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. A device still booting won't respond.
This is the setting that matters. On your Roku, go to: Settings › System › Advanced system settings › Control by mobile apps › Network access
Set it to Enabled. On older Roku software this option is called Default instead — either is fine.
Don't pick Permissive unless you have a reason to. It opens your Roku up to devices outside your home network, and iMote doesn't need that.
If you updated your Roku recently and iMote suddenly stopped working, this is almost certainly why. A Roku software update changed the available options here and left many devices set to Limited, which blocks remote control.
On your Roku, go to Settings › Network › About and note the network name. Put your phone on that same network.
Open iMote and tap Add device. Your Roku appears by the name you gave it during setup, for example "Living Room TV" or "Roku Ultra". Tap it.
No remote? You may not need one
Because Roku doesn't ask for confirmation, you don't need to press anything on the TV to pair — as long as Control by mobile apps was already enabled.
If it wasn't, you're in a chicken-and-egg situation: changing that setting needs a working remote. Here's the way out:
Roku TVs are built by other manufacturers, so the button placement follows the TV brand, not Roku. Look on the back panel lower right, on the underside, or under the front bezel. On most, a single press powers on and repeated presses move through an on-screen menu, with press-and-hold to select.
If your Roku is a stick or box plugged into a different TV, turn on that TV's HDMI-CEC feature. The TV's own remote can then drive the Roku's menus far enough to reach the setting. Manufacturers each brand it differently: Samsung calls it Anynet+, LG calls it SIMPLINK, Sony calls it BRAVIA Sync.
Some Roku models accept a plugged-in USB keyboard. Arrow keys navigate and Enter selects.
If something isn't working
My Roku isn't in the list
Check Network access at Settings › System › Advanced system settings › Control by mobile apps. If it's set to Limited or Disabled, iMote can't see your Roku and there's no error to explain why. This is the number one cause.
Check the network name at Settings › Network › About 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 worked yesterday and now it doesn't
Check Control by mobile apps first. Roku software updates have reset this setting for many people, and a Roku that's suddenly invisible after an update is nearly always this.
The remote works, but the TV won't turn on from standby
Roku needs Fast TV Start on to listen for network commands while it's off.
Go to Settings › System › Power › Fast TV Start and turn it on. Without it, the device fully powers down and can only be woken by its own infrared remote or its physical button.
Volume and power do nothing, but menu navigation works
You're most likely using a Roku stick or box connected to a TV that Roku can't control. Volume and power belong to the TV, not to the Roku.
Turn on HDMI-CEC on your TV so it accepts those commands from the Roku, or set up volume control in Settings › Remotes & devices › Remotes › Set up remote for TV control.
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.