How to use iPhone as a remote control

The versatility of the iPhone (and smartphones in general) is known to everyone: with such a device you can communicate with friends, watch movies, take photos, listen to music and much more. What perhaps not everyone knows is that the Apple mobile phone (as well as other smartphones) can also be used as a remote control. Yes, you read that right! By downloading the right applications from the App Store, you can take advantage of the wireless network of e use iPhone as a remote control for Apple TV, for the Smart TVs of some well-known brands, you can use your “iPhone by” as a mouse for your PC and Mac, and much more.

What do you say? The thing interests you but is not being very practical in terms of computer science and new technologies you fear that the operations to be implemented to be able to use the iPhone as a remote control may be too complicated for you? But no, you are wrong … and very wrong too! Contrary to appearances and beyond what you might think, succeeding is an operation that can be carried out by everyone without particular difficulties. You just need to know which resources, exactly, to use and where to put your hands: that’s all!

So, if this opportunity “teases” you and you want to know more, I suggest you take a few minutes of free time and concentrate on reading this guide. I have to recommend some excellent applications that will make your phone even more useful, versatile and complete. So, let’s get started?

How to use iPhone as a Smart TV remote control

How to use iPhone as a remote control ©aranzulla

If you want to use the iPhone as remote control of your Smart TV, you must first make sure that the latter is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your phone and that has an active Network remote control function (more info here).

You also need to make sure that the UPnP function (to find out how to access the router settings panel and to learn more about it I suggest you consult my tutorial on how to set up a router).

The next step, then, is to download one of the many apps that allow you to manage and control your Smart TV from your mobile device. Among the best, in my humble opinion, there is SURE, which is free and uses Wi-Fi technology to transform your smartphone into a remote control and control TVs (Smart or not), as well as various devices (digital terrestrial and satellite decoders, air conditioners, etc.).

One time downloaded and install it on your “iPhone by” the app you have chosen to control your Smart TV (it can be SURE or any other similar app), carefully read the instructions that should be shown on the screen to be sure you have done it, up to now, all the steps correctly and to find out what further steps you need to take.

Basically, this is all you need to do in order to use iPhone as a remote control for your TV. Unfortunately, I cannot be even more precise since I don’t know exactly which TV you have and which application, among those I have proposed to you in the previous lines, you have chosen to download on your device but given the extreme simplicity of the operation you should not encounter any problems. For more information, consult my guide dedicated to remote control app.

How to use iPhone as an Apple TV remote

How to use iPhone as a remote control ©aranzulla

You always forget the remote control of the Apple TV when do you put yourself beautifully “sprawling” on the sofa? Yup? Well, know that you are not alone. This is also why Apple has created a special button to be called up in the Control Center. How is it used? I’ll explain it to you right away.

To begin with, activate (if necessary) the button Apple TV Remote from the settings of your device. First, then, go to the app Settings of iOS, by pressing the gray icon with the gears present on the Home screen or in the App Library, select the item Control Center and, in the section Further checks, press the button (+) placed in correspondence with the wording Apple TV Remote. Then, holding your finger on the symbol (≡) move the newly added control to the desired position, according to your preferences.

Next, call up the Control Center of iOS by swiping down from the top right corner of the screen (on iPhone with Face ID) or by swiping from bottom to top starting from the bottom of the screen (on iPhone with the physical Home button) and press icon of the remote controller.

In the screen that opens, then, select the Apple TV name to check, and when prompted, follow the on-screen instructions to provide a four-digit code on your iPhone. Once the iPhone has been paired with the Apple TV to control, use the controls you see on the screen to turn the device on / off, start or stop playing content, and so on.

How to use iPhone as a Fire Stick remote

How to use iPhone as a remote control ©aranzulla

I conclude the article illustrating you how to use iPhone as a Fire TV Stick remote, in case you have the Amazon key I told you about in this dedicated in-depth study.

In this case, the steps to take are as follows. First of all, connect iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network as the Fire TV device (if you haven’t already), install the app Fire TV, and start it. In the configuration screen, then, select the name of your device and follow the simple on-screen instructions to complete the configuration.

Once this is done, you are ready to take advantage of the options on the screen and the navigation menus to manage in all respects the selected device, just now.

How to use iPhone as an iPad remote control

How to use iPhone as a remote control ©aranzulla

Would you use iPhone as a remote control for the iPad? I’m sorry, but as I have already explained to you in the guide on how to control iPad with iPhone this is not feasible.

How to use iPhone as a remote control for Mac

How to use iPhone as a remote control ©aranzulla

You connect yours from time to time Mac to your home TV and would you like to control it remotely with your iPhone? This can also be done. All you have to do is turn to the free application Remote Mouse, which simulates not only the mouse but also the keyboard and the menu to quickly launch applications on the Mac (and possibly also on the Windows PC).

To use it, after having downloaded and installed the app on your iPhone, you need to get a small free client to install on your computer. To do this, connect to the Mac App Store page hosting the application and providing its own installation by clicking the buttons Get / Install and confirming the operation via Touch ID or password of Apple ID.

At this point, open Remote Mouse on the Mac and iPhone, granting in both cases all the permissions necessary to make the application work, making sure that both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. In the mobile app, tap the computer name that you intend to control remotely from the iPhone (eg. MacBook Pro’s [tuo nome]) and then move the cursor by dragging your finger on the screen of your “iPhone by”.

How to use iPhone as a remote control ©aranzulla

To perform a right mouse click, instead, do tap with two fingers on the iPhone screen; to access the other functions made available by Remote Mouse, instead, press the buttons at the top of the screen, so from writing lyrics, launch applications, and so on.

Know, however, that some advanced functions, such as those that allow you to manage multimedia controls remotely, are included in the paid version of the app, which starts at 0.99 euros/month.

How to use iPhone as an infrared remote control

How to use iPhone as a remote control ©aranzulla

Would you use iPhone as an infrared remote control? Well, this is not feasible and for a very simple reason: iPhone, unlike some (now few) Android devices, does not integrate a IR sensor and, therefore, exploiting this functionality is impossible.

How to use iPhone as a gate remote control

How to use iPhone as a remote control ©aranzulla

You would like to use the iPhone as a gate remote control? This may be feasible, as long as you use compatible devices with HomeKit, Apple’s home automation system (which also works as a hub). To simplify everything as much as possible, this system acts as a “bridge” between the iPhone and the device to be controlled (in your specific case the gate), which can be managed through a special device that allows you to put it in communication with your own “iPhone by” through the app Home Apple (and possibly the app that owns the manufacturer of the home automation device to control the gate) and the Wi-Fi connection (both the home automation device and the iPhone must be connected to the same wireless network). Here are some examples of devices of this type.

 

 

Usually, in the purchase package, there are instructions to proceed with the connection (although, sometimes, the help of a technician may be preferable to complete the job correctly, given its potential complexity).