How to Use Your Samsung TV’s HDMI Ports Without a Remote

Jordan Read more June 8, 2020

If you were born in the 90s or before, you know all about the old-school TVs and their remotes. If you were to lose a remote, you’d have to use the buttons on the TV set.

Modern TVs still have basic control features on them. However, you might find it hard to switch inputs without a remote. Here’s how to switch to HDMI on your Samsung TV when your remote is missing.

Find the TV Control Button

Nowadays, the HDMI input has a wide variety of functions. Want to use your PlayStation console? Guess how it’s connected to the TV set? The HDMI input, of course. Need to connect your laptop to the TV? Via HDMI.

It may look like there’s no way to change inputs on your Samsung TV without the remote. Luckily, every Samsung TV has a TV control button. This button is sometimes called the Control Stick, the TV Controller, and the Jog Controller.

Finding it is often the biggest problem, as its position depends on the model. When your TV is turned off and plugged in, you’ll see a tiny red light somewhere on the TV’s frame. As a rule of thumb, this is where you’ll find the button.

Using the Control Stick

There are three main locations for the Control Stick on Samsung TVs. The first location is on the back of the TV, in the bottom-left corner. You can use the middle button to display the menu options on the screen as you would with a remote. Use other controls to navigate the menu options screen. Find the input change option and change the input to HDMI.

Alternatively, this button can be at the bottom of the screen. It will either look like the example mentioned above, or like a single button with multiple commands. Use these commands to navigate to the input choice to change to HDMI.

Finally, the Control Stick might be located on the bottom part of the TV, on the right side when you’re facing the TV as usual. This type of stick works a bit differently, as it consists of a single button. You bring up the menu with a single press of the button and press it to move between menu entries. You should long-press the button to make the highlighted selection. Use this button to switch to HDMI.

Using a Smartphone or a Tablet

There aren’t a lot of things that you can’t do on smart devices. They’ve become the most critical tool of modern life. Of course, someone came up with an app that adds the remote function to a smartphone or a tablet. There are many apps on the App Store and the Play Store that can turn your smartphone/tablet into a Samsung TV remote controller.

That way, you can easily switch the input to HDMI. However, seeing as how most of these are third-party apps, the input change can vary. Don’t worry, though, as the setting is probably straightforward to find.

Keep in mind that your phone and your Samsung TV need to be connected to the same network.

Switching to HDMI Without a Remote

Even if your remote breaks down or you misplace it, you can access most Samsung TV functions. The short-term solution is using the Control Stick. You can also download a Samsung TV remote control app to your smartphone or tablet.

Either way, switching to HDMI on your Samsung TV without the remote is a walk in the park.

Have you tried finding the Control Stick, where is it located? Have you tried a phone remote app? Join the discussion in the comment section below and tell us about your experience.