The new remote is not region-locked!!!

by Deadpool-fan-466

Even if you don't have Google TV (or Google Play Movies & TV) app available in your country, you can use the new remote feature that's been recently added to the app.

I thought it was only available to the 14 countries the app recently expanded to.

Before going forward, make sure that on your TV:

  1. The Android TV remote service is updated to version 5.0
  2. Gboard is updated to version 11.0

Now, on your phone,

  1. Enable the Google TV (or Google Play Movies & TV) app from play store
  2. An update will be available after enabling (in my phone, the app updated from 4.25.14 to 4.28.46; for some people it got updated to 4.28.48)
  3. There will be a "TV remote" option in your phone's quick settings tile. Tap on it & the remote will open.
  4. If you're connected to wi-fi, it will automatically search for your TV & then you can pair it with a 6-digit passcode. (duh!)

Thanks to u/juzmafia & his post . The comment section is really helpful, too.

Some things to keep in mind:

  1. If you don't want to use the new remote, don't update the Android TV remote service to version 5.0. You can't use the old remote after the update.
  2. For some people, the remote didn't appear in quick settings tile immediately after the update; they had to restart the phone.
  3. Also for some people, tapping on the remote icon doesn't work, but tap & hold does.
  4. In unsupported countries, the app gets disabled automatically. You have to re-enable it each time to use the remote.

Edit 1 : This is for Android phone/tablets only. For iOS users, the remote feature will be added to the Google home app.

Edit 2 : I didn't sideload anything or used a vpn. The updates are all official ones from play store.

Edit 3 : For some people, volume control disappeared after pairing. It's not the remote's fault, it's the TV's (which your android TV device is connected to via HDMI). Read here

vexorian2

This has been an absolute disaster. The old Android TV app no longer works. And I needed to google for this to even have a hope of being able to use the new "google TV" app that seems to do EXACTLY THE SAME that the old app did.

xobilae

Updated Google Play movies & TV to 4.28.48. Still cannot see a quick settings option.

Where is it at? A screenshot or screen recording would help loads.

FDisk80

It works but it need to be enabled again every time the Google play movies & TV app is cleared from memory.

Drop the quick tiles, find the remote icon, long press the button, click enable on the left, click enable in the middle, close the app settings, drop the quick tiles again, now click the remote button again and the remote will open.

Now repeat almost every time you want to use it.

Ffs Google, all this just to use the damn remote. Test your shit before you release it.

_marcoos

Interestingly, I can see the TV remote tile on my Galaxy Tab S7 FE, but not on my S21+ (both with their respective latest updates, running Play Movies 4.28.46).

tomtom792

I find it so stupid that Google is trying to move everything to the quick actions. They're not very quick to get to for me and I'd much rather have an app for it, or even better bring back the power menu and add the remote in with your smart home devices

joefast77

Thanks buddy it worked 👌🏻

Atshoooo

This is all for Android phone only, right?

el-limetto

Didn't notice I already had that new notification tile. It was hidden in the unused section and I just had to add it.

sadrudefuturedude

Thanks dude, thought it was coming with the Android 12 update. Just got our new TV set up and wife's first question "is there an app for the remote?".

kami168

Not working for me. https://i.imgur.com/IDAK71i.jpg

ApplySparingly

Thank you! Received my first Android TV 2 days ago and was using 3rd party remote apps. They worked fine until a TV software update resulted in none of those apps being able to find the TV.

This app works first time every time which is a welcome change. In saying that, I've found the Zank Remote has a better interface (touchscreen with cursor display) and has so far been as reliable.

linkinstreet

Well fuck this shit. The old remote does not work. And the new one is a lot of hassle.

Arkrothe

Thank you so much for this. I can finally use my TV again.

Final_Individual3273

This is exactly what I was looking for hints/clues, and took me days and weeks until somebody pointed me to this post. Thanks a lot.

blazincannons

Is there an easier way of accessing the remote rather than QS tile?

voracread

I had upgraded the TV app to version 5.0 using APK, and it worked fine. But now it has stopped seeing the TV due to unknown reason.