Control any TV from your iPhone

Practical, no-fluff guides for when the remote is lost, broken, or eaten by the couch — written by the developer of A Decent Remote, an iPhone remote for Roku, Samsung, LG, Sony, Fire TV, Apple TV, Vizio, Hisense, Philips, Panasonic, Toshiba, Chromecast and Android/Google TV.

Guides

• Lost Your Fire TV Remote? Use Your iPhone as the Remote

  How to control a Fire TV Stick from an iPhone when the remote is lost — including the HDMI-CEC trick that gets you past the on-screen approval.

• Lost Your LG TV Remote? Your iPhone Can Replace It

  Control any LG webOS TV from your iPhone without the Magic Remote — including approving the pairing prompt when you have no remote at all.

• Lost Your Roku Remote? Use Your iPhone Instead

  No Roku remote? Turn your iPhone into a full Roku remote in about two minutes — plus the hotspot trick for when the Roku is not on Wi-Fi.

• Lost Your Samsung TV Remote? Control It From Your iPhone

  How to control a Samsung smart TV from an iPhone when the remote is gone — including how to approve the connection with no remote at all.

• Lost Your Vizio Remote? Pair Your iPhone in Two Minutes

  Vizio SmartCast TVs show a pairing PIN on screen — no remote needed at all. Here is how to control a Vizio TV from your iPhone, step by step.

• The Best TV Remote App for iPhone, by Brand (Honest Guide)

  Official brand apps vs universal remote apps, what pairing each TV brand actually requires, and the cases where you don't need to install anything at all.

• Use Your iPhone as an Apple TV Remote (Lost Remote? No Problem)

  The Siri Remote is gone again. Every way to control an Apple TV from an iPhone — including the pairing fix when the Apple TV refuses new connections.

• Use Your iPhone as an Android TV / Google TV Remote

  Pair an iPhone with any Android TV or Google TV in under a minute — a PIN on screen, no old remote needed. Works for Sony, TCL, Hisense, Philips and more.

• Lost Your Hisense Remote? First, Find Out Which Hisense You Have

  Hisense TVs run four different systems — VIDAA, Roku, Google TV, or Fire TV — and the iPhone remote fix differs for each. How to tell, and what to do next.

• Control a Chromecast From Your iPhone (No Remote Needed)

  Cast-only Chromecasts have no remote to lose — your phone is the remote. What an iPhone can control on a Chromecast, and which Chromecast you actually have.

• Panasonic TV Remote Apps: What Works and What Honestly Does Not

  Pre-2019 Panasonic Viera TVs work instantly with iPhone remote apps — no pairing. 2019 and newer sets are locked down, and no third-party app truly works.

• Use Your iPhone as a Remote for Philips TVs (All Generations)

  Philips TVs from 2014 to the newest Titan OS sets can be controlled from an iPhone. Which generation you have, how pairing works, and the honest limits.

• Lost Your Sony TV Remote? Use Your iPhone (Two Ways In)

  Sony Bravia TVs pair with a PIN shown on screen — no remote needed. How to control a Sony TV from an iPhone, plus the pre-shared-key option that never expires.

• Lost Your Toshiba TV Remote? Your iPhone Can Take Over

  Toshiba Fire TV editions and older REGZA smart sets can both be controlled from an iPhone — but the setup differs. Which Toshiba you have and what to do.

• iPhone as a TV Remote Without Wi-Fi: The Honest Answer

  iPhones have no IR blaster, so no app controls a TV with zero network. But "no Wi-Fi" rarely means that — the hotspot method works with no internet at all.

• Remote App Cannot Find Your TV? The Network Checklist That Fixes It

  When a TV remote app shows an empty device list, the cause is almost always one of seven network conditions. Work down this checklist in order — two minutes.

• TV Will Not Turn On From the Remote App? Standby Is the Culprit

  Remote apps can only wake a TV whose network stays on in standby. Which setting to flip per brand — Samsung, LG, Sony, Android TV, Vizio, Roku — and why.