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. The catch: VIDAA remotes are weirdly specific and weirdly fragile. This app turns your phone into one.
Now controlling
Hisense VIDAA TV
The honest version
Hisense VIDAA TVs are great until the remote slides between the couch cushions. The official Hisense VIDAA app on the App Store has a long tail of frustrated reviews and rare meaningful updates. So this app exists. It pairs over your local Wi-Fi in seconds, supports the full VIDAA menu including the Free TV channels strip and the VIDAA Voice button (we send the keycode, you talk), and it doesn't need a VIDAA account. Just a working router.
✓ 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.
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.
Why is the official Hisense VIDAA app so bad?+
Honestly, no idea — but the App Store reviews speak for themselves. HiRemote was built specifically because nothing else was filling the gap. We push updates regularly based on actual user issues.
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.