How to Control a Samsung TV With Your Phone (and What to Do If You Pressed Deny)
Use your Android phone as a remote for a Samsung smart TV over Wi-Fi. Step-by-step setup, the Allow prompt on the TV, and how to unblock your phone if you pressed Deny by mistake.
Samsung smart TVs from 2016 onwards can be controlled from a phone over your home Wi-Fi: navigation, volume, power, and opening streaming apps. Nothing needs to be installed on the TV. The first time your phone connects, the TV asks you to Allow or Deny it. This guide shows how to set it up, and how to fix things if Deny was pressed.
What you need
- An Android phone and a Samsung smart TV on the same Wi-Fi network.
- A TV remote app. We use our free app Remoto: Universal TV Remote in the steps below.
How to connect
- Turn the TV on and check that your phone is on the same Wi-Fi as the TV.
- Open Remoto and tap Pair a new device. Your TV appears in the list.
- Tap your TV.
- A message appears on the TV asking whether to allow Phone Remote to connect. Choose Allow with the TV’s own remote.
That’s it. Remoto remembers the TV, and next time it connects by itself. Some older Samsung models connect without asking.
You pressed Deny by mistake
After a Deny, the TV refuses this phone every time, straight away, and doesn’t ask again. Tapping the TV in the app won’t bring the question back. You have to undo it on the TV.
Step 1: allow the phone in the TV’s device list
- On the TV, open Settings.
- Go to General › External Device Manager › Device Connection Manager. On newer models it’s under Connection › External Device Manager › Device Connection Manager.
- Open Device List.
- Find your phone (it may show as Phone Remote or by your phone’s name) and change it to Allow. If there’s no Allow option, select it and Delete it.
- Back in Remoto, tap the TV again and choose Allow on the TV.
Step 2: use Bluetooth instead
Remoto can also control a Samsung TV over Bluetooth, which doesn’t use the Wi-Fi permission at all. Pair the TV from Remoto’s Pair a new device screen, under Bluetooth.
Other common questions
The TV doesn’t appear in the list
Check that the TV is on (not in standby) and on the same Wi-Fi network as the phone. Guest networks, VPN apps on the phone and some mesh routers stop devices from seeing each other. Switch the phone to your main network and turn off any VPN.
Why do typing and voice need Bluetooth on a Samsung?
Text sent over Wi-Fi doesn’t reach the search boxes of apps on Samsung TVs. For typing and voice, Remoto pairs with the TV over Bluetooth once, just for the keyboard. Navigation and volume keep working over Wi-Fi.
Can I turn the TV on from the app?
Yes, on most models. Tap the TV in Remoto and it sends a wake-up signal over Wi-Fi. If the TV is fully powered down (not just in standby), turn it on with its own remote first.
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