Your phone is the VIDAA remote you didn't know you owned
VIDAA is Hisense's own smart TV OS — fast, snappy, and shipped on most of their A and U series. When the original remote goes missing, HiRemote turns your iPhone into a clean replacement.
Free download · Pro from $9.99/year · pricing varies by region
Now controlling
Hisense VIDAA TV
The honest version
HiRemote pairs with a VIDAA TV over your local Wi-Fi in under a minute and supports the full VIDAA menu, including the Free TV channels strip and the VIDAA Voice trigger. We don't ask for a VIDAA account — the app talks to the TV directly, the same way the original remote does, just over Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth.
✓ What works
- Full D-pad, Home, Back, Settings, Source button — every key on the original remote
- Volume, mute, channel up/down on the built-in tuner
- Direct-launch shortcuts for Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, and the VIDAA Free channel hub
- Number pad for the cable/antenna tuner — useful for older HD analog channels
- Type with a real keyboard for streaming app sign-ins (no more pecking through onscreen keyboards)
! Set expectations
- ×TV must be on the same local Wi-Fi as your phone — VIDAA's external control protocol is LAN-only by design
- ×VIDAA Voice search needs the original remote's microphone for actual voice input — the app sends the trigger but speaks through your phone
- ×The original remote's Bluetooth pairing for game controllers is hardware-only; the app can't proxy that
- ×Very old VIDAA builds (pre-VIDAA U) didn't expose the network control API — if your TV's About screen says VIDAA 3.0 or earlier, you'll need the original remote
Get up and running in 30 seconds
- 1
Get the TV on your home Wi-Fi
Press Home on the original remote → Settings → Network → Wi-Fi → Connect. Make sure your phone is on the same network — guest Wi-Fi or work-VLAN won't see the TV.
- 2
Allow mobile app control
On the TV: Home → Settings → Network → Mobile Phone Remote Control → toggle ON. On most VIDAA U builds this is on by default. On older VIDAA versions you may have to look under 'Connection' instead of 'Network'.
- 3
Open HiRemote and pick 'Hisense VIDAA'
The app scans for VIDAA TVs over mDNS — your TV appears by the name you set during setup, usually 'Hisense Living Room' or similar.
- 4
Tap to connect — first time only, the TV asks 'Allow?'
Use the original remote (or, if you've genuinely lost it, the TV's onboard Power button doubles as a temporary OK on most models). After the first approval, your phone is trusted forever.
Free download · Pro from $9.99/year · pricing varies by region
Hisense VIDAA TV questions, answered
Will this work with VIDAA U5, U6, or U7?+
Yes — every VIDAA U series exposes the same network control API. Pre-VIDAA-U builds (VIDAA 3.0 and earlier) don't, so for very old Hisense models you'll need IR or the original Bluetooth remote.
What's the difference between VIDAA and Hisense Smart TV?+
VIDAA is Hisense's in-house OS, used on most of their TVs sold in the US, EU and Australia. 'Hisense Smart TV' is a marketing umbrella that may also include Roku TV, Google TV and Fire TV variants depending on region. Check Settings → About — if it says 'VIDAA U' anywhere, you're on VIDAA.
Does the app support voice search?+
We send the voice button keycode, which opens the VIDAA voice prompt on the TV. But actual voice capture happens on the original remote's microphone — the app can't pipe your phone's mic into the TV for technical reasons (VIDAA expects a paired BT mic). Workaround: just type into the keyboard view, search works the same.
How is HiRemote different from the official Hisense VIDAA app?+
We don't comment on other apps' quality — what we can say is HiRemote was built to be a focused, account-free Hisense remote with regular updates based on real user feedback. Our release notes are public on the App Store.
Can I control multiple Hisense TVs from one phone?+
Yes. The app remembers each TV by MAC address. Switch between bedroom, living room, kitchen, etc. with a tap. No re-pairing needed.
Will it work on older Hisense models without VIDAA?+
If your TV runs Roku, Google TV or Fire TV, yes — separate setup but same app. If it's a pre-VIDAA Hisense that uses IR-only remotes, the app can't help — you'd need a phone with an IR blaster, which most modern phones don't have.
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