TV Captain support

TV Captain connects over your Wi-Fi network to Android TV and Google TV devices, Samsung smart TVs running Tizen (2016 models and later) and LG smart TVs running webOS. On phones with a built-in infrared (IR) blaster, it can also send IR commands to many Samsung and LG TVs. Media Beam shows photos and videos on Google Cast devices and on the built-in media player of Samsung smart TVs. Available controls vary by TV model, firmware, region and installed apps.

Turn the TV on and connect your phone and TV to the same Wi-Fi network. Guest networks and some mesh or office networks block devices from seeing each other, and a VPN on the phone can do the same. Allow the nearby devices or local network permission when Android asks; if you declined, enable it in Android settings → Apps → TV Captain → Permissions. Then tap Find TVs again, or increase Settings → Search timeout.

If the TV still does not appear, tap By IP and enter the IP address shown in the TV’s network settings.

Android TV and Google TV show a six-character code on the TV; enter it in the app. Samsung and LG TVs show a prompt asking to allow the connection; accept it with the TV’s own remote. On Samsung and LG, mobile or external device control must be enabled in the TV’s settings. After pairing, TV Captain reconnects to your last TV automatically while Settings → Auto reconnect is on (the default).

If reconnecting fails, see the next question.

In Devices, open TV details with the info button on the Now controlling card or from the ⋮ menu next to the TV.

• Update IP: enter the TV’s new IP address, for example after a router change. The TV keeps its name, room and pairing.
• Reset access: removes the saved pairing key but keeps the TV and its room. The next time you connect, approve your phone on the TV or enter the new code. Use this after a TV reset or software update.
• Forget device: removes the TV and its pairing key from your phone completely.

The circular control pad has three modes: Navigate, Media and Volume. Tap a zone, swipe for steps or hold an edge of the pad to repeat. Touchpad mode lets you swipe to move and tap to select.

Prefer separate arrow keys? Turn on Settings → Classic direction pad to show four arrow buttons instead of swipe navigation.

With Settings → Edge gestures on, slide up or down along the left edge of the screen to change channels and along the right edge to change the volume. The edges appear while a TV is connected and only for the controls it supports.

Each TV supports a different set of controls, and some TV models ignore certain keys. Over Wi-Fi, most TVs can be turned off but not always turned on, because their network connection sleeps. Samsung and LG TVs can often be woken with Wake-on-LAN: enable the TV’s network standby or “turn on via Wi-Fi” setting and keep the TV saved with its MAC address. Phones with an IR blaster can turn supported TVs on with IR. Infrared has no response channel, so the app cannot confirm that the TV received an IR command.

Settings → Advanced controls shows your TV’s detailed capabilities and lets you send a raw key command, which goes only to the TV you are connected to.

Tap the microphone and speak in English, for example “volume up twice” or “movie night”, or type the request instead. You can chain requests in one sentence and see each step as it runs, say “again” to repeat a request and change settings by voice.

Remote AI turns your request into TV commands on your phone with built-in rules; it does not use an AI service. Speaking needs microphone permission and a speech recognition service on your phone. TV Captain does not record or store audio; see the Privacy Policy for how speech is recognized.

Scenes such as Movie Night and Sleep Mode run several steps on your TV in one tap, using only the controls your TV supports. Scenes and the sleep timer run while TV Captain stays open. The sleep timer sends Power once at the end, so it is not offered for infrared TVs.

Long-press the TV Captain icon on your home screen for shortcuts such as Play / Pause, Mute, Volume up, Volume down, TV Home and YouTube. A shortcut opens the remote, reconnects to the last TV you used if needed and sends the command. Your launcher decides how many shortcuts it shows. If no TV has been connected yet, connect one in the app first.

Open the Cast tab and choose the target TV:

• Google Cast: tap the Cast button and choose a Cast device on the same Wi-Fi network.
• Samsung TV: connect your Samsung TV on the Remote tab first; Media Beam then offers its built-in media player.

Photos: choose up to 20 photos. With Slideshow on, they change every 3, 5 or 10 seconds; with it off, use Next to move on.

Videos: choose up to five videos (up to 1 GB each). They play one after another with previous, play or pause, next and stop; tap a video to play just that one.

Music: choose audio files to play on a Google Cast device. You can also play a direct media link.

While media is on the TV, a mini player stays above the tabs. Keep your phone on the same Wi-Fi network while it plays, because the TV reads the files from your phone. Files stored in the cloud may take a moment to download first. Stop sharing from the notification or the app at any time.

Use Settings → Export backup on the old phone and Settings → Restore backup on the new one. The backup contains your settings and saved TVs, but not pairing keys, so you will pair each TV again on the new phone. The file includes your TVs’ local addresses; keep it private.

Use Settings → Share diagnostics / feedback, or email us with your phone model, Android version, the app version (shown at the bottom of Settings), your TV brand and model and the steps that lead to the problem. A screenshot or short screen recording helps; remove notifications and other personal information first.