Getting from one HDMI input to another with no remote is easier than it looks — the TV can do it on its own, a connected device can do it for you, or your phone can name each input so you pick the right one first time.
1. Use the TV’s own button
Nearly every TV has a physical button — often a small joystick — under the front panel, usually centre-bottom or bottom-right. On most sets:
- Press and hold to open a menu that includes Source / Input.
- Push left/right or press repeatedly to move through the inputs.
- Press to select.
It’s fiddly the first time because the button is hidden, but it works on every brand.
2. Let HDMI-CEC do it automatically
Turn on the device you want to watch — a console, a Blu-ray player, a streaming stick — and if HDMI-CEC is enabled (it usually is), the TV switches to that input on its own. Each brand has its own name for it:
- Samsung — Anynet+
- LG — SimpLink
- Sony — BRAVIA Sync
- Roku — 1-Touch play
If it doesn’t switch automatically, HDMI-CEC may be turned off in the TV’s settings — worth enabling for exactly this reason.
3. Switch inputs from your phone
A phone remote makes this the easiest of all, because it can read the TV’s real input names instead of a blind “Source” button. Zapp lists them as the television reports them — “HDMI 1 — Game Console”, “HDMI 2 — Blu-ray” — so you tap the device by name. It works on Samsung, LG, Roku and Google TV over Wi-Fi, and LG in particular exposes the full labelled input list.
The short version
Reach under the panel for the TV’s button and hold it to reach Source — that’s the universal fallback. If you switch inputs often, either turn on HDMI-CEC so the TV follows whatever you power up, or use a phone remote that shows each input by name.