Google TV app adds a built-in remote, but there’s a catch

According to rumors for months, Google has finally removed the standalone Android TV remote app and replaced it with the built-in switcher which is in the Google TV app on your phone. The Google TV update on Android started rolling out over a week ago, and it has brought some very useful touch control that can, for the most part, replace your physical Google TV or Android TV remote. Personally, I never used the old Android Remote app on my phone. I have a Chromecast with Google TV on my home TV and the hardware remote has pretty much replaced my stock selector that came with my Roku-toting TLC. However, after using the new built-in remote in the Google TV app, I think I might be ready to make the switch.

The majority of the content we consume at home comes from one of the many streaming services we subscribe to and having everything at hand via Google TV is a very handy feature. Being able to open the Google TV app on my phone to start a show AND navigate the Google TV interface is a game-changer and I think it will become my go-to remote in the future. The only thing missing, for me, is an enter button in the Google TV app. Would be nice to have on the rare occasion I switch to Blu-Ray player or cable box, but the original Google TV remote is never just around the corner, so no complaints.

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The coolest feature of the new built-in Android TV remote is the fact that you can add a remote control button directly to your phone’s quick settings. Just slide the notification panel down and you can instantly launch the touch controller which can be used with swipe controls or quickly switch to a D-pad for a more familiar Google TV interface. This is all great, but we came across a glaring issue with the depreciation of the old Android TV Remote app. Using the built-in Google TV remote also requires an update on your current Android TV device. At home, my Google TV has already been updated and the remote is working as it should. Here at the office? Not really.

For some reason, it looks like some Google accounts haven’t received the remote update on connected Android TV devices yet. I updated all the apps and the system on our Google TV desktop to no avail. The Android TV Remote Services app on our Chromecast still shows as “up to date” over the previous version which launched in June. Uninstalling updates and reinstalling the application do not force the new version which should be version 5.0. Without this update, the remote control for the Google TV app on our phones will not see the TV and therefore will not be able to connect.

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Luckily, there are plenty of resourceful people out there, and one of those people came up with an easy workaround. To do this, you will need to allow your Chromecast to load APK files that do not come directly from the Play Store. It requires enabling developer mode, but don’t worry, it’s super simple and only takes a minute or two. If you’ve done this on your phone before, it’s pretty much the same process. If you don’t know how to do this, watch this quick video made by Robby which will walk you through the process. Before doing this, you will need to install some kind of file browser on your Android TV. For our tests, we used AnExplorer File Manager. Once you have it installed, you will be able to connect your Google Drive account and this is where you will access the APK file you want to install for the Android TV remote service. You can search for the file manager in the Play Store on your Android TV and once you’ve installed it and signed into your Drive account, follow the instructions in the video below.

Now, if you’ve done everything correctly, you should be able to load an app from your newly installed file manager. Now we can move on to installing the new version of Android TV remote services. On your phone or computer, upload the file below to Archive.org and drop it into the same Google Drive that you linked to your file manager on your Android TV or Chromecast. After a few minutes you should be able to see the APK in the file manager and you can now click on it to start the installation. If you get a warning that you can’t install untrusted apps, watch the video again to make sure you’ve enabled file manager for sideloading.

Android TV 5.0 remote control

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The Redditor who originally posted this said GBoard version 11 is needed for this to work. Our Chromecast already had the latest version so that wasn’t a problem. If you are not on Gboard version 11, (You can find the version by going to your Android TV’s settings menu and selecting apps. From there click on system apps and scroll down to to GBoard. If not on version 11, you can grab APK from APK Mirror and install it using the same method we used for Android TV remote service. is in place, you can disconnect your file manager from Google Drive and delete this app if you have no other use for it. You should now be able to open the virtual remote in the Google TV app on your phone and connect to your Android TV The first time you do this, you will be prompted to pair your devices with a 6-digit passcode. From there, you can control your Android TV from your phone whenever you want.