TV (Samsung) Remote Control

Review by eFreeware

TV (Samsung) Remote Control is a free Android app from the developer npe that turns a phone into a remote for a Samsung television. It has been on Google Play since April 2014, and the install count has passed 10 million, with a 4.5 average across more than 192,000 ratings. Those are the numbers of an app that a lot of people keep around for the moment the couch remote goes missing.

The reason to consider it is simple: it gives you a second way to drive the TV. The developer is explicit that the goal is not to replace the original remote, but to be handy when the original is lost or its batteries are flat. That framing is worth taking at face value, because it tells you both what the app is good for and how much you should expect from it.

There are two ways it talks to a TV. One is over your home network, the other is infrared, and which one you get depends on your phone and your television. The app is free and supported by ads, and there are no in-app purchases to think about.

Two ways to reach the television

Control can go over a wired LAN, WiFi, or WiFi Direct. The phone and the TV need to be on the same home network, and if your router has a privacy separator function, that has to be switched off so the two devices can see each other. The app can also take the TV's IP address typed in by hand, which is useful when automatic discovery does not pick the set up; the developer explains where to find that address in the TV's own network status screen.

Infrared is the alternative, but only on devices with a built-in IR blaster. The developer lists Samsung Galaxy S handsets, the HTC One, LG's G3, G4 and G5, several Xiaomi Mi, Redmi and Note models, and Huawei Mate and Honor devices as examples. With this method you have to aim the phone's blaster straight at the TV, and the usual working range is roughly 4 to 10 feet, with a maximum of about 5 meters.

The two methods suit different situations. Network control does not care where you are pointing, as long as you are on the same network, while infrared needs line of sight but does not depend on the TV being reachable over the network. Between them, most people with a compatible phone and a Samsung set will find at least one that works.

Where network control works and where it does not

The network option covers C, D, E, F, K and M series sets, with M meaning 2016 and later. The developer is equally clear that H and F models are not supported over the network, so if you have one of those, the infrared route is the one to look at. That is a specific and useful piece of information, because it saves you from troubleshooting a connection that was never going to succeed.

Setup follows the pattern most people expect from this sort of tool. The TV has to be switched on, both devices have to sit on the same network, and the TV will usually ask you to accept the new device the first time. If that confirmation was declined, the developer points to the TV's device connection manager, or the older mobile device manager and AllShare settings menus, where the selection can be changed. The acceptance prompt can also be limited to the first connection only through the access notification setting.

There is one hard stop worth knowing before you start. If the TV asks for a PIN code, the app will not work with that television. That is a limitation of the set rather than the app, but it is the kind of thing that decides the question in a minute if you run into it.

Infrared, and the small print that comes with it

Infrared control has been tried with Samsung F and M models, and the developer expects it to work with other Samsung smart TVs built from 2005 onward, though that part is offered as a guess rather than a promise. The practical requirements are a phone with an IR blaster and a clear line to the television. Nothing needs to be paired, so there is no setup dance before the first button press.

Two conditions can weaken the signal. On some phones, power saving mode or a nearly empty battery can stop the blaster working or cut the range to under 5 feet. That is worth remembering if you reach for the phone during a long evening and find the TV ignoring you; the fix may be as ordinary as taking the phone off its battery-saving setting.

The developer also invites email from anyone whose phone or TV does not work with the app, asking for the exact models so support can be considered. That is a reasonable attitude for a tool of this kind, though it is an offer to look into it rather than a commitment to add anything.

What it asks of your phone and your network

The requirements are modest but real. For network control you need the phone and the TV on the same home network and a router that is not isolating wireless clients from each other. For infrared you need hardware that many recent phones no longer include, which is the single biggest filter on who can use that half of the app. Neither method needs a pairing step.

The app has been updated regularly over the years, most recently in September 2026. Version 2.12.0 brought the SDK up to Android 16 and added a layout with a keyboard, a touchpad and an apps section, which suggests the interface has grown beyond a simple button grid. Earlier releases added the touchpad, keyboard and a newer remote interface for 2016 and later models, along with auto-connect on startup over WiFi, vibration and sound options, and media player and 3D buttons.

It is a fair arrangement for something meant to sit in the background until you need it.

A backup remote, not a replacement

This is not built to take the place of the remote that came with the TV; it is built for the evening the original has vanished between the cushions or its batteries have given out. Judged on that basis, the app does something genuinely useful rather than trying to do everything.

The people who will get the most from it are Samsung TV owners whose sets fall in the supported series and who want a fallback that costs nothing and needs no hardware. If your phone has an IR blaster, so much the better, because that route works even when the network is having a bad day. If your TV is an H or F model, or it asks for a PIN, the network side is closed to you and the infrared route becomes the only one worth trying.

Anyone hoping for a full second remote with every function of the original should keep their expectations in line with the developer's. The app is at its best as insurance, and insurance is exactly what a lost remote calls for.

The case for keeping it installed

I would suggest this app to Samsung TV owners who want a spare way to control the set without spending anything. It covers a wide span of models over the network, it works on phones with an infrared blaster, and it needs no pairing. The 10 million plus installs and the 4.5 average suggest a lot of people have found it worth keeping, though the ads and the free model are part of the deal.

The limits are stated clearly enough that you can judge your own situation in a few minutes. Check whether your TV is a C, D, E, F, K or M series for network control, check whether your phone has an IR blaster, and be ready for the possibility that your set asks for a PIN. If those line up, the app is a sensible thing to have on hand; if they do not, no amount of installing will change it.

What's new in version 2.12.4release

Ver 2.12.0 - Updated SDK for Android 16. - Added new layout with keyboard, touchpad and apps. - Bug fixes. Ver 2.1.0 - Comply with the EU's GDPR. Ver 2.0.6 - Auto-connect on startup (WiFi). Ver 2.0 - Added touchpad, keyboard and new remote interface (2016+ models) Ver 1.5 - Added ability to set vibration, sound etc Ver 1.3 - Added 3D and media player buttons. Ver 1.1 - Added newer remote with SmartHub button.