How to turn on a Roku TV without the remote

Press the button on the TV itself. Roku says to look under the middle of the bottom edge, behind the small status light, or on the back of the TV near the bottom. One press turns it on. Some models have a single button, others three buttons, a small joystick or a row of labelled buttons.

Where the button is

1. Run a finger along the underside of the frame, around the middle where the status light glows.
2. Nothing there? Check the back of the TV, near the lower left and lower right corners.
3. Roku TVs are made by many companies: TCL, Hisense, onn., Sharp, Philips, Westinghouse, Insignia and more, plus Roku's own Select, Plus and Pro Series. So the place and the shape of the button vary. Your TV's manual shows where it is.

With the TV on

Press the button again (on a three-button TV, the middle one; on a joystick, push it left or right; on a row of buttons, INPUT). The Inputs menu opens, so you can switch to HDMI without the remote.

Keep pressing and you reach Find Remote. It makes a voice remote with a built-in speaker beep, the kind with small holes on the back. A simple remote can't do that. The Pro Series has its own Find My Remote button on the right side, above the power button. (Roku’s guide)

Use your phone as the remote

• The Roku app is free. You sign in with a Roku account and connect to the TV on the same Wi-Fi. It can also make a lost voice remote beep: Devices, tap the TV, then the three dots and Ping Remote. Roku’s guide
• Fjernbetjening needs no account and no pairing. It finds the Roku on your Wi-Fi and works straight away, with big buttons, the iPhone keyboard for search boxes and a list of the TV's apps. Once it has connected, Turn on the TV wakes the TV from standby.

Both need the TV to accept apps: Settings › System › Advanced system settings › Control by mobile apps. On Limited, an app can only type and open apps. Enabled (Default on older Roku software) lets an app on your home Wi-Fi press every button. (Roku’s guide)

Waking the TV from a phone only works if it stays on the network in standby. On Roku TVs that is Fast TV start, under Settings › System › Power.

One catch: a TV that was just reset, or is still in its first setup, can't be found by any app. That setup needs a remote.

Other ways

• A game console or streaming box on HDMI can turn the TV on with it. Turn on Settings › System › Control other devices (CEC) and 1-touch play. (Roku’s guide)
• A new remote: Roku sells simple and voice remotes, and many universal remotes support Roku TVs. The TV's maker and model are on the label on the back.

Still dark?

No light at all on the front? Then no power is reaching the TV. Push the power cable firmly into the TV and the wall, and try the socket with a lamp.

Your iPhone can't find the TV? See Roku not found. For other brands: Samsung and LG without the remote.

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