Turn on a Google TV or Android TV without the remote
Google TV and Android TV sets switch on with the TV's own button, with an HDMI device, or with a wake signal from your phone if you have set the TV up for it. The setting you need has a different name on different makers' sets.
Use the button on the TV
Every Google TV or Android TV set has a power button. Where it is depends on the maker and the model: a small button at the back near an edge, under the middle of the front, or a joystick. Press once. These TVs take a little while to start, so give it a minute before you press again.
Let an HDMI device switch it on
HDMI-CEC lets a games console, a box or a soundbar wake the TV. Sony calls it BRAVIA Sync, Philips calls it EasyLink, and other makers use their own names or plain HDMI-CEC. It has to be on in the TV and in the other device.
Wake it from your phone
A phone can only wake the TV if the TV stays reachable on the network in standby. The setting you need:
- Most Google TV and Android TV sets: Settings, System, Power and Energy. On most sets, choose Always Ready or a similar option.
- TCL: turn on Quick Start. It is under Settings, System, Power and Energy, Quick Start. On older TCL sets: Settings, More Settings, Device Preferences, Quick Start.
- Sony: the option is called Remote start.
Tuned shows this advice on the remote screen for a TCL or Google TV set that has dropped off the network. When the setting is on and Tuned has seen the TV before, the power button sends a wake signal. The power key on these TVs is a toggle: pressed while the TV is on, it sends it to standby, so Tuned allows time for the TV to report that it is on, and a second press does not send it straight back to sleep.
What does not work
- A TV that is unplugged, or fully off with no standby network, cannot be woken by any app.
- An iPhone has no infrared. An Android phone with a blaster can use Tuned's infrared mode.
- The first connection needs the TV on, for the 6-character code.
Questions about turning on a Google TV
Why will my TCL TV not wake from Tuned?
Quick Start is probably off. Switch the TV on with its button, turn Quick Start on, and try again.
Does Quick Start use more power?
A TV that stays ready uses more power in standby than one that shuts down fully. That is the trade.
Do I need a Google account?
No. Tuned pairs with the code on the TV.
Get Tuned
Free to download for iPhone and Android.