Remote Control for All TV

Review by eFreeware

If your TV remote has a habit of disappearing between the cushions, or the one that came in the box has a dead button you keep working around, this app is aimed at you. Remote Control for All TV, from ZipoApps, turns an Android phone into a replacement handset for a long list of television brands, and it throws in screen mirroring so the phone's screen can appear on the TV as well. It is free to install, and it has been picked up more than ten million times.

The appeal is simple. Most of us already have a phone within reach, and a phone can do the basic jobs a remote does without hunting for anything. The developer also says the remote side works without an internet connection, which matters if your Wi-Fi is unreliable or the router sits in another room.

It is not an official app from any television maker, and the developer is explicit about that: brand names appear for identification only, and there is no affiliation with the companies listed. That is worth keeping in mind when you weigh how much you want to rely on it.

Who will get the most from it

The people I'd expect to install this first are those with a phone that has a built-in IR blaster. On those handsets the app can act as a straight replacement for a physical remote. If you own an older set, a second TV in a spare room or a hotel television while traveling, that combination is where the app makes the most sense.

The second group is smart TV owners who want a phone-based controller without buying a separate accessory. The developer lists support for sets from Apple, Element, Emerson, Fire, Haier, Hisense, Insignia, LG, Panasonic, Philips, Roku, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio, among others, so there is a good chance your living room television is covered.

Then there is the mirroring side. Anyone who wants to show photos from a phone on a big screen, or put a mobile game up where a group can see it, gets a second reason to keep the app around. It suits households where the phone is the main camera and the TV is the main display.

What the remote side actually does

The core of the app is a set of on-screen buttons covering the jobs people use most: power, mute, volume up and down, channel up and down, and a menu key with directional controls. That covers everyday viewing without much thought, and it is the sort of layout most people already know from a physical handset.

The developer describes it as a universal controller that works across a wide range of remote systems, from a phone's IR hardware to smart TVs. In practice that means the app is trying to be the one place you go for television control rather than a brand-specific tool tied to a single manufacturer.

Offline operation is the feature I'd single out. The remote works without an internet connection, so a dropped Wi-Fi signal or a router reboot does not leave you unable to change the channel. For a living room tool, that reliability is more valuable than any extra button.

Mirroring your phone to the television

The second half of the app is screen mirroring, which broadcasts your Android screen and audio to a television in real time. The idea is that whatever is on the phone, from a photo album to a video to a game, appears on the larger display instead.

That is a useful thing to have in the same app as the remote, because the two features tend to be wanted at the same moment. You sit down, turn the TV on with the remote, then send something from the phone to the screen. Keeping both in one place saves switching between tools.

I would treat mirroring as the more situational of the two features. It is the kind of thing you reach for when you want to share something with people in the room, not something you would use every evening. The remote is the daily driver; mirroring is the occasional bonus.

What it costs and what comes with it

The app is free to download and carries ads, and it offers in-app purchases, so a paid option exists inside the app.

For anyone deciding whether to try it, the practical point is that you are not paying up front. You install it, see how it behaves with your television, and judge for yourself. The ad-supported model is the trade-off for that.

The app is rated for Everyone and sits in the House & Home category, which fits its role as a utility rather than an entertainment product in its own right. It was released in April 2020 and has been updated since, most recently in September 2026.

The average rating sits at 3.7 from more than forty-nine thousand ratings. That is a middling score for a utility app, and it suggests the experience varies depending on the hardware people bring to it. Your own television and phone combination will matter more than the average does.

How it compares with the alternatives

The obvious alternative is the remote that came with your television. It costs nothing extra and it is designed for that exact set. What the app offers instead is convenience: a controller that is always within arm's reach because it lives on the device you already carry.

A second option is a dedicated universal remote, the kind you buy and program by hand. Those tend to be more dependable for people with several devices to manage, but they are another object to buy, charge and lose. This app asks for nothing beyond the phone.

If mirroring is the part that interests you, the comparison is with a dedicated casting or streaming device plugged into the television. Those are purpose-built for getting content onto the screen, while this app folds the job into a remote-control tool. Which one suits you depends on whether you want one function done thoroughly or two done conveniently.

A free remote worth trying on the right phone

Remote Control for All TV is a sensible install if you have an Android phone with an IR blaster and a television that has lost its remote, or if you want a spare controller for a second set. The button set covers the essentials, the offline claim is the right priority for a living room tool, and the price of entry is nothing but the ads.

The mirroring feature gives it a second life for sharing photos, videos and games on a bigger screen, though I would treat that as a bonus rather than the main reason to keep it. The developer's own note that this is not an official app for any of the brands it lists is worth remembering if you prefer tools with a manufacturer's backing.

If your phone has no IR hardware and your television is not a smart model the app can reach, the remote side may not do much for you, and the mirroring half becomes the only part left. For everyone else, it is a low-risk thing to try: free, quick to install, and easy to remove if your particular television does not cooperate.