Simple Control TV Remote FAQ

Simple Control is a new app (mid-2023) from the makers of Roomie Remote. Simple Control is designed to provide control over 1 television at a time. For a very low price, Simple Control provides the core control of televisions that Roomie Remote has perfected over more than a decade.

This document provides tips for connecting Simple Control to your television. While most of this content also applies to Roomie Remote, users of Roomie should reference the other pages relevant to that product as there are many differences between Roomie Remote and Simple Control.

TV Discovery

• Make sure your iOS device and television are on the same network. In general, this doesn’t necessarily mean they need to be on the same Wi-Fi as long as they’re on the same network subnet. If you look at their IP Addresses, the first 3 octets should be the same such as 192.168.1.X.
• Make sure UPnP is not disabled on your router. UPnP is how printers and other devices are discovered.
  Restart both your iOS device and target television and wait for them to come back online (make sure Wi-Fi has connected on your iOS device not just cellular).
• If you’re still not seeing a supported TV, restart your router. Supported TVs include IP controllable models of Samsung, LG, Sony, Roku, Vizio, AndroidTV, and FireTV. Some select models of Sharp, Panasonic, and Philips TVs may also work.

Brand-specific Tips

• Samsung: H and J models require a pairing sequence. Models K and above simply require you to select Allow using the original TV remote. Check to make sure you have allowed connections in the TV Settings. 2017+ models provide this under General > External Device Manager > Device Connection Manager > Device List. Clearing the list can be useful if something isn’t working. Older models may find the same setting under Network > Multimedia Device Manager or even older models under Network > Allshare Settings > Content Sharing.
• Sony: There are two broad classes of Sony TVs with slightly different network control methods. In general, higher end models use the BRAVIA method, and other models use the option labelled Most Models. The BRAVIA models can be identified by the option to set a Shared Key. Configure a Shared Key on the Sony TV settings such as “1234”. You will be asked to enter that key when connecting to the TV for the first time. On other models, the TV will show a pairing code that you will need to enter the first time. For all Sony TVs, make sure to enable “Remote Start” in the Network settings panel of the TV. For older Sony TVs, make sure to enable the Renderer at Network > Remote Device or Renderer.
• FireTV: Both the actual TV models of FireTV and the stick/cube models are supported. You must activate ADB Debugging in order to control either type of FireTV. On your FireTV, navigate to the About section in Settings. Hit the center button on the FireTV remote seven times on the first item to reveal the hidden Developer Options menu. Ensure ‘ADB debugging’ is turned on under ‘Developer options’. On first connection, Allow it using the original remote. Restart your FireTV if you see any issues there.