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LG TVs shown scanning home networks for other devices

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LG TVs shown scanning home networks for other devices

YouTube channels Gamers Nexus and Level1Techs worked with security researchers to examine the network behavior of LG TVs and published packet captures that show the sets scanning the local area network for unrelated devices. The tests included LG's high end G5 OLED TV, which Gamers Nexus editor-in-chief Steve Burke said "crawled our entire network and found dozens of unrelated devices, including smartwatches and phones of our staff who didn't even know we were working on this." Using the network protocol analyzer Wireshark alongside inspection of the TV's firmware, the researchers found the sets capable of identifying a user's IP address, geographic location, the name and signal strength of every Wi-Fi network in range, the channel numbers of neighboring Wi-Fi networks, and other devices on the network, including their internal IP addresses, even when those devices are never connected to the TV. LG's advertising arm, LG Ad Solutions, has separately told advertisers in recent marketing materials that it can reach 363 million "addressable secondary devices" in the US; the source material does not state that this figure is drawn from, or otherwise tied to, the specific scanning behavior the researchers documented. Asked for comment, LG Electronics sent a statement saying its TVs "can identify compatible devices on the same network to enable features such as device connectivity, content sharing or smart home functionality." That statement does not address why the scanning would extend to devices that are never linked to the TV. It remains unclear whether LG uses the collected network data for purposes beyond advertising, such as diagnostics, or whether the information is transmitted to LG at all.

Key facts

  • Gamers Nexus and Level1Techs, working with security researchers, published packet captures and firmware analysis of LG TVs, including the G5 OLED.
  • The TVs were shown scanning the local network and finding unrelated devices such as staff phones and smartwatches that were never connected to the TV.
  • Wireshark analysis found the TVs capable of reading a user's IP address, location, nearby Wi-Fi network names and signal strength, neighboring Wi-Fi channel numbers, and other devices' internal IP addresses.
  • LG Ad Solutions has told advertisers it can reach 363 million "addressable secondary devices" in the US, a figure the article does not tie directly to this scanning behavior.
  • LG Electronics says the feature identifies compatible devices for connectivity, content sharing and smart home functions; it is unclear if the data serves advertising or is sent to LG.

Why it matters

The findings suggest LG TVs quietly map every device on a home network, including gadgets with no relationship to the TV at all, which goes well beyond the connectivity features LG cites. Combined with LG Ad Solutions' claim of reaching 363 million addressable secondary devices in the US, the behavior reads as infrastructure for tracking a household's other devices for advertising purposes, even though the source does not confirm that link directly.

Who it affects

Anyone with a networked LG TV, especially higher end models like the G5 OLED tested here. The scanning reportedly picks up any device sharing the same local network, including phones and smartwatches belonging to people who never touched the TV's settings, so the exposure is not limited to the TV's own user.

How to use it

The article does not describe a setting to disable this scanning or confirm whether it can be turned off, so there is no vetted mitigation to pass on. The practical takeaway is awareness: owners of networked LG TVs should treat the set as a device capable of seeing the rest of the home network, not just itself, until LG clarifies the feature.

How solid is it

The claim rests on packet captures and firmware inspection performed by two established tech YouTube channels working with security researchers, using the standard tool Wireshark, which gives it a solid technical basis. LG Electronics has confirmed the underlying capability in its own statement, though it frames it around legitimate connectivity features rather than the broader scanning described.

Risks and caveats

Several details remain open: the source does not name the security researchers involved, does not date the tests, does not say whether the scanned network data is actually sent to LG or LG Ad Solutions, and does not say whether other TV brands behave the same way. The 363 million figure is LG's own marketing claim and is not explicitly linked in the source to this specific scanning feature.

“The [G5] crawled our entire network and found dozens of unrelated devices, including smartwatches and phones of our staff who didn't even know we were working on this”

— Steve Burke, Gamers Nexus editor-in-chief