Which one do I have?
It doesn't change the steps, but it helps you find the right menus.
- Google TV — the home screen leads with rows of film and show recommendations, and there's a profile picture in the top corner.
- Android TV — the home screen leads with a row of your apps.
If your TV is made by Sony, use the Sony guide instead — it has the model-specific menu paths.
Before you start
- Your TV is on and showing a picture — not in standby.
- Your phone and TV are on the same Wi-Fi network — the same network name, not a guest network.
- You can see the TV screen — you may need to approve the connection there.
Pair your TV
Wait for the home screen to finish loading. A device that's still booting, or sitting on a screensaver or a sign-in screen, often won't respond to pairing.
On your TV, go to Settings › Network & Internet and note the network name. Put your phone on that same network.
If you're using a streaming stick or box rather than a TV, the menu may be Settings › Network or Settings › System › Network instead.
Open iMote and tap Add device. Your TV or box appears by model or by the name you gave it during setup, for example "Living Room TV" or "Chromecast". Tap it.
A pairing code appears on the TV screen. Type it into iMote and tap Pair.
The code expires after a short while, so enter it as soon as it appears.
No remote? Here's what still works
You need to read a code off the screen, not press anything on the TV — so the only thing you need physical access for is powering the device on.
- On a TV — use the power button or joystick on the TV itself. It's usually on the back panel near the standby light, or under the front bezel.
- On a streaming stick — sticks have no buttons at all. Unplug it from power and plug it back in; it boots straight to the home screen.
- On a set-top box — most have a single power button on the top or front.
Once the home screen is up, the code appears on screen and you type it into your phone. No button presses needed on the TV.
If something isn't working
My device isn't in the list
Check the network name at Settings › Network & Internet and match your phone to it exactly.
Check it's not a guest network. Guest networks stop devices from seeing each other. Move your phone to the main network.
Turn off any VPN on your phone. A VPN routes your phone off the local network, so it can't see your TV.
Pull down to refresh the device list in iMote and give it ten seconds.
Restart the device properly. Unplug it at the wall, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in. This clears more than the power button does.
If your TV or streaming box is plugged in with an Ethernet cable, that's fine — wired and wireless work together, as long as both are on the same router.
No code appears on the TV screen
The service that handles remote pairing has got stuck. Clearing its stored data resets it:
On the TV, go to Settings › Apps and turn on Show system apps.
Find Android TV Remote Service in the list.
Open Storage and choose Clear storage.
Restart the device, then try pairing again from iMote.
This only forgets which phones have paired, so other phones in your home will need to pair again.
It keeps asking me to pair over and over
Same fix as above — clear the storage for Android TV Remote Service, then pair once more. This is the single most common cause of a pairing loop on this platform.
The connection drops after a few seconds
Usually your phone, not the TV. Android phones aggressively suspend background network activity to save power.
In your phone's settings, find iMote's battery settings and set it to Unrestricted or exclude it from optimisation.
Turn off any battery saver mode while you're using the remote.
Keep iMote in the foreground rather than switching away mid-use.
The remote works, but the device won't turn on from my phone
Waking from standby over the network isn't part of the Android TV remote standard, so it depends entirely on what the manufacturer added. Look for a setting named Remote start, Wake on LAN, or Networked standby under Settings › Network & Internet.
If there's nothing like it, power the device on with its own remote or button, then use iMote for everything else.
Still stuck?
Tell us your model number — you'll usually find it on a sticker on the back of the TV or streaming device — and we'll take a look.