Fire TV is the trickiest of the streaming devices to control without its remote, because Amazon removed the standard remote protocol that other brands leave open. But there’s a reliable path — the official app — and a few backups.

1. Use the Fire TV app (the reliable way)

Amazon’s own Fire TV app (iPhone and Android) is the answer for a lost remote. It talks to the Fire TV over your Wi-Fi and gives you a full on-screen remote, including a keyboard for search.

There’s a catch worth knowing: the app needs to show that code on the TV screen, which means the Fire TV has to be on and already on your Wi-Fi. If it’s a stick that’s currently off, see the connected-device trick below to wake the TV it’s plugged into.

2. Wake the TV with a connected device (HDMI-CEC)

A Fire TV Stick draws power from the TV’s USB or a wall plug, so it’s usually “on” whenever the TV is. Turning the TV on — with its own button, or by powering on another HDMI device — brings the Fire TV up with it and, with HDMI-CEC enabled, switches to its input.

3. Fire TV Edition televisions

If your Fire TV is built into the television (a Fire TV Edition set from Toshiba, Insignia and others), the TV itself has a physical power button, usually under the front panel — press it to switch on, then use the app.

A note on other remote apps

Some third-party remote apps, including Zapp, can control a Fire TV — but through Amazon’s developer bridge, which has to be switched on first in Settings → My Fire TV → Developer Options → ADB Debugging. Reaching that setting needs a working remote, so it’s something to set up before a remote goes missing, not after. For a remote that’s already lost, Amazon’s own Fire TV app is the right tool.

A replacement remote

Amazon sells replacement Fire TV remotes, and they pair by holding the Home button for about ten seconds with the Fire TV on. Worth it as the permanent fix; the app covers you until it arrives.