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LG · Pi-hole

Pi-hole and LG TVs: what it blocks and what slips past

Pi-hole can take a lot of noise out of an LG TV. It can also break the LG Content Store, LG Channels and, in a less obvious way, YouTube, because the TV gets its clock from LG’s servers. Here is what to use, what to watch for, and what Pi-hole cannot see.

Updated

Step by step

A setup that holds

  1. Give the TV your Pi-hole as its DNS server, through the router’s DHCP or in the TV’s network settings.
  2. Add HaGeZi’s native LG webOS list to Pi-hole, or the LG section of Perflyst’s SmartTV list.
  3. On the router, redirect all outgoing DNS on port 53 to the Pi-hole and block DNS over TLS on port 853.
  4. If the Content Store, LG Channels or a streaming app stops working, look at the query log and allow names back one at a time.
  5. If apps fail after the TV was unplugged, set the date and time by hand, or allow the names the TV uses to set its clock.

Menus change with TV updates: if a label does not match, look for the closest entry in the same section.

Which lists to use

HaGeZi’s DNS blocklists include a native tracker list for LG webOS, updated in October 2026; the project warns that native tracker lists can limit some functions. Perflyst’s SmartTV list has an LG section and warns that the TV may stop updating or that some apps may break.

What breaks

The public issue trackers of both lists show the same pattern. Blocking the wrong LG name breaks the Content Store, and with it Google Cast; LG Channels stops loading. The least obvious one is the clock: after the TV has been unplugged, it sets its time only from LG’s servers, and with those blocked YouTube and Prime Video refuse to play until the time is set by hand.

In September 2026, after a widely watched video on LG TVs, the lists added many LG names, and HaGeZi then had to allow several back, country by country.

Why the TV may skip your Pi-hole

A user of the HaGeZi lists reported an LG TV falling back to Google’s DNS, and HaGeZi recommends closing plain DNS and DNS over TLS on the router so that every query goes through the Pi-hole. Anything the TV reaches by address, without asking DNS first, is out of Pi-hole’s sight.

What Pi-hole cannot do

Pi-hole sees names, not devices or screens. It does not know whether the TV is on or off, and it does not keep the TV away from your computers and phones: LG has confirmed that its TVs scan the home network, and a DNS filter cannot stop that.

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Questions

Why does YouTube stop working on my LG TV with Pi-hole?

Often it is the clock. After being unplugged, the TV sets its time only from LG’s servers; if they are blocked, the time stays wrong and apps such as YouTube and Prime Video fail. Set the time by hand or allow those names.

Does Pi-hole stop LG TVs from scanning my network?

No. The scan happens inside your home network and does not go through DNS. Only keeping the TV on a separate network stops it.

Should I block LG firmware updates?

We would not. Updates also fix security holes, and the maintained lists do not block the update check.

Sources

  1. DNS blocklists (native LG webOS list), HaGeZi, GitHub · checked on October 21, 2026
  2. PiHoleBlocklist (SmartTV.txt), Perflyst, GitHub · checked on October 21, 2026
  3. LG content store blocked and google casting broken (#172), Perflyst, GitHub · checked on October 21, 2026
  4. LG Channels app no longer working (#148), Perflyst, GitHub · checked on October 21, 2026
  5. Auto Date & Time breaks on LG Smart TV after cold boot (#117), Perflyst, GitHub · checked on October 21, 2026
  6. Blocked subdomain breaks LG WebOS Appstore (#995), HaGeZi, GitHub · checked on October 21, 2026
  7. Blocked LG domain causes TV apps to not work (#11438), HaGeZi, GitHub · checked on October 21, 2026
  8. Please unblock domains that affect the functioning of LG Channels (#11544), HaGeZi, GitHub · checked on October 21, 2026
  9. LG defends smart TV features amid audio surveillance allegations, Al Jazeera, 10 September 2026 · checked on October 21, 2026

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