How to turn on a Roku TV without the remote

"Roku TV" isn't one television. TCL, Hisense, onn., Sharp, Philips and others all build sets that run Roku's software, which is why the power button is never quite where the last person said it was.

Where the button hides, by shape of set

• Bottom-right of the panel, seen from the front — the most common spot on TCL and onn. sets.
• Bottom-centre, just behind the logo, often as a small joystick.
• On the back panel near the ports, sometimes recessed into a plastic shroud.
• On the left edge, low down, on some Hisense-built Roku TVs.

A single press wakes the set. If it's a joystick rather than a button, hold it to power off and push it sideways to change input.

Roku is the easiest TV to run from a phone

Roku publishes its control protocol — it's called ECP, it's a plain REST interface on port 8060, and it requires no pairing whatsoever. There is no code to type, no prompt to accept, no account. Any app on your Wi-Fi that speaks it can start controlling the TV the moment it finds it, which is exactly what LazyBinger does the first time you open it.

That also means a lost remote is a much smaller problem on Roku than on most platforms: you don't need the remote to authorise the replacement.

One catch: sticks versus TVs

A Roku TV is the screen, so it owns its own volume. A Roku streaming stick is a guest in someone else's HDMI port and often can't change the volume at all — it reports as much when asked. If your volume buttons do nothing, that's why, and the fix is your TV's own remote or an HDMI-CEC setting, not the app.

Frequently asked

Can I use my phone as a Roku remote without the original remote? Yes. Roku needs no pairing, so a phone on the same Wi-Fi can take over immediately.

Will it turn the TV on? Roku TVs support waking over the network if Fast TV Start is enabled in Settings → System → Power. Without it, the set drops off the network in standby and only the physical button will do.

Do I need a Roku account? Not for control. LazyBinger talks to the device directly on your network.

More: Roku remote not working and what to do when the remote is gone for good.