The short answer
Most smart TVs can be controlled from a phone app on the same Wi-Fi, but the app will not connect if the TV is not already on the network. If the TV is offline, use the hidden physical button on the set to get into the menu, or use HDMI-CEC from a games console or streaming stick, which can navigate the TV’s menus with its own remote.
The remote is in the sofa, or the dog has it, or it has been missing for a month. The good news is that a modern TV has at least three other control paths, and one of them almost always works. The order to try them in depends on whether the TV is already connected to your Wi-Fi.
Option 1: the manufacturer’s phone app
This is the easiest route if the TV is online.
- Samsung: SmartThings. Add the TV as a device, then open it and tap the remote icon.
- LG: LG ThinQ. It includes a full remote with a pointer mode that mimics the Magic Remote.
- Sony and Google TV: the Google Home app has a built-in remote, and Google TV also appears in Android’s quick settings on many phones.
- Roku: the Roku app. This is the best of the lot and also adds private listening through your phone’s headphone output.
- Fire TV: the Fire TV app, which pairs over Wi-Fi.
- Hisense, TCL and others: usually RokuTV or Google TV underneath, so use the corresponding app rather than hunting for a brand-specific one.
The catch is that all of these need the TV and the phone on the same network, and most need the TV powered on. If the TV is off at the mains or has never been connected to Wi-Fi, skip to the next option.
Option 2: the hidden physical buttons
Every TV has physical controls. Manufacturers hide them for aesthetic reasons, and they are almost never where people look. Check these places, in this order:
Underneath the centre of the bottom bezel
This is the most common location on current sets: a single small joystick or button directly under the logo. Reach under and feel for it.
Behind the bottom right corner
Second most common. Usually a cluster of three to five buttons facing downwards or backwards.
On the back panel near the input sockets
Older sets often put the control cluster beside the HDMI ports.
Behind the left edge, halfway up
Rare but used by some LG and Panasonic models.
If it is a single joystick, the control scheme is standard: press once to open a small menu, push up and down to move, push left and right to change values, press and hold to power off. On a set with a cluster of buttons, the menu button plus the volume buttons act as navigation and the channel buttons move up and down.
A single joystick is enough to reach the network settings and join Wi-Fi, which then unlocks the phone app. That is usually the fastest path back to full control: joystick to get online, then use the app for everything else.
Option 3: HDMI-CEC from another device
This one is underused. HDMI-CEC lets devices control each other over the HDMI cable. If you have a PlayStation, Xbox, Fire Stick, Chromecast, Apple TV or Blu-ray player connected, its remote can often drive the TV’s power, volume and even its menus.
The feature has a different name on every brand: Anynet+ on Samsung, Simplink on LG, Bravia Sync on Sony, Viera Link on Panasonic, EasyLink on Philips, CEC on most others. It is enabled by default on most sets sold in the last few years, so try it before assuming it is off. Turn on the console, and in most cases the TV will wake and switch to that input automatically.
A games console is particularly useful here because its controller can navigate a TV menu through CEC on many models, and a PlayStation or Xbox app on your phone can then act as the controller if the controller is also missing.
Option 4: a universal remote
If the TV is old, offline, and the buttons are broken, a cheap universal remote is the practical answer. Two things to check before buying: whether your TV uses infrared or Bluetooth, and whether the universal remote covers your brand’s code set. Sets from about 2018 onward increasingly use Bluetooth remotes, and a standard infrared universal remote will not pair with those, though most such TVs still accept basic infrared commands for power, volume and input as a fallback.
Manufacturer replacement remotes are usually worth the extra over a generic one, because they support the smart features and the dedicated app buttons that generic remotes omit.
Be careful with phone apps claiming to be universal infrared remotes. They only work if your phone has an infrared blaster, which almost no phone made in the last several years does. If your phone has no IR emitter, these apps cannot control an infrared TV no matter what the listing says.
Getting a TV online with no remote at all
If the TV has an Ethernet port, plug it into your router with a cable. It will join the network without any menu interaction, and the phone app can then take over. This is the single most reliable trick when the physical buttons are awkward to reach, and a long Ethernet cable costs very little.
Once you are back in control
Set up a backup path so this does not happen again. Install the manufacturer’s app on two phones in the house. Make sure HDMI-CEC is enabled. If the TV supports voice assistants, link it to whichever one you use, because a smart speaker can turn the TV on and change inputs without any remote at all. And put a small adhesive hook on the side of the TV cabinet for the remote, which is unglamorous and works better than anything else here.
Can I control my TV with my phone without Wi-Fi?
Only if the phone has an infrared blaster, which is rare now, or if the TV supports Bluetooth remote pairing with a phone, which is rarer still. In practice you need the TV on your network.
My TV is off and not on Wi-Fi. What now?
Use the physical joystick or button cluster on the set to power it on and go to network settings, or plug in an Ethernet cable, which connects it with no menu interaction required.
Will a universal remote work with my smart TV's apps?
Basic navigation usually works. Dedicated app buttons, voice search and pointer control generally do not, because those rely on features specific to the original remote.
How do I change HDMI input without a remote?
Press the joystick or menu button on the TV; the input list is in the first menu on almost every model. Alternatively, turning on a CEC-enabled device usually switches the TV to that input automatically.
Do Bluetooth TV remotes need re-pairing after battery changes?
Usually not, but if a replacement remote does not respond, hold the pairing buttons the manual specifies, generally back and home together, for about five seconds while pointing at the set.
Summary
If the TV is online, use the manufacturer’s phone app and you are done in two minutes. If it is not, find the hidden joystick under the bottom bezel, get it onto Wi-Fi or plug in Ethernet, and then use the app. If the buttons are unreachable, a CEC-enabled console or streaming device on HDMI can drive the TV from its own remote. A universal remote is the last resort rather than the first purchase.
