About LG ThinQ
So I got a new LG washer and dryer last month because my old set finally gave up the ghost. My son kept telling me to download this app to make everything easier, and I saw it had good ratings on the Google Play store, so I figured why not. I’m not what you’d call a tech wizard; I just want things to work without a lot of fuss. And honestly, for checking if my laundry is done or turning on the AC before I get home, it’s been pretty helpful. But I’ve only had it for three days, and I’m already running into stuff that makes me scratch my head. Like, why does it ask me to sign in every time I open it, even after I checked the “remember me” box? And the little icons on the main dashboard aren’t labeled well, so I keep tapping the wrong thing. My neighbor Harry has the same app and he says it gets better with updates, but so far I’m just feeling a bit mixed about the whole thing.
Core Features
The main thing it does is let you control your LG appliances from your phone. I use it mostly for my washing machine and the air conditioner in the living room. You can start a wash cycle, pause it, or check how much time is left, which is nice when I’m out in the garden and don’t want to go inside. The air conditioner part works well too — I can turn it on about twenty minutes before I get home from church on Sundays, so the house is cool when I walk in. The app also has this “Smart Diagnosis” feature that’s supposed to help if something breaks. I haven’t needed that yet, thank goodness. There’s also a home dashboard that shows all your devices in one place, but it looks cluttered to me. It’s like looking at a control panel from a spaceship. I also see there’s voice control with Google Assistant, which my grandkids showed me how to use. That part is actually pretty neat, saying “Hey Google, turn on the AC” without having to find my glasses or open the app.
Real-World Use
Last Tuesday afternoon, I was making meatloaf and had my hands all covered in breadcrumbs. I realized I forgot to start the dishwasher. Normally I’d have to wash my hands, dry them, and walk to the kitchen just to press a button. But with this app, I used my knuckle to swipe open my phone and started it from the living room. Little things like that make a difference. But here’s a real moment: on Wednesday evening, around 7pm, I wanted to change the wash cycle on a load because I picked the wrong setting. The app kept saying “communication error” and the cycle wouldn’t stop. I had to go yank the plug out of the wall to reset the washer. That was frustrating. And the app’s troubleshooting section told me to check my Wi-Fi, but my Wi-Fi was fine. I also tried the “Remote Control” feature to adjust my fridge temperature, but it took three tries before the change actually saved. When it works, it’s fine. When it doesn’t, you feel like you’re wasting your time.
Pricing & Value
The app is free to download, which is good. But a lot of the useful features, like the energy monitoring and the smart diagnosis stuff, only work if you have newer LG appliances. I have a 2019 fridge that won’t connect at all, so that’s just a dead icon on my dashboard taking up space. So the value really depends on what you own. If you bought a brand-new LG washer, dryer, oven, and fridge all at once, then this app is probably worth its weight in gold. For me, with just two older appliances, it’s more like a nice bonus than a must-have. I don’t pay any subscriptions, which is good because I hate those little monthly charges that sneak up on you. But I can see how someone might get frustrated if they bought a fancy LG TV or AC unit expecting full control and then find out their device is too old to work with the app properly.
Updates & Support
This is where I have the biggest complaint. The day after my washing machine glitch, I tried contacting LG support through the app. There’s a little chat button, so I clicked it and typed out what happened. I got an automated reply saying my issue was important and someone would get back to me. That was Wednesday morning. As I’m writing this on Friday afternoon, I still haven’t heard a single word from a real person. I even checked my spam folder just in case. Nothing. For an app that’s supposed to make your life easier, it sure feels like you’re on your own when something goes wrong. The app does get updates — I saw one in the Play Store from last week — but I can’t tell what changed. Maybe they fixed bugs, maybe they added more ads. Who knows. I’d rather have a reliable app than one that updates every month but still has problems.
Data & Privacy
The app asks for a lot of permissions, which made me a little nervous. It wants access to your location, your Wi-Fi, your Bluetooth, and even your phone’s storage. I get that it needs location to know if you’re home, but why does it need to look at my photos? I don’t let any app do that. I also noticed in the settings there’s something about sharing data with “LG and its partners” for product improvement. That’s a fancy way of saying they’re collecting info on what you do. Look, I understand every app does this nowadays, but for a retiree like me who just wants to wash my clothes, it feels unnecessary. I turned off as much as I could in the privacy settings, and the app still seems to work fine. But if I’m being honest, it’s kind of creepy that my washing machine usage might be sold to some marketing company.
