We’ve all lost a TV remote at some point. But thanks to the current state of technology, you no longer need your remote to control your TV. Many TV manufacturers have smartphone apps that allow you to control your Wi-Fi-connected TV with your phone.
But what happens when you’ve lost your remote, and—for one reason or another—your TV is no longer connected to a network? Well, we’re going to go over exactly that. Here’s what you can do to connect a TV to Wi-Fi without a remote.
Grab a Keyboard or Mouse
Along with Wi-Fi connectivity, smart TVs also have at least one USB port in the back to allow you to connect mass media storage. But, did you know that many smart TVs can also accept a keyboard or mouse as an input device through these ports?
That’s why the first thing you can try is to grab a USB keyboard or mouse and plug it directly into one of the USB ports on the back of your TV. If your TV accepts it, then it should allow you to control the TV, allowing you to navigate to the TV’s settings and connect it to a Wi-Fi network. From here, you can then connect your TV with your phone through the manufacturer’s app to control your TV from your phone.
Connect Your TV Directly to Your Router
If your TV doesn’t accept input from a keyboard or mouse, and it has an Ethernet port in the back, then you can also run a direct connection via an Ethernet cord to your TV from your router.
You don’t necessarily need to run a long Ethernet cord across your house to do this, since you should only need to temporarily connect your TV to the router. That means that if running a cable across your house isn’t possible, you can temporarily move your router closer to your TV (or vice versa) so you can connect the TV to the router.
This should provide Internet access for your TV to allow you to connect your TV with your phone, allowing you to then use the remote control app on your phone to connect your TV to Wi-Fi.
Change Your Router’s Wi-Fi Name and Password
If moving your router isn’t an option, but you’ve previously had your TV connected to a Wi-Fi network, you may still be in luck. In this case, try to change your router’s Wi-Fi name and password to the same as the network your TV was previously connected to.
This is useful if your old router dies, and you’ve now got a new router that you’re trying to get your TV connected to. By naming the network and password the same as before, your TV should be able to simply connect to the network as it did before.
Create a Mobile Hotspot
An alternative option to changing your router’s network settings is to use your phone to create a mobile hotspot with your old network’s information. When creating a mobile hotspot, set the name and password of the mobile hotspot to the same name and password as the old connection so that your TV can connect to it.
Once connected, you can then use the remote control app for your TV to access the connection settings and point your TV to your new Wi-Fi connection.
Get a Replacement Remote
While this is far from the ideal solution, perhaps the simplest way to get your TV connected to Wi-Fi without a remote is to get a replacement remote. You can order a new replacement remote for your specific model of TV by contacting the manufacturer or finding an online retailer who sells remotes for your model.
But if you don’t want to wait for a replacement to ship to your house, you can also find remotes locally as well. More often than not, you will be able to find a universal remote that is compatible with your TV at a local retailer.
As for determining if a specific universal remote will work for your TV, you can always search the model of remote and your TV to see if they’re compatible. Most new universal remotes should be compatible with most TVs, but it’s best to double-check if you’re unsure and don’t want to bother with having to return the remote if it doesn’t work.
