Setup & pairing
Can you turn on a TV with your phone? How it works, brand by brand
Nefarius Apps11 min read
Yes, you can turn on most smart TVs with your phone, but only when the TV is ready for it. Three things must be true. The TV is in standby, which means it is plugged in and not switched off at the wall. Its setting for turning on from a phone is on. Samsung calls it Power On with Mobile, LG calls it TV On With Mobile, and Sony calls it Remote start. And the phone app has already connected to the TV, usually on the same Wi-Fi network. Without that setting, a phone app can usually turn the TV off but not back on. If a streaming stick is plugged into the TV, the stick can wake the TV through HDMI-CEC instead.
Why a phone can turn a TV off but not always back on
A phone remote app controls a TV over your home network. It sends each button press over a connection to the TV. When you turn the TV off, the TV goes into standby and that connection ends. The app then has nothing to send an "on" command to.
The way around this is a wake signal. One method, and the one Tivi uses, is Wake-on-LAN, which AMD described in 1995 as the Magic Packet. The packet contains six bytes of FF, followed by the device's hardware address 16 times with no breaks. In standby, the network part of the device stays powered and checks every packet for that pattern. When it finds its own address, the device wakes up.
This method has three results for a TV:
- The app must know the TV's hardware address, so it has to connect to the TV once while the TV is on.
- The TV must keep its network part awake in standby. Many Wi-Fi radios cannot do this: according to the Wikipedia article on Wake-on-LAN, most Wi-Fi interfaces do not keep a link in low-power states. On a TV, a setting controls whether the network part stays awake.
- The wake signal is a broadcast, and broadcasts usually stay on the local network. An app that uses it must be on the same network as the TV, so it usually can't wake the TV from outside the house.
Keeping the network part awake costs some extra power. Sony's manual for its 2013 TVs says that the standby power requirement "will increase" when Remote Start is on.
What has to be true before your phone can turn the TV on
Check these five points. The first four apply when the phone wakes the TV itself, and the last one applies when a streaming stick does the work:
- The TV has power. A TV in standby can wake up. A TV that is switched off at the wall, or plugged into a power strip that is off, cannot.
- The TV's power-on setting is on. The setting has a different name on each brand, as the next section shows.
- The phone is on the right network or account. LG and Sony ask for the phone and the TV to be on the same network. LG asks for the same 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network. Samsung asks for all the devices to be registered to one Samsung account.
- The phone app has connected to the TV at least once while the TV was on. Samsung asks for this, and apps that use Wake-on-LAN need it.
- For a streaming stick, HDMI-CEC is on at the TV. The stick gets its power from a wall socket, not from a USB port on the TV.
The important point is timing. You change these settings in the TV's own menus. So do it while you can still reach them, with the remote or the button on the TV. If the remote is already gone, what to do when the TV remote is lost explains how to use the TV's button.
How to turn on each brand of TV from your phone
Each TV maker gives the setting its own name and puts it in its own menu. Menu names can change between model years and regions, so if the path below doesn't match your TV, search its settings for the setting name.
| TV | Setting | Where to find it | Phone apps that can turn it on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung, selected 2017 and later models | Power On with Mobile | Settings, All Settings, Connections, Network, Expert Settings | SmartThings, Tivi |
| LG, webOS 3.5 and later | TV On With Mobile, then Turn on via Wi-Fi | All Settings, Devices, External Devices, TV On With Mobile (webOS 6.0) | LG ThinQ, Tivi |
| Sony | Remote start | Settings, BRAVIA Settings, Remote start (one Sony help guide) | Phone apps on the same network |
| A TV with a streaming stick plugged in | HDMI-CEC (Anynet+, SimpLink, BRAVIA Link) | The TV's settings; on a Roku player, also Settings, System, Control other devices | The Google TV app, the Roku app |
Samsung: Power On with Mobile
Samsung documents the feature for the SmartThings app and for selected smart TVs from 2017 onwards. To set it up:
- On the TV, open Settings, All Settings, Connections, Network, Expert Settings. On a 2017 to 2021 model, open Settings, General, Network, Expert Settings.
- Turn on Power On with Mobile.
- On the iPhone, open SmartThings and tap the power tile of the TV.
Samsung says the SmartThings app must connect to the TV first, and the app needs iOS 15 or later. The phone and the TV must be on Wi-Fi or another wireless network, and all the devices must be registered to one Samsung account. If Power On with Mobile is off, Samsung says you cannot turn on the TV from the app. Samsung's page covers Australian models, and availability changes by country and model. Controlling a Samsung TV from an iPhone covers the rest of the setup.
LG: TV On With Mobile
LG says TVs with webOS 3.5 and later can be turned on and off from the LG ThinQ app. Older webOS versions can only be turned off. On an iPhone, the TV wakes over Wi-Fi only, while Android phones can also use Bluetooth. On a webOS 6.0 TV:
- Open All Settings, Devices, External Devices, TV On With Mobile.
- Set Turn on via Wi-Fi to on.
- Make sure the iPhone and the TV are on the same 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network.
LG gives this path for webOS 6.0 only. On other models, the same switch can be in a different place. The documentation of Home Assistant, an open-source home automation project, lists Settings, General, Mobile TV On, Turn On Via WiFi for 2017 and later models. For some 2025 and later models, it lists a Wake on LAN switch under Settings, Support, IP control settings. Controlling an LG TV from an iPhone explains the pairing PIN and the other buttons.
Sony and other TVs with Google TV built in
Sony calls the setting Remote start. Its help guide says the setting lets "a mobile device connected on the same network" turn on the TV from standby. The guide gives the path Settings, BRAVIA Settings, Remote start, and other Sony models can use a different menu.
Google lists "Turn the TV on or off" among the controls of its Google TV app for iPhone. Google doesn't say what the TV needs for this to work. On a TV with Google TV built in, look for a setting like Sony's Remote start. The TV can only answer if its network stays awake in standby. Controlling an Android TV or Google TV from an iPhone explains the pairing code these TVs show.
Streaming sticks: the stick can wake the TV through HDMI-CEC
With a Chromecast with Google TV, a Google TV Streamer or a Roku player, your phone talks to the stick, not to the TV. The stick can then wake the TV through HDMI-CEC, a feature that lets devices connected by HDMI control each other.
Google says certain TVs turn on when you cast to a Google stick. For this, CEC must be on at the TV. The stick must also get its power from a wall socket, not from a USB port on the TV. TV makers give CEC their own names: Samsung calls it Anynet+, LG calls it SimpLink, and Sony calls it BRAVIA Link.
Roku says its app "controls the player, not the TV" when you use a Roku streaming player. The player can turn the TV on through CEC. To allow it, turn on 1-Touch Play, TV power and TV volume in the player's Settings, System, Control other devices. Roku also warns that you may not be able to turn the TV on from the app when the player gets its power from USB. This Roku page covers Roku players. It doesn't say what a Roku TV needs to be turned on from the app. A TCL or Hisense TV with Google TV built in follows the Google TV advice above. For more on what a stick can and can't do, see what casting can and can't control.
Turn on a Samsung or LG TV with Tivi
Tivi, a universal TV remote app for iPhone from Nefarius Apps, has a Turn On TV button for Samsung and LG TVs. When no TV is connected, the Remote tab shows Turn On TV. A tap sends a wake-up signal over your home network to a Samsung or LG TV that Tivi has connected to before.
Turn On TV needs the TV's own setting switched on: Power On with Mobile on a Samsung, Turn on via Wi-Fi on an LG. The iPhone must also be on the same Wi-Fi network as the TV. Unlike SmartThings and LG ThinQ, Tivi needs no account.
Turn On TV doesn't work for Android TV or Google TV devices, which still need their own remote to switch on. Tivi controls Samsung, LG, Android TV and Google TV sets. It lists Roku players and cast-only Chromecasts but can't control them, and it can't control an Apple TV. Turning the TV off from the phone is part of Tivi Pro.
When the TV still won't turn on from the phone
If the phone can turn the TV off but not on, check these points in this order:
- Check the power. If the TV is plugged into a power strip or a smart plug, make sure that it is on.
- Check the TV's setting. Open the menu path for your brand and make sure the power-on setting is still on.
- Check the network. Put the iPhone on the same Wi-Fi network as the TV, not on a guest network or on mobile data. Does the app also fail to find the TV when the TV is on? Then read why a phone and a TV on the same Wi-Fi can still fail to connect.
- Check that the app has connected to the TV. If you installed the app recently, connect to the TV once while it is on. The app needs this connection to learn which TV to wake.
- For a streaming stick, check that CEC is on at the TV and that the stick gets its power from a wall socket.
The short version
A phone turns a TV on by waking it from standby, and the TV only listens if its power-on setting is on. Samsung calls the setting Power On with Mobile, LG calls it TV On With Mobile, and Sony calls it Remote start. Switch it on while you can still reach the menus, keep the phone on the same network, and connect the app to the TV once. A streaming stick on wall power can wake the TV through HDMI-CEC instead.
For the rest of the setup, start with how to use your iPhone as a TV remote.
Common questions
Is there an app that can turn on my TV?
Yes, when the TV's power-on setting is on. SmartThings turns on Samsung TVs, LG ThinQ turns on LG TVs, and Tivi turns on Samsung and LG TVs it has connected to before. Google lists turning the TV on among the controls of its Google TV app. The Roku app can turn on a TV through a Roku player with HDMI-CEC. No app can turn on a TV that has no power.
Can I turn on my TV with my iPhone without Wi-Fi?
Not if the TV has no network connection, because a phone app can only reach the TV over a network. LG says an iPhone can wake an LG TV over Wi-Fi only. Apps that use Wake-on-LAN, such as Tivi, also need the iPhone on the same home network as the TV. An iPhone has no infrared emitter, so it can't act like a traditional remote. Why an iPhone can't use infrared compares the other options.
Does leaving the power-on setting on use more electricity?
Some. The TV keeps part of its network hardware powered in standby so that it can hear the wake signal. Sony's manual says that the standby power requirement increases when Remote Start is on. Samsung and LG don't give a figure in their instructions.
Can I set this up if the remote is already lost?
Yes, if you can open the TV's settings with the button on the TV. Turn on the power-on setting once, and the phone can wake the TV from then on. What to do when the TV remote is lost explains what the button can reach on Samsung and LG TVs.
Sources
- Samsung (2026). Power on your TV with the SmartThings App.
- LG (2024). LG TV - How to Set Up the LG ThinQ App on Your LG Smart TV.
- Home Assistant. LG webOS TV integration.
- Sony (2020). Help Guide: Remote start.
- Sony (2013). Using a Smartphone/Tablet as a Remote.
- Google. Cast, connect and control your TV with the Google TV app.
- Google. What is CEC?
- Roku (2026). How to use the Roku remote app to control your Roku streaming device without a remote.
- AMD (1995). Magic Packet Technology.
- Wikipedia. Wake-on-LAN.