How to Use an Android TV or Google TV Without a Remote

By Klaus Jakobsen, developer of A Decent Remote

Quick answer Three things can replace the remote. A phone app is the best option if the TV is already on Wi-Fi: it pairs with a code shown on the screen. A USB mouse or keyboard works with no network at all. The button on the TV handles power, volume and inputs, but not apps.

An Android TV with no remote is still a computer with a USB port and a network connection, which gives you more ways in than most TVs. The right one depends on a single question: is the TV already on your Wi-Fi?

Is the TV already on your network?

The quickest way to find out is to try. Put your phone on your home Wi-Fi and open a remote app. If the TV shows up, it is on the network, and everything is easy from here. Skip to the phone section.

If it does not show up, the TV may have dropped off the network, or a router change may have left it behind. The USB route below gets it back.

How do I control it from my Android phone?

You have two good options, and one of them is free.

The Google TV app comes from Google, costs nothing and has a remote built in. Some phones also offer a TV remote shortcut in Quick Settings. If every TV in your home runs Android TV or Google TV, start here.

A Decent Remote makes sense if you have other TVs too, because one app handles Samsung, LG, Sony, Fire TV and the rest with the same layout. It also has no ads. It is free for your first 50 button presses, and after that it is paid. The Android version is being built now. Leave your email and you get one message the day it is on Google Play.

Either way, the first connection works the same:

Join the same Wi-Fi as the TV and open the app.
Choose the TV. It shows a 6-character code on screen.
Type the code on the phone. That pairing lasts, so you do this once.

One detail that catches people out: that code can disappear quickly on some TVs. If it does, ask for a new one in the app rather than typing the old one.

What can a USB mouse or keyboard do?

This is the route people forget, and it solves the hardest case: a TV with no network and no remote.

Plug a USB mouse into any USB port on the TV. On most sets a pointer appears, and you can click through the whole interface, including the setup screens and the Wi-Fi password box. A keyboard works as well, and it makes typing that password far easier. The arrow keys move around, Enter selects, and Esc usually goes back.

Use it for the one job a phone cannot do, which is getting the TV onto Wi-Fi. Once it is connected, unplug the mouse and pair your phone instead.

If the TV sits near your router, an Ethernet cable is simpler still. Most Android TVs join a wired network without being asked, and then the phone can find them.

What can the button on the TV do by itself?

Less than you would hope, but enough for tonight. Every Android TV has a physical button or small joystick, usually behind the bottom centre of the screen or on the rear edge. It normally reaches power, volume and input switching.

It will not get you around the apps. So if you only need the TV on the right HDMI port for a games console, the button is enough. If you want Netflix, you need one of the routes above. The power button guide shows where each brand hides it.

What does a phone do better than the old remote?

Typing is the big one. Searching on a TV with arrow keys is slow, and a password is worse. With a paired phone you use the phone’s own keyboard, and you can paste from your password manager. Typing on Android TV explains what works and where apps get in the way.

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 TV

Android? Join the test

Power button locations, the HDMI-CEC wake trick, and how a phone turns an Android TV on over Wi-Fi, including the one thing you must do while it still works.

How to Reset an Android TV or Box Without a Remote

Restart first, and factory reset only if you must. The menu route, the reset button on boxes, and how to avoid getting stuck on the setup screen afterwards.

How to Type on Fire TV and Android TV From Your iPhone

Passwords and searches without the letter grid: how iPhone keyboard input works on Fire TV and Android/Google TV, what it covers, and where the limits are.

Frequently asked questions

Can I connect an Android TV to Wi-Fi without a remote?

Yes. Plug in a USB mouse or keyboard and use it to open the network settings. An Ethernet cable from the router is even simpler if the TV is near one, because most sets join a wired network by themselves. A phone cannot help until the TV is on a network.

Does a USB mouse work on every Android TV?

On most TVs and many boxes, yes, and nothing needs installing. If the pointer does not appear, try another USB port. A Chromecast or a similar stick has no full USB port, so it needs a small adapter or a different route.

Is the Google TV app free?

Yes. It is free, it comes from Google, and it includes a remote. If Android TV or Google TV is the only kind of TV in your home, it may be all you need.

Why do I need to see the TV to pair my phone?

Pairing shows a 6-character code on the TV, which you type on the phone. That is how the TV knows the request came from someone in the room. You only do it once per phone.

Will the phone also turn the TV on?

Sometimes. It depends on the TV keeping its network connection alive in standby, and on what the phone knows about it. On Android some TVs cannot be woken from off, so do not count on it until you have tried yours.