Connect a Google TV to Wi‑Fi without a remote

A Google TV or Android TV that is offline and has no working remote is awkward, because phone apps, Tuned included, need the TV on your network. The good news is that these sets run Android, which accepts a keyboard and a mouse and can sometimes copy Wi‑Fi from a phone.

Plug in a USB keyboard or mouse

Because the system is Android, most Google TV and Android TV sets accept a USB keyboard or mouse in the USB port. On a keyboard, the arrow keys, Enter and Escape move through the menus like a remote does, and you can type the Wi‑Fi password directly. A mouse gives you a pointer in many screens. A wireless keyboard with a USB receiver is easiest. This is the quickest route if you have one.

Set up with an Android phone

If the TV is on its first-time set-up screens, or you have reset it, it may offer to set up with an Android phone. If you accept, the phone can pass your Wi‑Fi network to the TV. This depends on the TV and works only with an Android phone, not with an iPhone.

Plug in a network cable

Many sets have an Ethernet port. Connect it to your router and the TV goes online. Your phone, on the same router, can then reach it, and Tuned can connect with its 6-character code.

Try the hotspot trick

If the TV already knew your Wi‑Fi and the name or password has changed, set your phone's hotspot to the old name and password. Switch it on and restart the TV. It joins the hotspot, which puts the phone and the TV on one network. Open Tuned or the Google TV app and move the TV onto the real Wi‑Fi. If the TV does not join within a couple of minutes, try another route.

The TV's own button

The button on most of these TVs is only a power button. Some models add a few controls. If yours does not, the options above are your route.

Once it is online

Tap your TV in Tuned with the phone on the same network, and type the 6-character code from the screen. Tuned cannot connect an offline TV to Wi‑Fi on its own. See the Google TV guide for what the remote does once it is connected.

Questions about Google TV Wi‑Fi without a remote

Can the Google TV app connect the TV to Wi‑Fi?

The Google TV app's remote needs the phone and TV on the same network, so it cannot get an offline TV online.

Will a USB keyboard work on any Google TV?

On most. It depends on the model, and a TV's USB port must be a normal one. Try it before anything more complicated.

What if I use an iPhone?

The phone set-up route needs an Android phone. The cable, keyboard and hotspot routes work with either phone.