LG stands in the top echelon of TV manufacturers, particularly for the brand’s incredible 4K OLED TVs. The company is also responsible for some great LED-LCD sets, soundbars, and other AV entertainment products. If you own an LG smart TV made within the last 10 years or so, you’ve probably noticed the included Magic Remote has four colored buttons: red, green, yellow, and blue.
Believe it or not, these aren’t programmable keys, but a unique batch of shortcut commands, with one assigned to each button. Here’s the kicker: These four buttons will only work when you’re using certain LG TV menus and apps, and by default, none of the buttons will even work until you activate them. To do so, simply press the mute button three times in a row to access a pop-up menu, then select the option to enable the shortcut keys. Now you’re ready to start using the colored buttons, and we’re here to teach you what each key is capable of.
One thing to keep in mind is that this guide is most relevant for modern LG TVs; mostly because LG’s legacy sets and older remotes may not share the same functions and features of the brand’s post-2020 output.
Here’s what the red and green keys do
First up is the red button, which carries out two different LG TV shortcuts: an AV Reset and access to the TV’s built-in keypad when visiting a webpage. In LG terms, you can think of an AV Reset as putting all picture and sound settings back to their factory defaults. This can be useful if you’ve made an adjustment to your TV settings that you don’t like, and you’d rather wipe the slate clean than try and remember what brightness levels were like before you went and tweaked everything.
To initiate an AV Reset with the red shortcut key, you’ll need to be on your LG TV’s home screen. The second function of the red button is helpful for those who enjoy using LG’s web-browsing app. Press red when there’s a webpage open, and your TV’s built-in keypad will appear, allowing you to start typing in URLs and other search terms quickly.
Moving on to the green button, we have another two commands to cover: the ability to auto-tune your LG TV from its home screen, as well as the ability to choose items for deletion when using certain apps. For those unaware, auto-tuning scans for available channels and saves them to your LG TV. The vast majority of LG TV owners will probably never need to use auto-tuning, though, as the function is typically only required if you have an OTA antenna connected to your TV.
As for the green key’s second shortcut command, you’ll need to have an LG TV app opened (such as the Photos and Videos app) with selectable elements. Pressing the green key should allow you to choose items you’d like to delete.
This is what the yellow and blue keys do
The yellow key has two useful shortcut commands, too. First off, when you’re on the home screen, you can press the yellow key to send a power-on command to your TV’s connected set-top box.
In most cases, this simply refers to a cable box, which may or may not have a power toggle to begin with, as some newer set-tops are simply powered on at all times. Alternatively, this function may or may not work with specific streaming devices, like Roku’s Streaming Stick lineup, or Amazon’s Fire TV gadgetry. Secondly, pressing the yellow button when you’re using TV apps should also allow you to place the TV in Select Mode.
Finishing off our shortcut journey is the blue button, which features two final commands. The first is only accessible on the home screen, and when you press it, your LG TV should open its remote service screen. If you’re having issues with your TV and need an LG technician’s help, you’ll likely be guided to this page so the rep can remotely access your TV. The last blue shortcut lets you activate your TV’s picture-in-picture mode when you’re using the TV’s built-in web browser.
