Use Your iPhone as an Android TV / Google TV Remote
Android TV (and its rebrand, Google TV) has the best phone-pairing story of any TV platform: when a remote app asks to connect, the TV puts a 6-digit code on screen, you type it on the phone, done. No approval prompt that needs the old remote, no hidden buttons, no USB mice. If the remote for your Sony, TCL, Thomson, Nvidia Shield or Chromecast with Google TV is gone, this is a one-minute recovery.
Pairing
- iPhone on the same Wi-Fi as the TV.
- Open A Decent Remote — Android TV devices announce themselves on the network and appear automatically.
- Tap the TV, read the 6-digit code off the screen, type it in. Paired for good.
After pairing you get navigation, volume and mute, app launching, media keys, real keyboard input, and power — including turning the TV on from standby, because Android TVs keep their network interface listening while “off.”
The power-toggle quirk (read before you blame the app)
Android TV’s remote protocol exposes power as a toggle, and while a discrete sleep/wake pair technically exists, some vendors’ TVs silently ignore it — so every remote app, including Google’s own, ultimately sends the toggle. Practical consequence: if the TV’s state and your assumption disagree (say, HDMI-CEC turned it on behind your back), a “power off” tap can turn it on. Tap again. It’s the platform, not you.
If the TV doesn’t show up at all
Nine times out of ten this is a network condition, not a TV problem — phone on the guest network, a VPN active on the phone, or the iPhone’s Local Network permission denied. Work through the network checklist; Android TV specifics worth knowing: the TV must be in networked standby (deep “eco” sleep modes stop the radio), and after a router change the TV re-announces itself within a few seconds of waking.
Other options, honestly
The official Google TV app includes a decent remote and is the right answer for a one-Android-TV household. The case for a universal app is the usual one: the same UI for the Android TV in the living room, the Roku in the bedroom and the Fire TV stick in the gym — A Decent Remote covers those plus Samsung, LG, Vizio, Apple TV and most other smart TVs.
Get A Decent Remote on the App Store One iPhone remote for Roku, Samsung, LG, Sony, Fire TV, Apple TV, Vizio, Hisense, Philips, Panasonic, Toshiba, Chromecast and Android/Google TVFrequently asked questions
Do I need the original remote to pair?
No. The TV displays a 6-digit pairing code on screen when an app requests to connect; you type it on the phone. Lost-remote situations are exactly what this flow handles.
Which TVs count as Android TV or Google TV?
Google TV is just the newer face of Android TV — same protocol. It covers Sony, TCL, Hisense (some models), Philips (some models), Thomson, the Chromecast with Google TV dongle, the Nvidia Shield, and many more.
Why does the power button sometimes turn the TV on when I wanted it off?
Android TV only exposes a power toggle, not discrete on/off — some vendors silently ignore the discrete sleep/wake commands. Every remote app has this constraint; it is a platform quirk, not a bug.
Can I type with the iPhone keyboard?
Yes — search fields and login forms accept text sent from the phone, which beats gridding out a password with a d-pad by a wide margin.