Android TV & Google TV
How to control an Android TV or Google TV from an iPhone
Nefarius Apps10 min read
Updated : Channel up and down are now in the buttons table, and the limits say where typing and Turn On TV stop.
An iPhone can control an Android TV or Google TV device over Wi-Fi using the Android TV Remote protocol, the service those devices run for phone remotes. Both have to be on the same network, and the first connection puts a six-character code on the TV screen to type into the app. Once the code is accepted, the TV remembers the app, and later connections skip the code.
What do you need before you start?
Android TV is the platform underneath a wide range of hardware, so the first job is recognising it. It runs on TVs from Sony, TCL, Philips and others, on streaming boxes such as the NVIDIA Shield TV, and on Google's own Chromecast with Google TV and Google TV Streamer. Devices showing the newer Google TV home screen are running Android TV underneath, and a remote treats the two identically — Android TV vs Google TV untangles the names.
- An Android TV or Google TV device. If the About screen in its settings lists an Android TV OS version, that's the platform.
- The device connected to your home network, by Wi-Fi or Ethernet, on the same network as the iPhone. Not a guest network, and not a second SSID the device was never given.
- The device switched fully on. A TV in standby, or a box whose network sleeps with it, isn't answering anything a phone sends.
What you don't need: a Google account on the phone, a Google Home login, an HDMI cable or an infrared blaster. The Android TV Remote service runs on the device itself and pairs with the app directly — it doesn't ask who you are, and the commands never leave your home network.
Connecting for the first time
Android TV devices announce themselves over Bonjour, the same discovery system Samsung sets use, so they turn up promptly in a scan. Most also announce Google Cast, and Tivi, a universal TV remote app for iPhone from Nefarius Apps, folds the two announcements from one device into a single entry rather than listing the TV twice.
Put the iPhone on the device's network
If the house has separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, or a guest SSID, join the one the TV or box is on. The device's own address is usually shown under Settings › Network & Internet, on the page for the network it's connected to.
Allow Local Network access when iOS asks
The prompt appears the first time the app scans. Declining it leaves the app unable to see any TV, with no error to explain why — what the permission gates covers how to switch it back on if you've already said no.
Tap the device in the list
Tivi explains what happens next: "A connection request will be sent to your TV. Please follow the instructions that appear on your TV screen — some TVs ask you to accept, others show a code to enter here." Android TV is one of the ones that shows a code.
Read the code off the TV
The TV puts a six-character code on screen — digits and the letters A to F — and waits for it.
Type it into the app
Tivi opens a field with a keyboard that has letters as well as numbers. Upper or lower case both work.
Test with volume up
Volume gives visible feedback on screen, which makes it the safest first test. Power is a poor one, because it puts the device into standby and takes the connection down with it.
Entering the pairing code
Android TV pairs with a code rather than an allow-or-deny prompt, and the code is always exactly six characters, drawn from the digits 0 to 9 and the letters A to F. Part of it is a check calculated from security certificates on both sides — the app's and the TV's — so a mistyped code is caught on the phone before it's ever sent.
Tivi gives you three minutes to type the code before the attempt times out. A rejected code can't be tried again: the TV replaces it with a new one, and Tivi says so — "Incorrect code. Your TV is showing a new one - enter that." Type the new code into the same field.
Which buttons work on an Android TV from an iPhone?
Every button Tivi has works on a connected Android TV or Google TV device: seventeen commands, each sent as the Android key event the device already understands from its own remote. The key names and numbers below are Android's own, published in its developer documentation.
| Button | Android key sent | Works |
|---|---|---|
| Up, down, left, right | KEYCODE_DPAD_UP to KEYCODE_DPAD_RIGHT (19–22) | Yes |
| Select | KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER (23) | Yes |
| Volume up, volume down | KEYCODE_VOLUME_UP, KEYCODE_VOLUME_DOWN (24, 25) | Yes |
| Mute | KEYCODE_VOLUME_MUTE (164) | Yes |
| Play / pause | KEYCODE_MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE (85) | Yes |
| Previous, next | KEYCODE_MEDIA_PREVIOUS, KEYCODE_MEDIA_NEXT (88, 87) | Yes |
| Channel up, channel down | KEYCODE_CHANNEL_UP, KEYCODE_CHANNEL_DOWN (166, 167) | Yes — on a TV with a tuner |
| Menu | KEYCODE_MENU (82) | Yes — what it opens depends on the screen |
| Home, back | KEYCODE_HOME, KEYCODE_BACK (3, 4) | Yes |
| Power | KEYCODE_POWER (26) | Yes — puts the device into standby |
Two of those choices are deliberate. Mute sends KEYCODE_VOLUME_MUTE rather than Android's similarly named KEYCODE_MUTE, which mutes a microphone, not the TV. And power sends KEYCODE_POWER, which acts on the device itself, rather than KEYCODE_TV_POWER, which is meant for a box switching off the separate TV it's plugged into over HDMI-CEC.
Playback keys go to whatever is on screen, so their effect depends on the app: a streaming app will generally play, pause and skip, while a screen with nothing playing ignores them. Channel keys depend on the hardware instead: a TV with Google TV built in and an aerial plugged in changes channel, while a streaming box has no tuner and drops them. On a streaming box, power puts the box into standby; whether the TV it's plugged into follows depends on the HDMI-CEC settings on both.
| Not available | Why |
|---|---|
| Switching the input or source | Tivi sends no input or source key. On a TV with Google TV built in, changing HDMI input means the TV's own remote, or its on-screen inputs menu reached with the arrow keys. |
| A number pad | Tivi steps through channels with channel up and down, but sends no digits. Jumping to a channel number means the TV's own remote or its live-TV guide. |
| Typing into search boxes | Tivi's keyboard types on LG TVs but doesn't reach Android TV yet. Searching inside an app means the on-screen keyboard and the arrow keys. |
| Voice search | The microphone button on Google's own remote isn't something Tivi sends. |
| Launching a specific app | Opening an app directly isn't among Tivi's commands. Navigating to it from the home screen with the arrow keys is the available route. |
| Turning the device on | Tivi's power key puts the device into standby, and Turn On TV — the Wake-on-LAN button that switches Samsung and LG TVs back on — doesn't cover Android TV. A device that's off still needs its own remote. |
Which Chromecasts can an iPhone control?
A Chromecast with Google TV and the Google TV Streamer can be controlled like any other Google TV device, because they run the Android TV Remote service alongside Google Cast. Older Chromecasts that only receive casts — the original dongles and the Chromecast Ultra among them — don't run that service, so there's nothing for a remote app to pair with. Tivi lists them, because they announce Google Cast on the network, but it can't control them.
| Device | What it runs | Controlled by Tivi |
|---|---|---|
| Chromecast with Google TV | Google TV on Android TV OS | Yes |
| Google TV Streamer | Google TV on Android TV OS | Yes |
| TV with Google TV or Android TV built in | Android TV OS | Yes |
| Cast-only Chromecast, including Chromecast Ultra | Google Cast only | No — listed, not controlled |
| TV with Chromecast built-in but no Android TV | Google Cast only | No — listed, not controlled |
The quick test is the box itself: a Chromecast with Google TV came with its own remote and shows a home screen full of apps, while a Cast-only Chromecast has no remote and shows nothing until something is cast to it. The difference underneath is the one between casting and remote control — casting is not remote control goes through it properly.
When it doesn't connect
An Android TV that never appears, or appears and won't pair, has almost always failed at one of a small number of places.
- Local Network access is off. The most common cause by a wide margin, and it fails silently: iOS returns no devices and no error, so the list simply stays empty.
- The phone and the device are on different networks. Compare the first three numbers of each IP address. On a standard home network,
192.168.1.xand192.168.4.xcan't reach each other, whatever the Wi-Fi is called. - The device is asleep. Wake it with its own remote, wait for the home screen, and scan again.
- The code window closed. Tivi allows three minutes to type the code. Start the connection again and the TV shows a fresh one.
- Tivi says "Could not reach your Android TV". The device didn't answer on the remote-control ports,
6467for pairing and6466for commands. That points to a device that's asleep, a Cast-only Chromecast, or a box that doesn't run the Android TV Remote service at all — which happens on uncertified Android boxes.
The full ordered version, with the checks that aren't specific to Android TV, is in the diagnostic checklist for a TV that won't appear.
Common questions
Do I need a Google account to control an Android TV from an iPhone?
No. The Android TV Remote service pairs with the app on the phone directly, using a code and a certificate rather than an account. The TV itself may be signed in to Google for its own apps; the remote connection doesn't use that sign-in.
Is controlling a Google TV any different from an Android TV?
No. Google TV is an interface running on Android TV OS, and both run the same remote service, so the code, the pairing and the buttons are identical.
Why did my TV ask for a code again?
Because it no longer recognises the app's certificate. A factory reset is the usual reason, since it clears the certificates the TV trusts. When a TV Tivi has paired with refuses the connection, Tivi starts a fresh pairing once, so a new code appears on screen — type it in and the TV remembers the app again.
Can I control the TV from another room?
Yes, anywhere on the same Wi-Fi — commands go over the network rather than by line of sight, so walls don't matter. Not from outside the house, though: the app connects straight to the device's local address, with no server in between.
Will it work with an Android box from a brand I've never heard of?
Only if the box runs the Android TV Remote service. Certified Android TV and Google TV devices do. Many cheap boxes running a modified phone version of Android don't, and then there's nothing on the box for a remote app to pair with, whatever the packaging says.
The short version
An Android TV or Google TV device on the same Wi-Fi as an iPhone appears in a scan, asks for a six-character code once, and after that accepts navigation, volume, channels, playback, menu, home, back and power without asking again. A Chromecast with Google TV works the same way; a Cast-only Chromecast doesn't run the remote service and can't be controlled. Input switching, a number pad, typing and app launching aren't available on Android TV in Tivi, and neither is switching the device back on.
Tivi, a universal TV remote app for iPhone from Nefarius Apps, drives Android TV and Google TV devices end to end over the local network, alongside Samsung Tizen and LG webOS — the Samsung walkthrough and the LG walkthrough cover those. You can see how discovery and pairing work on the home page, what Tivi Pro adds, and the rest of the Android TV and Google TV guides here. For the groundwork that applies to every brand, start with how to use your iPhone as a TV remote.