Remote Control for RokuTV

Review by eFreeware

The physical remote is the part of a TV setup most likely to go missing. It slides between cushions, gets carried into another room, or runs out of batteries at the worst moment, and hunting for it becomes a small chore attached to every viewing session. Remote Control for RokuTV is built around that everyday annoyance: it turns the phone or tablet already in your hand into the controller for a RokuTV.

The app comes from EVOLLY GLOBAL and sits in the Tools category on Google Play. It is free to download, carries ads, and includes in-app purchases. It has been available since August 2020 and was last updated in October 2025, with more than five million installs and a 4.2 average from over 78,000 ratings, which suggests a large pool of people have at least given it a try on their own televisions.

A touchpad that replaces the arrow buttons

The piece the developer puts at the center of the app is a touchpad for moving around menus and picking content. Rather than tapping a ring of arrow buttons the way you would on a physical remote, you drag a finger across the pad. It is described as spacious, and that matters: a roomy surface makes it easier to land on the right tile without overshooting.

The app is also set up to find the television for you. It detects a RokuTV or RokuTV Player automatically, so the app locates the device for you. The developer also says the app works with every version of RokuTV, which is the sort of claim worth taking at face value until you have tried it on your own set.

Once connected, the usual jobs are covered: browsing the interface, searching for something to watch, and opening streaming services. The developer pitches the app as useful whether you are across the room or elsewhere in the house.

Typing and talking instead of clicking

Searching on a television interface with a directional pad is slow, and the app addresses that with a keyboard for entering text. Anything you would normally peck out letter by letter can be typed on the phone's own keyboard instead, which is a much more natural way to enter a title.

There is also voice search for hands-free control, so you can speak a request rather than type or navigate to it. Between the two, the app covers the two situations where a physical remote is most awkward: long text fields and finding one specific thing in a large catalog.

Channel launching is handled inside the app as well. Instead of walking through the television's home screen to reach a service, you can start it directly from the remote, which shortens the path to whatever you actually sat down to watch. The developer lists this alongside the keyboard and touchpad as one of the app's main features, and it is the sort of shortcut that becomes habitual once it is available.

What the app asks of you

The app is free to download, and it is supported by advertising. It also offers in-app purchases, so there is the option to spend inside the app if you choose to. The app includes in-app purchases, so I would treat them as something to look at once the app is running rather than as a required step.

You need a RokuTV or RokuTV Player for any of this to be useful. The app is rated for Everyone, and it works on phones and tablets alike.

One thing to be clear about: this is not an official Roku product. It is a third-party app from EVOLLY GLOBAL.

Getting the most from it day to day

The most sensible way to use an app like this is as a second remote rather than a replacement. Keep the physical one where it has always lived, and let the phone handle the moments when the remote is out of reach or buried under something. That way a flat battery or a phone left in another room does not interrupt an evening.

The keyboard and voice search are the features I would lean on first. Typing a film title on a phone is far quicker than spelling it out with arrow keys, and speaking a request skips the navigation entirely. If you regularly search for specific titles rather than browsing, those two features will do more for you than the touchpad will.

Channel shortcuts reward a little setup. If a handful of services account for most of your viewing, launching them straight from the app saves the trip through the home screen every time. On a shared television, a phone-based remote also means each person can keep their own controller rather than passing one handset back and forth.

Since the app carries ads and offers purchases, it is worth deciding early how you feel about that trade for a free remote. For most people the calculation is simple: it costs nothing to install.

A practical spare remote for RokuTV owners

Remote Control for RokuTV does one job and does it in a way that matches how people actually watch television. The touchpad handles navigation, the keyboard and voice search handle the fiddly parts, and channel shortcuts cut out a few steps. Automatic detection of the television removes most of the setup friction, and the developer's claim of compatibility across RokuTV versions is reassuring for anyone with an older set.

The caveats are the ones that come with the territory. It is a third-party app rather than an official one, it shows ads, and it offers in-app purchases. It is also only useful if you own a RokuTV or RokuTV Player, since there is nothing else for it to control.

If you own a RokuTV and your remote has a habit of vanishing, this is an easy thing to install and keep around as a backup. It suits households where several people watch the same television, and anyone who finds on-screen typing tedious will get the most out of it. With more than five million installs behind it, it is clearly a familiar solution to a very common problem.