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Use your phone as a Chromecast with Google TV or Google TV Streamer remote

The phone remote you want is in the Google TV app (or Google Home, on some devices). It works for Chromecast with Google TV and Google TV Streamer. It does not work for the older Chromecast that has no home screen. Check which device you own first, because the two are controlled in completely different ways.

By TV Remotely · Updated · Sources and testing policy

Which Chromecast do I have?

  • Chromecast with Google TV (HD or 4K) and Google TV Streamer: you get a Google TV home screen with apps, a search bar and a Settings icon, and a remote with a directional pad. The phone can act as that remote.
  • Older Chromecast (the discs from 2013–2022 with no remote) and Chromecast Ultra: no home screen. You tap the Cast icon inside an app on the phone and the app tells the device what to play. There is nothing for a directional pad to navigate, so a “virtual remote” doesn’t apply.

Pair the phone remote

  1. Connect the phone to the same Wi-Fi network as the device and open the Google TV app.

    The device appears when you tap the remote icon.

    If it doesn’t show, check the network and any VPN, then restart the device by unplugging power for 10 seconds.

  2. Select the device and enter the pairing code shown on the TV screen.

    The phone remote opens and the arrows move the highlight on the TV.

    If no code is shown, don’t keep tapping. Use the pairing-code guide, which covers the usual causes.

  3. Test the keyboard: open the Search box on the home screen and tap the keyboard icon in the remote.

    What you type on the phone appears on the TV.

    If one app rejects typing, test with search first; the problem is then in the app, not the remote.

What the remote controls and what it doesn’t

The phone remote controls the streamer. It does not directly control the TV it is plugged into. Volume, power and input depend on whether HDMI-CEC is enabled (it is called Anynet+ on Samsung, SIMPLINK on LG, Bravia Sync on Sony, and 1-Touch Play or similar on Hisense and others) or on the IR commands the streamer’s own remote sends. A phone can’t send infrared, so it only gets what CEC passes through. If TV volume doesn’t change from the phone, turn on CEC in both the TV and the streamer (look under the streamer’s Display & sound or Remotes & accessories settings) and test again.

If the physical remote is lost, use the phone remote to reach Settings → Remotes & Accessories and pair a replacement. The find-lost-remote guide covers ringing a remote that supports it.

Related guidance

Sources for these instructions