The home theater system allows you to fully enjoy your favorite movies in the comfort of your living room. However, sometimes installation of the system does not go smoothly.
If you have an LG home theater or a soundbar, one very common issue you might experience is the LG subwoofer blinking green. What does that mean? How can you fix it? Read on to find out.
Important disclaimer
LG offers a wide variety of home cinema systems and sound bars. All of these sets are composed of different items, which in turn all have different functionality.
It means that the solutions described in this article might not work for all models. It’s always best to consult the owner’s manual provided with your specific product. Usually, the most common issues are described in the manuals in great detail. This method is always more reliable.
What if you have misplaced the manual or don’t have it for some other reason? In this case, I might advise you to visit the LG web page.
On the web page, find the LG soundbar you have and scroll to the bottom of the page. Click on manuals and enter your model’s serial number. After that, you should be able to download the digital copy of your manual.
If you haven’t been able to resolve the issue even after consulting the manual, your LG sound bar or LG subwoofer might be broken. Go to the LG web page and contact the customer service.
The subwoofer blinking green light
Don’t worry. In most cases, an LG subwoofer blinking green does not call for a maintenance shop visit or anything of that sort.
The blinking green LED light in an LG subwoofer means that your subwoofer is attempting to pair with the LG soundbar.
Usually, the LG subwoofer only stays in the pairing mode for a short period (30 seconds or less). Once it successfully connects with the bar the green light will begin to shine steadily.
For various reasons, the pairing process might be impeded. In this case, the subwoofer will go into the pairing mode indefinitely, which means the light will keep flashing green. Fortunately, this is an issue that can be resolved in just a couple of simple steps.
Green LED light blinking green: solutions
The first thing and the simplest thing you can try is to reboot or power cycle the system.
“Have you tried turning it on and off again?”. Everyone is so sick of this phrase. It seems like all technical support specialists resort to this advice when they have no idea how to help you.
Yes, this phrase sounds like a cheap cliche and yet this is probably exactly what you should try to do when the green light on your devices is blinking.
Power cycle
Turn your LG soundbar off by pressing the power button on your remote control or on the system itself.
Unplug both the LG subwoofer and the soundbar.
Wait for a minute.
Plug the LG subwoofer and bar into the outlet.
Turn the soundbar on. At first, the green light on your LG subwoofer will start flashing again but after 35 sec or so it should automatically connect with your bar. If this happens the blinking green light will start shining steadily.
There is a logical explanation for why that might work. The power cycle provides a fresh start for the sound system. Any connection issues or errors might be resolved during the reboot. After the soundbar and the LG soundwoofer are plugged in again the first thing they do is go into the pairing mode.
Don’t worry, if this method didn’t work for you. Let’s keep troubleshooting. Eventually, we’ll get it right.
Wireless connection issues
As I said, sometimes the pairing process might be impeded. The main reason is an unstable connection. Your LG subwoofer fails to connect to the bar because there’s no steady signal, as simple as that.
The signal strength depends on a couple of important factors. Let’s discuss all of them in greater detail.
Range
The first factor is range. Contrary to what many people may believe, the Bluetooth module in an LG subwoofer isn’t very powerful. However, this isn’t a design flaw. Since the low-frequency sound of a subwoofer can travel quite far and in all directions, you can position it pretty close to the main sound source.
It means that the signal starts to get weaker if you move the LG subwoofer farther than 10 ft from the soundbar. This range is more than enough for all rooms and home theaters.
In the case, that your LG soundbar subwoofer is blinking green light try moving it closer to the soundbar.
Wireless interference
The other factor is wireless interference. What is that?
Every single electrical appliance in your house has an electromagnetic field. The appliance doesn’t need to have a Bluetooth module or a Wi-Fi module. If there’s an electric current in it, it’s got an electric field.
If the field is strong enough, or if its source is located close enough to your LG soundbar subwoofer the subwoofer is going to have a hard time pairing.
I recommend you look for devices that might disrupt the wireless signal. For example, if you’ve got a gaming console don’t place it between the LG soundbar and your LG subwoofer. The problem is not simply that a console creates a strong electromagnetic field, it also has a Bluetooth module of its own.
It means that a console is a major source of disruption that can prevent your LG subwoofer from pairing.
Manual pairing
After you’ve moved your LG subwoofer closer to the soundbar and removed all potential sources of wireless interference the LED should stop blinking green. If that didn’t happen you can try to perform manual pairing.
Both your LG subwoofer and the soundbar should be turned on.
Turn the volume down to the minimum. Hold the minus button on the remote until you see a steady red light on the front panel of the LG soundbar.
Only now, should you proceed to pressing the mute button for about three seconds. If your timing is correct, the red light on the front panel will start blinking.
Next, take your subwoofer and press the pairing button on the back panel. The pairing button is quite small and discreet but you should be able to find it easily since it’s the only button there. Since the pairing button is so small it might be difficult to press with a finger. I recommend you use a toothpick or a small Phillips screwdriver.
Hold the button for ten seconds. After you see both the red light on the bar and the green light on the subwoofer blinking, unplug both appliances.
Wait for about a minute. Turn them on again. The LG subwoofer blinking should go on for some time and then stop if the pairing is successful.
Factory reset
This method is more of a last resort. Just like the power cycle, resetting your LG subwoofer and LG soundbar can fix many issues and bugs. At the same time, it will also erase all of the user settings.
Locate the volume down button on your bar and the sound effect button on the remote. Hold both buttons for about 30 sec.
After that, you should see the letters E-CLR on the front panel of the LG soundbar.
This message means that the soundbar is now resetting. Once the factory reset is completed, your LG soundbar will turn off.
Turn it back on, and attempt to perform the manual pairing the way it’s described in the previous section.
Other tips
If your LG subwoofer is blinking green light even after you tried these methods, try this.
For example, what if there’s a power supply issue. Check if your LG soundbar subwoofer is properly plugged in. Check the integrity of all the audio cables and the power cord. If the power cord is fine, and there’s no power supply issue, connect the customer support. Your sound system must have a critical malfunction.
Read also: Best Settings for LG Sound Bar
Conclusion
Why does my LG soundbar subwoofer blink green? LG subwoofer blinking green can only mean that the subwoofer fail to pair with the soundbar.
If there are no other powerful devices nearby and your subwoofer and bar are close enough, try performing manual pairing, or if everything else fails a factory reset. If nothing worked and the blinking light is still there, you might have a faulty soundbar. In this case, you should contact customer service.
Read also: Samsung Sound Bar Volume Problems [Complete Guide]
FAQ
Why is my subwoofer light blinking?
A blinking green light on an LG wireless subwoofer can only indicate that the subwoofer is in pairing mode and is now trying to connect with the core of the system, i.e. your LG soundbar.
Usually, after some time (less than a minute) the LG soundbar subwoofer will manage to establish the connection, and the green light will turn steady.
If that’s not happening, check out our guide above.
How do I reset my LG wireless subwoofer?
Hold down the sound effect button on the remote and the minus button on the bar for 30 sec.
Why is my LG subwoofer not pairing?
The LG subwoofer blinking green indicates failed pairing. Unstable connection might be the problem.
Make sure that your wireless subwoofer is close enough to the soundbar. The optimal distance is 10 ft. If your subwoofer and soundbar are further apart you might experience connectivity issues.
Other devices with powerful electromagnetic fields might also interfere with the work of an LG subwoofer.
How do I pair my LG soundbar to the subwoofer?
Enabling pairing mode is easy.
Hold the volume down until the red LED light on the bar turns solid.
Hold the mute button. The LED light should start blinking. Then hold the pairing button on the subwoofer for 10 sec. Turn them off. Wait for a minute and turn them back on.
The subwoofer blinking light should go on for a bit and then turn steady.
Read also: Why My Samsung Subwoofer Keeps Blinking Blue
Mia Evelyn is a soundbar specialist and she love to test and review different soundbar brands. She shares her neutral and in-depth reviews through the Soundbar Mag.
