GoKawiil
Tech News
Smart TVs running WebOS, Google TV, Fire TV OS or Roku OS use standby mode to install software and app updates in the background rather than forcing users to wait through updates at power-on. OLED TVs specifically rely on standby to run pixel-refresh routines that prevent image retention and burn-in, a process that gets interrupted if the set is shut down or unplugged too soon after use.
An independent developer has released PlxNative, a free open-source Plex client built specifically for LG TVs running webOS, aimed at fixing the sluggish menus that plague older sets. Rather than running inside a browser like the official app, it renders its interface natively using Rust and OpenGL while still handing off video playback to the TV's built-in hardware decoder. It can be installed through the Homebrew Channel or sideloaded using LG's Developer Mode and webOS Dev Manager.
A GamersNexus investigation into LG smart TVs found system logs storing sensitive spoken data, including credit card numbers and Social Security numbers, captured during voice search queries. The same testing also suggested the TVs could access webcam and microphone functions while appearing off or disconnected from the network, and that a compromised TV could scan the local network to discover other connected devices.
A guide details how owners of the LG C5 OLED, running webOS 25, can restore 5 GHz Wi-Fi that is disabled by the TV's Middle East regional configuration. By enabling LG Developer Mode and using the upstream lg-geolock-bypass script over SSH from a Windows 11 PC, one user switched the set's area code from a Middle East profile to a European one with the country set to Germany, which unlocked 5 GHz connectivity without root access or a firmware update.