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How to change HDMI input from a phone

A phone remote can only change the HDMI input if it is controlling the TV itself. If the app is paired with a streaming stick or box plugged into the TV, it controls that device’s menus, and the TV’s input list is out of its reach. So the first question is which device the app is talking to.

By TV Remotely · Updated · Sources and testing policy

Which device owns the input?

  1. Look at the app’s device name. If it says Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku or Apple TV, it is the streamer. If it names the TV brand and model, it is the TV.

    You know whether Input or Source could exist at all.

    If you can’t tell, find the app’s device list or settings page.

  2. In an app paired with the TV itself, look for Input, Source or an external-device control.

    The input picker or selection list opens.

    If there is no such control, the app or protocol doesn’t expose it for your model.

  3. Switch to another input and back.

    You prove the app controls the panel, not just the connected stick.

    If only the streamer responds, add the TV in its manufacturer app or a multi-brand remote.

What each platform offers

  • LG: ThinQ documents an input selector for supported webOS TVs.
  • Samsung: the SmartThings TV remote includes a Source control on supported TVs.
  • Sony and Android TV based sets: manufacturer apps and some multi-brand remotes can open the input list; a streamer’s Google TV remote can’t.
  • Roku TV: the Roku app’s remote doesn’t switch the TV’s HDMI inputs. Roku TVs can accept input keys from some third-party apps.

Use HDMI-CEC when the TV isn’t controllable

HDMI-CEC can make the streamer ask the TV to switch to it. When it is enabled, waking the stick, pressing Home on it, or starting playback commonly switches the TV to that stick’s input (One Touch Play). Brands call it Anynet+ (Samsung), SIMPLINK (LG), Bravia Sync (Sony), VIERA Link (Panasonic), EasyLink (Philips), and often just HDMI-CEC or 1-Touch Play (Hisense, TCL, Roku TV). It switches to the device’s own input only, and it can’t choose a different HDMI port for you.

To get from the Fire TV on HDMI 1 to a game console on HDMI 2 using CEC, turn the console on, and many consoles will request their own input. If neither the console nor the TV’s app supports it, use the TV’s own remote.

Related guidance

Sources for these instructions