Vizio has become one of the leading brands on the smart television market. The company offers a wide range of devices such as smart TVs, tablets, and smartphones. These devices come with various notable features, including voice control, a web browser, and a variety of other applications.
But while under normal circumstances you’d be using the Vizio remote to navigate your Vizio television, what if you’ve lost the remote, or the remote no longer works? How will you turn your Vizio on? How much is a new remote going to cost?
If you can’t get a replacement quickly, you start to panic and wonder how you are going to turn your Vizio TV on and use it. But, what if we told you there is a different way? That’s right, you can turn the TV on without the need for the remote! Keep reading to find out how.
How To Turn On Your Vizio TV Without A Remote
Every Vizio TV will have a button on the actual TV, meaning you can turn them on and off without a Vizio remote. The issue some people have is finding that button.
For most Vizio TVs the button will be located on the back, usually either by the bottom right-hand corner or the bottom left. It may differ depending on the exact model, but pressing this button for any length of time should turn the Vizio TV on, just as the button on the remote would turn it on.
Besides the button for turning the Vizio TV on and off, there will also be other buttons for changing the channel, turning up or down the volume, and for changing the input. It’s not ideal, though, so if you’ve lost your Vizio remote or your remote has broken, you’ll want to think about getting a replacement.
How To Turn On Your Vizio TV With The Vizio SmartCast App
Another way to turn on your Vizio TV without a remote is by using the Vizio SmartCast app. This app is available on both iOS and Android phones and can be downloaded from the respective application store.
Once you’ve downloaded the app you can easily pair it with your Vizio TV, at which point you’ll be able to use the app as if it were a remote.
To pair your phone with your Vizio TV, navigate to ‘Devices’ on the SmartCast app and select the ‘Add’ option on the top right of the screen. Next, hold your mobile device next to the television and wait until it has found the device.
Once they’ve been paired, you can select the ‘Control’ icon, which you’ll see on the lower part of your phone’s screen.
Now you’ll have the option to control the TV from the mobile app. Not only can you turn on and off the TV and use it just as you’d use a real remote (complete with volume controls, playing and pausing controls, etc), you can even adjust certain settings like the aspect ratio and the input.
It should be noted that the application is only compatible with Vizio SmartCast televisions. If your model was released before 2015, you won’t be able to pair it with the application. If you do have access to the app, though, you might not even need to invest in a new remote.
How To Turn On Your Vizio TV With An IR-based App
If you have an Android phone then you may be able to download an ‘IR blaster’ application. This essentially lets you send out the same infrared light pulses as a normal remote, meaning you can turn on your television via the app.
You can check whether or not your phone features IR technology via the phone’s specifications, which should be easily located online.
It’s also quite easy to simply look at your phone and find out if it has this technology; is there a very small area of black near the top of the Android device? If there is, this likely means your phone has the infrared capability.
If you can’t tell from a visual inspection whether your phone has IR technology, you could also download a Phone Tester application. This is free software that allows you to receive all the relevant technical information regarding your device.
If your phone features IR technology, this information will be listed under ‘Communication peripherals’.
It should be noted that while this is often an option on Android phones, Apple has never made such technology available on their devices, at least when it comes to turning off and on televisions.
Can You Use A Universal Remote For Vizio TVs?
If you’ve lost or broken your Vizio remote, you may have a universal remote lying around that you used for your previous televisions.
To pair a universal remote with your Vizio TV, first, turn on the television and then hold the ‘device’ button (or other relevant button) for five seconds, or until the LED flashes two times. The LED should then remain lit up.
Track down the programming code for your specific Vizio model, which you’ll find on the Vizio official website. Enter the right code, and the LED will flash after every digit. Once you’ve finished entering the code, the LED will flash twice more and then go off.
If the process was a success, you should now be able to use the universal remote as if it were a Vizio remote- without, of course, the features that are specific to Vizio remotes.
For access to all the normal Vizio shortcuts, you’re going to need to either use the Vizio SmartCast app or invest in a new Vizio remote.
Final Thoughts
The simplest way to turn on your Vizio TV without a Vizio remote is by using the power button on the television itself, which should be located on the back of the TV, either on the bottom left or the bottom right.
You can control several other things using these buttons, such as volume control and channel control, but the best option (aside from replacing your Vizio remote) is to pair your TV with the SmartCast application.
This is only available with Vizio SmartCast TVs, though.
If you’ve lost or broken your Vizio TV remote, you’re by no means unable to use the TV. There are many solutions, whether it’s using the TV buttons, connecting to the SmartCast app, or connecting to a universal remote.
