[Q] Nexus 5 as TV remote control. - Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey guys I wanted to know how to use the nexus 5 as a TV remote control. Does it have a IR blaster? I don't think so. I've heard that it doesn't need the it blaster because it can use WiFi to be a remote control. Can anyone tell me some apps that are legit and actually work? This is really frustrating because I want to use my phone as a remote for my TV. Pls help it would be really appreciated.

No IR on the phone. It works fine with my Sony TV and the Sony app, and the Att Uverse app/controller though.

If its really such a big thing for you, ditch the Nexus 5 and pick up its sister the LG G2.

Why is it frustrating? I can't imagine being in a situation where I was actually frustrated that I can't use my phone as a remote control... That's a little over the top, don't you think? If it was that big a deal you should have done the research prior to purchasing the phone.
Anyway, if you have Comcast/Xfinity you can use the controller app to control your cable box, or for more comprehensive control there are some options that require purchasing a device like the Harmony Smart Control. It retails for about $120 on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Control-Smartphone-Simple/dp/B00BQ5RYI4

Related

[Q] Buy a Google Chromecast or not.

Hi! my first post so be gentle
I've been thinking of getting a Chromecast Since day one, but certain things have made me so confused so the last months i have been thinking ''Yes Or No''.
So my thoughts have been if i should buy this or a Nexus 7.
As i've been reading lately you can get american Netflix using tunnelbear which sounds really nice! (I'm From Sweden to be exact.)
But how is it doing with the Local Streaming function its still ''banned'' so to say?
ยจ
How is the streaming quality from Chromecast(Netflix) to the TV?
How is the streaming Quality from Chromecast(Youtube) to the Tv?
Do you think it will be almost the same apps like in Apple tv?
Is there any kind of Browser? such as regular Chrome so i can Read news for example on the tv without mirroring my Chrome tab?
As This is just a beta device, you think they will release a Chromecast 2 any soon or they will just stick to the regular one.
What are the benefits rooting these devices? i got a nexus 4, i have never rooted any android device even if i had about 7 android phones last 3 years. Been scared of the note saying this will void your warranty.
Yes Alot of questions but im really thankfull for all the help!
Best Regards eastlin.
If you really want to "wirelessly cast" your audio viduals, then get the Chromecast, but if you don't mind physically connecting your phone/tablet to your TV, you really only need a SlimPort Micro USB to HDMI Adapter. These cost around the US$20 range and let you connect a HDMI cable to your phone/tablet's micro USB port (you can also invest in the N7 with the savings ).
Hope this helps.
haha, im sitting here dividing... Tablet or CC Done it for about 3 months now cant still decide it sucks.
but CC is allways a nice Gadget, but i want to be able to use it for more than just the few apps there are atm...
Will there be more apps in the future or will they kill the product?
Eastliin said:
Will there be more apps in the future or will they kill the product?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can never be sure...
Ye i will look that Cable adapter up, sounds like something interesting to me atleast
But as you know, Wireless rules.

[Q] Remote control app that changes zoom/aspect ratio on tv

I just picked up the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and love the IR blaster. Never thought about using my phone as a remote, but it's awesome not having to look for remote. That and I haven;t been able to find the tv remote for weeks since babysitting my niece and nephew and now my phone can save me having to buy another remote.
One thing WatchOn doesn't do is change the aspect ratio or zoom of the tv. Does anyone know of a remote control app that does this?
Can simply buy a new stand and not lose it!!!

S7 edge has no IR blaster!!!! What

I'm probably the last person to learn this. Very disappointed. Wish Samsung would have kept that. Guess I will have to pass on this phone. It is a shame since I was convinced it was the perfect upgrade for me until now.
Unfortunately you were. It was divulged a long time ago
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Found I never used it, I use the sony app that connects to wifi and then controls my sony bravia . . .its bit of a shame but I'd take losing that for a bigger battery and sd slot
To each their own but it's funny imo how people could pass up on a phone cause they won't be able to turn on/off their TV with their phones. Guess it's very tiring and troublesome picking up the TV controller to do that.
daLareid said:
To each their own but it's funny imo how people could pass up on a phone cause they won't be able to turn on/off their TV with their phones. Guess it's very tiring and troublesome picking up the TV controller to do that.
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My main problem with the TV controller is the children routinely lose it, so instead of spending time looking under the furniture and in other rooms I could always just use my phone. Not denying laziness,just not entirely the case in this instance!
markwebb said:
Unfortunately you were. It was divulged a long time ago
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
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Oh well better late than after I bought the wretched thing!
Never used it, waste of space.
PracticallyGeek said:
Found I never used it, I use the sony app that connects to wifi and then controls my sony bravia . . .its bit of a shame but I'd take losing that for a bigger battery and sd slot
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I know! I was so happy to hear of the SD slot and water resistance coming back. It just makes me wonder why they add a couple good features back in at the expense of another. Geez you can't always get what you want I guess.
DesignGrits said:
Never used it, waste of space.
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I envy you mate, now I wish I had not grown so fond of it. Well maybe the s8 edge will have it.
Just get a Logitech harmony hub.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
spankmatic22 said:
My main problem with the TV controller is the children routinely lose it, so instead of spending time looking under the furniture and in other rooms I could always just use my phone. Not denying laziness,just not entirely the case in this instance!
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Exactly! That is the reason the IR blaster is so useful. I suspect many of the people who don't find it useful, don't have young children. Anyway a Logitech Harmony Hub is a good replacement for the IR blaster.
I have young children... There are more ways to fix it other than an ir blaster... Grounding them from the TV if they lose the remote worked for me, very quickly too.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
I never could get used to using a flat slate of glass to control the TV, I can use a remote eyes free, can't do that with my phone.
Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk
smh
I was using my LG G2's IR blaster about once or twice a month, when I was too lazy to pick up the remote from 2-3 meters away from my home desk. The best use for it was at the gym when I could switch the TVs to my preferred news channel during the pre-elections
No phone is without compromises but it seems the S7 Edge has the fewest. I'll gladly switch my G2 for it
there are little small 3.5mm headphone jack like devices that add the ir hardware to your phone, some work well some don't, just search on ebay and aliexpress, Kickstarter etc, but yeah i agree with others that the core issue is not the lack of ir but the lack of proper remote controller usage from the kids
Not a deal breaker for me, gonna happily give it up going from my Note 3 to the S7E, nice upgrade for me, although my Note 3 is still tried and true, snappy and running fine.
However, FYI, not just for TVs, IR was also useful with the Beep'nGo app to store my grocery loyalty cards where many cashier scanners don't work with bar codes, but do work with the IR blaster. Countless cashiers were always amazed when they grabbed my phone to hand enter the loyalty number and I told them "I have a special phone, just scan it" and it worked.
spankmatic22 said:
My main problem with the TV controller is the children routinely lose it, so instead of spending time looking under the furniture and in other rooms I could always just use my phone. Not denying laziness,just not entirely the case in this instance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand, that's why I said to each their own since we all have different approaches and from what you're saying I do understand how bothersome that can be, I genuinely hate sitting in my bed under the sheets and losing the remote. But I believe passing on a phone like S7E because of a missing IR blaster isn't a great of a move, mostly because chances of flagship phones being released with an IR blaster are less likely to happen in the future so you would have to stick with either an old phone or a medium performance phone that still happens to be released with an IR blaster, but who knows maybe Samsung will bring it back again.
daLareid said:
I understand, that's why I said to each their own since we all have different approaches and from what you're saying I do understand how bothersome that can be, I genuinely hate sitting in my bed under the sheets and losing the remote. But I believe passing on a phone like S7E because of a missing IR blaster isn't a great of a move, mostly because chances of flagship phones being released with an IR blaster are less likely to happen in the future so you would have to stick with either an old phone or a medium performance phone that still happens to be released with an IR blaster, but who knows maybe Samsung will bring it back again.
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Thanks. I see your point. I still want an S7 edge, just was a little disappointed. Sure looks like a great phone.
DesignGrits said:
Never used it, waste of space.
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while it was a waste of space in your opinion there are several, like me who utilized it to the fullest. I still ordered the s7 edge but will have to transition to my note 10.1 2014 tablet to use now for ir blaster. I purchased the best remote app out there and have all kinds of macros set up for convenience. Below are just three that I have set up.
TV ON - turn on tv, dish hopper, audio amp.
TV Off - turn off tv, dish hopper, audio amp.
Kid- turn on tv, dish hopper, audio amp and change to disney.
I also have six different entertainment systems set up on this so I never have to look for a remote when I go into a different room.
Example. Kid passes out watching Frozen because that is about the only way I can get her to sleep. Instead of waking her while looking for remote I peek my phone in and turn off her tv and blu ray player.. Problem Solved..
They do serve a purpose and I was very upset when they took it off the s6+ and didn't bring it back... Especially when they are so cheap of an addon.

Are you upset the IR Blaster is gone

I'm pretty disappointed the IR Blaster has been taken out in the S7... I was using the IR Blaster with peel on my Note Edge pretty consistently and it was a real treat to have. if we were sitting on the dining table and I wanted to lower the TV (or change channel) it was convenient to have. I also loved peel and the ability it provided me with on choosing things I want to watch.
it will be missed... I'm curious what you guys think about them taking it out? Did you use it?
I did use it, mostly in work as we have a screen with our call stats that has to be manually turned on so it was easier for me to use my phone to switch it on. However, I'm not too bothered about it missing, it's not hard to walk over to the TV.
My TV's at home can be controlled with a Wifi remote so not much of an issue.
thrAlready a thread for this don't think we need another
http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/how-to/s7-edge-ir-blaster-t3330910
Thread reopened as a poll rather than a sammy bashing thread for removing IR blaster
no. not disappointed at all. who the hell uses their phone to control their tv??? my uhd tv remote is ten times better than anything samsung can put on my phone.
No, I don't even have a TV.
The only time I used the IR blaster was when I was traveling in China and some hotel rooms have broken AC remotes.
I voted neutral. I see it as a potentially handy feature, but have never once used it on older phones. I have a Logitech Harmony remote for my tv/ps4 etc, so I just use that. I see some merit in the ability to use a phone, but for me I just couldn't be bothered and was happy with my current solution.
I do think it's a bit of a shame it went though, but ah well.
The only time I ever used it(or tried to) on my S6 was when we went skiing in the Alps last month. The tv in the apartment didn't have a remote so I smugly thought I'll show up my brother in law with his iPhone 6s Plus. Couldn't get the f*cking thing working as none of the codes would work on the Samsung tv they had. Needless to say I wanted to burn my phone there and then. So no, won't miss it at all!
My last phone had one, and other than to play with it when I first got the phone, I never used it. But I realize some people really like it, so I answered neutral.
At the risk of sounding like a mom, I'm not upset, just disappointed. haha
I used it for my tv/receiver when i got the lazies and didn't want to reach across the sofa
In certain instances it came in handy trying to set up some rokus that had no remote and wifi was not set up yet.
Also i'm a hobby photographer and ir blaster worked awesome with my canon.
I didn't realize this device didn't have it while all my phone's for the last 4-5 years have. Having kids who always lose the remote or at work when we can't find a remote in a teachers classroom (I'm an IT Tech for a school district) it was convenient to use my phone to get the job done.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
Yes I am disappointed. I guess Samsung will bring it back on the S8 series
nope, never used it.. but I can see why people are that was using it.
I'm glad they removed it! I'm sick of smart asses playing around with the TVs from their phones at bars and restaurants.
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Really dissapointed cause used it for not only TV but also air condition, satelite, audio system and its worked well plus TV program with my favorites. Pity the feature is missing, IR blaster is so cheap so I don't get why Samsung removed it.
I had really liked it. very usefull for me
Not particularly. I only used it to prank my friends with TV Be Gone, so it's not a big loss.
Really upset, Used htc M8 before and the IR blaster was fun to switch TV, Media devices and all, but unfortunately S7 Edge has skipped the same. This is what the companies do... Skip some features in sequels so that people keep interest in upcoming models and don't loose interest in the previous one too.
For example S6 edge has a IR blaster but no memory card slot nor is it water resistant; whereas S7 edge omits the IR blaster and have the other 2 features.
Samsung is playing tricky game.....
Learn from LG!
I didn't have IR in any of my phones for the last ten years. So, i am neutral.
Nope.
A lot of fuss being made over nothing.
FM radio dissapeared years ago, I missed it a lot but not many folk gave sh it.
So it's horses for courses.
I'll miss hijacking the TV's in pub.
Sent from my Samsung Edge 7

3.5mm IR universal remote adapter,low profile

hello i am looking for a low profile 3.5mm headphone jack IR emitter
i really like this one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5mm-IR-Sm...964868?hash=item1c60135884:g:iWYAAOSwuYVWoAqP
i love the design of it and it is the only one i can find ,well one of the only ones i can find with a low profile that does not stick way our and look ridiculous (the other one looks nearly identical and comes witha keychain holder but the edge had rough spikes and it does not have BMW logo looking front face ,but appears to run on the same app ,but says IOS only)
problem i see many similar looking ones ,there are few on amazon that look the same but have different names and different branding, but they all seem to use the same app i guess, limited to only be able to be used with that one app
the other problem is that i see some that say it does not work with android and some that say it does and then the ones that say it works with android say it only works with certain phones
my question is does this work with android and will it work with this tablet? anyone tried one of these yet?
i do not understand why it would work with some phones/devices and not for others
i mean the app should run the same on all phones/ android devices and the 3.55 mm headphone jack can't be all that different from device to to device
but i have seen a bunch of mixed reviews from people saying it is either great or that it sucks and will not even work on any IOS device, i really want this product , i would like to use it on my fire 7 but also on my iphone 5c and i plan on upgrading to a nexus 6p soon so would like to know if anyone has used one of these and has tried it on any of those devices , but primarily right now i wont it for the fire, would be great since 3.55mm is at the top and this is nice and low profile
most of the ebay auctions and amazon ads for these say IOS only , but he app it uses is available for android as well and this one in the link i posted say it does work with android,most other say no android
the fire 7 i feel is a good shot since it does not have any fancy 3.55mm jack maybe the phones that don't work are because their jacks have mic support through the jack?
can anyone figure out why it would work with some phones and not others by looking at the list of supported devices in the link i provided and maybe tell if the fire 7 uses a similar jack as the list of supported devices or one that is the same as the listed devices that are specifically stated as not working?
I think for under 5 bucks, it's worth buying just to test yourself!
ldeveraux said:
I think for under 5 bucks, it's worth buying just to test yourself!
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Click to collapse
i know the thing is that there are so many that look nearly identical but have different brand names
5 or 6 bucks yes, some are nine or ten, and i know i will be protected by ebay or amazon the thing is that i would like to know if there is a dimes worth a difference between them all and if someone has already had a good experience with a particular one, i am not going to order the 10 or 15 different variations and test them all , just wondering if anyone has one , the fire 7 is a great device to use as a remote i use it for my other sony tv and my receiver both have wifi control apps and for my hue lights ,but there are a couple of things i can't control like my cable box and my old plasma tv
i am still swimming in remotes this thing would be a big help
gdroid666 said:
i know the thing is that there are so many that look nearly identical but have different brand names
5 or 6 bucks yes, some are nine or ten, and i know i will be protected by ebay or amazon the thing is that i would like to know if there is a dimes worth a difference between them all and if someone has already had a good experience with a particular one, i am not going to order the 10 or 15 different variations and test them all , just wondering if anyone has one , the fire 7 is a great device to use as a remote i use it for my other sony tv and my receiver both have wifi control apps and for my hue lights ,but there are a couple of things i can't control like my cable box and my old plasma tv
i am still swimming in remotes this thing would be a big help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I see your concern. Good luck in your search, sorry I can't help. Update if you ever figure it out though!
ok my IR emitter came in the mail today ,tested it on my iphone 1st, it didn't work on my panasonic TV but it works on my comcast motorola cable box and my LG air conditioner
then i tried it on the fire tablet ,the device is detected the headphone icon shows in resurrection remix rom
the zaza remote app says not compatible with your device in the app store so i downloaded it through blackmart and it installed
the android version is completely different from the IOS vesion
i tried to set it up to work with the cable box but i had no luck at all
i wonder why it won't work when the emitter is in it shows up as headphones plugged in ,i wonder if this app could be modified to work or if there is another app that works with this particular emitter ,this app kinda sucks a major brand like panasonic should have a working code, i cant even get power button working after going through all codes, the learning feature is useless and the forum is all in chinese, thought i cant see how this little thing could be used to detect IR signals i thought it was just a IR LED, when i try the learning feature it does not always detect the signal from the remote and sometimes it says signal detected when i have not even pressed any button on the remote some times it delays and don't say detected signal for minutes but every time it does and i try to play it back it never works
It is possible the jack on the fire is simply not passing enough voltage or is not passing it consistently enough. Many of these little IR dongles like this include a small button battery and transistor to make them work because of this common issue. Or it could legitimately be an issue with either the fire's hardware/firmware drivers specifically, or all of android in general if there is that much difference between the android and ios versions of the app.
If you don't have enough power for IR LED you can use VIPER4Android to amplify signal.
Pavlex4 said:
If you don't have enough power for IR LED you can use VIPER4Android to amplify signal.
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How we do this
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers mobile app
sielhadi said:
How we do this
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers mobile app
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Just download and install viper4android and before installation in super su settings app disable mount namespace separation.

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