Setup & pairing
How to connect a TV to Wi-Fi without a remote
Nefarius Apps13 min read
You can connect a TV to Wi-Fi without its remote, but a phone app cannot do it alone. The app needs the TV on the network first. Two methods do not use the TV's Wi-Fi menu. Give the new Wi-Fi network the name and password of the old one, or connect the TV to the router with an Ethernet cable. On some TVs, the cable connection still needs a confirmation in the menu. If neither method is possible, plug a USB keyboard or mouse into the TV, or use the button on the TV to open the settings.
Why a phone app cannot do it alone
A remote app sends its commands over your home network. If the TV is not on that network, the app has no way to reach it. The companies that make the apps say so.
Roku's support page for a lost remote sets a condition for the Roku app: "Your Roku device must already be powered on and connected to your home Wi-Fi network". If the device is not online, Roku says, "the mobile app cannot detect your device". Google's help page for the Google TV virtual remote gives the same rule: "your phone and TV must be on the same Wi-Fi network".
Many guides still tell you to open the TV maker's app and go to the network settings. A 2021 TCL blog post about its Roku TVs gives that answer too. The advice works only when the TV is already online.
Infrared is not an alternative on an iPhone. No iPhone has an infrared emitter, as why an iPhone can't send infrared explains. So first get the TV on the network by a route that needs no remote.
Pick a method by what you have
| Your situation | Method | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| The TV used Wi-Fi before, and you have a new router or provider | Give the new network the old name and password | Access to the new router's settings, and the old name and password |
| The TV has a LAN port, and the router is near | Ethernet cable | One Ethernet cable |
| The TV has a USB port | USB keyboard or mouse | A keyboard or mouse with a cable or a USB receiver |
| The TV has a button or small joystick | The TV's own menu | Time |
| The TV used Wi-Fi before, and you cannot change the router | Phone hotspot with the old name and password | Two phones, or a phone and a tablet |
| None of these work | Replacement or universal remote | The TV's model code |
Give the new Wi-Fi the old name and password
A TV that has joined a Wi-Fi network keeps the name and password of that network. If a new router uses the same name and the same password, the TV can join it and you do not open a menu. Try this first after a change of router or internet provider.
Google describes the effect in its help page for replaced routers. Devices that go offline after the change are "most likely still trying to connect using your old network's name and password". Google's recommended fix is to set the new network's name and password to match the old network.
- Find the name and the password of the old network. If you do not have them, Google suggests that you connect the old router again and log in to read them.
- Turn off the old router, or turn off its Wi-Fi, so that two networks do not have the same name.
- Open the settings of the new router, in its app or on its admin page.
- Set the network name to the old name, and set the password to the old password. Type them exactly. Google notes that passwords are case-sensitive and must match.
- Disconnect the TV from the power outlet for a few seconds, then connect it again. Google says some devices need a restart before they reconnect.
To check the result, open a remote app on a phone that is on the same network. If the app shows the TV, the TV is online.
This method has limits. It works only for a TV that has joined that Wi-Fi network before. Google also names two cases where it can fail. In the first, the old router used a different encryption method. In the second, the old router used separate network names for the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
Connect the TV to the router with an Ethernet cable
A wired connection needs no network name and no password. Look for a LAN port on the back of the TV, or on the One Connect Box of a Samsung TV. Not every TV has one. Samsung notes: "Wired networks are not supported on some models."
Samsung's guide to connecting a TV to the internet says to connect the cable from the LAN port to the router. Then you select Wired in the network settings. Samsung adds: "Your TV will automatically detect the wired connection." Samsung's US page and LG's network setup page also include a step in the network menu.
None of these pages promises a connection with no menu step, so test it. Connect the cable, wait a minute, then open a remote app on your phone. If the app finds the TV, the TV is on the network.
If the cable can stay where it is, you are done. A TV on a cable does not need Wi-Fi.
Finish the Wi-Fi setup from your phone
If the cable cannot stay, use your phone as the remote for a few minutes. On a normal home router, a TV on a cable and a phone on Wi-Fi are on the same network. So a remote app can find the TV. The first connection between an app and a TV needs a confirmation, and its type decides whether you can do it with no remote.
| TV | What the TV shows | Possible without a remote |
|---|---|---|
| LG webOS | A PIN, which you type into the app | Yes, when the TV shows a PIN |
| Android TV and Google TV | A code, which you type into the app | Yes |
| Samsung | A box that asks you to allow the device, answered on the TV | Only if the app has connected before, or if you can answer on the TV |
Samsung does not document a way to answer that box without a remote. If nothing on your Samsung TV can answer it, use the USB keyboard method below for the full task. The details are in the LG pairing PIN, controlling an Android TV or Google TV from an iPhone and Samsung's allow-device prompt.
Tivi, a universal TV remote app for iPhone from Nefarius Apps, does this job on Samsung, LG, Android TV and Google TV sets. It finds the TVs on your home network and needs no account. It gives you the arrow pad, OK, back, home and menu buttons, which you need to move through a TV's settings. It does not control Roku or Apple TV devices. The Google TV app is another option for Google TV and Android TV sets. Google's instructions are to select the TV, then enter the code that the TV shows.
- Connect your iPhone to the Wi-Fi network of the same router.
- Open the remote app and select the TV in the list.
- Type the PIN or the code from the TV screen into the app.
- Use the arrow pad to open the TV's settings, then the network settings. On a Samsung TV, Samsung's path is Settings, All Settings, Connections, Network, Network Settings, Wireless. On an LG TV, LG's path is Settings, Advanced setting, Network, Wi-Fi Connection. The names change with the model year.
- Select your Wi-Fi network and enter the password with the keyboard on the TV screen.
- When the TV confirms the Wi-Fi connection, disconnect the Ethernet cable.
The app can lose the TV at the last step. The TV usually gets a new network address when it moves from cable to Wi-Fi. Select the TV in the app's list again. The full setup is in how to use your iPhone as a TV remote. If the TV does not appear in the app, go through the checklist for a TV that doesn't show up.
Plug in a USB keyboard or mouse
Samsung and LG both document USB keyboards and mice for their smart TVs. Use one to open the TV's settings, select the network settings and type the Wi-Fi password.
- LG says in its help page for keyboards, mice and gamepads: "This feature is available for Smart TV models released after 2012." Connect a wired device to a USB port on the TV. For a wireless keyboard or mouse, connect its USB dongle to the TV.
- Samsung says in its keyboard and mouse guide that most Samsung TVs made before 2018 recognise a USB device automatically. It also warns that a USB keyboard or mouse "may not be supported on certain TV models".
Use a keyboard or mouse with a cable or with a USB receiver. A Bluetooth model does not help here. On both brands, you pair a Bluetooth device in the TV's settings menu, and you cannot open that menu without a remote.
Expect some limits. Samsung describes the keyboard and mouse as a way to browse the internet and type account details. LG says that input can be limited on some screens. If the pointer or the keys do nothing in the settings, go to the next method. For other brands, look for USB keyboard support in the TV's manual.
Use the button on the TV
LG and Samsung TVs have a physical control on the set, and on some models it opens the settings.
On an LG TV, the control is the jog button. According to LG's guide to the jog button, a press while the TV is on opens a small menu. The menu has four items: Power, Close Menu Window, Change External Input and Settings Menu. One type of button only presses: a press moves to the next item, and a press of more than one second selects it. The other type also moves up, down, left and right. LG's page does not say whether the button can type on the on-screen keyboard, so a long Wi-Fi password can be slow or impossible.
On a Samsung TV, Samsung's page about control without a remote puts the controller button at the bottom centre or bottom right of the screen. A press while the TV is on shows a control menu. More presses move through the menu, and a long press selects an item. Samsung says that some settings cannot be reached without a remote, and it does not list the menu items. Look on your TV to see if the settings are among them.
Copy the old network on a phone hotspot
This method uses the same idea as the first one, but a phone makes the network that the TV knows. Use it when the TV has been on Wi-Fi before and you cannot change the router.
No TV maker documents this method. The steps below follow a Make Tech Easier guide for Roku devices, which uses two phones. One phone makes the hotspot, and the other phone runs the remote app. The guide covers Roku devices only.
On an iPhone, the hotspot has no name setting of its own. Apple says in its Personal Hotspot instructions: "The name of your Personal Hotspot is the same name as your device". Change the name back when you are done.
- On the first iPhone, go to Settings, General, About, Name, and enter the name of the old Wi-Fi network.
- Go to Settings, Cellular, Personal Hotspot, Wi-Fi Password, and enter the password of the old network.
- Turn on Allow Others to Join, and stay on that screen.
- Disconnect the TV from the power outlet for a few seconds, then connect it again.
- Connect the second phone or tablet to the hotspot, and open the remote app on it.
- Connect to the TV, open the TV's network settings, and select your home Wi-Fi network.
- Connect the second phone to your home Wi-Fi network, and select the TV in the app again.
If the TV does not join the hotspot, Apple's troubleshooting page gives two steps. On an iPhone 12 or later, turn on Maximize Compatibility. Then stay on the Personal Hotspot screen until the other device connects. A hotspot uses the mobile data of the phone, so turn it off when the TV is on your home network.
What does not solve this problem
Two other suggestions appear in many guides. Neither gets an offline TV onto the network.
- The WPS button on the router. Samsung offers a Use WPS option, but it is in the list of networks in the TV's menu. You need a way into the menu first.
- HDMI-CEC with the remote of a streaming stick or console. Roku's page about its CEC settings covers power and volume. None of the manufacturer pages read for this guide describes CEC as a way to move through a TV's own settings menu.
When to buy a replacement remote
Some TVs leave no other option: the TV has never been on Wi-Fi, has no LAN port and ignores a USB keyboard. Then a remote is the only way into its menu.
A basic universal infrared remote is often the fastest fix. In a Reddit thread about this problem, the owner of a TCL Roku TV with no LAN port reported that a universal remote "worked immediately". For a Roku device, Roku sells official replacement remotes on its own site and through large retailers.
For the other ways to control a TV while you wait for the remote, read what to do when you have lost your TV remote.
The short version
A phone app cannot connect an offline TV to Wi-Fi, because the app needs the TV on the network first. If the TV used Wi-Fi before, give the new network the old name and password, and restart the TV. If the TV has a LAN port, connect an Ethernet cable, and test whether a remote app finds the TV. If it does, the cable can stay, or a remote app such as Tivi can open the TV's network settings. If neither method fits, try a USB keyboard or mouse, then the button on the TV, then a phone hotspot. If nothing works, a universal or replacement remote solves the problem.
Common questions
How do I connect my LG TV to Wi-Fi without a remote?
Connect an Ethernet cable, then use a remote app. When an LG TV shows a PIN, you type it on the phone, so the first connection needs no remote. You can also plug in a USB mouse or keyboard, which LG supports on smart TVs released after 2012. A third way is to press the jog button and select Settings Menu.
Can I use my iPhone to connect my TV to Wi-Fi?
Not while the TV is offline. A remote app on an iPhone reaches the TV over the home network, and an iPhone has no infrared emitter. Put the TV on the network first, with an Ethernet cable or with the old Wi-Fi name and password. Then a remote app can open the TV's network settings.
How do I connect a Roku TV to Wi-Fi without a remote?
The Roku app cannot do it while the Roku TV is offline: Roku says the app cannot detect a device that is not connected. If the TV used Wi-Fi before, give the new network the old name and password. If the TV has a LAN port, the Make Tech Easier guide says to connect a cable and then use the Roku app. If not, buy a replacement or universal remote.
Sources
- Roku (2026). What to do when you have lost your Roku remote.
- Roku (2026). How to use the 'TV Off' shortcut and control your TV with a Roku streaming player.
- Google. Learn how to fix problems with the Google TV virtual remote.
- Google. Cast, connect and control your TV with the Google TV app.
- Google. Devices immediately disconnected after your new Wi-Fi network was set up.
- Samsung. Connect your Samsung TV to the Internet.
- Samsung. Connect your Samsung TV to the internet.
- Samsung (2025). Connect a Keyboard and Mouse to your Samsung TV.
- Samsung (2026). How to Control a Samsung TV without a Remote.
- LG (2025). webOS TV - Setting up network connection.
- LG (2026). LG TV: How to connect a keyboard, mouse, or gamepad to your LG TV.
- LG (2025). How to Use the Jog Button.
- Apple. Share your internet connection from your iPhone.
- Apple. If Personal Hotspot is not working on your iPhone or iPad.
- TCL (2021). TCL Roku TV Manual: Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions to Answer.
- Make Tech Easier (2025). How to Connect Your Roku to Wi-Fi Without a Remote.
- Reddit, r/HomeNetworking (2023). Connecting smart TV to wifi without remote?