The LG AN-WF500 is a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth USB dongle originally designed for LG Smart TVs (webOS/NetCast) from 2014-2015. While LG does not provide an "official" Windows driver for this device, it can be made to work on a PC because it uses standard underlying hardware. Quick Summary Primary Use: Proprietary adapter for LG Smart TVs. PC Compatibility: Low. It is not plug-and-play for Windows.
Driver Status: No official LG Windows download exists on the LG Support Site.
Hackability: Possible using generic Broadcom or MediaTek drivers. 🛠 Technical Review: Drivers & Connectivity Official Support (or lack thereof)
LG treats the AN-WF500 as a TV accessory, not a PC peripheral. Official Website: Only lists Manuals and Owner's Guides.
Driver Repositories: Third-party sites like Driver Scape or CNET claim to host "LG Wireless USB Adapter" drivers, but these are often just installers for generic chipsets. The Chipset "Workaround"
The AN-WF500 is typically based on a Broadcom or MediaTek chipset. If Windows identifies it as an "Unknown Device" or "Remote Download Wireless Adapter," you can often force-install a compatible driver. Lg An-wf500 Windows Driver
Known Compatibility: Many users have had success using drivers from similar dual-band adapters (e.g., the Netgear WNDA3100v2 chipset).
Process: You must manually select "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer" in Device Manager and choose a generic 802.11n USB driver. ⚖ Pros and Cons (on PC) Performance on Windows ✅ Form Factor Compact and includes a Velcro fastener for easy mounting. ✅ Stability
Generally stable once the correct "hacked" driver is installed. ❌ Bluetooth 3.0
Outdated standard; won't support modern low-latency audio or long-range. ❌ Wi-Fi 4 (N)
Limited to 802.11n; significantly slower than modern Wi-Fi 5 or 6. ❌ Installation The LG AN-WF500 is a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth USB dongle
High difficulty; requires manual driver overriding in Device Manager. ⚠️ Recommendation: Should you use it?
If you already own it: It is worth a 15-minute "Device Manager" experiment if you need a temporary Wi-Fi/Bluetooth fix and don't want to spend money.
If you are thinking of buying it: Do not buy this for a PC. Modern USB Wi-Fi/Bluetooth adapters from brands like TP-Link or ASUS are cheaper, smaller, faster (Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.3), and come with native Windows 10/11 support.
I can provide more detailed instructions for the manual driver installation if you'd like to try it. Would you like a: Step-by-step guide for Windows Device Manager? Chipset ID check to find the exact driver? Recommendation for a modern, compatible PC adapter instead? LG AN-WF500.AUS: Support, Manuals, Warranty & More
Finding a working driver for the LG AN-WF500 on Windows can be notoriously difficult. The core issue is that LG does not officially support this dongle on Windows; it is designed exclusively for LG TVs. In Device Manager, locate the AN-WF500
However, it uses a standard Wi-Fi chip that has Windows drivers available. The most helpful "paper" (resource) for this topic is actually a community-driven guide on how to force the generic driver.
Here is a breakdown of the technical details and the step-by-step guide to get it working.
Sometimes Windows installs a generic USB input device driver instead of a mouse driver.
Before diving into drivers, it is vital to understand the hardware. The LG AN-WF500 is a small USB dongle that looks like a standard wireless mouse receiver. It was sold as an accessory for specific LG projectors (like the LG PF1500 and PH550) and older LG Smart TVs to enable Screen Share and Wi-Fi Direct features.
Important distinction: It is not a general-purpose Wi-Fi adapter (like a Netgear or TP-Link dongle). It uses a proprietary chipset (usually a Ralink RT3370 or similar) locked to LG’s custom firmware.
To Windows, the LG AN-WF500 appears as a generic USB device, but specifically, it utilizes the Realtek RTL8188CU (or sometimes RTL8192CU) chipset. Therefore, you do not need an "LG Driver"; you need a Realtek Driver.