Depends on the model It depends which model you have
Hisense ships more than one kind of set. Remote Pro controls Roku TV, Google TV / Android TV and Fire TV; it does not control the VIDAA models. Check yours first — it takes about ten seconds.
Hisense is the messiest brand on this list: depending on the year and the retailer, the same size of set shipped as a Roku TV, a Google TV, a Fire TV, or with Hisense’s own VIDAA system. The first three work with Remote Pro. VIDAA does not — check your home screen before you install anything.
The home screen answers this faster than the model number does.
Roku TVs boot to the purple Roku home screen — a grid of channel tiles down the right — and the remote has a purple Roku logo plus a row of streaming-service shortcut buttons.
Android TV and Google TV sets boot to a Google home screen of content rows, list the Google Play Store in their apps, and the remote has a Google Assistant microphone button.
Fire TV sets, sticks and cubes boot to Amazon’s home screen with a row of tabs across the top, and the remote has an Alexa button with a blue microphone icon.
If the home screen looks like nothing you have seen on another brand — or the television is not a smart TV at all — it is running the manufacturer’s own system. No Google Play Store and no recognisable platform branding is the giveaway.
Setup
Your Hisense (Roku TV) and your iPhone need to be on the same WiFi network. That is the only requirement — no dongle, no hub, no infrared.
Put your iPhone on the same WiFi network as the TV. The main network, not the guest one — this is the single most common reason a phone cannot see a television.
Open Remote Pro and tap Scan. Every Roku on the network appears by the name it was given during setup (“Living Room TV” and friends).
Tap your TV. There is no pairing step at all — Roku accepts local control out of the box, so the remote screen opens immediately. No PIN, no prompt on the TV.
Press something. On a Roku TV you also get volume, mute, power and channel, because the television itself is the Roku.
More detail on this platform: Roku TV remote app for iPhone →
Setup
Your Hisense (Google TV / Android TV) and your iPhone need to be on the same WiFi network. That is the only requirement — no dongle, no hub, no infrared.
Connect your iPhone to the same WiFi network as the TV. Not the guest network, and turn off any VPN on the phone — a VPN hides the TV from it.
Open Remote Pro and tap Scan. Android TV and Google TV devices announce themselves on the network by name.
Tap your TV. It puts a 6-digit pairing code on screen — type that into Remote Pro. This is Google’s own encrypted handshake, and it only happens once.
Paired. Full D-pad, OK, back, home, volume, mute, power, playback, and your iPhone keyboard typing straight into search and sign-in fields.
More detail on this platform: Google TV / Android TV remote app for iPhone →
Setup
Your Hisense (Fire TV) and your iPhone need to be on the same WiFi network. That is the only requirement — no dongle, no hub, no infrared.
Put the iPhone and the Fire TV on the same WiFi network.
Open Remote Pro and tap Scan. The Fire TV appears by its device name.
Tap it. A 4-digit PIN appears on the TV screen — type it into Remote Pro. No Amazon account, no sign-in, no profile picking, no developer options and no ADB.
Paired. Navigation, OK, back, home, menu, playback, sleep, and iPhone-keyboard typing into Fire TV search and password fields — the single best reason to use a phone as a Fire TV remote.
More detail on this platform: Fire TV remote app for iPhone →
The alternative
Remote Pro cannot control this one. These are the options that actually work, best first.
Check the manufacturer’s own iPhone app first. Most brands ship a free remote app for their own smart platform, and it will always beat a third party at controlling their own television.
Look for HDMI-CEC. A soundbar, games console, Fire Stick or Chromecast plugged into the set can often control power, volume and input with its own remote, and that remote may be easier to replace.
If it is not a smart TV, it can only be controlled by infrared — and an iPhone has no infrared blaster. No app of any kind can control it, ours included. A replacement or universal IR remote is the only real fix.
Adding a Fire TV Stick, a Roku or a Chromecast with Google TV to that television gives you something Remote Pro can control, and is often the cheapest route to phone control on an older set.
The honest part
If nothing shows up, one setting is usually to blame: on the TV go to Settings → System → Advanced system settings → Control by mobile apps → Network access and set it to Default. Some sets ship with it disabled. Remote Pro detects this and shows you the path.
Roku sticks and boxes are different from Roku TVs: their sound comes out of the television they are plugged into, so no network command can change the volume. Remote Pro detects which type you have and only shows buttons that actually work.
The TV has to be awake for that first pairing, because you need to read the 6-digit code off the screen. After it is paired, Remote Pro can wake it from standby.
Remote Pro implements the current (v2) Android TV remote protocol — the one every Google TV and recent Android TV device uses. A very old set-top box still on the original protocol may not pair.
Volume and channel do not work over the network on Fire TV — not in Remote Pro, and not in any other app. Amazon’s protocol simply has no volume command; the physical remote sends volume over infrared or HDMI-CEC to the television instead. Apps that show volume buttons anyway are failing silently. Remote Pro disables them and says why, and you use the TV’s own volume (or the TV brand’s app) alongside.
Fire TV devices stay network-awake in standby, so Remote Pro can wake one up — useful when the physical remote has vanished entirely.
Remote Pro controls four platforms: Samsung Tizen, Fire TV, Android TV / Google TV and Roku. Everything else — including every infrared-only television — is honestly out of scope, and we say so rather than let you find out after paying.
An iPhone has no infrared blaster, so a television that is only controllable by infrared cannot be controlled by any phone app — ours or anyone else’s. We say that on every page rather than hide it in a review reply.
The official Roku app is free and includes a remote plus private listening. It is a bigger app doing several jobs and nudges you toward a Roku account. Remote Pro opens straight onto a remote and also covers Samsung, Fire TV and Android TV in the same house.
Google’s free Google TV app has a built-in remote and it is good, provided you are signed into a Google account on your phone. Remote Pro pairs with the device directly, no account needed, and covers your Samsung, Fire TV and Roku gear too.
The official Amazon Fire TV app is free and works well — after you sign into an Amazon account and pick a profile. If you would rather not log in, or it is not your Amazon account, Remote Pro pairs with the device itself.
Start with your TV brand’s own app. If you add a streaming stick to the set later, Remote Pro controls Fire TV, Roku and Google TV sticks natively.
Remote Pro controls Samsung, Fire TV, Android TV / Google TV and Roku from one app, over your own WiFi. Full D-pad, volume where the platform supports it, and a real iPhone keyboard for search fields.
Get Remote Pro — free on the App Store Get →