What LG ThinQ Is Supposed to Do
LG ThinQ is the control hub for LG’s IoT-connected appliances, covering everything from washers and ovens to TVs and air purifiers. The pitch is broad: remote control of appliances, smart routines that automate things like turning on lights and air purifiers at wake-up time, energy monitoring that compares your usage to neighbors, smart diagnosis for troubleshooting, and an AI chat feature called ‘Chat with LG’ for product questions. If you own multiple LG appliances, this is essentially the only app built to manage them all in one place, which makes it a mandatory download rather than an optional lifestyle add-on.
Where It Actually Delivers
A handful of specific features do work as intended for many users. One reviewer specifically called out the oven cleaning reminder as genuinely useful, and another long-time user said the app ‘used to be amazing’ with simple, easy TV connection before a later update broke things. A four-star reviewer with a washer-dryer combo said they loved the proprietary support tied to their specific appliance, noting that if you own LG products you don’t have many alternative choices anyway, and that despite its flaws it’s a ‘good app’ compared to competitors handling similar basic tasks. When the core pairing and control functions are working, the promise of checking and running appliances from your phone is real.
The Recurring Complaints That Show Up Again and Again
The most damaging pattern in user feedback is inconsistency after updates. Multiple reviewers describe features that worked fine suddenly breaking: one user said an update made the app freeze immediately on launch, preventing any scrolling or selection until a force-stop; another said their TV stopped recognizing the app’s network connection at all after previously working ‘with ease.’ The TV remote function draws particularly sharp criticism — several separate reviews independently complain that the remote defaults to a touchpad-style mouse cursor instead of a standard directional pad, and that switching to the d-pad doesn’t stick, reverting back to touchpad mode on its own and sometimes closing the interface entirely.
Diagnostics and Energy Monitoring Fall Short of the Marketing
The Smart Diagnosis feature, marketed as a way to check product status and catch problems early, is described by at least one user as ‘a joke’ after it failed to register an actual appliance issue they were experiencing. Energy Monitoring also draws specific criticism: one reviewer reported the app showing an inaccurate indoor temperature reading of 66 degrees that only corrected itself once the app was manually opened, and said this false reading caused their unit to pause and let the room get uncomfortably hot — undermining the entire point of an energy-saving feature if it requires keeping the app open constantly to stay accurate.
Connectivity Remains the Weak Link
Beyond software bugs, basic connectivity is a recurring frustration. One reviewer described needing to constantly reconnect the app to their TV, including a moment where the TV was already on but the app insisted it needed to be turned on, followed by an endless loading spinner. This kind of friction matters because the entire value proposition of ThinQ is remote and automated control — when a simple task like skipping a YouTube ad requires fighting through a broken connection state, the automation and convenience promised in the store listing doesn’t materialize in practice.
Who Should Actually Download This
If you own LG appliances, ThinQ isn’t really optional — it’s the only official way to access remote control, routines, and service booking for your specific products, and features like the oven cleaning reminder and proprietary appliance support do add real value for some users. But go in with realistic expectations: update stability is inconsistent, the TV remote’s touchpad default is a persistent annoyance, and both diagnostics and energy monitoring have documented accuracy problems in real use. This is a utility app you’ll tolerate for the hardware it unlocks, not one you’ll enjoy using for its own sake.
