To pair a Samsung TV remote, turn the TV on, point the Smart Remote at the TV, and press and hold Return and Play/Pause together for at least 3 seconds. Samsung says the TV then starts syncing and shows a message that the remote is connected. Return is the curved arrow button, and some Samsung pages call it Back.
That shortcut is for Samsung's Bluetooth remotes, the Smart Remote and the SolarCell Remote. A standard Samsung infrared remote needs no pairing at all, and a universal remote from another brand is set up with its own maker's code. If the hold does nothing, charge the remote or replace its batteries, then try again from close up.
The short version
- Smart or SolarCell Remote: point it at the TV and hold Return + Play/Pause for at least 3 seconds.
- Proof it worked: a message on the TV saying the remote is connected. A working Power button is not proof.
- Still nothing: charge it or fit fresh batteries, then hold Return + Play/Pause for at least 5 seconds within 1 foot of the TV.
- Battery level: Settings > All Settings > General & Privacy > Remote Control on newer models.
- Standard or universal remote: no pairing hold. Use working batteries, or the universal remote's Samsung code.
- No remote at all: the SmartThings app works as a remote once the TV is added to it.
Find out which Samsung remote you have
Look at the buttons just under the round navigation ring. Samsung's Canadian support page says a Smart Remote has "a combined Play/Pause button", one button with both symbols on it. A standard Samsung remote has Play and Pause as two separate buttons, and for that type Samsung says pairing "will be automatic" as long as the batteries work and you use it close to the TV.
A SolarCell Remote is a Smart Remote that recharges itself. Samsung describes a solar panel on the back and a USB-C port for charging, and it pairs exactly like any other Smart Remote. Remotes from other brands, including the one that came with a cable box, count as universal remotes and follow their own setup.
| Remote in your hand | What to do first | How you know it worked |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Smart Remote, one Play/Pause button | Point it at the TV and hold Return + Play/Pause for at least 3 seconds | A message on the TV says the remote is connected |
| Samsung SolarCell Remote | Charge it by USB-C or leave it in the light, then use the same hold | The connected message; the battery level may appear under Remote Control or Available Remote Battery, depending on the model |
| Standard Samsung remote, separate Play and Pause | Fit working batteries, point it at the TV and press a button | The TV responds, with no pairing message |
| Universal remote from another brand | Enter its Samsung TV code or run its code search, as its maker's instructions say | Power, volume and the menus respond |
| SmartThings app on a phone | Add the TV in the app on the same Wi-Fi, then approve it on the TV | The app shows an on-screen remote for the TV |
Pair a Samsung Smart Remote in three steps
Turn the TV on before you start. Samsung Canada also suggests a quick reboot first, switching the TV off and on again so that it is ready to detect the remote.
The photo above shows the remote we use with our Samsung Odyssey OLED G9, a smart monitor that runs the same Tizen software as Samsung's smart TVs. Return is the curved arrow at the left of the row under the navigation ring, and Play/Pause is at the right of that row, with Home between them. Samsung's setup page calls the first one Back, so look for whichever label your remote uses.
First, point the remote at the TV's remote control sensor. Samsung says that on most of its TVs the sensor is on the lower right hand side, and if it is not there, it is in the bottom center.
Next, press and hold Return and Play/Pause together for at least 3 seconds. Samsung's US, Canadian and Indian pages all give the same two buttons and the same minimum. Its troubleshooting page adds that you can keep holding until the message appears, so there is no need to count exactly.
Last, watch the screen. Samsung says the TV "will begin syncing" with the remote and then shows a message that the remote is now connected. Press Home and move through the menu with the ring to check that it responds.
A Smart Remote pairs with one screen at a time. Samsung says it "will only work with one device at a time", so if you move it between two TVs, a smart monitor or a projector, you pair it again each time you switch.
How to tell the remote is connected
The message on the screen is the proof Samsung gives. A remote that turns the TV on and changes the volume may still not be paired, because a Smart Remote also sends an infrared signal. Samsung says that when the Bluetooth link is lost you can still change the channel and the volume, but smart features such as voice control need the connection restored.
The small light at the top of a SolarCell Remote tells you more. Samsung's LED guide says no light means the remote and TV are connected through Bluetooth, two blinks when you press a button mean the connection has been lost, and a light that stays on for at least 5 seconds after a press means the battery needs charging. A light that stays on while a cable is plugged in only means it is charging.
So a remote that only handles power and volume, or blinks twice, has probably lost its Bluetooth link: hold Return and Play/Pause again, and charge it first if the light stays on after a press. If the light keeps flashing after a charge and a fresh pairing attempt, our guide to fix a Samsung remote blinking red works through that symptom.
Charge the remote or change its batteries
Samsung Canada calls battery problems the primary reason a remote fails to pair, so check power before anything else. A remote with removable batteries needs fresh ones, and Samsung suggests trying a set you know works in another device, because new batteries can be flat.
A SolarCell Remote charges two ways. Samsung says a depleted remote charges fastest from a USB-C cable, the same kind many phones use, plugged into a port on the TV or a wall charger. Light keeps it topped up: set it down "with the solar panel facing up", and Samsung says ordinary indoor lights charge it too, not only sunlight.
Samsung's US page says remotes with a solar panel "will have a large silver panel on the back" and that one without it, but with a USB-C port, charges by cable only. The Remote Control screen covered below speaks for your paired remote: ours says to place it "on its front with the back facing up" to extend operating time using indoor light. If you see no panel and your screen says nothing about light, charge by USB-C.
To see how much charge is left, open Settings > All Settings > General & Privacy. That is the path in Samsung's 2025 SolarCell Remote guide, and our monitor uses it too: the Settings panel opens with an All Settings tile, and General & Privacy sits near the bottom of the list.
Scroll down to Remote Control, just below Keyboard and Mouse. On our monitor its help text reads "View details about the remote control you're using and set the option" in a box beside the list. When we opened it, the screen showed the remote's battery at 39%, with a red battery icon and Samsung's charging text underneath.
That advice tells you to "connect the charging cable at the bottom of the remote control" for a quick recharge. Samsung's SolarCell guide adds that the Remote Control menu "appears only when the remote is paired", so finding it at all tells you the remote is connected.
Samsung's US charging page gives another path for some models, Settings > All Settings > Power and Energy Saving > Available Remote Battery. You do not have to keep checking either way, because Samsung says a charging reminder appears on the TV when the battery reaches 50% and again at 10% or less.
Pair again after a reset or with a new remote
A TV that has just been reset starts its first-time setup again, and Samsung says that setup includes "pairing the remote, connecting to Wi-Fi, and adding your Samsung account" before you can start watching. The Smart Remote should pair by itself at that point. If it does not, Samsung's setup page says to point it at the sensor and hold Back and Play/Pause for at least 3 seconds.
You do not need a reset to pair a remote. If you have just followed the steps to factory reset a Samsung TV for another reason, the pairing hold is all the setup screen needs. Running a reset only because the remote will not connect costs you more than the pairing, because Samsung says it restores all TV settings except the network settings to their defaults, and every app has to be signed into again afterwards.
A replacement has to be the right remote. Samsung says to find "the exact remote your TV/projector came with by searching for your model number" on its parts site, so check your Samsung TV model before you order one. Samsung adds that a Smart Remote from an older TV can pair with a newer one but "may have limited functionality" there.
If the remote will not pair
Work through these in order. They start with the quickest checks and end with the ones that take longer, and none of them erases anything on the TV.
First, rule out power. Charge a SolarCell Remote or fit fresh batteries, as described above. Samsung's US page also has a camera test for a remote that seems dead: point it at your phone's camera, hold Power and watch the camera screen, where a colored light shows if the remote is sending an infrared signal.
Second, pair from close range. Samsung's troubleshooting steps say to stand within 1 foot of the TV and hold Return and Play/Pause "for at least 5 seconds or until a message appears" on the screen. That is longer and closer than the basic instruction, so it is worth one more try before you reset anything.
Third, reboot the remote, which works differently on each type. For a rechargeable remote, Samsung's 2025 SolarCell guide and its Indian pairing page say to hold Return and Enter together for 10 seconds or more, where Enter is the button in the center of the navigation ring. Samsung's US page gives the same 10 second hold for the solar remote of a 2021 or newer TV, then says to pair it again.
Remotes that run on batteries reboot differently. Samsung's US steps are to take the batteries out, hold Power for eight seconds, and put the batteries back.
Fourth, reset the remote and pair it. Samsung's guide to the SolarCell Remote of its 2025 TVs, and its Indian Smart Remote page, reset it with Return and Voice held for 3 seconds or more, then pair it with Return and Play/Pause for 3 seconds or more. Both pages note that buttons vary by model, so for any other remote check your model's manual before you use a reset combination. On our remote, Voice is the microphone button at the top right.
Samsung's US page uses a different reset: Return together with "the button that is diagonally up and to the right of Return", which it says is usually the button with four colored dots. Our remote has no button with colored dots, which shows why layouts matter. If your buttons do not match either description, use the steps in your TV's user manual.
Fifth, restart the TV and try once more. Samsung's US steps say to unplug the TV for 30 seconds, plug it back in, and repeat the close-range hold. Our guide covers the other ways to restart your Samsung TV and what a restart does and does not clear.
Last, contact Samsung, which is where its own troubleshooting ends for a remote that still will not pair. If the TV will not power on even with its own button, the remote is not the problem, so follow the checks for a Samsung TV that will not turn on first.
Use the SmartThings app as a remote
Your phone can stand in while the remote is flat, lost or unpaired. Samsung's US page says to "make sure that the TV has been added to SmartThings as a device" before you start, and that you need a Samsung account and an internet connection.
If the TV is already in the app, open SmartThings, tap Menu, then All devices, and select the TV. Samsung says an on-screen remote appears with volume, channel, Mute, Home, Back and Guide, plus arrows for moving through menus. Samsung Canada's version starts from the Devices tab and adds a Remote button for when the remote is hidden.
Adding a TV for the first time needs the phone and the TV on the same Wi-Fi network. Samsung India's steps are to open the Devices tab, tap the plus sign, tap Add under Samsung devices, then TV, and select your TV when it appears. A PIN then shows on the TV screen, which you enter in the app before tapping Done and selecting OK on the TV.
That last step is the catch when no remote works. Samsung Canada says the TV asks permission for a Galaxy phone to connect, and Samsung India's steps end with selecting OK on the TV after you enter the PIN. Either way you can grant it with the controller button on the back or the bottom of the TV. Our guide shows where the power button is on your Samsung TV if you cannot find it.
For a smart monitor like ours, Samsung lists a different route in the app: Add > Device > By device type > Display > Samsung > Monitor, then Start. If SmartThings cannot find a TV that should be on the same network, fix the Samsung TV Wi-Fi connection first.
Use a standard or universal remote instead
Any Samsung infrared remote makes a quick stand-in. Samsung says an older IR remote from another Samsung TV should handle most of the basics: power, volume, channels and the settings menu. Samsung Canada says its IR remotes "work with all of our TVs and projectors", and there is nothing to pair, so fit working batteries and point it at the TV.
A universal remote from another brand needs programming, not pairing. Samsung says it "needs to be programmed to control your Samsung device with a code", that the codes are usually loaded already, and that otherwise you need "additional codes for Samsung from the remote's manufacturer" to make it work. Follow the instructions that came with it, and expect some Samsung features to be missing, which Samsung also warns about.
The Universal Remote option on a Samsung TV works the other way round. Samsung says it lets the Samsung remote control "devices connected to a Samsung TV or smart monitor", such as a cable box, a console or a streaming stick, and its path is Home > Source > Universal Remote. Our monitor shows it differently: Connected Devices in the Home menu opens the source tiles, and the option is the Setup Universal Remote tile among them.
On our monitor that tile opens a Universal Remote Setup screen, which says it sets up "your Samsung Smart Remote as a universal remote for easy control of all your devices" and asks you to turn on the device you want to add first. After Start it offers four device types: Cable/Satellite Box, Home Theater, OTT Box/Game Console and Blu-ray Disc Player.
Setting it up does nothing for a remote that will not pair with the TV itself. If you only need to see a box that is plugged in, change the HDMI input on a Samsung TV instead.
How we tested this guide
We tested this on a Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 smart monitor, which runs the same Tizen software as Samsung TVs, following Setup Universal Remote to the list of device types.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which buttons pair a Samsung Smart Remote?
Return, which some Samsung pages call Back, and Play/Pause. Hold both together for at least 3 seconds while pointing the remote at the TV, then wait for the message that it is connected.
Why does my Samsung remote turn the TV on but not open apps or voice?
A Smart Remote also sends infrared, so Samsung says channel and volume keep working after the Bluetooth link is lost. Hold Return and Play/Pause again until the TV says it is connected, and charge it first if its light stays on after a press.
Can one Samsung remote work with two TVs?
Not at the same time. Samsung says a Smart Remote works with one device at a time, so you pair it again each time you move it to the other TV.
Do I need to pair a standard Samsung remote?
No. A Samsung remote with separate Play and Pause buttons works by infrared, so fit working batteries and point it at the TV.
How do I control my Samsung TV with my phone if the remote is lost?
Use the SmartThings app if the TV is already added to it. Adding it for the first time needs the same Wi-Fi network, a Samsung account and an OK on the TV, which you can give with the TV's own controller button.
Why will my new Samsung remote not pair?
Check that it is the right remote for your TV's model number and that it has charge. Then hold Return and Play/Pause for at least 5 seconds within 1 foot of the TV, and use your manual's reset steps if the buttons differ from Samsung's.