Easy Ways to Get a VPN on LG TV: Only 1 VPN Works Well (2024)

You can compare the features of each method to determine which is best for you:

AirPlay stands out due to its simplicity and support for high-resolution content, but it won’t work for watching Netflix.

Other methods, like casting, support Netflix but significantly degrade the streaming quality. Others, like a VPN router, require an additional purchase of approximately $250.

We’ll go through each of the installation methods in the following sections.

1. AirPlay From an iPhone or iPad

Here’s how to use AirPlay with an LG TV:

1. Sign up for a VPN via a PC or mobile device: ExpressVPN is the best option as it works with every popular streaming site, has a fully-featured iOS app, and is much easier to use than other VPN services.
2. Make sure your iOS device is connected to the same WiFi network as your LG TV.
3. Ensure that AirPlay is enabled on your LG TV: Press the Home button on your LG remote > Scroll down and click AirPlay > select On if it isn’t already active.
   
4. Download the VPN app onto your iPhone or iPad and log in to your account.
5. Connect to a VPN server in the desired content region. For example, connect to a UK server for the British Disney+ library. If necessary, change your iOS device’s App Store region to access specific apps.

   

6. Open the content on your iPhone or iPad and tap the AirPlay icon at the top right of the screen: It looks like a TV screen with a triangle at the base. If you can’t see any icons, tap the screen. If the icon isn’t visible, tap on the screen to reveal it.

   

7. Select the name of your LG TV from the list: It’ll be called something like LG webOS.

   

8. The content will start streaming on your LG TV: You can lock your iPhone or iPad or continue using it normally.

   

How to Change App Store Region on iOS

To access streaming apps that aren’t available in your country, like BBC iPlayer outside the UK, then you’ll need to use an Apple ID associated with the relevant region. You won’t need to do this for apps that are available globally, like Disney+.

To avoid any disruption to your current Apple subscriptions and services, we strongly recommend creating a separate Apple ID. This lets you switch accounts easily without changing your primary account’s country settings.

2. Smart DNS

Here’s how to set up Smart DNS on an LG TV:

1. Activate Smart DNS and provide your IP address to the VPN service: This step is required for it to authenticate you have an active subscription. The process is different for every VPN service. You can find it without your account settings for ExpressVPN and NordVPN.

   

2. Find your Smart DNS server IP addresses: This will differ depending on your chosen VPN service. You can find it within your setup screen for ExpressVPN and within the account settings for NordVPN. Take a picture or screenshot of it to remember it.

   

3. Open Network settings on your LG TV: Press the Settings icon on your LG remote and select Network.

   

4. Edit your DNS settings: Click General > Wi-Fi or Wired Connection > Other Network > Advanced Wi-Fi Settings > Edit > untick Set Automatically > DNS SERVER.

   

5. Enter the Smart DNS server IP address from Step 2: Press Enter to confirm.

   

6. Restart your LG TV: You can now geo-spoof your location on streaming apps on your LG TV.

   

How to Change LG Content Store Region to Download Apps From Other Countries

To download streaming services that aren’t usually available in your country onto your LG TV, you’ll have to change your account region using a service remote control. You won’t need to complete this step for apps that are already available in your country, like Netflix.

Using this specialized remote will allow you to access the service menu that’s designed for TV engineers. This will allow you to customize your TV in previously hidden ways, including changing the region associated with it.

In contrast, simply changing your account region via the TV’s settings will only change the type of local content the TV shows you. It will not allow you to download apps from other countries.

EXPERT ADVICE: If you enter the codes incorrectly, you could brick your LG TV. If you require accessing apps from different regions, we strongly recommend avoiding this risk and using AirPlay or connecting via HDMI instead.

3. Connect Laptop to TV via HDMI

Here’s how to connect your laptop to an LG TV using a HDMI cable:

1. Sign up for and install a VPN on your laptop: ExpressVPN performed the best in our tests.
2. Connect to a VPN server in the desired country: For instance, connect to a Japanese VPN server to unblock Netflix Japan.
3. Plug the HDMI cable into your TV and laptop: Use HDMI1 for greater bandwidth, and use an adapter if your laptop lacks a HDMI port.
4. Switch your TV’s media source to the connected HDMI port.
5. Configure your laptop’s display settings for the optimal resolution.
   1. Windows: Press Windows key + P > Second screen only. Then, open Settings > search Display > Change the resolution of the display > Display resolution > select the highest resolution option, which will be positioned at the top of the list (it should be something like 4096 x 2160).

      

   2. Mac: Open System Settings > Displays > Default.
6. On your laptop, open the streaming service’s website and access the content you want to watch: Make sure to do this step last, otherwise it might load in a suboptimal resolution.

Other Ways to Use LG TV with a VPN

In the previous sections, we’ve detailed three of the best methods for setting up and using a VPN with an LG TV. We’ve highlighted these methods due to their ease of use, high streaming quality, and compatibility with popular devices.

However, there are other methods that we don’t recommend. Here’s a brief summary of each of these alternatives and our reasons for advising against them.

VPN Router

A VPN router is a good solution for securing all devices in your home network. However, for use with LG TV alone, the high cost of around $250 and complex setup makes it unsuitable.

For accessing various content libraries, changing the VPN server location on a router takes far longer than other methods. We had to delete and reupload server configurations, which took around 10 minutes each time

The only exception to this is ExpressVPN, which offers a dedicated VPN app for routers, simplifying the process. However, it still requires the purchase of a specialized router, making it excessive just for accessing content on an LG TV.

Screen Mirroring From an Android Device

Despite LG’s claims, its TVs do not allow direct casting from Android devices. Instead, they support screen mirroring, which, while functional, is far inferior to native casting solutions.

Screen mirroring duplicates the entire content of your Android device’s screen onto the TV over WiFi. Even with a fast internet connection, videos on our TV looked poor quality, with reduced resolution and lower frame rates.

As it mirrors your entire phone or tablet’s display, you also won’t be able to use your Android device for other tasks while mirroring, and your device’s notifications will also be visible to everyone watching the TV.

This method is in contrast to AirPlay and native casting, where the device directly streams the content from the internet, eliminating the drawbacks associated with screen mirroring.

Mobile Hotspot

If you have a spare Windows computer or laptop, setting it up as a virtual router is a cost-effective and functional way to use a VPN with an LG TV.

This method provides decent flexibility, allowing you to quickly change server locations through the Windows VPN application, which isn’t possible on physical routers. Additionally, it allows you to connect to a much wider range of server locations compared to Smart DNS features.

However, setting up a virtual router is relatively complex as it requires using the Windows command-line, which most users won’t be familiar with.

Additionally, using our Lenovo ThinkPad to share the connection, we noticed a significant decline in internet speed and video quality due to the PC’s limited hardware and distance from the TV.

Using an effective streaming VPN will allow you to access a range of geo-blocked streaming apps on your LG TV.

In the table below, we’ve summarized the best VPN installation method for accessing the most popular streaming services, along with the VPNs we’ve verified to work with it.

As you can see, AirPlay is the preferred setup method more often than not. Using it, videos load in HD or UHD and don’t have any audio sync issues.

However, if you don’t want to go through the complex process of changing your Apple or LG region, then connecting a laptop to your TV via HDMI is a straightforward alternative.

To access geo-blocked content on your LG TV, you need a VPN that bypasses the VPN blocks of the streaming service, and that offers easy compatibility with your Smart TV.

Both VPNs can access popular streaming sites, including US and UK Netflix, and are compatible with the AirPlay and HDMI connections. They also are fast enough to stream video content in HD, and are either 100% free or can be used free for 30 days.

You can compare both of these options in the table below.

We’ll explain the pros and cons of each VPN in more detail in the following sections.

1. ExpressVPN: The Best VPN for LG TV

ExpressVPN is the best VPN you can get for LG TV. It’s compatible with every setup method, it unblocks every popular streaming app, and it delivers fast speeds across its entire server network. Its premium cost is offset by its range of advanced features, offering good value for money.

Unmatched webOS Compatibility

Despite webOS’s limitations with VPN apps, ExpressVPN excels due to its range of compatibility options. We successfully used ExpressVPN on our LG TV via AirPlay, Smart DNS, HDMI connections, and its router app.

The VPN’s easy-to-use iPhone and desktop apps made it especially easy to share our VPN connection via AirPlay or HDMI connection. Its MediaStreamer Smart DNS feature was difficult to set up via a Dynamic DNS provider, so we recommend ticking the ‘Automatically register my IP address’ option from your account settings on the ExpressVPN website, instead.

If you do encounter any issues during setup, you can contact ExpressVPN’s customer support 24/7. While their response times might be marginally slower compared to alternatives like NordVPN, they were always able to resolve our issues there and then.

Superb Streaming & Speed Performance

ExpressVPN bypasses geo-restrictions on every popular streaming app we test it with, including Max, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. The VPN also accesses 18 Netflix regions, which is 12 more than PIA and 9 more than Surfshark.

Unlike many of the other VPNs we tested, ExpressVPN could always sustain the highest video quality, due to its minimal global download speed reduction of 15%. It also has servers in 106 countries — the second-most of any VPN service — meaning you can access streaming services from virtually anywhere in the world.

When using the VPN for streaming to our LG C1, the one frustration is that the default US server location occasionally failed to access US Netflix and other streaming platforms. Instead, we had to manually connect to the USA - New Jersey - 1 server. This workaround, however, isn’t obvious as none of ExpressVPN’s servers are labeled as optimized for streaming.

Superior Performance Justifies the Price

The only downside to ExpressVPN is its price, with prices starting from $6.67 per month. However, though competitors like NordVPN and Surfshark are cheaper, they fall short in ease of use, multi-country Smart DNS support, and lack dedicated router apps.

Ultimately, ExpressVPN is worth the extra cost if you want the best VPN for LG TV. The 30-day money-back guarantee also provides an opportunity to use ExpressVPN for free, though it requires upfront payment.

2. PrivadoVPN Free: The Best Free VPN for LG TV

PrivadoVPN Free is an excellent choice for casual streaming. It’s by far the best free VPN we used with our LG TV as it doesn’t require payment details to use, it unblocks popular streaming services, and it has a private logging policy.

However, it’s not compatible with most setup methods and it caps data usage to 10GB per month, which means it doesn’t come close to matching the performance of ExpressVPN and other premium VPN services.

BDM

100% Free & Doesn’t Require Any Payment Details

Unlike ExpressVPN and other top VPNs, PrivadoVPN is a truly free service, requiring no payment information during signup. This approach bypasses concerns associated with VPN free trials, such as automatic renewals.

Unlike many of the free VPNs we’ve tested, PrivadoVPN doesn’t collect any personally-identifiable logs. Other popular free LG TV VPNs, including Hola VPN and Bright VPN, log your IP address and other information. Your personal data is safe and secure with PrivadoVPN.

Limited but Effective for Streaming

Using PrivadoVPN Free to stream content on our TV has been surprisingly effective. We found it reliably bypasses geo-restrictions, particularly on US-based streaming services like Prime Video, Max, and Disney+.

That said, we were frustrated when trying to access content on many international streaming services. We were often blocked from accessing services, including BBC iPlayer, 9Now, and ITVX. The free version only provides servers in 11 countries, too, which is at least 89 fewer than top VPNs like ExpressVPN and Surfshark.

Compatibility and Data Restrictions

Setting up PrivadoVPN Free on an LG TV can be challenging, as we found that the VPN can’t be installed on routers and it doesn’t offer a Smart DNS feature. We explored alternative methods like AirPlay and connecting a laptop to the TV via HDMI, which were effective, but both of these methods require another device.

The 10GB monthly data cap is also a significant drawback, especially for heavy streaming. During our usage, we used up this limit after around four hours of HD streaming. Unlike Windscribe, PrivadoVPN Free doesn’t allow you to get extra data by completing certain tasks.

Other Popular VPNs That We Considered

We tested 65 VPNs with our LG C1 TV to find which ones performed the best for streaming and webOS compatibility. The vast majority of VPNs either failed to unblock popular streaming services or didn’t provide any compatibility features.

Here’s a list of other popular VPNs we evaluated and the reasons they didn’t make our list of the best LG TV VPNs: