LG Smart TV Unknown Device Is Disconnected Fix
By Paul Rudoff on Jul. 10, 2019 at 11:46 PM in Public Service Articles

Have you purchased a LG "Smart TV" and found yourself inundated with "Unknown Device Is Disconnected" messages? Well, let me show you how to permanently rid yourself of that nuisance.
After having a bad experience with an LG computer monitor many years ago, the last thing I would ever do is buy an LG TV. This LG 43UJ6300 43" Ultra HD TV was manufactured on October 2017 and came pre-loaded with firmware v03.60.50. It was purchased for me by a Best Buy customer service representative on November 22, 2017 as an "equal replacement" for a Sharp 42" HDTV whose backlight had died under the terms of their Best Buy extended warranty I had purchased. The TV it replaced was a 42" regular HDTV, so I thought they were doing me a favor by giving me one inch bigger and Ultra HD. Little did I know that the smart TV was really dumb.
I was okay with it as a replacement at first, even though it lacks a headphone output jack like the old TV had. I had to buy a digital out converter to turn the digital out output into a headphone jack for those times when I want to watch loud TV late at night. For a year and a half, I had no problems with it. Of course, I was only using it as a regular TV. I had no interest in connecting it to the Internet or using any of its "smart" features. That all changed in May 2019 when WWE announced that they would be discontinuing support for the WWE Network on PlayStation 3. I figured I'd use the WWE Network app through the LG TV I already owned, instead of paying $30 for a Roku Express stick. I would have had less headaches if I just paid the $30 and got the Roku.
On May 14, 2019 I started using the TV with the internet for the first time ever. The first thing I did was try to connect wirelessly to the router I have in the same room as the TV. It just hung on trying to find the wifi networks. That should have been my first sign that this TV's "smart" features are a piece of crap. After exiting out and going back into the network settings, it found my router and there was no problem setting it up. I then set about downloading all of the apps I have/had on the PS3: WWE Network, Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, Crackle, and YouTube. I also updated the TV's firmware, which involved going from v03.60.50 to v4.70.03, then to v5.80.02, and finally to v5.80.15 (which may not be the current anymore, but I'm not updating any further).
For a short while, the Internet-connected TV worked fine. Then I decided to change to a wired Internet connection. As the TV started to show ads and other garbage pop-ups every time I turned it on - I don't need to be reminded every time that it has a wired connection - I decided to unplug the Internet connection and only plug it back in when needed. From this point on, the TV had a mind of its own. There were several instances where it would restart (shut off and turn back on) without me doing anything. There were times when it was connected with a wired Internet connection, yet it would still show pop-up messages saying it was disconnected...only to magically be connected again two or three seconds later! On one night, Netflix played SO poorly on the TV, that I opted to connect the wire back to the PS3, where Netflix played beautifully. At this point, I decided to say "screw you" to the "Smart TV" and just buy that Roku stick later this year on Black Friday. (I don't need it right now as my sister has one on her TV, so I can watch the WWE Network there for the time being.)

The TV, apparently, realized I wasn't going to put up with its crap and decided to go all "Maximum Overdrive" on me. I mean it didn't try to kill me. Well, it hasn't...yet. But that's when it decided to annoy the Hell out of me by popping up a non-descriptive "Unknown Device Is Disconnected" message in the upper right corner of the screen several times each hour. Sometimes several times every few seconds. I did a web search and tried everything that other users had suggested, until I found the one thing that permanently solved the problem for me.
The cause of the problem is the Wifi Module inside the TV, though it also may be how a certain firmware version communicates with the Wifi Module. The only way to permanently solve the problem - aside from buying a new, non-LG TV - is to open up your TV and either clean, replace, or disconnect the Wifi Module. Also, do not upgrade the firmware, if you haven't done so already. Sadly, LG does not provide an option in the TV's software to disable pop ups in Home mode; that option only appears in store mode, which does not save picture and audio settings. That's why opening up the TV is the only way to go. (You can click on all of the images below to have enlargements opened in a new window, so you can take a better look at the details.)
What I'm about to demonstrate should only be done for TVs that are no longer under the one-year warranty. If your TV is still under warranty, call LG and have them handle it. Opening your TV will, likely, void the warranty. Please do NOT e-mail me or post comments asking how to do this on other model TVs. They will all, likely, have the same wifi module component in the same place, or someplace very similar, but they will have a different number of screws and different placement of the screws on the back. You will have to figure that out. Use this as a general guide for other LG TVs, but not as an exact guide.
1. Locate all of the screws on the back of your TV. The 43UJ6300 has 8 screws: 6 along the bottom, 1 by the side connectors, and 1 nearly-hidden by the back connectors.
2. You *MAY* also have to remove the legs, if you have your TV standing on its own instead of being affixed to a wall. I'm not 100% sure you need to remove the legs, but I did it anyway.
3. Once you open it up, you'll be surprised by how little there is inside. The Wifi Module is located at the bottom middle of the unit, right next to the power button.
4. The Wifi Module is held in place by the Wifi Bracket. On this TV, the bracket actually says "Wifi Bracket" on it. There is only one silver screw holding it to the TV, which is clearly visible on the right side. The top of the bracket is also clipped under part of the TV, but that'll be easily to see once you unscrew it. (NOTE: If you're just disconnecting it, you *may* be able to disconnect the white ribbon cable running from the main board to the top of the wifi module without having to remove the bracket. That said, it'll be easier and safer to remove it after unscrewing the bracket, as you don't want to damage anything.)
5. Here we see the 43UJ6300's Wifi Module, which is attached to the bracket. For this TV, the sticker lists a LG Part Number of "EAT63435701" with a manufacture date of September 14, 2017. The module itself is branded with a Product Name of "RF Module" and a Model Name of "LGSWFAC71".
You have a few options on what to do next, depending on whether you want to wirelessly connect the TV to the Internet or not.
A. If you will NOT BE USING WIRELESS INTERNET, as was my case, you can simply (but carefully) disconnect the white ribbon cable from the Wifi Module. You can easily see it in the photo above. Mine took a little bit of effort to unclip from the module, but it was still really easy. You can still use a wired Internet connection, if you want, or just leave the TV as a TV and use Roku (or a similar device) for "Smart TV" features.
B. If you WANT TO USE WIRELESS INTERNET, BUT DON'T WANT TO SPEND ANY MONEY, you can disconnect the white ribbon cable from the Wifi Module, clean the connectors with a microfibre cloth, then reconnect it. Some users have reported success with this, while others say that the message eventually comes back.
C. If you WANT TO USE WIRELESS INTERNET, AND WANT A SOMEWHAT GUARANTEED PERMANENT SOLUTION, you can buy a new Wifi Module. They are really cheap. For this TV, a LGSWFAC71 Wifi Module would cost about $10 to $20. Searching for EAT63435701 brings up different results for about the same price.
6. Since I chose to disconnect the Wifi Module, I taped the loose ribbon cable to the inside of the TV with a note saying, "Wifi Module disconnected, so as to disable 'Unknown Device is Disconnected' message." That way if anyone ever looks in there in the future, it will be known what was done :-)
And that's all there is to it. My Wifi Module has been disconnected for over two weeks now, and the "Unknown Device is Disconnected" message has never appeared again. I hope that this TV lasts me a really long time, but if it doesn't, I hope that I'm never saddled with another LG product ever again. LG truly stands for "Like Garbage".
Big thanks to all of the fellow LG TV owners on these forum threads: LG: Annoying message pops up on my TV, LG: Unknown Device Disconnected pop up, LG: Unknown device is disconnected keeps popping up every few minutes, CNET: unknown device is disconnected LG TVs solved, and CNET: Message on LG TV. The Unknown Device message photo was taken by LG forum user Harkanwal Singh.
15 comments
Is it possible to put the wifi circuit in another tv that’s not a smart tv
Hi Randi
If the TV doesn’t already support wifi, you won’t be able to use the wifi components in it.
– Paul
I got some random issues with unresponsive lg remote, wired network and unknown device disconnected messages
Wireless was not working for month but I never cared
I disconnected the wireless card and everything working flawlessly
Thank you sir
I have that cryptic message about Unknown Device, and unable to stream anything. Sounds like a new wifi module might be the answer. This is my 4th LG tv, and never had any problems until this.
My question is: How can I find a list of LG tv models, and what part number the wifi module has. I have the 49UJ6200 model, but unable to find a number for that wifi module. I cannot find any info on the LG website.
I am able to replace the module myself, saving a service call, but don’t know what PN to buy. Does such list exist listing all the models of smart tv’s?
Thanks for your response
Paul, excellent write up! I have a 49″ LG TV and just recently I began to get the “Unknown Device” notification. I moved the TV from our ‘game room’ which has reverted back to a bedroom due to one child returning to the nest, I had two game consoles attached. I thought the message was because I disconnected one of the consoles - that was until I tried to watch Netflix. That sent me into the settings menus and the internet for answers, both were about as useful as screens on a submarine, but I did glean some useful info such as my unit does have a card for the wifi. I used to work with electronics in the US Navy so I have little fear digging into these things (caution - yes, fear - somewhat). I found your article at the same time I decided to remove the back of my own TV and check out the wifi card. I later compared your photos to my card and they are almost identical with the exception mine was made in Indonesia. I checked the card for any obvious damage, cleaned connectors, and lightly disturbed the flat wiring - tossed it all back together and am currently once again enjoying Netflix. For how long - who knows, but it is working.
Paul…
Thanks very much for your post. Our LG 55UJ6300 suffered from continuous connect/disconnect on screen messages, which I believe s causing continuous buffering of streaming content. After disconnecting the wifi card (we’re using an ethernet connection) not only did the connect/disconnect messages disappear, our stream buffering problems seem to have been solved as well.
On a side note, I’ve found many posts about this problem, on LG’s own support forum as well, and can’t believe LG hasn’t responded to this issue. Not even a mention on thier site acknowledging the problem or letting consumers know if they’ve fixed the issue with subsequent TV models. I do believe this may be my last LG TV purchase.
Thank around for sharing your cure!
Thanks very much. Without your article I wouldn’t have thought to try to fix my own TV (2016 LG 65″ UH850T). Symptoms included losing my internet link on both wired and wifi connections, Smart Remote going awol and occasional “unknown device” errors. Removing the wifi module has allowed the wired link to function reliably while I wait for a new wifi module (EAT63153401) to arrive. I want a functioning wifi connection as the Smart Remote uses it for many functions including cursor control. I can use the Smart Remote to switch on/off the TV and bring up the home screen. After that I need a mouse plugged into a USB port on the TV to get into and operate Netflix & Youtube. the mouse is actually a really useful addition to the TV but I have a 3 metre cable dragged across the carpet.
Great article!
Paul - thanks for this GREAT write up! I have recently started to get the annoying “Unknown Device” message and am intrigued by your option A. I use Apple TV (4) for Hulu, Fubo, Netflix, Amazon, etc. it sounds like what you are saying is, that if I do NOT use the ‘smart’ functions of my 3-year-old 55” LG, then I can simply disconnect the wifi module as my Apple TV box is doing all the heavy lifting? Does that sound about right?
I’d love to get your opinion.
Thx
Tim
Thank you for the article with explanation and photos. This turned out to be very useful. My issue was solved by a technician that came out to repair. Here’s what happened…
In spring 2019 (~21 months ago) I started having the same problem of Unknown Device is Disconnected appearing frequently whenever my LG TV was on. About the same time it started I realized that the TV was no longer connected to wifi, and I was unable to reconfigure WiFi. The WiFi screen actually said “Wi-Fi is turned off. Turn it on to see the list of available networks that you can connect to…”, except there is no setting to turn it on anywhere in the settings. The TV has continued like this for the last 21 months until I received a letter from LG asking me to renew my premium care warranty which I forgot that I bought.
I decided to call for premium care to try out their support. Long story short, it was a horrendous experience that cost me 4 hours on hold including having actually gotten through to someone after an hour on hold that transferred me where I waited about 3 more hours. When I finally got through to someone again it was a like a WWI dog fight where they did every trick to try to shake me off, looking for reasons for why they could just terminate the call, but I did my homework including reading this post first, and I persisted. Finally, after 40 minutes speaking to the rep she agreed to send a technician out. Note, after that ordeal I would strongly advise against LG premium care and just take the DIY route.
2 days later the tech came out, took the back off the TV, and went straight for the WiFi module. I asked if he was replacing the wifi module, and he looked really surprised that I knew what part he was handling. Later he explained that this was a common problem caused by interference as a result of the module ribbon being too close to another ribbon. Without replacing the module he just taped the 2 ribbons apart so they no longer overlapped. Once the back was on again, the Wi-Fi Connection screen showed the list of available network SSIDs and I was able to successfully connect.
No charge from LG, but I tipped him on the way out. I cannot state strongly enough how difficult the LG “Premium Care” was to deal with, but the tech was in an out in 20 minutes.
I opened up my tv and took the white ribbon off from the wifi module. And it solved the problem! No more pop-up messages. If you do attempt this just becarfull.
thanks for info SPOT ON disconnected wi fi module and the unknown message has ceased
Querido como te llames:
Esto solucionó a la perfección un modelo de 60 pulgadas que teníamos jodido hace 2 años.
Creíamos que no habría solución, pero esto lo resolvió de manera sencilla y realmente apreciamos mucho tu esfuerzo.
Sos el mejor, gracias por tu trabajo.
————-
Resune: IT FU***NG WORKED!!! YHEEEEAAAAAA!!!!
==========================================
[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]
This perfectly solved a 60 -inch model that we had screwed 2 years ago.
We believed that there would be no solution, but this solved it in a simple way and we really appreciate your effort.
You are the best, thanks for your work.
This was an excellent write up! I have a similar version. LG Electronics 65SK8000 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2018 Model)
The resolution was the exact same steps. The only difference between this TV and the TV model in the article is, they hid the wifi adapter in the bottom plastic housing of the TV. So you do not immediately see it when you remove the back cover. You have to also remove the screws for the plastic molding at the bottom. This is where the power switch nub and the wireless adapter are stored. Disconnecting the connector from just the wiresless adapter board solved my problem.
Thank you Paul, I saved your article here in 2022 and finally got frustrated enough to go tear apart the TV. Your guidance was super helpful.
Great post. After reading your post I tried just knocking sharphly on the back of my TV at the location you gave for the module hoping that I might be able to jiggle the white ribbon wire. Apparently I got lucky, the Unknown Device is Disconnected messages stopped.
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