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For a variety of reasons, if you picked up a new Chromecast with Google TV you may have skipped out on setting up the TV controls during your initial out of box experience. I know I did initially (we unboxed and set up on camera, so I bypassed that part) and had to figure out how to go back and get our office TV under the control of that sweet Chromecast remote that came in the box. Rest assured, the process is simple once you know where to look. Let’s go over it, shall we?
Set up your Chromecast remote for your specific TV
First up, you need to grab that remote and get to your settings. The fastest way to do this is to long-press the home button until you see the settings panel slide in from the right.
Now, enter the settings and scroll down to Remotes & Accessories.
Scroll down and select Set up remote buttons.
Once you are there, select Add device.
You will then have the option of adding a TV, a soundbar, or an AV reciever. Depending on your setup, select the option you need. At the office, we just have a TV. At home, I have a TV hooked to my soundbar via HDMI-ARC, so the TV and soundbar volumes are one and the same. You may need to experiment with which device you set up based on how you have your home wired.
Regardless of what device you set up, you’ll then be taken to a screen where you’ll select your brand of TV, soundbar or AV reciever. Scroll to your brand (hint: you can hover the letters in the left column to move way faster through the list).
Once you find your brand, you’ll then be taken through the steps to test your power, input and volume buttons.
After you’ve tested and verified these are all working, that’s it! You now have the ability to turn your system on or off, control your volume, and switch through your inputs with one, single remote. Adding these tools to your Chromecast remote means that – for most things – you’ll rarely need to pick up and other device to control your next television session. For me, it has been pretty awesome to get down to using just the Chromecast remote at home, and I’m sure it will be for many of you as well.
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