboard that opens when the TV asks for text. No subscription.
One payment of $9.99. Never a subscription.
iPhone and iPad · iOS 17 or later
How it connects
Zapp speaks webOS’s own remote protocol over your Wi-Fi, and opens LG’s separate pointer channel as well — which is what makes the on-screen cursor work.
What you have to do once
- Put the iPhone and the television on the same Wi-Fi network.
- Open Zapp and let it find the TV, or add it by IP address.
- Accept the pairing prompt on the television. That happens once, so do it while you still have the TV’s own remote, or can reach the TV.
Which LG TVs it works with
LG smart TVs running webOS — the operating system on LG’s smart TVs since 2014, OLED and NanoCell included. Older LG sets running NetCast are not supported.
Free and Pro on LG
| Feature | Included |
|---|---|
| The full button remote in LG’s own layout | Free |
| The Magic Remote pointer — move the on-screen cursor by dragging on the phone | Pro, $9.99 once |
| The real input list, with the names your TV gives them | Free |
| A keyboard that opens by itself the moment the television focuses a text field | Pro, $9.99 once |
| One-tap shortcuts to every app on the TV, with its own icon | Pro, $9.99 once |
| Waking the TV from standby, once Zapp has connected to it one time and the TV’s “Mobile TV On” setting is on | Pro, $9.99 once |
| Voice typing: say it, and your words go into the search or text field open on the TV | Pro, $9.99 once |
| Your iPhone’s side volume buttons turn the TV up and down while the remote is open | Pro, $9.99 once |
Pro is one payment, never a subscription. What Pro unlocks on every brand.
Beyond the remote screen
Free on LG, as on every TV: a Home Screen widget for this TV, Control Center and Action Button controls (iOS 18), the remote on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island while it’s open, Siri for pause, mute, volume and turning the TV off, and the Apple Watch app with the Digital Crown as the volume knob. With Pro, Siri can turn the LG on from standby too.
If the LG isn’t found or won’t respond
- Check the iPhone and the TV are on the same Wi-Fi network, not a guest network, and that no VPN is running on the phone.
- On the iPhone, Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network: make sure Zapp is switched on. Without it no app can see the TV.
- If Zapp doesn’t find the TV, add it by IP address: on the TV, Settings → Connection → Wi-Fi Connection → Advanced Wi-Fi Settings.
- If the pairing prompt never appears, the TV has to be on, not in standby. On some webOS versions a setting called LG Connect Apps (its name varies by year) must also be switched on in the network settings.
- For waking the TV from standby, switch on Settings → General → “Mobile TV On” (on some models “Turn on via Wi-Fi”), and connect from Zapp once while the TV is on.
What it will not do
- webOS televisions. LG’s older NetCast sets are not supported.
- The first pairing needs the television switched on.
- Waking works only after Zapp has connected to the LG once, because that is when it learns the address waking needs, and only with the TV’s “Mobile TV On” setting (called “Turn on via Wi-Fi” on some models) switched on.
Saying this plainly is the point: a remote app that promises what it cannot deliver wastes your evening and earns a refund. If the answer above is no, it is genuinely no.
Questions
Can I use my iPhone as a LG TV remote?
Yes, as long as the iPhone and the LG are on the same Wi-Fi network. Put the iPhone and the television on the same Wi-Fi network. Open Zapp and let it find the TV, or add it by IP address. Accept the pairing prompt on the television. That happens once, so do it while you still have the TV’s own remote, or can reach the TV. After that the whole button remote is free.
Does it work without Wi-Fi?
No. Zapp talks to the LG over your home network, and an iPhone has no infrared, so no iPhone app can control a TV without one. With no router, a second phone’s hotspot that both the TV and your iPhone join can stand in, if that hotspot lets devices on it see each other.
Is there a subscription?
No. The whole button remote is free on every TV you own. On LG, one optional payment of $9.99 adds: the Magic Remote pointer — move the on-screen cursor by dragging on the phone; a keyboard that opens by itself the moment the television focuses a text field; one-tap shortcuts to every app on the TV, with its own icon; waking the TV from standby, once Zapp has connected to it one time and the TV’s “Mobile TV On” setting is on; voice typing: say it, and your words go into the search or text field open on the TV; your iPhone’s side volume buttons turn the TV up and down while the remote is open.
What does Zapp not do on LG?
webOS televisions. LG’s older NetCast sets are not supported. The first pairing needs the television switched on. Waking works only after Zapp has connected to the LG once, because that is when it learns the address waking needs, and only with the TV’s “Mobile TV On” setting (called “Turn on via Wi-Fi” on some models) switched on.