In the past, you’ve probably watched YouTube videos on your computer, phone, or iPad, but now that YouTube is home to millions of videos, live streams, movies, and shows, it’s time to upgrade to the big screen. That is, your LG Smart TV screen.

Using the YouTube app on an LG Smart TV is quick and easy if you follow the steps in this article. You’ll learn how to download the YouTube app and how to use your YouTube account and navigate the app’s features.

Download the YouTube App

Some LG TVs used to support streaming from YouTube.com via the web browser. However, the YouTube app is now the only way to view YouTube content on your LG Smart TV. 

Select the LG Content Store icon on your TV’s home screen to download the YouTube app. Go to the “Apps” section, where you can find YouTube in the “Most Popular” category, or use your remote to type “youtube” in the search bar. Select the app and press “Install.” 

Once it’s finished installing, you can launch the app right away from the LG Content Store or by pressing the “home” button to view all your TV’s apps.

Sign In or Create a YouTube Account

Once you’ve opened the YouTube app, you can either browse content as a guest user or sign in to a YouTube account. Signing in or creating an account allows you to view curated content recommendations, see your watch history, create playlists, and more. 

  • Open the YouTube app on your TVSelect “sign in” from the menu on the left side of your screenUse your TV remote to type in the email and password associated with your YouTube account

Or sign in using your phone, tablet, or laptop.

  • Select “sign in via web browser” on your TVGo to youtube.com/tv/activate on your phone, tablet, or laptopEnter the code displayed on your TV

The easiest way to create a new YouTube account is to do so at YouTube.com on your computer or with the YouTube app on your phone or tablet. Once you’ve created an account, follow the instructions above for signing into your LG Smart TV.

Find Content to Watch

Once you’ve signed into your account, you’ll be able to see suggested videos based on the content you’ve enjoyed in the past, as well as trending content and categories based on your interests, all on the home screen of the YouTube app.

You can use the search bar to find things to watch by entering keywords. You can search categories like cooking, makeup, comedy, news, etc., or you can be more specific and search phrases like “fast, easy lasagna recipe” or “news about covid vaccines” to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Using the menu on the left side of the screen, you can select “subscriptions” to view channels you’ve subscribed to or select “library” to view your…

  • Watch history“Watch later” listMovies and shows you’ve purchased or rentedPlaylists you’ve created, including your liked videos

Cast Videos from Smartphone to TV

Rather than searching for a video via the YouTube app on your TV, which can be tedious due to the virtual keyboard, you can easily pull up a video on your phone’s YouTube app and then cast it onto your LG Smart TV screen.

  • Make sure your TV and phone are connected to the same Wi-Fi networkPull up the video you’d like to watch on your phone’s YouTube appSelect the cast icon found on the top right of your phone screen (the icon is a rectangle with curved lines in its bottom left corner)A menu will pop up with devices you can cast to; select “LG Smart TV.”

The video should then play on your LG Smart TV when you press play on your phone. You can use your phone to start and pause the video, select a new video to watch, or add videos to your queue to play next.

To stop casting to your TV, simply select the cast icon on your phone again, then select “disconnect.”

Knowing how to cast to your LG smart TV is important for tons of other content, such as Crunchyroll.

Adjust Settings and Update App

To adjust general settings on your LG Smart TV’s YouTube app, go to the menu on the left and scroll down the “settings” at the bottom. Here, you can change auto-play settings, switch languages, clear your history, etc.

To turn on captions for a video, select the captions icon (a square with “cc” inside) found above the video progress bar. Next to the captions icon are three dots. You can click these dots to adjust the video resolution, save the video to a playlist, like and dislike the video, and more.

To update your LG Smart TV’s YouTube app…

  • Open the LG Content StoreGo to “My Apps”Select the YouTube appClick “Update” if available

If there is no option to update the app, that means it is already up to date.

Conclusion

Downloading and using the YouTube app on your LG Smart TV is quite simple and makes it easier to watch your favorite YouTube content on a big screen. The ability to cast videos from your phone to your TV makes it even more user-friendly, and signing into a YouTube account gives you access to all the tools you’ll need to curate your content.