TV guides
Practical, tested answers for the things that go wrong with televisions: a lost remote, an input that will not switch, a TV that will not turn on.
How to turn on a TV without a remote
Five ways to turn on and control a television when the remote is lost or broken — the hidden buttons on the set, HDMI-CEC, your phone over Wi-Fi, Wake-on-LAN, and what to do when nothing works.
TV remote not working
Work out whether the remote or the television is at fault in two minutes with your phone camera, then fix it: batteries and contacts, a blocked sensor, re-pairing a Bluetooth remote, and resetting both.
How to turn on a TV with your phone
A phone can switch a television on, but not by pretending to be an infrared remote. Here are the three ways that actually work, what each one needs, and how to set them up before you need them.
How to use a Samsung TV without a remote
Where Samsung hides the button on each series, what the jog actually does, how to get in with SmartThings or a games console, and which Samsungs a phone can control at all.
How to use an LG TV without a remote
The joystick LG hides behind the logo, how to re-pair a Magic Remote, where SIMPLINK lives, and the one thing LG does that Samsung does not — show your HDMI inputs by name.
How to use a Roku without a remote
Roku players have no power button at all, and the pinhole is a reset, not a power switch. What the one button on a Roku TV really does, why the phone needs no pairing code, and the one step a phone genuinely cannot do.
How to use a Sony Bravia without a remote
Sony is the one brand with no fixed button location — its own support says side, back, front or bottom depending on the model. Here is how to find yours, why the pairing code is not six digits, and which Sonys a phone cannot control at all.
How to use a TCL TV without a remote
On a TCL the brand name tells you nothing: the same badge ships Roku TV, Android TV and Google TV, and the phone route is completely different on each. Here is how to find the button, work out which platform you have, and connect accordingly.