No matter how far—technologically speaking—TVs have come over the decades, the remote largely remains one of the most unsophisticated and easy-to-lose devices in the history of everything.
The remote control is always growing legs and running off. So what do you do when you simply can’t find it?
Fortunately, a TCL remote isn’t necessary anymore, especially for something as simple as turning the TV on and off.
You can use a smartphone infrared app, the Roku app, Alexa, a gaming console, or just the power button on the TV.
Something as simple as turning a TCL Roku TV on and off doesn’t necessitate a controller.
All you need to do is press the power button on the TV for that. For anything else, however, you will need something a little more sophisticated.
Use the Roku TV App
The Roku TV App is available on both Android and iOS devices, which includes tablets and iPads.
All you need to do is download the app and link it up with the same Wi-Fi connection as your TCL Roku TV.
- Download the app to your Android or iOS device.
- Press the TCL Roku TV power button to turn the TV on.
- Connect your smartphone or device to the same Wi-Fi connection as the TV.
- Open the Roku TV App.
- Select the remote tab at the bottom of the app screen.
- Let it locate your TV when it starts to search.
- Select your TV.
Now, you have a virtual remote that uses the touch interface of your smartphone’s screen to change the channels, adjust the volume, and essentially do everything that your original Roku remote allowed you to do.
There are other features that come with the Roku TV app, such as the Roku store, where you can download apps, via your smartphone, directly to the Roku TCL TV.
Use a Universal Remote Control App
There are a ton of these on the Apple App store and the Google Play Store.
There’s Twinone Universal Remote, Mi Remote Controller, Smart IR Remote, Unified TV, Galaxy Universal Remote, irplus Infrared Remote, Universal Remote Control, and Sure Universal Remote for TV.
There are more than that, but these are some of the best and highly rated apps on the app store.
However, these apps will only work on a smartphone that utilizes infrared technology.
Some smartphones don’t have this, so you need to check and make sure that yours does, otherwise it’s a waste of a download.
If your smartphone or tablet device lacks infrared, you also have the option of picking up an infrared dongle for your smartphone, which essentially gives the phone an infrared capability and allows you to control your Roku TCL TV.
Use Your Smart Home
Most of the newer—and some of the older—Roku TCL TVs are compatible with virtual assistants, such as Alexa, Google, Siri, Cortana, and others.
If you’re in a pinch and your TCL Roku TV is set up on your smart home network, you can use your virtual assistant to turn the TV on, change channels, and adjust the volume.
The setup is essentially the same, regardless of which virtual assistant you use, so we will stick with Alexa for a general breakdown.
- Ensure you have the Alexa app downloaded on your smartphone.
- Launch the Alexa App.
- Locate and select the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines at the top).
- Select “skills and games”.
- Select the search bar and type, “Roku”.
- Select “Launch”.
- Enable the “Roku Skill”.
- You will be directed to your Roku account.
- Sign in.
- You’ll get a list of your Roku devices, so select your TV.
- Select your Roku TV.
- Select “Continue”.
- Select the Alexa speaker you want to use for interacting with your Roku TCL TV.
- Select “Link Device”.
With your Alexa app, you can either control your Roku TCL TV with your smartphone, tablet, or iPad or you can control it with your Alexa devices, such as an Echo speaker or Echo Show.
You can tell Alexa what channel you want the TV to go to.
For instance, you can say something like, “Alexa, turn on my Roku TV to ESPN 2.” You can also use Alexa to turn the TV on or off, as well as change the volume levels.
If you want, you can use Alexa to channel surf, though that’s kind of a pain.
You literally have to wake Alexa up to change the channel up or down, each and every time you want to change it.
It’s not the most convenient option in the world, but it will certainly do the trick in a pinch.
Related Post: Why Won’t Your TCL TV Turn On?
All Things Considered
There are other ways to get the job done, however, using a gaming console or something else to turn on and operate your TCL Roku is worse than not having a controller at all because of how incredibly inconvenient it is.
The Roku TV App is hands down the best option, however.
If you can take advantage of it, you should do so and forget about the Roku remote control from here on out.
Hi there, technology lovers! My name is James, I am an admin and a frequent writer for this blog. I am a techno-geek, so this blog is the place where I want to share all my knowledge with you to make your life a little bit easier in terms of dealing with technology.
