Insignia TV Remote App for iPhone: No Official One Exists

By Klaus Jakobsen, developer of A Decent Remote

Quick answer There is no official Insignia remote app, because Insignia TVs run Amazon's Fire TV system (most models since 2020) or Roku (older ones). A universal remote app on your iPhone controls both: join the same Wi-Fi, let it find the TV, approve the on-screen prompt once, and you have full control.

Search the App Store for an Insignia remote and you’ll find a wall of third-party clones, because the app people expect Best Buy to have made does not exist. It never needed to: Insignia TVs are Fire TV or Roku devices wearing a Best Buy badge, and both platforms accept a phone as a remote over the local network.

Which Insignia do I have?

Since roughly 2020, nearly every Insignia smart TV is a Fire TV Edition: the home screen is Amazon’s banner-row layout and the bundled remote has an Alexa microphone button. Before that, Insignia shipped Roku TVs: purple-accented app grid. Thirty seconds with the power button answers it, and the answer decides which pairing flow you get.

How do I control an Insignia Fire TV from my iPhone?

Same Wi-Fi for phone and TV.
Open A Decent Remote and tap the Insignia in the scan.
The TV shows a one-time approval prompt. Approve it and the phone has the full remote: d-pad, volume, apps, playback and the keyboard.

The catch everyone hits: the approval prompt itself wants a confirmation press, and your remote is the thing that’s missing. The Fire TV guide covers the HDMI-CEC workaround (any CEC device on the same HDMI chain can press OK for you) and the other paths past that prompt.

How do I control an older Insignia Roku TV?

Easier still: Roku has no approval step at all. Same Wi-Fi, open the app, tap the TV, done. If the TV fell off Wi-Fi, the Roku guide has the hotspot-rename trick that gets it back online without any remote.

What about the missing buttons on the TV itself?

Insignia kept the hardware cheap, and several Fire TV models have exactly one physical button: power. No volume, no input, no menu. That makes the phone less of a convenience and more of the only remote you have while the Alexa remote is lost. Once paired, the app covers volume (see also volume without any remote), input switching and everything else. If the TV won’t appear in the scan, the usual causes are the iPhone’s Local Network permission or a band-split router; the discovery checklist sorts those in a minute.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is there no Insignia app in the App Store?

Insignia is Best Buy's hardware brand; the software inside every Insignia smart TV is Amazon's Fire TV or Roku. Best Buy never wrote remote software because the platforms already have network remote protocols, which is exactly what a universal remote app uses.

Is my Insignia a Fire TV or a Roku TV?

The vast majority sold since 2020 are Fire TV Editions: Amazon-style banner rows on the home screen and an Alexa button on the original remote. Older sets with a purple-tiled home grid are Roku TVs. The boot logo also gives it away.

How do I approve the Fire TV connection prompt with no remote?

The first phone connection shows an approval prompt on the TV. With no remote to press OK, use HDMI-CEC: a game console or Blu-ray player remote on the same HDMI chain can move the focus and confirm. The Fire TV guide walks through it step by step.

Can my iPhone turn the Insignia on?

Usually. Fire TV Edition sets keep their network lightly awake, so wake from the app works after a previous pairing. If the TV was unplugged or a deep eco setting is on, one physical power press brings it back to reachable.

My Insignia Fire TV has no volume buttons on the TV at all. Is that normal?

Yes, several Insignia Fire TV models ship a single power-only button. Amazon expected the voice remote to do everything. Once your phone is paired it fills that role, including volume and mute.