Can’t find your Samsung TV remote? Thankfully, if you have a Samsung Smart TV running Tizen OS, you can use your phone as a remote or even a keyboard or universal remote. There are few pros and cons of each method of course. On that note, here are several ways to use your Samsung TV when you can’t find the remote. Let’s do it.

Use the power button for basic navigation

Pretty much all Samsung TVs as well as other TVs have a power button underneath the display, which you can use to power ON/OFF the TV. You can also use the button to do some basic navigation like volume up/down, source change and then use the remote of HDMI source, 

Depending on your model of your Samsung TV, the power button is located on the back of the TV or in the center of the bottom panel. Pressing it once will toggle power ON/OFF. Also, you can use it as a joystick, which will bring up additional controls such as changing the channel, adjusting volume, and even changing the source to HDMI. Unfortunately, you can't use it to navigate or open apps on your TV.

While this a native method, it quite restricted. For example, you can’t stick your head behind TV because, for example, it’s wall-mounted, so there is a better way by using a keyboard.

USB keyboard

Most Samsung smart TVs support a USB keyboard, which you can use to control every part of your TV.

If you have a wired keyboard lying around, you can plug that in the USB port of your TV. Once done, you will be able to control pretty much all aspects of TV using the arrow keys on the keyboard. You can even access the Settings, open and switch apps, etc. I tried a few different keyboards including the wired Apple keyboard and all work fine with one small caveat, you can't adjust the volume. You can use the arrow keys to navigate, enter to select, ESC to go home, etc., but you can’t change the volume for some reason.

Mouse, however, does not work with our Samsung TVs running Tizen OS.

Wireless keyboard

Okay, USB keyboard works, but If there is one take away from this video, we would highly recommend everyone to get a wireless keyboard. 

For instance, you can get this cheap wireless mini keyboard+mouse combo that works with a Bluetooth dongle and lets you control the TV without any setup. Simply plug the dongle to the USB port on the back of the TV and you're good to go. You can only do basic navigation, but also mute, open apps, and, of course, control the volume of the TV. In Android TV, the touch pad also works giving you mouse pointer, however, it didn’t work on this Samsung TV.

The only caveat is, they come from China and if it breaks there is no warranty. However, I’ve been using this over a year, and it works fine. 

Samsung SmartThings app

One of the most popular ways to control your Samsung TV after you lost the remote is by using the Samsung SmartThings app which gives you all the remote controls on your phone. But there is one big caveat. 

if you've never used the SmartThings app before then you won't be able to use it after you lose your remote, as it requires you to give permission from your phone to connect to your TV. However, you can use an external keyboard to allow this permission, even if you have lost the original remote.

If you are able to connect the app successfully, then rest is pretty simple.

You can get the app on both Android and iOS. Next make sure your phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your TV. Select your TV from the list of available devices. From there, it works just like an actual remote and works wirelessly over Wi-Fi.

Universal remote

And finally, for a long-term solution, you can buy a cheap universal remote from Amazon.

We recommend it over the original remote because it works with multiple devices and is often cheaper. We used Universal Remote for $10 by GE that has codes for most electronic devices that work with an IR remote. You just have to put the remote into a program mode and enter the code specific to your TV. The remote comes with a guide with all the codes which you can find in the leaflets or on Amazon product page. Once paired, you will be able to control all the aspect of your TV from the remote.

Well, that’s all for now. For temporary workaround, using the app or wireless keyboard is better, but for a long-term solution you can get a cheap universal remote. 

Now that you have your Samsung TV remote back, check out other videos on Samsung TV tips and tricks. Or do you know, you can unblock geo restriction on your Samsung TV with Smart DNS Proxy. Check out this video on how to setup Smart DNS Proxy on Samsung TV. 

Thank you for reading and watching.