---
title: "TV remote controller"
url: https://perrotta.dev/2026/01/tv-remote-controller/
last_updated: 2026-01-23
---


I have an Android TV whose remote controller stopped working suddenly out of
nowhere. I replaced its AAA batteries to no avail.

What is the alternative? I bought a cheap IR replacement at Amazon but it did
not work either. Apparently it only works on select TV models, and on Android TV
_boxes_. Why does it work on Android TV boxes but not on Android TVs? Mistery.

From here, my options were:

1. buy another remote, paying great care to its advertised compatibility
2. try to figure out what is wrong with the original remote

I exhausted #2. No more ideas. #1 seems to be the way to go.

BUT: at the last minute I figured out it's possible to control the TV with
my iPhone.

The built-in remote app only works on Apple TVs, so it is ruled out.

There are a couple of random TV remote apps in the App Store but I did not like
them. Some of them did not even work at all. They're full of ads, and some of
them require weekly or yearly subscriptions. No, thank you.

The light at the end of the tunnel: Google! Who is the developer of Android?
Google! Who must have an app to control Android TVs? Google!

I am not a fan of installing another Google app on my phone, but this is a
natural choice, within the Android ecosystem. It is possible to control an
Android TV that is part of a Google Home setup with at least two apps:

- Google Home
- Google TV

I found Google TV to be better for this use case. Google Home is full of
irrelevant features for this specific flow.

What is the new workflow?

1. Turn the TV on, manually. It's seemingly not possible to turn it on with the app. This is OK, no big deal.
2. Use the Google TV app to open the remote controller interface.
3. Have fun. In moderation.

One caveat: it will be quite hard to sell that TV in the future, without a
working remote...the Google TV app setup only works because the Android TV is
connected to my Google Home, and/or because it's logged into my Google account.

An (undesired?) side effect is that guests cannot easily control my TV.