A VPN on an LG webOS TV: what works and what does not

An LG TV runs webOS, LG’s own system, not Android, and there is no Mayak app for it. Still, you can watch on an LG through a protected connection: there are two ways, both below step by step.

Why there is no Mayak app for LG webOS

LG TVs run webOS. LG itself calls it its own smart TV operating system, built from the ground up for televisions. It is not Android. Our app is for Android 7.0 and newer, and it is the same app that runs on Android TV and Google TV; an APK file is an Android file, and on webOS it has nowhere to run.

Apps for webOS are a world of their own: they come from the LG Content Store (LG help). There is also a developer mode, but it is for people who write and test their own apps: LG says it is on for a limited time and switches off when the session runs out or after the TV has restarted ten times with no network. For someone who simply wants to watch, it is not a way. We are not building a webOS app and we name no dates.

“What if I type the settings in by hand?” Your account page gives out a settings file, but it carries AmneziaWG 3.0 header protection, which plain WireGuard does not have, and we know of no AmneziaWG client for webOS. We have not seen LG’s menus with our own eyes: we own no LG TV, and we say nothing about what is in them.

How to tell webOS from Android

The brand does not decide it, and neither do the words “Smart TV”; the system inside does. Check in this order:

• Google Play on the TV. If it is there, the TV runs Android TV or Google TV, and you need another article: the general guide for Android TV and Google TV. We have not met an LG like that and cannot say whether one exists, but the check takes a minute.
• The model name. It is on the sticker on the back and in the papers. Find the model’s page on LG’s site: the system is usually named in the specifications. We did not open LG’s catalogue for Russia, so we do not claim what it says for your series.
• The TV’s settings. They have a section with information about the TV and the system version. What it is called in your version of webOS we do not know: we have no LG.

Way 1: an Android TV box

This is the only way in which Mayak runs on the device next to the screen: to be exact, on a small box in the HDMI port. It has its own Android, its own remote and its own apps, and the LG TV is just its screen.

1. Get a box. Android TV, Google TV or plain Android 7.0 and newer will do; Android TV is more convenient because you sign in with a code from the screen. What to choose is in the article about boxes. We recommend no particular models: we have not held a single one.
2. Connect it to the LG with an HDMI cable and switch the TV to that input.
3. Create an account on your phone or in your account page and install Mayak on the box: from Google Play (“Mayak — private network”) or from a file at mayak.ws/dl/app if there is no store.
4. Sign in with the code on the screen and connect. Mayak on the box shows a QR code and an eight-character code; on the phone: Mayak → Settings → “Sign in a TV” → “Scan QR” → “Confirm sign-in”. “Protected” on the screen means you are done. All the details and why the code is safe are in the TV article.

What this way costs. You have to buy a box. You will watch through it: the LG’s own apps, its home screen and built-in services, live in the TV, while Mayak lives in the box, so only what runs on the box goes through the protected connection. The box also takes a plan slot, like one more phone.

Way 2: a router

If you would rather not buy a box, the protected connection can live on the router: the LG TV is connected to it over Wi-Fi or a cable, and everything at home goes through Mayak, the TV’s built-in apps included. There is one condition: the router firmware must know AmneziaWG 3.0 or newer.

1. Find out what firmware you have. OpenWrt 24.10.8 with the awg-openwrt package built on 22 September 2026 or later will do: we tested it with a live connection on 24 September 2026, but in a virtual machine, not on a hardware router. Stock Keenetic and Netcraze know only AmneziaWG 2.0 so far and will not accept our file; TP-Link, ASUS, Xiaomi, MikroTik and GL.iNet on stock firmware will not either.
2. Take the file in your account page: the “Linux file” card.
3. Load it onto the router with the seven steps in the router article.
4. Connect the LG to this router as usual. Nothing needs setting up in the TV.

What this way costs. The whole home goes through one country: the router has no “RU Apps” switch like the app has, and Russian sites will see the address of the country you picked. When access ends, the whole home is left without internet. Speed also depends on the router’s processor: we did not measure it on a hardware router. The setup is yours, and we have no app for routers. Details are in the router article.

There is a third trick, in brief: let a device you already own hold the connection, and let the LG only show the picture — a computer over HDMI or screen mirroring from an Android phone. What is known and what we did not measure is in the Samsung and LG article.

What is that “VPN” in the LG store

You can type “VPN” into the LG Content Store search, and the list may show something. What exactly is in the LG store for Russia and how it works we did not check, so we neither recommend nor rate other people’s apps. With any such app it is worth looking at who the publisher is, what it says about your data and what permissions it asks for. And keep the rule that holds for every TV: only what runs where the connection is switched on goes through the protected connection.

What will not work

• Sharing Wi-Fi from your phone. It seems obvious: the phone is connected through Mayak, the TV takes its internet from the phone. It does not work: Android sends the shared traffic around the app, and the TV gets your operator’s ordinary internet.
• Installing our APK file on an LG. It will not run on webOS, and downloading it to the TV is pointless.
• Looking for a menu item in the TV settings and typing our settings file in: the reason is given above, and we know of no client for webOS.

What we tested

• LG’s words about webOS and developer mode — on its own pages, opened on 29 September 2026 (links in the text).
• The app on Android TV — on an emulator (Android 14, release build): install, sign-in with a code from the phone and a connection up to “Protected”, early September 2026.
• The settings file on a router — on OpenWrt 24.10.8 with a live connection in a virtual machine, 24 September 2026.

What we do not know

• What LG’s menus look like and whether there is any place for someone else’s settings. We own no LG TV.
• Which LG models run which system. We did not open LG’s catalogue for Russia.
• What is in the LG store under the word “VPN” and how it works.
• A live box next to an LG. Our measurements are Android TV emulators and data on people’s devices.
• A hardware router. The check was in a virtual machine.
• Whether a webOS app will appear. No plans, no dates. If we take it on, we will say so here.

Short answers

Can I install a VPN on an LG TV? There is no Mayak app for webOS, and it cannot be installed on an LG. The ways that work are an Android TV box or a router with AmneziaWG 3.0.

How do I download a VPN for an LG TV? There is nothing to download to the TV itself: our APK file will not run on webOS. You download and install Mayak on a box — from Google Play or from mayak.ws/dl/app.

Is there a Mayak app for LG webOS? No. No plans, no dates.

What if my LG has Google Play? Then it runs Android, and Mayak installs as on any Android TV: the general guide.

Will sharing Wi-Fi from a phone help? No: shared traffic goes around the app.

A box or a router? A box is simpler and works for almost everyone, but it protects only what runs on it. A router covers the whole home, but it needs firmware with AmneziaWG 3.0, and without access the internet is gone for everyone.