Google TV Streamer Remote Not Working? (Quick Fixes!)
We understand how unsettling it is when your Google TV Streamer remote not working, and you can’t do anything on your device.
Don’t worry–there are numerous ways to solve the issue, and even if none of them help, there is a way to bypass the remote control.
Let’s get started and walk you through a complete solution guide!
Google TV Streamer Remote Not Working – 8 Quick Steps!
Note: Have you tried power cycling your Google TV Streamer for ~60 seconds?
1. Reinsert the Remote Batteries
The first thing to do is quite simple–reinsert the remote batteries!
It may sound like a simple thing to do, but it will help if you’ve inserted the batteries the wrong way, causing a polarity mismatch.
Open the battery compartment, eject both batteries for a minute or two, and take a close look to identify the correct way they have to be embedded.
2. Inspect Battery Compartment
While you’re at it, also take a close look inside the battery compartment of your remote.
If you notice anything unusual, such as missing springs, dust accumulation, or a battery leak, the remote may not be receiving power at all.
In case of a visible problem, the TV Streamer remote’s condition may or may not be repairable!
3. Replace the Remote Batteries
If everything inside the battery compartment looks fine, but the Google TV Streamer remote is not working or is not pairing, you may need to replace the batteries.
If you’re not using the original batteries, find 2 x fresh 1.5-volt AAA batteries from a high-end brand such as Duracell or Energizer.
When the remote turns on, it will usually pair with the TV Streamer automatically.
If the remote is not working, you won’t even see the LED light pulsing.
4. Use Virtual Remote (Temporary)
Before we continue with more advanced troubleshooting, we recommend setting up your phone as a virtual remote, so you can navigate your Google TV Streamer.
This will not only provide you with a temporary workaround but also enable you to troubleshoot your remote further, as we continue with the troubleshooting methods.
⚠️Important: You can set your phone as a virtual remote ONLY if your Google TV Streamer is already connected to the router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
Here’s how to set up your smartphone as a virtual remote for Google TV Streamer:
4.1 – Verify the Following:
- The Google TV Streamer is turned on and working.
- You’ve got a smartphone, an Android or an iPhone.
- For Androids: firmware version 4.27.8.93 is needed.
- For iPhones: firmware iOS 14.0 or newer is required.
- The latest Google Home or Google TV applications.
4.2 – Use Google Home App:
Here’s how to set up a virtual remote through the Google Home app:
- Turn on the TV and the Google TV Streamer.
- Open the Google Home app on your phone.
- Press the name of your Google TV Streamer.
4.3 – Use the Google TV App: (Androids Only)
You can also set up the virtual remote directly from the Google TV app on Android:
- Open the Google TV app on the Android phone.
- Tap the “Connect TV” icon near the bottom right.
- Choose the Google TV Streamer from the menu.
- A pairing code should show up on the TV screen.
- So, enter the code in the Google TV application.
- Tap “Pair” to finish setting up your virtual remote.
That’s it. You should be able to control your Google TV Streamer without the physical remote control.
This enables a lot more troubleshooting, so let’s continue and see if we can solve this.
5. Forget the TV Streamer Remote
The reason why your Google TV Streamer 4K remote not working could be due to a pairing bug that happened during the automatic pairing.
Well, electronics just do this sometimes, and a bit of a human touch can always get things back on track.
What we’re going to do, now that we can control the Google TV Streamer without the remote, is to “Forget” the remote and check if that would work.
Here’s how to forget the remote on your Google TV Streamer:
- From the main screen, head to your “Account”.
- Select “Settings” → “Remote & Accessories”.
- Choose “Voice Remote” → “Forget” → “Yes”.
If you’ve successfully forgotten the remote, the TV must show “Start Pairing”. This typically triggers your remote to connect automatically.
If you don’t see your remote under “Voice Remote”, then the remote is not paired at all.
If you did see the remote and forgot it, you’ll need to pair it in the next step anyway, so keep reading!
⚠️Important: While you’re in the “Remote & Accessories” section, we recommend temporarily forgetting ALL other Bluetooth devices to prevent interfering with your remote.
6. Re-Pair your TV Streamer Remote
If your Google TV streamer remote is not pairing, regardless of whether you’ve forgotten it or did not find it in the previous step, it’s time to re-pair it cleanly.
Typically, the Google TV Streamer remote pairs automatically. Well, assuming that something went wrong, we’re going to provide it with a little manual push.
Here’s how to manually pair your Google TV Streamer remote:
- Ensure that you’re standing close to the TV Streamer.
- Locate the “Back” and “Home” buttons on the remote.
- Press and hold both buttons for about 10–15 seconds.
- Release when the light on the remote starts pulsating.
This should manually trigger the pairing of your Google TV Streamer remote control, and if it’s successful, you should soon be able to interact with it.
If it doesn’t work, try again or proceed to the next step…
7. Factory Reset the Remote Control
If you’ve tried everything so far, but the Google TV Streamer remote is not working, perhaps you need to reset the remote control.
This will unpair your remote from your Google TV Streamer and hopefully clear any bugs or glitches that might have appeared during the automatic pairing.
Here’s how to factory reset your Google TV Streamer remote:
- Locate the “Mute” and “Home” buttons on the remote.
- Press and hold both buttons for about 10–15 seconds.
- Release whenever the pulsing white light turns solid.
That’s it. Now wait for about ~3–5 minutes to see whether the remote will automatically pair!
Tip: If it won’t connect, try to pair the remote manually by following the steps in solution #6, and if it doesn’t work, forget the remote with the instructions in solution #5 and try again.
8. Factory Reset Google TV Streamer
If nothing helped and the Google TV streamer remote is not working, despite everything you’ve tried in this guide, it’s time for the last resort solution–factory reset.
The problem could be due to a system bug with your Google TV Streamer, so resetting everything to defaults should help.
⚠️Warning: The factory reset is an irreversible process that erases everything from your Google TV Streamer permanently.
There are two ways to factory reset the Google TV Streamer:
The LED light should start blinking yellow, indicating that the factory reset has started.
When the LED turns solid white, the Google TV Streamer is reset and ready to be set up from scratch.
As mentioned previously, the remote will attempt to pair automatically. If it doesn’t happen, try to pair it manually by following the instructions in solution #6.
In case the remote just won’t work, get in touch with Google Help and report your problem.
Finn Wheatley, a Master’s graduate in Computer Science from UCL, London, honed his skills at small data science consultancies. There, he helped large corporations enhance their data capabilities by deploying cutting-edge machine learning analytics and resolving technical hurdles.
