{"id":9,"date":"2026-10-23T00:15:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T03:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/remotapp.com\/blog\/change-input-without-remote\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T00:15:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T03:15:36","slug":"change-input-without-remote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/remotapp.com\/blog\/change-input-without-remote\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Change the Input on Your TV Without a Remote"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You plugged in the game console, but the TV is stuck on the wrong input and the remote is missing. Changing the source without a remote is easy once you know where each brand hides the option.<\/p>\n<h2>Use the TV\u2019s own button<\/h2>\n<p>The physical control on the TV almost always has an input option:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Samsung:<\/strong> press the control button under the bottom center once to open the on-screen control menu, then press repeatedly (or hold) to move to <em>Source<\/em>. On joystick models, push the stick sideways.<\/li>\n<li><strong>LG:<\/strong> press the joystick under the logo to open the menu, move to the input icon and press again.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sony:<\/strong> use the Input button on the side or back panel, if present, or the single power button\u2019s menu.<\/li>\n<li><strong>TCL, Hisense and Roku TVs:<\/strong> many have a single button where short presses cycle through inputs and a long press turns the TV off. Others show a small menu.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Behavior varies by model year, so try short presses first and long presses second.<\/p>\n<h2>Use your phone<\/h2>\n<p>If the TV is on Wi-Fi, a remote app gives you a proper input button:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Samsung:<\/strong> SmartThings or a universal app sends the Source key; some apps let you pick HDMI 1\u20134 directly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>LG:<\/strong> LG\u2019s protocol exposes the list of inputs, so apps can show \u201cHDMI 1\u201d, \u201cHDMI 2\u201d and so on by name.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Roku TV:<\/strong> inputs appear as tiles on the home screen. Open the Roku app (or any remote app), press Home and select the HDMI tile.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Google TV:<\/strong> press Home and look for the Inputs icon in the top right corner of the home screen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/remotapp.com\/\">RemotApp<\/a>, the Home and navigation keys work the same way on Samsung, LG, Roku and Google TV, so you can reach the input menu of any of them from one app.<\/p>\n<h2>Let HDMI-CEC switch for you<\/h2>\n<p>HDMI-CEC (\u201cOne Touch Play\u201d) lets a connected device take over the TV. When you turn on a PlayStation, Xbox, Apple TV, Roku or Fire TV stick, the TV switches to that HDMI port automatically. Enable it on the TV:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Samsung: Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC), in Settings \u203a General \u203a External Device Manager.<\/li>\n<li>LG: SIMPLINK (HDMI-CEC), in Settings \u203a General \u203a Devices.<\/li>\n<li>Sony: BRAVIA Sync settings.<\/li>\n<li>Roku TV: Settings \u203a System \u203a Control other devices (CEC).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Then enable it on the device: \u201cHDMI Device Link\u201d on PS5, \u201cHDMI-CEC\u201d in Xbox TV &amp; display options, \u201cMatch TV power state\u201d on Switch.<\/p>\n<h2>The unplug trick<\/h2>\n<p>Many TVs show a \u201cnew device connected\u201d prompt or switch automatically when a device is plugged into an HDMI port. If you are stuck on the wrong source and have no other option, unplug the HDMI cable of the device you want and plug it back in while the device is on. Some TVs will jump straight to it.<\/p>\n<h2>Still no picture?<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Check the port number printed next to the HDMI socket on the TV.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure the connected device is on (its light should be lit).<\/li>\n<li>Try another cable or port. HDMI cables do fail.<\/li>\n<li>Restart the TV by unplugging it for 30 seconds.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Brand guides with pairing steps: <a href=\"https:\/\/remotapp.com\/guides\/control-samsung-tv-with-phone\">Samsung<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/remotapp.com\/guides\/control-lg-tv-with-phone\">LG<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/remotapp.com\/guides\/control-roku-tv-with-phone\">Roku<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/remotapp.com\/guides\/control-chromecast-tv-with-phone\">Google TV \/ Chromecast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Press the TV\u2019s physical button or joystick to open its mini menu and choose Input or Source. If the TV is on Wi-Fi, a phone remote app has an Input button. With HDMI-CEC on, simply turning on your console or streaming device switches the TV to that HDMI port automatically.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Change TV Input (HDMI) Without a Remote | RemotApp<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Switch your TV to HDMI 1, 2 or 3 without the remote: the TV\u2019s buttons, a phone app and HDMI-CEC auto-switching on Samsung, LG, Roku TV and Google TV.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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