Which system does my TV run?
Turn the TV on and look at the home screen.
- A dark home screen with a row of app icons and a VIDAA logo somewhere on it — your TV runs VIDAA.
- A purple background with a grid of channel tiles, and a house-shaped Home button on the remote — your TV runs Roku TV.
- Rows of film and show recommendations, with a profile picture in the top corner — your TV runs Google TV.
- A row of app tiles across a dark blue background, with an Alexa button on the remote — your TV runs Fire TV.
VIDAA is Hisense's own system and the most common outside the US.
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.
If your Hisense runs VIDAA
Follow these steps. If it runs one of the other three, skip to Other Hisense systems below.
Wait for the home screen. A TV in standby won't appear in iMote.
This is the one that catches people out. If you've never accepted the VIDAA privacy terms, no app can connect to your TV — and there's no error message explaining why.
Go to Settings › Support › Disclaimer and Privacy and accept the terms if you haven't already.
Go to Settings › Network and note the network name, then put your phone on that same network.
If your router advertises separate names for its two bands — something like MyWiFi and MyWiFi-5G — pick the one the TV is on.
Open iMote and tap Add device. Your TV appears by model or by the name you gave it. Tap it.
Other Hisense systems
- Roku TV → Connect iMote to your Roku device. No code needed, but Settings › System › Advanced system settings › Control by mobile apps › Network access must be Enabled.
- Google TV → Connect iMote to your Android TV or Google TV. Your TV shows a pairing code to type into iMote.
- Fire TV → Connect iMote to your Fire TV. Your TV shows a four-digit code to type into iMote.
No remote? Use the button on the TV
Whichever system your TV runs, the physical button belongs to Hisense:
- Most models — a single button on the back panel, lower right, near the standby light.
- Some models — on the underside toward the centre or right.
- Older sets — a small row of labelled buttons on the back-right panel.
On VIDAA and Roku models you only need this button to power the TV on, because nothing has to be approved on screen. On Google TV and Fire TV models the code goes into your phone rather than the TV, so again the button only needs to get you to the home screen.
On single-button models, one press powers on and repeated presses move a highlight through an on-screen menu, with press-and-hold to select.
If something isn't working
My TV isn't in the list
On VIDAA, check the privacy terms at Settings › Support › Disclaimer and Privacy. Unaccepted terms block all app connections silently. This is the most common cause on VIDAA sets.
Check the network name at Settings › Network 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.
It connects, then drops after a few seconds
Common on Hisense, and usually caused by your phone rather than the TV.
In your phone's settings, find iMote's battery settings and set it to Unrestricted or exclude it from optimisation.
Turn off battery saver mode while you're using the remote.
On the TV, check whether a power-saving or eco mode is dropping the network connection when the picture is idle.
The remote works, but the TV won't turn on from my phone
Support for waking over the network varies widely across Hisense models and systems. On VIDAA, look for a wake or network standby option under Settings › Network. On Roku models, turn on Settings › System › Power › Fast TV Start.
If there's no such setting, power the TV 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.