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Sure app. How to set up a universal remote control for a TV from a smartphone? Advertising and paid content

Why does a smartphone need an infrared port? To make a TV remote control! We will tell you how this is done in this practical material.

What will you need to create a universal remote control?

The technology of remote control of equipment from a mobile phone is by no means new. Back in the days of widespread infrared ports for cell phones, there were Java midlets and applications for Symbian that allowed you to switch TV channels.

IrRemote - a once popular remote control program for Symbian

With the proliferation of smartphones, IR technology has seemingly become a thing of the past. But she quickly returned: “smart homes” and the “Internet of Things” came to the world. Infrared ports have begun to make their way back into phones as the mobile device has become a single control panel for smart home appliances.

However, new technologies have also been added, more typical for smartphones. For example, Wi-Fi, with the help of which modern smart technology is combined into a single home network. Taking into account the above, it is very simple to make a universal remote control for your TV and other household appliances from your smartphone.

To do this, one of the conditions must be met:

  • Either your smartphone must have an infrared port (or an IR module connected to a 3.5 mm connector or microUSB);
  • Or your home appliances must have built-in Wi-Fi modules to pair with your smartphone.

IR remote control for smartphone with 3.5 mm jack

Let's look at two of the best applications for creating a universal remote control. Both apps are free, available for Android and iOS, and support both IR and Wi-Fi control.

Sure Universal Remote

Advantages

Intuitive interface
Russian language support
Built-in streaming video player
Voice control

SURE Universal Remote is a universal application for remote control of household and digital appliances. The app is both an IR and WiFi remote control. To use it, you need a smartphone with an infrared port, for example, one of the latest models from Samsung, LG or HTC.

The application can replace remote controls for TVs, Smart TVs (LG and Samsung), cable and digital set-top boxes, air conditioners, Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast media players, AV receivers, home theaters, CD and DVD players, projectors, as well as home automation , for example, LED lighting.

SURE - device selection

The setup is simple: install the application, select the connection type, device type, start the search, connect to the found devices and control them using intuitive buttons on the screen.

SURE also allows you to organize a so-called device system at home, within which several devices in one room (for example, a TV, AV receiver and video projector in the hall) are combined into one group. After that, you can turn them on by pressing one common button in the application. Important: the same system can only include IR or only WiFi devices.

SURE - device system management

In addition, the application allows you to transfer photos, videos (including streaming) and audio from your smartphone to connected devices through the built-in player. Thus, you can view your mobile gallery on a big screen, “stream” movies from your smartphone directly to your TV, or listen to your tracks on your home stereo system.


SURE - media playback

Finally, SURE Universal Remote allows you to control equipment not only by pressing buttons on the smartphone screen, but also with your voice using the Alexa Voice voice command conversion system.

ZaZa Remote

Advantages

Huge device base supported by the community
Ability to read codes from unknown devices
Possibility to manage your own devices

Another app to control devices as a remote control - ZaZa Remote. It supports both smart devices over Wi-Fi and older devices with an IR remote control just the same, you just need the appropriate smartphone or plug-in.

The application can control air conditioners, TVs, digital and satellite set-top boxes, projectors, DVD players, amplifiers, fans (!), robot vacuum cleaners, SLR cameras, LED lighting and much, much more.

ZaZa - device selection

Setting up the application is also intuitive. We install, select the device type, look for its model and start the connection. The main advantage of the application is its huge device base. It contains more than 6,000 brands of household appliances and about 80,000 supported remote controls. All this is available in the application even offline.

ZaZa - air conditioner control panel

But even if your device is suddenly not in the database, this is not a problem. The intelligent search built into the program allows you to read the device ID and search for its model on the Internet, and will also independently select for you a remote control compatible with it from those available in the online database (and there are more than 250,000 of them).

ZaZa - user devices

And even if you are a radio amateur and assembled the device with your own hands, you can register it in the application database and, after a short adjustment, control it from your smartphone, choosing the remote control to your liking. To do this, the application has a DIY function that allows you to catch an IR signal from your radio-controlled device and configure the remote control for it.

Modern smartphones offer a huge number of functions, not limited to the classic capabilities of mobile solutions, such as making calls, writing SMS messages, surfing the Internet, using programs and games. Many models are equipped with various sensors that help them interact with the outside world, including the good old infrared port (IrDA, IR port).

Why can it be useful to users? To interact with surrounding technology. For example, to switch TV channels, control air conditioning, stereo systems and other devices provided by the software. In other words, the very presence of a sensor is good, but the determining role is played by the appropriate application, the choice of which we will now engage in.

And this is serious: the test smartphone has three different utilities installed for controlling household appliances via the infrared port. When choosing them, we were guided by one factor - they are loved by users and have a high rating in the Google Play digital goods store. So, meet AnyMote Universal Remote, ASmart Remote IR and SURE Universal Remote.

The following device was used as test equipment:

  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro smartphone (OC Android 6.0.1, MIUI 8, Snapdragon 650 64-bit processor, 6 x 1800 MHz, Adreno 510 video coprocessor, 2 GB RAM).

IR port

As Wikipedia says: “InfraRed Data Association - IrDA, IR port, infrared port - a group of standards that describes physical and logical layer protocols for data transfer using the infrared range of light waves as a transmission medium”.

A fairly large number of devices are equipped with an infrared port, especially models from popular Chinese manufacturers. So, the recently tested smartphone has an infrared port LeEco Le Pro 3 and also in my test Xiaomi Redmi 3 /3 Pro , ZTE Nubia Z7 Max and other gadgets.

Such a useful interface can also be found in flagship devices. For example, it can be found in Samsung Galaxy S6, LG G5, HTC One ME, ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe and others. Of course, the thing is very useful, but you will find out what it can be useful for further.

AnyMote Universal Remote

Acquaintance

Any more or less complex home device has a remote control, but when it is lost, its batteries run out or there are a lot of them, a kind of end of the world occurs, only in miniature.

In this case, you can use the AnyMote Universal Remote mobile application, which can replace almost any remote control.

Features of the free version of AnyMote Universal Remote:

  • Customize the location of buttons, change color, position, text, icons and other application elements;
  • Create macros to execute multiple commands with one touch;
  • Using automated tasks to execute commands without interaction (for example, muting on request);
  • Integration with Tasker;
  • Voice commands via Google Now;
  • A “floating button” that allows remote controls to be accessed even while using other applications;
  • "Air gestures";
  • Possibility to add one remote control and use it as much as you want;
  • Advertising.

Features of the extended (paid) version of AnyMote Universal Remote:

  • Adding an unlimited number of remote controls;
  • Backup/restore of remote controls and their settings;
  • Receive personalized customer support;
  • Support for additional functions;
  • No advertising.

First look

AnyMote Universal Remote is ready to work immediately after installation and can control equipment; only before that we need to add a device and accept license rights - a pure formality.

Initially we are taken to the settings screen, where the types of different devices that we can control are located. Let's say we are interested in controlling the TV, select the appropriate category, then the brand and model, if any. For convenience, we can use the search and indicate the device model, why is there no search in the main menu? It’s a small thing, but it seriously affects the usability of the application.

Let's say we have chosen the desired device and then a kind of remote control appears on the screen of the portable gadget. Naturally, its structure has been changed at the request of the developers, but, in general, everything is quite convenient. The main controls have been increased in size and moved to the top, and to access those numbers to change channels we will have to make a small scroll. If we have something very advanced, like Smart TV, then additional controls are located on another screen.

It must be said that depending on the type of device, the appearance and functionality of the remote control will change. Thus, the remote control for an air conditioner is simply a scattering of buttons, and the remote control for a digital camera is a pair of huge keys for performing basic actions.

After selecting a device, if the application does not have saved work profiles, we will be asked to test the work. To do this, check the operation of the buttons and their compliance; if something does not work, then other options will be offered that will also need to be checked.

You use the application, change the channel and out of nowhere an advertising video lasts for 20-30 seconds, completely paralyzing the operation of the remote control. This is not very good, given the fact that advertising appears every five to seven minutes.

Settings

Having visited the section with the settings of the AnyMote Universal Remote utility, I saw a huge number of sections and individual parameters with functions. There are so many of them that even I was confused at the first inspection.

But let's put all the most primitive functions aside and look at something more interesting, for example, creating macros, automated tasks and Internet commands. Essentially, these are three very similar functions that allow us to optimize actions and simplify our lives.

We can configure the program so that when we open this application, we immediately launch a program with a TV program schedule. True, I was not able to fully evaluate these capabilities, since they are available exclusively in the extended version of the utility.

We won’t dwell too much on graphic themes for remote controls, but will simply say that they exist. To do this, the application has seven ready-made themes and a graphic theme designer.

AnyMote Universal Remote can be controlled via Google Voice and a smart gadget called Amazon Echo. For example, you can tell your assistant the following command: “Switch the channel on TV using AnyMote” and he will do what was said.

The most interesting of the remote control appearance settings in the utility are the so-called “3D Buttons”. The name is loud, but in reality it just adds a shadow around the keys, thereby increasing clarity.

Testing

AnyMote Universal Remote supports a huge number of different household appliances and already contains ready-made presets. If necessary, we can add a profile for our device manually, fortunately this option is available. Well, users of devices without an infrared port can use Wi-Fi control, if this feature is supported by the equipment itself.

On the test device, the remote works fine with the TV and supports many of its keys, but not all! For example, the same key with a menu, quick settings, or 3D does not work, which is quite strange. TV 2016 on the WebOS platform. The program also worked with a soundbar from LG, an LG air conditioner and home appliances from other companies, for example, Samsung, Electrolux. But problems may arise with some equipment, since not all IR ports support all operating ranges, in which case the application will immediately warn you about this.

I also tested the Wi-Fi operating mode using the example of LG TV with the WebOS 2.0 operating system. In this mode, all the keys already function. The owner of a Smart TV from Samsung said that not all the capabilities of the analog remote control are available to him. It turns out that it all depends on the specific device.

SCREENSHOTS

SURE Universal Remote is a control panel that is suitable for all household appliances. With its help, you can not only control your favorite programs and series on your TV, but also turn on and off air conditioners, heaters and other equipment.

What is the application for?

The mobile application for Android can rightfully be considered one of the best. It can be called universal, because... Now you can control all the equipment in your home with one device. You only need to connect to the Internet. With this program you can play photos and videos on your TV.

Application features and functions

  • The program is very easy to use and easy to install. Now you can throw away all the remote controls and not spend money on batteries, but simply download the application to your smartphone and control all your digital equipment with one device.
  • SURE Universal Remote is suitable for a wide range of devices.
  • Transfer photos and videos from your phone to your TV and enjoy watching them.
  • The application developers have simplified the task for users and created a special system that allows you to combine all devices into one list. Now you can turn them on with one click.

Advertising and paid content

The application for smartphones on the Android platform SURE Universal Remote can be downloaded for free. In this case, you will be constantly distracted by advertising. The developers have also created a paid version without advertising. Of course, it’s up to the users to decide which one to choose.

SURE Universal Remote is a tool for convenient control of various household appliances.

Remote control capabilities

SURE Universal Remote, installed on an Android device, turns it into a universal control panel. It is very convenient and practical. Forget about a dozen remote controls for various equipment. Now you can perform remote control from one device. The program has a fairly intuitive interface, so mastering it will not be difficult.

Compatibility

SURE Universal Remote can make friends with:

  • smart TVs;
  • air conditioners;
  • CD/DVD players;
  • projectors;
  • TV tuners.

Among other things, the client works perfectly with equipment produced by iRobot, and also supports compatibility with Roku, Chromecast and Apple TV. Official and other popular sources do not provide detailed information about compatibility, so you will have to figure out which brands and models SURE Universal Remote works with on your own.

About use

Before using SURE Universal Remote, you will need to “recognize” all equipment using the virtual remote control, having previously synchronized it with the application. You can do this using a convenient step-by-step wizard. Then you can begin to form “systems” - groups of devices that you want to manage simultaneously. Most often, in such cases, users simply “separate” equipment into lists depending on which rooms these devices are located in.

For the application to work, a stable Wi-Fi connection is required - it is with the help of a wireless access point that remote control will be carried out.

Key Features

  • allows you to control household appliances from a distance;
  • supports work with a wide variety of devices;
  • can create “rooms” for quickly controlling devices in the room;
  • is distributed free of charge, but contains paid purchases;
  • extremely easy to set up and use;
  • Compatible with all current versions of Android.