LG Refrigerator Water Filter Bypass Plug: The French-Door Slot, Part ABN73019101, and What ThinQ Says About It
LG refrigerator filter bypass comes down to one part: plug ABN73019101, which fills the LT-series twist slot (usually behind the left French door) so the fridge dispenses and makes ice with no cartridge installed. Installation is the same twist-and-pull motion as an LT1000P cartridge, takes under a minute, and the one wrinkle LG owners hit that other brands don’t is the fridge’s own software — the filter reminder in the panel and the ThinQ app keeps counting even with a plug seated. This guide covers the part, the slot, the three legitimate reasons to bypass, installation, and the reminder cleanup.
LG owners arrive at this question from two directions. The first is the classic one: filter’s out, replacement ships Thursday. The second is distinctly modern and shows up constantly in Reddit threads — “my whole-house system already filters everything, why am I paying $50 twice a year for a third pass through the fridge?” That second group is who bypass plugs were made for, and LG’s one-plug-fits-the-line policy makes it the easiest brand to switch.
Quick Answer: Part, Slot, Motion
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Which part? | ABN73019101 (LG’s filter bypass plug) |
| Which slots? | The LT-series twist-in slot — LT1000P / LT700P / LT800P era machines (check your model against the plug listing) |
| Where’s the slot? | Inside the left refrigerator door, lower area, behind the front cover on most French-door models |
| How to install? | Twist old cartridge out (¼ turn CCW), push plug in, twist CW to lock. No flush needed |
| Price band? | Genuine LG listing ~$20–30; verify current price at order time |
| Reminder behavior? | Panel + ThinQ keep their countdown — reset it and expect it to nag again in 6 months |
If you are not sure your machine takes the LT family at all: the cartridge label says. LT1000P/LT700P/LT800P (and their ADQ-number equivalents) → ABN73019101 is the plug to check against your model number. The slot location by cabinet style is mapped in the LG filter location guide.
The LG Slot: One Door Panel, Two Screws’ Worth of Access
The LT slot’s door location is why LG bypass has a unique access step. On most French-door models the filter sits inside the left door behind a slim plastic cover: pinch or unsnap the cover’s retention tabs (some trims use a single visible screw), and the cartridge head faces you horizontally. The removal twist is counterclockwise about a quarter turn; the cartridge then drops and pulls out along its axis with a small water spill — a tablespoon or two, towel in hand.
The door-mounted design has one quirk worth knowing before you torque anything: the water line runs through the door hinge, so there is no shutoff valve closer than the house supply or the fridge’s line valve. That is fine for a plug swap (the slot’s inlet valve closes when the cartridge neck withdraws — same auto-shutoff every modern cartridge slot uses), but it means any leak you create here is inside the door panel, invisible until it reaches the floor. Seat the plug fully; verify with a dry-towel check on the first dispense.
The Three Good Reasons (and the One Bad One)
1. Bridge while a cartridge ships. The LT slot’s auto-shutoff means an empty slot usually just means no water rather than a drip — but “no water” still stops the ice maker. The plug restores both immediately.
2. Upstream filtration exists. A whole-house carbon system or an under-sink RO feeding the fridge line makes the LT cartridge a redundant pass. RO output through a fridge carbon block gains nothing measurable and loses a little flow. In this configuration the plug is a rational permanent install — it deletes one cartridge from the semi-annual shopping list. (What “upstream” should look like, sizing-wise: whole-house filter sizing guide.)
3. Damaged housing awaiting parts. A cracked bore or failed latch from a rough extraction — the plug keeps the machine in service. If a stuck cartridge is what got you here, the cross-brand stuck-filter guide covers extraction before you reach for the plug.
The bad reason: skipping filters to save money on plain tap. The plug removes chlorine-taste reduction and (on 53-certified cartridges) lead/cyst reduction to save roughly $5–8/month. That trade is sometimes fine — and the way to know is your utility’s annual water quality report, which takes ten minutes to read. Guessing is how people bypass in lead-service-line neighborhoods by accident. If the nagging reminder light is what actually bothers you, that’s a reset question, not a filtration question: filter light stays on — four causes.
Installation in 4 Steps
- Open the slot. Remove the door-panel cover (snap tabs or one screw by trim). The cartridge head faces you.
- Twist out the old cartridge. Quarter-turn counterclockwise, pull straight along its axis. Spill: a couple of tablespoons. If it fights you, do not force — the stuck-filter escalation applies to the LT bayonet like any other.
- Twist in the plug. Push ABN73019101 into the bore and rotate clockwise to the positive stop — the same lock engagement as a cartridge. No caps, no O-ring handling, no flushing.
- Reset the reminder. Panel: hold the filter/reset control ~3 seconds per your panel type (matrix in the LG reset guide). ThinQ app: the appliance page has the same reset control — see below.
The ThinQ Wrinkle: the App Keeps Counting
LG’s app shows the filter as a consumable with its own countdown, and it cannot distinguish a plug from a cartridge — nothing is sensed in the water. So after bypassing:
- The reminder will fire again in six months. Reset or ignore; it is a timer, not a safety device.
- Some ThinQ flows display a generic “check filter” state when a reset hasn’t been performed after a slot event. If the app nags immediately after plug install, perform the reset once and it clears.
The LG reset guide covers both paths (panel and app) for every panel generation — worth bookmarking if you run the plug long-term, because the nag returns every six months forever.
Buying Notes
Genuine ABN73019101 listings run roughly $20–30. Universal plugs exist for less, and the LT bayonet is simple enough that fitment complaints are rarer than on GE’s keyed slots — but the failure mode is the same when it happens: seating slightly proud, inlet valve unseated, slow weep inside the door panel. Given where the LT slot lives (inside the door, above the floor), a $5–10 saving against a drip you cannot see is a poor trade. Prefer listings that name ABN73019101 and your model family explicitly.
FAQ
Will my LG still make ice with the bypass plug in?
Yes. Dispenser and icemaker share the filtered line; the plug passes water exactly like a cartridge minus the media. If your model has a second, dedicated icemaker filter, that stage is unaffected by the main-slot plug.
Does the plug trigger any error code?
No. The slot has no cartridge-presence sensing beyond the mechanical latch, and the status light is a timer. No error, no lockout — just the recurring reminder, which the reset clears for another six months.
Is bypassed LG water safe to drink?
Depends on the line feeding the fridge, not the fridge. Plain municipal tap: you lose chlorine-taste and (on certified cartridges) lead/cyst reduction — check your utility’s CCR to see if that trade is trivial or meaningful at your address. Upstream RO or whole-house treatment: the fridge stage was redundant anyway.
Can I leave the plug in permanently?
Mechanically yes — no service life. Revisit if your water situation changes (new well, utility disinfectant change, lead-line findings nearby). And keep the old cartridge somewhere findable in case the fridge changes hands — the next owner may want the filter stage back.
Sources & References
- LG official parts listings (lg.com / parts channels) — ABN73019101 part identity and LT-family fitment. Official documentation.
- LG owner documentation — LT cartridge replacement steps (the plug mirrors them) and panel reset basics. Official documentation.
- Reddit r/appliancerepair & LG-owner threads — the “whole-house already filters, why buy LT cartridges” motivation pattern; ThinQ post-bypass behavior. Community discussion (paraphrased).
- Price band — retailer listings, inference (range; verify at order time).
Related Guides
- Refrigerator Water Filter Bypass Plug: All Brands — every brand’s part number and the universal decision tree.
- Where Is the LG Refrigerator Water Filter? — the slot map by cabinet style, including legacy top-grille machines.
- How to Reset an LG Refrigerator Water Filter — the reminder cleanup after bypassing.
- How to Change an LG Refrigerator Water Filter — the cartridge swap, for when the plug comes back out.
Shop this guide: LG refrigerator water filters · LT1000P – exact-fit chart