Using Your Phone as a Keyboard for Android TV: The Complete Guide

Connecting a physical keyboard to your Android TV can make typing passwords, search terms, and text messages much easier. But what if you don‘t have a Bluetooth keyboard handy? Fortunately, with the right apps and settings, you can use your Android phone as a wireless keyboard for your Android TV.

In this guide, we‘ll cover everything you need to know to set up your Android phone as a keyboard and mouse for your Android TV device.

Benefits of Using Your Phone as a Keyboard

Here are some of the advantages of using your Android phone as a wireless keyboard and mouse for your Android TV:

Convenience – You always have your phone with you, so you can easily use it as a keyboard instead of having to grab a separate wireless keyboard.
Touchscreen typing – The on-screen keyboard on your phone allows fast, touchscreen typing. This can be faster than using a remote control to select each letter.
Keyboard shortcuts – With a phone keyboard, you can use convenient keyboard shortcuts for functions like copy/paste, selecting text, etc.
Mouse input – In addition to typing, you can use your phone screen as a touchpad to control the mouse pointer on your Android TV.
Free apps – There are free remote control apps for Android that allow using your phone as a wireless keyboard/mouse. No need to purchase any additional hardware.

Requirements

To use your Android phone as a wireless keyboard and mouse for your Android TV, you‘ll need:

An Android TV device – Such as Sony, NVIDIA Shield, Xiaomi Mi Box, etc. Will not work with Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, or other non-Android TV platforms.
Android phone or tablet – Running Android 5.0 or later.
Android TV remote app – Installed on your Android phone/tablet. Options include the Google TV app or remote apps specific to your Android TV brand.
WiFi network – Both devices connected to the same WiFi network. Bluetooth is not required.

As long as you have compatible Android devices and the necessary apps, you can use this wireless keyboard method. Now let‘s look at the setup process.

How to Set Up Your Phone as a Keyboard for Android TV

The overall process for using your phone as a wireless keyboard involves:

Installing an Android TV remote app on your phone
Connecting phone and Android TV to the same WiFi
Initiating keyboard mode on the remote app
Using your phone‘s keyboard to type on the TV

Here are the step-by-step instructions to get it working:

Install Remote Control App

First, you need to install an Android TV remote control app on your phone or tablet. Here are some options:

Google TV – This is the official app from Google for controlling Android TV and Google TV devices. It offers keyboard input and touchpad mouse control.
Manufacturer TV Remote – Many TV brands offer their own remote control apps, such as Sony TV Remote Control, Xiaomi Mi Remote Controller, NVIDIA Shield Remote, etc. These apps all support using your Android device‘s keyboard as input.
Third-party apps – Apps like Remote for Sony TV offer keyboard support if you don‘t want to use the official remote apps.

Search the Google Play Store on your Android device to find a remote app that works with your specific Android TV model. Install the app and open it on your phone.

Connect to Same WiFi Network

Ensure that both your Android TV device and your Android phone or tablet are connected to the same WiFi network. For the remote control apps to communicate between the devices, they need to be on the same local network.

Use your home‘s WiFi router or connect to the same public WiFi hotspot if available.

Initiate Keyboard Mode

With the TV remote app open on your phone, you need to initiate keyboard mode. The process may vary slightly for different apps, but generally involves:

Selecting your Android TV device from a device list in the app. This pairs your phone as a remote.
Launching the keyboard function from a remote control icon or keyboard button within the app.

For example, in the Google TV app:

Tap on your Android TV device name under "Remote"
Tap the keyboard icon in the remote control interface

The app will now use your phone‘s on-screen keyboard for typing text on the TV.

Type Using On-screen Keyboard

With your phone now acting as a wireless keyboard, you can:

Click anywhere on the Android TV screen to activate a text field
Type using your phone‘s on-screen keyboard
Text will appear on the Android TV as you type on your phone

The keyboard functionality allows you to easily enter text anywhere the on-screen Android TV keyboard would normally appear.

Some tips for using the phone keyboard:

Use the backspace key to correct typos
Copy and paste text using your phone‘s copy/paste buttons
Tap the arrow keys on your phone‘s keyboard to navigate
Access special characters and numeric keys from your phone‘s keyboard

The phone keyboard typically remains active until you exit keyboard mode in the remote app. Then you can use the app as a regular remote control.

Using Your Phone as a Touchpad Mouse

In addition to typing text, you can also use your phone as a touchpad mouse to control the pointer on your Android TV. This allows you to easily navigate apps and select text on your TV using your phone‘s touchscreen.

To enable touchpad mode:

Open your remote control app on your Android phone
Select touchpad mode instead of keyboard mode
Move your finger on your phone screen to move the mouse pointer
Tap to left-click, two-finger tap to right-click

Touchpad mode gives you mouse-like control for easier text selection and navigation.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you‘re having trouble getting your Android phone to work as a wireless keyboard for your Android TV, try these troubleshooting suggestions:

Ensure your Android TV device is compatible – It must run Android TV or Google TV, not other platforms.
Try a different remote app – Not all remote apps support keyboard input, so try multiple options.
Restart the remote app – Close and reopen the app if the keyboard stops working.
Re-pair devices – Unpair and re-select your TV in the remote app device list.
Check WiFi connection – Verify phone and TV are on the same WiFi network with good connectivity.
Update remote app and Android TV OS – Keeping software updated may resolve bugs.
Disable battery optimization – Ensure the remote app is not being closed in the background by battery saving.

With a bit of trial and error, you should be able to troubleshoot connectivity issues and get your Android phone working wirelessly as a keyboard and touchpad for your Android TV.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Android TV

When using your phone as an Android TV keyboard, there are some useful keyboard shortcuts to try for easier navigation and text editing:

Arrow keys – Navigate menus and apps.
Tab – Cycle through elements on a page.
Enter – Select or open an item.
Backspace – Delete text.
Home/End – Jump to beginning or end of text.
Ctrl + C/V – Copy/paste text.
Alt + Left/Right – Previous/next page.
Ctrl + A – Select all text.
Ctrl + Z – Undo action.

Try out these common shortcuts on your connected phone keyboard to get around faster on your Android TV. The number keys, media playback keys, and other standardized keys also work as expected.

Typing Special Characters

Your phone‘s keyboard allows convenient access to special characters that are hard to type with a remote control. Here are some tips for accessing them:

Number keys – Numbers appear when you press number keys.
Shift + number keys – Special characters like * and #.
Long press a key – Many keys show alternative special characters on long press such as accented letters.
On-screen symbols menu – Open your phone‘s symbols keyboard view to insert emojis, math symbols, etc.

Look for the ".?123" key on your on-screen keyboard to easily access additional symbols and characters. The phone keyboard makes it simple to type things like email addresses, URLs, and special characters on your TV.

Typing in Other Languages

If you have multiple languages configured on your Android phone‘s keyboard, you can switch between them for typing on your Android TV as well. Here are some tips:

Add languages – Go to your phone‘s keyboard settings to enable multiple languages.
Globe key – Tap the globe icon on your phone‘s keyboard to switch languages.
Spacebar swipe – Swipe the spacebar left or right to cycle languages.
Long press spacebar – Get a full list of keyboard languages to select.

This allows you to conveniently type in languages like Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, etc. on your Android TV using your multilingual phone keyboard.

Conclusion

Using your Android smartphone as a wireless keyboard and touchpad for your Android TV provides a convenient typing and navigation solution. With the built-in keyboard and touchscreen of your phone, you can easily enter text, browse apps, select on-screen items, and more.

The right remote app with keyboard support enables this useful feature. And since your phone is almost always handy when watching TV, it eliminates the need for a separate wireless keyboard peripheral.

We‘ve covered how to get your Android phone set up as a keyboard and mouse input device, use the various keys and shortcuts, type special characters, and switch languages. With a bit of setup, this can meaningfully improve the Android TV experience by making text entry and navigation much more fluid.

Give it a try to see how your phone can serve double duty as both smart TV companion and wireless keyboard replacement.