The LG air conditioner remote packs a lot of functions into a small set of buttons. LG has sold two quite different remotes in Australia, and a guide written for one will send you hunting for buttons the other does not have. One has a hinged door and a second function button. The other has Jet Mode and a set and cancel button.
This guide covers both, using what LG publishes, and explains the named functions that sound like marketing until you find out what they actually change.
Which LG remote you have
Look for two things. If your remote has a small hinged door covering extra buttons, and a button marked 2nd F, you have the earlier design. If it has a button marked JET MODE and a SET and CANCEL button, you have the current one.
The difference matters because the earlier remote prints some functions in blue at the bottom of buttons. LG publishes that you press 2nd F first, then the required function button, to reach those. Nothing happens if you press them directly, which is why people conclude the buttons are broken.
LG publishes its own caution on this, noting that your air conditioner remote control may differ from the image in the user manual. It is worth finding the manual for your specific model number rather than working from a generic diagram.
Setting the clock
On the current remote the clock setting starts by itself. LG publishes that when you insert batteries, an icon blinks at the bottom of the display. Use the arrow buttons to set the time, then press SET and CANCEL to finish.
On the earlier remote there is an extra step at the front, and it catches people out. LG publishes that the time can only be set after you press the reset button. So after replacing batteries you press reset first, then start and stop, then 2nd F, then the time setting buttons, then the timer set and cancel button. Check the display for am and pm when you are done.
The timers
On and off timers
On the current remote, press the timer button repeatedly to reach the timer you want, use the arrows to set it, then press SET and CANCEL to finish.
The earlier remote publishes four separate timer types rather than two. A delay off timer, a delay on timer, a delay off and on timer, and a delay on and off timer. That last pair lets you set both ends of a run in one sequence.
To cancel on the earlier remote, LG publishes pressing the timer cancel button while aiming the remote at the receiver. The timer lamp on the air conditioner and the display both go off, which is your confirmation.
The sleep timer
LG publishes the most specific sleep behaviour of any brand sold here, and it is worth knowing before you use it.
The timer is programmed in one hour increments, from one to seven hours, by pressing the sleep button that many times.
In cooling and dehumidification, LG publishes that the set temperature will rise automatically twice by one degree over the next consecutive 30 minutes, which is two degrees in an hour, for comfortable sleep.
The fan behaves differently by mode too. Sleep mode runs the indoor fan at slow speed in cooling and at medium speed in heating.
To cancel, press the sleep button several times until the sleep lamp goes out.
Modes and the temperature range
The current LG remote offers cooling, heating, dehumidification, fan and an auto changeover or auto operation mode.
LG publishes the temperature setting ranges on its Australian documentation, and they are consistent across split and ducted.
| Mode | Setting range |
|---|---|
| Cooling | 18 to 30 degrees |
| Heating | 16 to 30 degrees |
| Fan | No temperature setting |
LG does not publish a separate settable range for dehumidification or auto changeover on the sources available for the Australian range, so if your remote behaves differently in those modes, go by your own manual.
Fan speed, and what CHAOS means
The current remote publishes five steps, high, medium high, medium, medium low and low, plus a setting LG calls natural wind where fan speed adjusts automatically.
The earlier remote publishes four steps, low, medium, high and CHAOS. That last one is not a typo. LG explains it as a mode where the wind blows like a natural breeze by automatically changing fan speed according to what LG calls chaos logic.
It is the same idea as natural wind on the current remote, under an older name.
Airflow direction and swing
The current remote uses a single swing button to adjust airflow vertically or horizontally, with an automatic option.
On the earlier remote there are two separate controls. The chaos swing button handles up and down, and a horizontal airflow direction button handles left and right, where the model has one.
Both work the same way. Press to start the louvres swinging automatically, then press again to stop them at the angle you want. That second press is the part people miss, and it is how you fix a unit that is blowing straight down onto a seat.
The named LG functions
Jet Mode, or Jet Cool
This one has published numbers, which makes it far more useful to understand.
LG publishes that jet cool runs the air conditioner in cooling with super high fan speed and an 18 degree setting for 30 minutes. Jet heat, where fitted, runs at super high fan speed and a 30 degree setting for 60 minutes.
So it is not simply a faster fan. It temporarily overrides your temperature setting with an extreme one, then hands control back.
To exit early, press the jet button again, or change the fan speed or the temperature. LG also publishes that jet cool cannot be used during heating or auto changeover.
Energy Saving
LG publishes what this actually does, and it is a specific rule rather than a vague promise. The function minimises power consumption during cooling by increasing the set temperature, and the mode automatically settles at 22 degrees if the desired temperature is below 22.
That is worth knowing. If you set 19 and switch energy saving on, you are running at 22.
Energy Control, or Active Energy Control
A different function with a different mechanism. Press the energy control button repeatedly to step through three levels, which LG publishes as reducing power against rated input by 20 percent, 40 percent or 60 percent.
LG Australia describes it as allowing the user to adjust energy levels to improve cooling efficiency and help reduce power consumption. It is the setting to reach for if the air conditioner shares a circuit with something else that keeps tripping it.
Comfort Air
LG Australia publishes this as setting the louvres to a preset position so outflowing air is directed away from the room occupants.
If somebody in the house complains about the draught rather than the temperature, this is the button, and it is quicker than fiddling with swing positions.
Auto Clean
One of the more useful LG functions and one that surprises people the first time it runs.
LG publishes that with auto clean enabled, whenever the unit is turned off the indoor fan keeps running for about 30 minutes without cooling or dehumidifying, and the louvre closes. That dries out remaining moisture and cleans the unit internally.
So a unit that keeps running after you switch it off is not faulty. It is doing exactly this.
LG Australia describes the benefit as drying the coil to help minimise bacteria, mould and odours that can otherwise accumulate in an indoor unit. While it runs, only the start and stop, plasma and auto clean buttons can be used.
Plasmaster ioniser
LG Australia publishes that the Plasmaster ioniser generates over three million plasma ions which filter the air in the room and inside the unit itself.
It is started and stopped with the plasma button, and LG publishes that it can be used in any operation mode and at any fan speed.
Auto restart, and how to turn it off
LG publishes an auto restart function that restores the previous operating condition after a power failure, so the unit comes back on the same settings.
Most people want that. If you do not, LG publishes a way to disable it. Press the on and off button for 6 seconds. The unit beeps twice and the indicator lamp blinks four times to confirm.
The lamps on the indoor unit
LG publishes what each indoor lamp reports, and the list varies by whether your unit is an inverter model.
- On and off, which lights during operation, during an error code and during auto restart setting.
- Sleep mode, on non inverter models, during sleep operation.
- Energy saving cooling mode, on inverter models.
- Plasma, which LG describes as illustrating its mode through a multiple lighting system.
- Timer, during timer operation, and on inverter models during sleep as well.
- Defrost, during defrost or hot start, on heat pump models only.
- Outdoor unit operation, on cooling only models.
Our guide to LG air conditioner symbols covers what appears on the remote display, and the general flashing light guide compares brands.
Running the unit without the remote
Every LG indoor unit has an on and off button. LG publishes that you can use it to operate the air conditioner when the remote is unavailable, and that fan speed defaults to high with no temperature adjustment available.
One thing to avoid. LG publishes a test operation reached by holding the same button for 3 to 5 seconds until the unit beeps once. In test operation the unit runs in cooling at high fan speed regardless of room temperature and resets after 18 minutes. It is a commissioning mode for installers, not a way to run the system, so press briefly rather than holding.
What LG error codes mean
LG shows faults as a CH code, and there are two things worth knowing.
The first is how the lamps encode it when no display is available. LG publishes that on wall mounted and floor standing units the first LED indicates the ones digit of the code and the second LED indicates the tens digit. Five blinks from the first LED means CH05. LG even suggests recording the pattern on your phone, since it repeats and is hard to count live.
The second is what LG Australia asks you to do. Its published advice is to turn off the circuit breaker, wait five minutes, then restore power, and to arrange a technician inspection if the code or symptoms persist. LG notes the error may be temporary and caused by power instability or other electrical factors.
LG Australia does not publish a full code table on its own site, so a code list found elsewhere is worth treating as a guide rather than gospel. Write the code down and quote it when you call.
Common questions about LG remotes
Why do some buttons do nothing?
On the earlier remote, functions printed in blue need the 2nd F button pressed first. Press 2nd F, then the function button.
Why does the fan keep running after I turn it off?
Auto clean. LG publishes about 30 minutes of fan running with the louvre closed to dry the unit internally. Press the auto clean button to turn the function off if you do not want it.
Why will it not go below 22 degrees?
Check whether energy saving is on. LG publishes that the mode settles at 22 degrees if the desired temperature is below 22.
Why does Jet Cool switch itself off?
Because LG publishes it as a 30 minute function in cooling and 60 minutes in heating. It is a burst setting that hands control back afterwards.
Who do I call in Australia?
LG Australia publishes customer support on 1300 54 2273, with service chat available seven days. Manuals are published by model number on the LG Australia manuals page.
Worth doing today
Work out which remote generation you have, because everything else follows from it. Learn where comfort air sits if anyone complains about the draught, and where energy control sits if the circuit is tight. And if the unit keeps running after you switch it off, you now know that is auto clean rather than a fault.
If the system is not responding the way the remote tells it to, our LG air conditioner service page covers what a visit involves, and you can request a quote first.
For your model’s manual and warranty details, see the official LG Australia website.
Need a technician for your LG system? Read about our LG air conditioner service in Melbourne, or call 03 9088 4796.
Reviewed by AC repair and service specialist on 22 October 2026. How we write our articles