Use your phone keyboard for Google TV text entry

In this guide

Choose the supported mobile route Pair from Google TV on Android Use the keyboard in context If the device does not appear

For Chromecast with Google TV or Google TV Streamer, Google supports a virtual remote through the Google Home or Google TV mobile app. It can navigate the TV and type with the phone’s keyboard. Your phone and TV must be on the same Wi-Fi network for the documented remote workflow.

Pairing the remote is separate from signing into a player. The code on the TV authorizes the local remote connection; it is not a service activation code.

Choose the supported mobile route

Use a current supported Google Home or Google TV app for the phone. Google’s instructions differ by app and mobile platform, so follow the branch that matches the phone you actually have. Keep the physical remote available while setting up the replacement control.

The phone remote depends on discovering the already connected TV device. If the television is not connected to the network, do not assume the remote can repair that missing connection without another input method.

Pair from Google TV on Android

Turn on the television and supported Google streaming device.
Open the Google TV app on the Android phone.
Tap Connect TV near the bottom right.
Choose the correct device.
Enter the code displayed on the television and select Pair.

Use the keyboard in context

Open the intended text field on the TV and use the supported keyboard entry offered by the virtual remote. Check the field and destination before entering a private portal or password. The TV still receives the text, so a phone keyboard does not make a shared screen private.

Read the entered address carefully. Long provider URLs can contain case-sensitive or encoded components. Copying a token into the wrong field or replacing parts of it from an online example can produce a different, unusable address.

If the device does not appear

Compare the actual Wi-Fi network on the phone and TV. Google’s troubleshooting guidance starts with that same-network requirement. Record whether the TV is absent, pairing fails or a paired remote cannot enter text; each is a different stage.

Use Google’s current app and device support for a discovery problem. If the remote works but a player rejects the input, confirm the player’s expected account format with its developer or Dream 4K support. Do not keep re-pairing a functioning remote to solve an account error.

When finished with private setup, close the account fields and retain the phone securely. Other household members may still see information displayed by the television, even when it was entered from the phone.