SMote Support

• Local Network is allowed: iPhone Settings → SMote → Local Network on. Without it SMote cannot see anything on your Wi-Fi.
• Same network, not a guest network: guest and isolated Wi-Fi networks block devices from seeing each other.
• VPN paused: a VPN on the iPhone can hide your TV. Pause it while you use SMote.
• TV on: a TV in deep sleep may not answer. Turn it on with its own remote or the button on the TV.
• Connect by IP address: on the TV open Settings → General → Network → Network Status → IP Settings (menu names vary by year), note the IP address (for example 192.168.1.23), then choose Enter IP address in SMote.

On the TV open Settings → General → External Device Manager → Device Connection Manager and clear the device list or allow SMote, then retry. If nobody pressed Allow within 30 seconds, simply retry. If the TV skips the prompt entirely, clear that list, switch the TV off at the wall for a minute and retry.

Usually the TV is asleep, the iPhone switched networks, or the TV got a new address from the router. Turn the TV on, check the Wi-Fi and retry. As a last resort, forget the TV in the TVs tab and add it again. If you reset the TV, its security certificate changes and you need to add it again too.

SMote tries to wake a TV it has paired, but switching on from standby depends on the model and its settings. On many models the setting is Power On with Mobile, under Settings → General → Network → Expert Settings. Some TVs stop listening on the network when fully off.

Open a search box or text field on the TV first, then use SMote's keyboard. Some apps on the TV use their own on-screen keyboard and don't accept typed text; use the D-pad there. To speak instead of type, see Voice.

Tap Voice on the remote, then say an app ("open" and the app's name, or just its name), a search, or a command. SMote shows the words it heard and what it did with them. It works in this order: if the words are the name of one of your TV's apps, SMote opens that app; if they are a command, SMote presses that key; anything else is typed on the TV, if a text field is open there. Commands are home, back, menu, mute, volume up and down, channel up and down, play, pause, up, down, left, right, OK and power. You can say them in your iPhone's language or in English. Voice stops when you pause, when you tap Done, or after 30 seconds. It is part of SMote Pro, and it needs a TV that is connected.

Nowhere. SMote uses Apple's speech recognition in its on-device mode, so your iPhone turns your voice into text without sending the audio to Apple, to us or to anyone else. SMote does not record or store your voice or your words, and it does not keep a history. The only thing that leaves the iPhone is the result sent to your TV on your own network: a key press, an app to open, or the text to type. The microphone and speech recognition are used only while the Voice panel is listening, and stop when you close it or leave the app.

Only for Voice. SMote asks the first time you tap Voice, after a short explanation, and never before. Everything else in SMote works without them. If you said no, Voice shows a message with a button to Settings: open iPhone Settings → SMote and turn on Microphone and Speech Recognition. You can also use the keyboard in SMote instead.

SMote only uses recognition that runs on the iPhone itself. That depends on your iPhone, your iOS version and the language: some languages cannot be recognised on the device yet, and SMote will not fall back to sending your voice to a server. Check that Dictation is on in Settings → General → Keyboard, and that your iPhone's language is one Apple supports for on-device dictation. If it still says it isn't available, use SMote's keyboard to type on the TV.

Open a search box or text field on the TV first. The TV tells SMote when a text field is open, and only then can SMote type into it. If none is open, SMote says "Open a search box on your TV, then try again" and keeps your words on screen; if a search box opens within 30 seconds, it types them for you. If the TV's app uses its own on-screen keyboard that doesn't accept typed text, use the D-pad there.

SMote matches what it heard against the names of the apps on your TV, allowing for small differences in spelling. Say the app's name as the TV lists it. Speak at normal volume and pause when you are done; tap Speak again to retry. App names written in other alphabets may be matched less reliably than names in the Latin alphabet.

Pair your TV in SMote on your iPhone first. The Watch app sends each press through your iPhone, so keep the iPhone nearby with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi on. Turn the Digital Crown for volume. The Watch app installs from the Watch app on your iPhone (My Watch → Available Apps) if it isn't there yet. It's part of SMote Pro.

Add widgets by touching and holding the Home Screen or Lock Screen, then tapping Edit → Add Widget → SMote. On iOS 18 you can add SMote's controls in Control Center or pick one for the Action button. Siri: try "Pause the TV with SMote". All of them need a TV paired in the iPhone app and Local Network allowed, and they're part of SMote Pro.

The remote itself is free: the D-pad, touchpad, all the keys (including the Keys panel with the number pad, color keys, Source, Guide and more), apps, keyboard, TVs and settings never need a subscription. SMote Pro unlocks the features marked PRO in the app: Voice, the Apple Watch remote, widgets, Control Center controls and Siri Shortcuts, and Pro stays ad-free, always. Plans: weekly, monthly or yearly; the price in your currency is shown in the app before you buy.

On your iPhone open Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions → SMote. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Cancelling keeps Pro until the end of the period you paid for. Deleting the app does not cancel a subscription.

Open the SMote Pro screen and tap Restore Purchases, signed in with the same Apple Account you used to subscribe.

Payments are handled by Apple, so refunds are too. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com.