Can You Change the Background on an LG Smart TV (Step by Step)

If you have an LG Smart TV, you have likely noticed that it has come with a preset background image.  You may not particularly like this preset image or have become tired of seeing it so many times and want to look into changing the background image.  Therefore the question is, can you change the background and how?

You can change the homepage of the LG Smart TV, but only to a designated website for quick access.  In addition, you are restricted from changing the screensaver background images, aside from displaying a gallery of images from a limited selection. 

Read on to find out about your options in making your LG Smart TV background displays a little more interesting. With the right tools, you can turn your idle TV into a work of art.

Setting the Homepage Startup to Website

Although you cannot set a custom wallpaper for your LG Smart TV’s homepage, you can add some background functionality by setting the homepage to a website.  This is especially useful if you have websites that you plan to visit frequently on your TV, such as Google.

Open a Web Browser App

Open any web browser that is available to you on your LG Smart TV.  Some examples that could be on your TV are:

• LG Web Browser
• Puffin TV Browser
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox 

It can be any browser as long as it allows you to access the internet as you would on your phone, laptop, or other devices.

Access Settings

Click on the three horizontal lines symbol in the top right corner of the web browser.  This should open a menu where you can click on Settings.

Click Change Next to Home Page

Under the On Startup section of Settings, you will see various options for telling your LG Smart TV to do upon turning on the TV.  Select the Home page: and click on the Change button.

Enter the Desired Website URL

From here under Enter URL…, you may enter the URL of any website that you know you will frequently visit.  Click OK when finished, and this website will now open every time you turn on your LG Smart TV.

Changing Screensaver into Slideshow Gallery

When not in use, your LG Smart TV will enter into screensaver mode to prevent static images from burning into your TV screen. However, due to how OLED TVs work, continuously displaying images for long periods of time or repeatedly displaying images can lead to image retention.  This works like scarring your TV with parts of displayed images, leading to lower quality displays in the future. 

Screensaver mode displays a single preset image, usually fireworks, that you are not able to change.  However, you can change the display into a slideshow of OLED gallery images.  The drawback is that these images are limited to the gallery images that already came with your TV.

Press the Home Button

This will be a button on your LG Smart TV remote with the symbol of a tiny house.  Clicking on this will open up the Home menu.

Select Images from Gallery

Navigate to Gallery from the Home menu.  You will be given various OLED image options from which you may select for your screensaver slideshow.  Select the images that you would like for this.

Click Ok

Once you have selected the images that you want, click Ok and the screensaver should begin cycling through the selected images.

Another drawback is that you will have to manually reactivate the photo gallery using the steps above every time you want your TV to display the Gallery.  Although the process itself is quite quick and should only take a minute, it is definitely an inconvenience to consider.  

However, if you do enjoy the image gallery slideshow, it can definitely be worth setting up due to how quick it is to do so.  It is one of the few true forms of customization that you have access to when changing the background of your LG Smart TV.

Conclusion

You currently do not have many options when it comes to customizing the images on your LG Smart TV.  Manufacturers purposely restrict image customization due to how prone OLED TVs, such as your LG Smart TV, are to potential damage from certain image exposure. 

However, that does not mean that there is no level of customization available to you.  As discussed in the article, you can set up your homepage to automatically direct to a website upon starting the TV.  In addition, you can also adjust your screensaver mode image from a single image into a slideshow that can display a variety of images.  All this can make your LG Smart TV experience a little more visually appealing and practical, optimized towards your own personal usage.