Fix LG TV showing not connected with USB adapter

By /

When your LG TV shows “Not connected” even with a USB‑to‑Ethernet adapter plugged in, the adapter is usually either not being recognized properly by webOS, the network path is incomplete, or the particular TV model does not fully support that dongle. The good news is there are several practical things you can try before giving up on the adapter.

1. Check basic hardware and router path

  • Test the adapter on a PC or laptop

    • Plug the same USB‑to‑Ethernet adapter into a computer and confirm it gets a wired internet connection and realistic speed. If it fails there, the adapter or cable is faulty.

  • Try a different USB port and Ethernet cable

    • Some LG OLEDs respond differently on various USB‑A ports, so try each one.

    • Swap to a known‑good Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable between the adapter and router.

If the adapter works on a PC but still shows “Not connected” on the TV, the problem is likely TV‑side.

2. Force the TV to use wired and disable Wi‑Fi

On some LG TVs, the USB‑Ethernet interface can be active but hidden behind Wi‑Fi:

  • Turn off Wi‑Fi on the TV

    • Go to Settings → Network → Wi‑Fi → turn Wi‑Fi off and only leave the USB‑Ethernet adapter connected.

  • Perform a power‑cycle

    • Unplug the TV from the wall for 60 seconds, then plug it back in and power it on. This often makes the TV rescan and pick up the USB‑Ethernet properly.

If the TV still shows “Not connected,” but apps like Netflix or YouTube still work, the adapter is actually active but the UI is just mislabeling it.

3. Check for adapter‑ and router‑side glitches

  • Change router or DNS settings

    • If the router is set to a non‑standard LAN mode (for example, 100 Mbps only on the switch or strange VLAN setup), the adapter may not complete the handshake even though the cable is fine.

    • Try changing the TV’s DNS to a public service (Google or Cloudflare) in Settings → Network → IP settings → DNS.

  • Verify HDMI‑related settings (rare)

    • A few reports link USB‑Ethernet issues on some LG models to HDMI Ultra HD Deep Color or similar HDMI options; enabling the right HDMI mode has let the adapter start working.

4. Model‑ and adapter‑compatibility limits

Not all LG OLED TVs play nicely with all USB‑to‑Ethernet adapters:

  • Some LG models simply do not recognize the adapter

    • Users report that certain B‑series and newer C‑series OLEDs fail to detect Cable Matters or similar dongles even though the same adapter works fine on a PC or older LG TVs.

  • No official LG driver support

    • LG does not ship dedicated drivers for arbitrary USB‑Ethernet chips, so behavior can be hit‑or‑miss, especially on webOS 24+ or newer OLEDs.

If you’ve tried all the steps above and the TV still shows “Not connected” with the adapter, your model is likely incompatible with that specific dongle. In that case, viable options are:

  • Swap to a different USB‑to‑Gigabit adapter known to work with your LG OLED (e.g., certain TP‑Link or other brands that show up in LG‑specific threads).

  • Or fall back to the TV’s built‑in Ethernet port or a stable 5 GHz Wi‑Fi connection, which for most streaming uses is still good enough without needing the USB workaround.

For LG TV owners in Nairobi and similar setups, treating the USB adapter as a “sometimes‑works” workaround rather than a guaranteed feature helps avoid frustration, and pairing it with a compatible TV‑adapter combo is the only way to keep “Not connected” from reappearing permanently.

Scroll to Top