By Klaus Jakobsen, developer of A Decent Remote Android TV (and its rebrand, Google TV) has the best phone-pairing story of any TV platform: when a remote app asks to connect, the TV puts a 6-digit code on screen, you type it on the phone, done. No approval prompt that needs the old remote, no hidden buttons, no USB mice. If the remote for your Sony, TCL, Thomson, Nvidia Shield or Chromecast with Google TV is gone, this is a one-minute recovery.
How do I pair an iPhone with an Android TV or Google TV?
- iPhone on the same Wi-Fi as the TV.
- Open A Decent Remote. Android TV devices announce themselves on the network and appear automatically.
- Tap the TV, read the 6-digit code off the screen, type it in. Paired for good.
After pairing you get navigation, volume and mute, app launching, media keys, real keyboard input, and power, including turning the TV on from standby, because Android TVs keep their network interface listening while “off.”
Why does the power button sometimes turn the TV on instead of off?
Android TV’s remote protocol exposes power as a toggle, and while a discrete sleep/wake pair technically exists, some vendors’ TVs silently ignore it. So every remote app, including Google’s own, ultimately sends the toggle. Practical consequence: if the TV’s state and your assumption disagree (say, HDMI-CEC turned it on behind your back), a “power off” tap can turn it on. Tap again. It’s the platform, not you.
What if the TV doesn’t show up in the app?
Nine times out of ten this is a network condition, not a TV problem: phone on the guest network, a VPN active on the phone, or the iPhone’s Local Network permission denied. Work through the network checklist. Android TV specifics worth knowing: the TV must be in networked standby (deep “eco” sleep modes stop the radio), and after a router change the TV re-announces itself within a few seconds of waking.
What are the other options for Android TV?
Google’s TV app includes a remote, but it’s Android-TV-only and shares the screen with a storefront. A Decent Remote is remote-first: it handles the platform’s real quirks (the power toggle, networked standby, per-character typing) and gives the Android TV in the living room, the Roku in the bedroom and the Fire TV stick in the gym one UI and one muscle memory. Samsung, LG, Vizio and Apple TV ride along in the same app.