Google TV

Google TV’s next big Android update may bring ‘Find my remote’ to more devices

Ben Schoon | May 21 2024 - 3:59 pm PT

Losing the TV remote is never fun, but Google TV may be looking to fix that on some devices with the addition of “Find my remote” in newer versions of Android TV OS.

At Google I/O last week, the availability of Android TV 14 (which is the base of both Google TV and Android TV experiences) came one step closer to actually showing up on hardware. Buried in the update, as spotted by Android Authority, is reference to a new “Find my remote” feature.

Strings in Android TV 14 with Google TV say:

When Find my remote is enabled, you can play a sound to locate your Google TV remote if it’s misplaced.

There is a button on your Google TV that you can push to play a sound on your remote for 30 seconds. This only works with supported Google TV remote controls. To stop the sound, press any button on your remote.

There’s good news and bad news here.

Since this is built into Android TV 14, it means that future Google TV devices will be able to easily integrate “Find my remote” assuming the included remote has the needed hardware. Namely, the remote will need some sort of speaker to emit a sound when the button that triggers “Find my remote” is pushed. The button, Google says, will be on the hardware itself.

Notably, this exact feature already appears to be active in the wild.

“Find my remote” is supported on Walmart’s new Onn Pro box which is now widely available for under $50. In the Settings app, as seen in early hands-on coverage and retail units now available, the description Google uses in Android TV 14 is explicitly used.

Walmart’s new box runs Android TV 12 with Google TV out of the box, but what Google is building out is tied to Android TV 14 in particular.

That means that, along with newer hardware for the remotes, your TV or streaming device will also need an updated, that is unless other TV makers strike a deal with Google similar to what Walmart has seemingly done. So, it’s unlikely that any existing TVs will add support, at least with the remotes they shipped with.