Insignia TV Remote App: Control Your Insignia TV by Phone

No remote right now? Use your phone. NoRemote is free for one TV.

Quick answer: Your phone can run an Insignia TV if the TV is a smart model running Roku TV or Fire TV. Connect the phone to the same Wi-Fi as the TV, open a Wi-Fi remote app and pick the TV from the list. Roku TV models connect straight away; Fire TV Edition models need ADB debugging turned on once in Developer Options before any phone remote app can connect.

Insignia (Best Buy’s house brand) doesn’t run its own smart TV software. The set in your living room runs Amazon’s Fire TV or Roku’s Roku TV system, and that decides which steps you follow. Older non-smart Insignia sets can’t be controlled from a phone at all, and we’ll cover what to do with those too.

Which Insignia TV do you have: Fire TV or Roku TV?

Check this first, because the setup is different for each one. Turn the TV on and press Home (or look at whatever screen appears at startup).

Roku TV: a grid of channel tiles with the Roku logo and a purple menu down the left side.
Fire TV Edition: “Fire TV” or “prime video” along the top, rows of apps and shows below. The remote has an Alexa (microphone) button.
No home screen with apps: if pressing Home or Menu only shows a settings list for picture, sound and inputs, the TV is a non-smart model. It has no Wi-Fi, so no phone app can talk to it.

If the TV is off and you can’t get to the home screen, search the model number from the sticker on the back to see whether it is a Fire TV or Roku TV model. Our will it work checker asks the same question and tells you in a few taps whether a phone remote can reach your set.

Insignia TV remote app for a Roku TV model

Roku TV models are the easiest Insignia sets to control from a phone. Roku TVs accept remote commands over the home network with no pairing, PIN or setting to change.

Make sure the TV is on and already connected to your home Wi-Fi.
Connect your phone to that same Wi-Fi network (not mobile data, not a guest network).
Open the remote app and wait a few seconds while it looks for TVs.
Tap your Insignia Roku TV in the list. The remote is ready to use.

Roku’s own mobile app also works as a remote for Roku TVs, and Roku’s support page suggests it as a stand-in while you sort out a broken remote. One catch Roku points out on that page: you need a physical remote to connect a Roku device to Wi-Fi in the first place. If the TV isn’t on your network yet, a phone app can’t find it.

For more on Roku sets without a working remote, see how to turn on a Roku TV without the remote.

Insignia TV remote control app for a Fire TV Edition model

Fire TV takes one extra step, and it’s better to know before you start: ADB debugging has to be on before any third-party phone remote can connect. Amazon hides this switch in Developer Options. You’ll need your remote (or a USB or Bluetooth keyboard) working long enough to flip it once.

Here is the path, based on Amazon’s developer guide for connecting to Fire TV:

On the Fire TV home screen, open Settings (the gear icon).
Go to My Fire TV, then About.
Select your TV’s model name 7 times until a message confirms Developer Options is on.
Go back to My Fire TV. A new Developer Options entry appears.
Open Developer Options and turn ADB Debugging on.
Put your phone on the same Wi-Fi as the TV, open the remote app and pick the Insignia TV.
A debugging prompt appears on the TV. Choose Always allow, then OK.

On some older Fire TV software, Developer Options shows up under Device instead of My Fire TV, and on some versions it’s already visible without the 7 clicks. Amazon’s own Fire TV app is another phone option, and Amazon’s pairing help even suggests it for pairing a stubborn remote.

Here’s the short version for anyone who just wants the facts. Insignia smart TVs come in two kinds, Fire TV Edition and Roku TV, and you can tell them apart from the home screen: a Roku logo with a purple left menu means Roku TV, while Fire TV or prime video across the top means Fire TV. A phone remote reaches either one over Wi-Fi, so the phone and TV must share one network. Roku TV needs nothing else; tap the TV in the app and every button works. Fire TV needs ADB debugging switched on once in Settings, My Fire TV, Developer Options, which you unlock by selecting the model name 7 times under About. After that, accept the prompt on the TV and the phone works as the remote. Non-smart Insignia TVs only take infrared, so a phone can’t control them.

Insignia remote not working with the TV? Fix it by platform

Before you replace anything, try the steps for your platform. They come from Amazon’s and Roku’s own support pages, since those companies make the remote systems inside Insignia smart TVs. The TV remote not working tool walks through the same checks for other brands.

Fire TV Edition remote

Fire TV remotes use a wireless connection, so they don’t need to point at the TV, but they do need to stay paired. From Amazon’s pairing help:

Stand within 10 feet (3 m) of the TV.
Press and hold Home until “Press to start” appears, about 10 seconds.
If that fails, take the batteries out, wait 30 seconds, put them back and hold Home again. Try fresh alkaline AAA batteries next.
Still nothing: press and hold Left, Menu and Back together for 12 seconds, then hold Home again.

If the light on top of the remote flashes when you press the Alexa button, the remote has a troubleshooting mode. Amazon’s troubleshooting page explains it: press Rewind and Right together for three seconds, then Menu, and the light turns green. Press any button and read the color. Slow red means low battery, fast red means reset the remote, orange means it isn’t paired, and blue means the remote is fine and the TV needs a restart.

For a full reset, Amazon’s reset steps have you unplug the TV for 60 seconds, hold Left, Menu and Back for 12 seconds, remove the batteries, plug the TV back in, wait for the remote detection error, then reinsert the batteries and press Home.

Roku TV remote

Many Insignia Roku TVs come with a simple infrared remote. It has no pairing button and needs a clear line of sight to the front of the TV. Roku’s remote help lists these fixes:

Clear anything sitting in front of the TV’s sensor, and try the remote from a different angle.
Take the batteries out, press any two buttons, then put in a fresh matching pair.
Restart the TV: unplug it, wait 5 seconds, plug it back in and wait for the Home screen.

If you replaced the original with a Roku voice remote, it does need pairing. Hold the pairing button in the battery compartment for 5 seconds until the light flashes, or hold Back and Home for 5 seconds if there’s no pairing button, and wait for the message on screen.

A phone camera can show whether an IR remote is sending anything at all. Point the front of the remote at the camera, hold a button and watch the screen for a flashing light.

How NoRemote helps with an Insignia TV

NoRemote turns your phone into a Wi-Fi remote for Insignia sets that run Roku TV or Fire TV. It finds the TV on your home network by itself, and the remote for one TV is free with every button: power, volume, channels, the arrow pad and OK, Back, Home, the number pad and input switching. You can also type searches with the phone keyboard and open streaming apps on the TV from the app (Fire TV uses a fixed list of apps).

The first connection depends on the platform. On an Insignia Roku TV, there’s nothing to pair; tap the TV and it connects. On an Insignia Fire TV, turn on ADB debugging in Developer Options first, and the app walks you through it step by step.

The honest limit: on Fire TV, you need some way to move through the menus once to turn on ADB debugging, which means a working remote, a borrowed one, or a USB or Bluetooth keyboard. And if your Insignia set is non-smart, NoRemote can’t control it, because it works over Wi-Fi and iPhones have no infrared. A universal IR remote is the fix there, and our remote codes tool helps you set one up. NoRemote isn’t affiliated with Insignia, Best Buy, Amazon or Roku.

If the app can’t see your TV, check that both devices are on the same network and that the TV is awake. The TV not found guide covers router settings like guest networks and client isolation that block discovery. Running a Hisense set too? Our Hisense TV remote app guide covers the same platform check for that brand.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official Insignia TV remote app?

Insignia doesn’t publish its own phone remote app for its TVs. Smart Insignia sets run Fire TV or Roku TV, so you control them with an app that speaks to those systems, such as Amazon’s Fire TV app, Roku’s mobile app, or a universal Wi-Fi remote app.

How do I know if my Insignia TV is Fire TV or Roku TV?

Look at the home screen. A Roku TV shows a grid of channel tiles with the Roku logo and a purple menu on the left, while a Fire TV shows Fire TV or prime video along the top. The remote is a second clue: Fire TV remotes have an Alexa button.

Why is my Insignia remote not working with the TV?

Weak batteries are the most common cause on both platforms. On a Fire TV Edition set, hold Home for about 10 seconds within 10 feet of the TV to re-pair; on a Roku TV, check for a blocked line of sight and restart the TV by unplugging it for 5 seconds.

Can I use my phone as a remote for an Insignia TV without Wi-Fi?

No. Phone remote apps for Insignia TVs talk to the TV over your home network, so the phone and TV must be on the same Wi-Fi. iPhones have no infrared, so there is no way to beam a signal straight at the TV.

Does a phone remote app work on a non-smart Insignia TV?

No. Non-smart Insignia TVs have no Wi-Fi connection and only listen for infrared, so a Wi-Fi app can’t reach them. Use the buttons on the TV, an Insignia replacement remote, or a universal IR remote with the right code.

Why does Fire TV need ADB debugging for a phone remote?

Third-party phone remotes reach a Fire TV through its developer connection, called ADB debugging. You turn it on once in Settings, My Fire TV, Developer Options, then accept the prompt on the TV the first time the app connects.

Sources

NoRemote is a free Wi-Fi remote for Insignia Roku TV and Fire TV models, made by Vesoft Apps.

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