Zapp / Fire TV
Fire TV TV remote app for iPhone
Control a Fire TV from your iPhone over Wi-Fi. Zapp finds it on its own, but one hidden setting must be switched on first: here is which one, step by step.
One payment of $9.99. Never a subscription.
iPhone and iPad · iOS 17 or later
How it connects
Amazon removed the standard remote protocol from Fire OS, so Zapp uses the developer bridge Amazon left in place instead. Zapp finds the Fire TV on your network by itself, and shows a setup card with the one step it needs: that bridge is switched off by default.
What you have to do once
- On the Fire TV: Settings → My Fire TV → About, then select the device name seven times. That reveals Developer Options.
- Back in Settings → My Fire TV → Developer Options, switch ADB debugging on.
- Open Zapp, choose the Fire TV it has found, and accept the prompt on the TV — choose “Always allow”.
Which Fire TV TVs it works with
Fire TV Sticks, Fire TV Cube and Fire TV-edition televisions — wherever Developer Options and ADB debugging can still be switched on.
Free and Pro on Fire TV
| Feature | Included |
|---|---|
| The full button remote in the Fire TV layout | Free |
| A keyboard for search fields | Pro, $9.99 once |
| Voice typing: say it, and your words go into the search field open on the TV | Pro, $9.99 once |
| Your iPhone’s side volume buttons turn the TV up and down while the remote is open, where the Fire TV can drive the volume | Pro, $9.99 once |
Pro is one payment, never a subscription. What Pro unlocks on every brand.
Beyond the remote screen
Free on Fire TV, as on every TV: a Home Screen widget for this TV, Control Center and Action Button controls (iOS 18), the remote on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island while it’s open, Siri for pause, mute, volume and turning the TV off, and the Apple Watch app with the Digital Crown as the volume knob.
If the Fire TV isn’t found or won’t respond
- Check the iPhone and the TV are on the same Wi-Fi network, not a guest network, and that no VPN is running on the phone.
- On the iPhone, Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network: make sure Zapp is switched on. Without it no app can see the TV.
- Check ADB debugging is still on (Settings → My Fire TV → Developer Options). Some Fire OS updates switch it off again.
- If the TV never shows the prompt, restart the Fire TV and connect again; when it appears, tick “Always allow”, or it will ask every time.
- If Zapp doesn’t list the Fire TV, add it by IP address: Settings → My Fire TV → About → Network.
What it will not do
- Some newer Fire OS builds hide Developer Options entirely. On those devices no third-party remote app can connect — including this one. That is Amazon’s decision, not something an app can work around.
- Fire TV devices on Amazon’s newer Vega OS (the Fire TV Stick 4K Select was the first) use Amazon’s own developer tools instead of ADB debugging, so Zapp can’t connect to them.
- No app shortcuts and no waking from standby on Fire TV.
- Volume keys need HDMI-CEC between the stick and the television, and not every Fire TV has them.
Saying this plainly is the point: a remote app that promises what it cannot deliver wastes your evening and earns a refund. If the answer above is no, it is genuinely no.
Questions
Can I use my iPhone as a Fire TV TV remote?
Yes, as long as the iPhone and the Fire TV are on the same Wi-Fi network. On the Fire TV: Settings → My Fire TV → About, then select the device name seven times. That reveals Developer Options. Back in Settings → My Fire TV → Developer Options, switch ADB debugging on. Open Zapp, choose the Fire TV it has found, and accept the prompt on the TV — choose “Always allow”. After that the whole button remote is free.
Does it work without Wi-Fi?
No. Zapp talks to the Fire TV over your home network, and an iPhone has no infrared, so no iPhone app can control a TV without one. With no router, a second phone’s hotspot that both the TV and your iPhone join can stand in, if that hotspot lets devices on it see each other.
Is there a subscription?
No. The whole button remote is free on every TV you own. On Fire TV, one optional payment of $9.99 adds: a keyboard for search fields; voice typing: say it, and your words go into the search field open on the TV; your iPhone’s side volume buttons turn the TV up and down while the remote is open, where the Fire TV can drive the volume.
What does Zapp not do on Fire TV?
Some newer Fire OS builds hide Developer Options entirely. On those devices no third-party remote app can connect — including this one. That is Amazon’s decision, not something an app can work around. Fire TV devices on Amazon’s newer Vega OS (the Fire TV Stick 4K Select was the first) use Amazon’s own developer tools instead of ADB debugging, so Zapp can’t connect to them. No app shortcuts and no waking from standby on Fire TV. Volume keys need HDMI-CEC between the stick and the television, and not every Fire TV has them.