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
This matters more on Vizio than on other brands. Turn the TV on and leave it on before you start pairing. Vizio TVs discard the pairing PIN if the set was powered off when the request arrived, which produces a code that never works.
Wait for the SmartCast home screen.
On your TV, open Menu › Network and note the network your TV is connected to. 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, for example "Living Room" or "VIZIO M65Q6". Tap it.
A four-digit PIN appears on the TV screen. Type it into iMote and tap Pair.
No remote? Use the buttons on the TV
You don't need to press anything on the TV to complete pairing — the PIN goes into your phone, not the TV. You only need physical access to power the set on and reach the home screen.
- Most recent models — on the back panel, lower right, near the standby light.
- Some models — a small cluster on the underside, toward the right corner.
- Older sets — a row of labelled buttons along the left or right side edge, or on the lower-left front bezel.
Press the power button once and wait for the SmartCast home screen. Then read the PIN off the screen and type it into iMote. No further presses needed.
If the TV comes up on the wrong input with no picture, use the Input button to cycle to SmartCast.
If something isn't working
My TV isn't in the list
Check the network name at Menu › 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.
The PIN was rejected
Two likely causes, in order:
The TV was off when pairing started. Vizio discards the PIN in that case. Make sure the TV is on and showing the home screen, then tap Try again in iMote for a fresh code.
The code expired. Vizio PINs are short-lived. Request a new one and enter it straight away.
Enter only the four digits — no spaces.
No PIN appears on screen
Restart the TV properly: unplug it at the wall, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in. This clears a stuck SmartCast session more reliably than the power button.
If it still doesn't appear, check whether the TV is on the SmartCast input rather than an HDMI source.
It connected before, but now it won't
Your TV keeps a list of paired phones. Remove the old entry and pair fresh:
On the TV, go to Menu › System › Mobile Devices.
Find your phone and remove it.
In iMote, remove the TV from your devices, then add it again.
The remote works, but the TV won't turn on from my phone
Most Vizio models don't support waking over Wi-Fi from a full power-off. Power the TV on with its own remote or the button on the set, 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.