Lost Your Sony TV Remote? Use Your iPhone (Two Ways In)
Sony is a two-protocol brand, and that’s good news for a lost remote: both ways in show a PIN on the TV screen — neither needs the remote you lost.
Most Sony smart TVs run Android TV / Google TV, so everything in the Android TV guide applies. But Bravia sets also speak Sony’s own IP control protocol, which reaches back to around 2013 — covering older Sonys that predate Android TV entirely.
Pairing
- iPhone on the same Wi-Fi as the TV.
- Open A Decent Remote — Bravia TVs are discovered automatically.
- Tap the TV. A 4-digit PIN appears on screen; type it in the app.
That’s the whole flow. You get navigation, volume, inputs, app launching and power — Bravias stay reachable in standby, so turning the TV back on from the phone works.
The re-pairing annoyance (and the two fixes)
A quirk worth knowing because it separates good Sony remote apps from bad ones: Sony’s PIN registration expires after about two weeks, and on some firmware a TV reboot kills it early. Apps that handle this properly re-register silently in the background while the session is still valid — the PIN never reappears. A Decent Remote does this automatically.
If you want the bulletproof version: set a pre-shared key on the TV under Settings → Network → Home Network → IP Control (“Authentication: Normal and Pre-Shared Key”). A PSK never expires and survives anything short of a factory reset — enter it once in the app and the PIN dance is gone forever.
Other options, honestly
Sony points users at the Google TV app these days (for Android-era sets), and it’s fine. Replacement Sony remotes run $15–$40. For mixed-brand households, one universal app covers the Sony plus the Roku, Samsung, LG, Fire TV and whatever else the house accumulates.
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 an iPhone with a Sony TV?
No. When a remote app registers, the TV shows a 4-digit PIN on screen and you type it on the phone. Sony Android TV models additionally support Google's pairing flow — also PIN-on-screen.
Why do some Sony remote apps ask to re-pair every few weeks?
Sony's PIN registration issues a session that expires after roughly two weeks (or on some firmware, a TV reboot). A well-built app silently renews it while it's still valid, so regular use never sees the PIN again — apps that don't renew make you re-pair.
What is the pre-shared key (PSK) option?
In the TV: Settings → Network → Home Network → IP Control, you can set a passphrase. Apps then authenticate with that key on every request — no PIN, no expiry, ever. Recommended if you find yourself re-pairing.
Does this work on older non-Android Sony TVs?
Bravia sets going back to roughly 2013 expose the same IP control interface, so yes — the PIN flow works even on pre-Android models.