CouchiusQuick answer: Your iPhone and the Roku have to be on the same Wi‑Fi. Then install a remote app: the free official Roku app works for most people, and Couchius is the premium option with a clicking volume dial and haptics. If your phone sees the Roku but buttons do nothing, set Settings › System › Advanced system settings › Control by mobile apps › Network access to Permissive on the Roku.
How a phone controls a Roku
Roku remotes come in two kinds: simple remotes that use infrared, and voice remotes that pair over a wireless connection. An iPhone has no infrared, so it can’t pretend to be either one. Instead, phone remote apps talk to the Roku over your home network, using a control system Roku builds into every TV and player.
That has two consequences:
| What you need | Why |
|---|---|
| Phone and Roku on the same Wi‑Fi | The app sends commands across your network. A guest network usually keeps devices apart. |
| Phone apps allowed on the Roku | Newer Roku software can limit which apps on the network may control it. |
Method 1: the official Roku app (free)
Roku’s own app is free and turns your iPhone into a full remote, with a keyboard for typing searches and passwords, voice search in some countries, and private listening through your phone’s speaker or headphones.
- Install The Roku App (Official) from the App Store.
- Connect your iPhone to the same Wi‑Fi as the Roku.
- Open the app, tap Devices, choose your Roku, then tap the remote icon.
For most people, that’s all you need. On a Roku TV, the same app can also change the input without the remote: press Home and pick the input’s tile.
Method 2: Couchius (premium remote)
If you use your phone as the remote every night, Couchius is built to feel like a piece of hardware: a turned volume dial that clicks with each step, keys that vibrate when you press them, a keyboard for TV search, and eight looks, from a brushed-silver hi‑fi faceplate to a 1980s den remote and a Kid Mode with big picture buttons.
- Install Couchius and start the free week.
- Couchius scans your Wi‑Fi and lists your Roku. Tap it. There’s no code to type.
- The remote opens straight away. Turn the dial for volume and swipe or tap the d‑pad to move around.
If your iPhone can’t control the Roku
Work through these in order:
- Same Wi‑Fi? Check the network name in your iPhone’s Wi‑Fi settings and on the Roku under Settings › Network.
- Local Network access. iOS asks permission the first time an app looks for devices on your network. If you said no, turn it on in Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network.
- Control by mobile apps. On the Roku, open Settings › System › Advanced system settings › Control by mobile apps › Network access and choose Permissive. Roku has set this to Limited on some devices, which blocks third‑party remote apps.
- Restart the Roku. Unplug it, wait 5 seconds and plug it back in.
Which should you use?
| You want | Best choice |
|---|---|
| A free backup for a lost remote | The official Roku app |
| Private listening through your phone | The official Roku app |
| A remote that feels good to use every night | Couchius |
| One app for a Roku and an LG, Sony or Samsung TV | Couchius |
If your physical remote has stopped working, see how to fix a Roku remote that isn’t working. Not sure your TV is a Roku? Try the free TV compatibility checker.