How to use an onn TV without a remote

Walmart has sold onn televisions on three different systems, and which one you have decides whether a phone can take over. On the cheapest major-brand TV, that answer is worth more than usual.

On this page

1. Three systems, because Walmart changed direction
2. The button is under the logo, not on the side
3. Reading the screen, and the sticker if the screen stays dark
4. What to do, by system
5. Why the remote matters more on a cheap television
6. Buying a replacement remote

1. Three systems, because Walmart changed direction

An onn set is a Walmart house-brand television, and Walmart has not kept it on one system. Early sets ran Roku. Then came Google TV, which is also what the onn streaming sticks and boxes run. After Walmart bought Vizio, the newest sets began shipping on Vizio's own system instead. So the question is not what the badge says — every one of them says onn — but which of three systems is behind it.

What the home screen shows	What that means for your phone
Channel tiles with a menu column down the left	Roku. This is the bulk of the onn sets in people's homes, and it is the best case: a phone on the same Wi-Fi can take over with nothing to pair at all.
Rows of films and shows, with a Google account	Google TV. A phone works here too. The television puts a six-character code on screen and you type it into the phone — it is hexadecimal, so letters can appear in it.
Walmart's own layout, no Roku logo and no Google Play Store	Vizio's system, on the newest sets. A third-party remote app has no open interface to connect to here; the phone route is Walmart's or Vizio's own app.
A small stick or box behind the TV, not a TV at all	An onn player, which runs Google TV. It has no button on it anywhere, so there is nothing to press — and the television's own remote cannot drive it either, because they are two separate devices.

Existing Roku-based onn sets keep working and keep getting support; Walmart's change of direction applies to what it sells now, not to what is already on your wall. That is why the installed base and the shop shelf no longer match, and why a guide written from today's shelf would give the wrong answer to most onn owners.

2. The button is under the logo, not on the side

onn puts its control where the brand name is. Look along the bottom edge for the onn logo on the front, then feel directly underneath it: on most sets the button sits there, just below the small dark infrared window that receives the remote. That gives you two visible landmarks instead of one, which is more than most brands offer.

Start under the onn logo. Reach beneath the bottom panel in line with the badge on the front. On most sets the button is there, in the middle or slightly to one side.
The infrared window is the second landmark. It is the small dark lens on the lower edge. The button is normally immediately below or behind it.
Newer onn sets have power only. One press while the set is off turns it on. It opens no menu, so the button alone will not get you to your console's input.
Older onn sets have channel and volume buttons too, beside the power one. Those you can genuinely operate by hand; the newer ones you cannot.
If the underside gives you nothing, try the rear. Some models put it there instead, lower down. onn does not publish a button position for each model, so beyond this the manual for your exact model is the only certain answer.

Press it once to bring the set up, then read the home screen. Everything after this depends on which of the three systems appears, and the screen answers that faster than any model number will.

3. Reading the screen, and the sticker if the screen stays dark

The three home screens look nothing like each other, so one glance settles it. If the set will not come on at all, the label on the back is the fallback.

In order of how quickly each one answers:

A purple Roku logo anywhere — on screen, on the old remote, or on the bezel — means Roku. That is the easiest of the three and the most common. Nothing needs pairing, so a phone can take over within seconds of joining the same Wi-Fi.
A Google Play Store on the set means Google TV. A coloured microphone or Assistant key on the old remote says the same thing. The phone route works; it just asks for the code on screen first.
Neither a Roku logo nor a Play Store means the Vizio-based system. These are the newest sets. Everything about the television still works normally — it is only third-party remote apps that have nothing to connect to.
If the screen stays dark, read the model number off the back label and look it up on Walmart's product page for that model. The listing names the system, which is the one place it is stated plainly.

Roku-based and Google TV onn sets were sold at the same screen sizes and at overlapping times, so size and price tell you nothing. Neither does the year on its own, because Walmart's shelf and its warehouses changed over at different speeds in different places. Read the screen, the old remote, or the model number — in that order.

4. What to do, by system

Once you know the system, the steps are short. Change any settings while you still have a working remote, because the button on the body cannot open the menus on a newer set.

Roku — join the same Wi-Fi and open a remote app. There is nothing to pair, no code and no account. Then switch on Fast TV start under Settings, System, Power so the set answers while it is in standby rather than only when it is already on.
Google TV — connect with the set switched on and copy the six-character code from the screen, letters as letters. Then turn on the network setting that keeps the television reachable in standby, so the phone can wake it next time.
The Vizio-based system — use Walmart's or Vizio's own app, and the HDMI-CEC trick below for everything else. A generic remote app will not find these sets, so working through its troubleshooting steps is wasted effort.
An onn stick or box — treat it as its own device. It runs Google TV, so the six-character code applies, but the television's buttons and its original remote have no authority over it at all.

On all of them, turn on HDMI-CEC while you still can. After that, a press on a console or player already plugged in will wake the television and claim its own input, which is the one route back to a picture that does not depend on which system you have.

5. Why the remote matters more on a cheap television

This is the part that makes onn different from every other brand on this site. An onn set is among the least expensive televisions a major retailer sells, and that changes the arithmetic of losing its remote rather than just the inconvenience.

What that means in practice:

A branded replacement can cost a real fraction of what the television cost. On an expensive set, paying for an original remote is a rounding error. On a budget set it is a decision, and it is worth knowing the free and the cheap routes before making it.
On a Roku-based onn, the cheap route is genuinely complete. A plain infrared Roku remote needs no pairing, costs little, and is not tied to the brand — the same one drives an onn, a TCL or a Hisense Roku TV. A phone does the same job for nothing.
Buying blind is the expensive mistake here. Because three systems wear the same badge, a remote bought for the wrong one will not drive your set, and on a budget television a wasted purchase hurts more. Confirm the system from the screen first, then order.

6. Buying a replacement remote

Match the system rather than the name on the bezel. That one rule prevents nearly every bad purchase on this brand, because onn is the badge three different platforms share.

Roku-based onn: a simple infrared Roku remote. It needs no pairing, so it works before the set is even on Wi-Fi, which also makes it the one thing that can set up a television that has been factory reset. It is the cheapest and surest way back in.
Google TV onn: check the code on your old remote. The voice remote pairs over Bluetooth from a screen, so it is the wrong thing to order while you are locked out. A basic infrared replacement works immediately for power, volume, channel and input.
Any onn: a universal infrared remote covers the basics. Power, volume, channel and source work on all three systems, because those commands go by infrared on every one of them. Microphone and assistant keys do not, because they travel over Bluetooth.

If you are completely shut out of a Roku-based onn, the plain infrared Roku remote is the purchase to make, and nothing else comes close on price or certainty. On the other two systems a universal infrared remote gets you watching tonight, and the phone can take the rest over once the set is back on your network.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Where is the power button on an onn TV?

Under the onn logo. Line up with the badge on the front, reach beneath the bottom panel, and the button is normally there — just below the small dark infrared window that receives the remote, in the middle or slightly to one side. Some models put it on the rear instead, lower down. Newer onn sets have only a power button there; older ones also have channel and volume buttons beside it, and those you can genuinely use by hand.

Is my onn TV a Roku TV or a Google TV?

The badge does not say, so look at the home screen. Channel tiles with a menu column down the left is Roku. Rows of films and shows with a Google account signed in is Google TV. Walmart's own layout with no Roku logo and no Google Play Store is the Vizio-based system on the newest sets. The old remote also tells you: a purple Roku logo, or a coloured microphone and Assistant key for Google TV.

Can I control an onn TV with my phone?

On the Roku-based and Google TV sets, yes. Roku is the simplest — join the same Wi-Fi and a remote app can take over with nothing to pair. Google TV asks for a six-character code shown on the screen, which is hexadecimal, so copy any letters as letters. The newest onn sets run Vizio's system, which exposes no open interface, so there the phone route is Walmart's or Vizio's own app.

How do I turn on an onn TV without a remote?

Press the button under the onn logo on the bottom edge. If a wall mount puts it out of reach, HDMI-CEC is the way around it: press a button on a console or streaming player that is already plugged in, and it will bring the television up and switch to its own input. That works whichever of the three systems your set runs, which is why it is worth enabling before you need it.

Why does Walmart sell onn TVs on different systems?

Early onn sets ran Roku, then Google TV arrived, and after Walmart acquired Vizio the newest sets began shipping on Vizio's own system instead. The sets already in homes were not changed: Roku-based onn televisions keep working and keep receiving support. It does mean the shelf today and the installed base are two different things, so advice based on a current listing often does not match the set you own.

Is an onn streaming stick the same as an onn TV?

No, and this catches people out. The sticks and boxes are separate devices running Google TV, with no button on them anywhere, and the television's own remote has no authority over them. If your picture comes from one of those, the television's buttons will only change the TV's input — you need to reach the player itself, and for that a phone on the same Wi-Fi is the route.

Which replacement remote fits my onn TV?

Match the system, not the name. For a Roku-based onn a simple infrared Roku remote works, needs no pairing at all, and also drives a TCL or Hisense Roku TV. For a Google TV onn, check the code printed on your old remote; a voice remote pairs over Bluetooth from a screen, so it is the wrong purchase while you are locked out. A universal infrared remote covers power, volume, channel and source on all three systems.

Can I set up a new onn TV without a remote?

On a Roku-based set, a cheap infrared Roku remote is the answer, because it needs no pairing and works before the television has ever joined Wi-Fi — that is the one case where buying the remote genuinely beats every alternative. On the other systems the setup wizard asks for Wi-Fi before anything else and the body button cannot answer it, so unless the set has an Ethernet socket you will need a remote once.

Using your phone instead

Zap reaches the onn sets that run Roku or Google TV, which is most of the onn televisions in use. On a Roku-based onn there is nothing to pair at all; on Google TV, Zap handles the six-character code for you. In both cases it turns an iPhone or iPad into a full remote over Wi-Fi, reads your HDMI inputs under the names you gave them, and can wake the set from standby. If your onn is one of the newest ones running Vizio's system, Zap cannot reach it — use Walmart's or Vizio's own app instead. On a television this affordable, the free route is worth knowing before you buy a remote at all.

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