LG – one of the most trusted smart TV brands – offers a handy magic remote with its smart TVs. While it’s neither slim nor particularly sleek, especially on older models, it offers a ton of useful features, including colored buttons for different shortcuts and a motion-controlled pointer for mouse-like versatility. Another useful feature of the LG Magic Remote is the built-in NFC support to trigger a host of functions when you touch it to your smartphone. Dubbed Magic Tap, this feature works with most phones, regardless of operating system, and allows you to perform tasks like mirroring your phone screen, playing TV audio on your phone, and more.
Unfortunately, this feature is not available on all LG TV remotes. It was introduced in 2021 and the company discontinued it with the 2025 LG TV models as it introduced a new, slimmer remote design. Basically, you will only be able to enjoy this feature if you have an LG TV launched between 2021 and 2024. Otherwise, it will not be available. You can easily identify its support by looking for the NFC symbol under the different streaming service icons on the bottom of the LG Magic Remote. Remote controls without the Magic Tap feature will not have the NFC icon.
How to use Magic Tap?
Magic Tap is a very useful feature and has two main requirements: You must have an NFC Magic Remote with the LG ThinQ app on your NFC-enabled smartphone. You’ll need to set up the app on your phone first if you haven’t already, and besides Magic Tap, the app also lets you connect to other LG smart home appliances if you have them.
Once you’ve set up the app, connect your TV to it, then simply press the back of your phone on the remote to trigger Magic Tap. Depending on your phone, this may be instant or take a second or two. While all Magic Tap functions appear automatically on most Android phones, iPhones generally require you to tap once to trigger them once the remote’s NFC tag is recognized. Most importantly, your phone and TV must be on the same Wi-Fi network for the Magic Tap features to work.
What can you do with Magic Tap?
Magic Tap mainly has four main functions. You can use it to mirror your phone’s display to the TV. Depending on your phone, you may be limited to viewing only one app at a time. Notably, apps for streaming services and others that include DRM-locked content may not reflect at all due to copyright restrictions. Magic Tap can also play photos, videos and music from your phone to your LG TV. This can sometimes be very useful, for example when you want to show your vacation photos to the whole family or play downloaded media on a big screen.
Another great benefit of this feature is that it allows you to listen to the audio from your TV on your phone. If you don’t want to disturb everyone but don’t have headphones handy, this feature can come to your rescue. Finally, Magic Tap makes it easy to sign in to your LG account on your TV. It simply pulls your account data from the ThinQ app on your phone and connects you to the TV. Keep in mind that Magic Tap functionality may vary by phone; LG phones support most features.
