Can a TV remote app work without Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi connects your phone to your home network. Internet access connects that network to the outside world. TV Remotely sends commands straight to the TV on your network, so basic control does not depend on the internet itself; downloading the app, TV streaming services and some TV features still need it. If your router is on but the internet is down, test the specific controls you need.

A wired TV can be reached from a phone on Wi-Fi when both connect through the same router and the network allows it. The TV itself does not need Wi-Fi. See TV not found if a wired TV is online but missing from the app.

Use a compatible physical remote, the TV’s own buttons or the manufacturer’s setup method. A network remote cannot type Wi-Fi details into a TV it cannot yet reach.

Some Android phones have an infrared transmitter and can run separate IR remote apps. That is a different technology from TV Remotely, and installing a network remote app does not add infrared hardware to an iPhone or Android phone.

It depends on whether the hotspot lets connected devices talk to each other, and whether the phone running the remote can reach the TV. Many do not, and the TV would need to be set up on that hotspot first. A normal home router is the clearer starting point.

Not for TV Remotely: it does not control TVs over Bluetooth. Your physical remote using Bluetooth does not mean a phone app can do the same.

Start with the lost-remote guide. Restore the TV’s network connection and complete authorization first. Check compatibility before expecting any phone app to replace a non-smart TV’s remote.