Roku is one of the easier devices to control without its remote, because Roku publishes an open way for apps on your network to talk to it. If your Roku and your phone are on the same Wi-Fi, you have a working remote in about a minute.

1. Use a phone app as the remote

Any app that speaks Roku’s control protocol will drive it over Wi-Fi — the official Roku app, or Zapp, which shows your Roku’s real app icons and real input names and never charges a subscription. On a Roku TV you get power and volume too; on a Roku streaming stick or box, volume depends on whether it can pass commands to the TV over HDMI-CEC.

Setup is usually nothing at all — open the app and the Roku appears. If it doesn’t respond, check one setting on the Roku itself (you’ll need the on-screen menu, so use one of the methods below to get there first):

Settings → System → Advanced system settings → Control by mobile apps → set it to Default or Permissive.

2. Move around with the TV’s own buttons

If it’s a Roku TV (from TCL, Hisense, Onn and others), the TV has a physical button — usually under the front panel, centre or bottom-right. A single press powers it on; on models where it’s a jog stick, push it to move around menus and change volume. That’s enough to reach the setting above and get a phone remote working.

3. Turn it on with a connected device (HDMI-CEC)

Powering on a device plugged into the TV — a console, a soundbar — will often switch the TV on and jump to its input automatically, thanks to HDMI-CEC (Roku calls its version 1-Touch play).

4. Buy a replacement remote

Roku sells replacement remotes, and they’re inexpensive. A standard Roku “simple” remote pairs by infrared and just works; the “voice” remotes need a quick pairing step. Worth it as the permanent fix, but it won’t help you tonight.

A note on which remote you have

Roku ships two very different remotes: a simple IR remote (line-of-sight, no pairing) and an enhanced/voice remote (Wi-Fi Direct, has a pairing button in the battery compartment). If your remote is there but not working, try re-pairing the enhanced kind: hold the pairing button for about five seconds with the Roku on.

The short version

Put your phone on the same Wi-Fi and open a Roku remote app — that’s the whole fix, and it works even better than the plastic remote in some ways (real app icons, real input names). Keep a cheap replacement on the way for line-of-sight situations.