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I Finally Replaced Five Remotes With One and My Coffee Table Is Clear
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items If your coffee table looks like a remote control graveyard and you spend ten minutes just finding the right one to change the volume, this list is for you. I had four remotes for one living room setup and kept hitting the wrong buttons in the dark. T...
Sections
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Universal Remotes That Actually Work With Everything
Smart Hubs That Replace Physical Remotes Entirely
HDMI Switches for When One Remote Isn't Enough Inputs
Cable Management So Your Setup Doesn't Look Like Spaghetti
Smart Plugs to Control Devices a Remote Can't Reach
Batteries and Accessories So Nothing Dies Mid-Movie
Universal Remotes That Actually Work With Everything
I went through three cheap universal remotes that couldn't even find my soundbar before landing on ones that legitimately pair with every device in the room. These are the ones that survived my setup.
Grab this if you have a messy stack of AV gear. I had a Roku, a soundbar, and an old Blu-ray player and this paired with all three in about fifteen minutes. My wife stopped asking me how to switch inputs, which alone was worth it.
Logitech Harmony 665 Advanced Remote Control
Use this when you just want something simple that works out of the box. No app needed, no Wi-Fi nonsense. Programmed it for my parents' TV setup in their guest room and they haven't called me for help since Thanksgiving.
GE 2 Device Universal Remote Control, Charcoal
Keep this one if you watch TV after everyone goes to bed. The backlit buttons saved me from waking up my kid while I tried to find the mute button at midnight. Pairs with most major brands without drama.
Philips 8 Device Elite Plus Universal Remote, Backlit, Black
Pair this with your projector setup. I was skeptical because I have an Epson projector that nothing else recognized, but this found it on the first try. The macro buttons let me power on three devices with one press.
SofaBaton, Universal Remote, App Control, Backlit Buttons
Switch to this if you have eight or more devices and you're tired of juggling. I control my TV, soundbar, streaming stick, Blu-ray, cable box, and even my old CD player from one remote. Feels ridiculous that I waited so long.
One For All URC7880 Smart Control 8 Universal Remote
Smart Hubs That Replace Physical Remotes Entirely
At some point I realized I could ditch the remote altogether for some things. These hubs let me use voice or my phone, which honestly felt weird at first but now I can't go back.
Try asking it to switch your TV input instead of reaching for a remote. I set up routines so saying ‘movie time’ dims the lights, turns on the TV, and launches my streaming app. My hands stay on the popcorn bowl where they belong.
2022 Echo Dot 5th Gen Smart Speaker | Charcoal
Get this if your household is already in the Google ecosystem. I was using Google Photos and Google Home already, so adding voice control for my TV was basically plug and play. Works great in smaller rooms.
Google Nest Mini (2nd Generation)
Toss your Fire Stick remote in a drawer. This thing is the remote. I just say what I want to watch from across the room and it pulls it up. Also controls my soundbar volume by voice, which I use more than I expected.
Fire Tv Stick 3Rd Generation
Bring this into the mix if you want one app controlling your TV, lights, and thermostat. I was running three different apps before and constantly switching between them. Now it's all in one place and my phone battery thanks me.
Samsung SmartThings Hub, 2018, White, Zigbee
Swap your old streaming stick for this if you keep losing the remote. It has a remote finder button on the box itself that makes the remote beep. Saved me from tearing apart couch cushions at least once a week.
Roku Ultra 2024 | The Ultimate Streaming Player
HDMI Switches for When One Remote Isn't Enough Inputs
My TV only had two HDMI ports but I had five devices. I was unplugging cables like a caveman every time I wanted to switch from the PS5 to the Roku. These fixed that problem overnight.
Use this if your TV ran out of HDMI ports two devices ago. I plugged in five things and switch between them with one button press. Picture quality stayed sharp and I stopped crawling behind the TV stand every weekend.
UGREEN HDMI Switch, 5 in 1 Out, 4K@60Hz with Remote
Grab the version with the little IR remote so you can switch inputs from the couch. Before this I literally had to walk across the room and press a tiny button on the switcher. Small upgrade, huge difference in laziness factor.
Customer reviews for Fosmon 3-Port 4K HDMI Switch
Keep this around if you only have three devices and want something compact. It sits behind my monitor at my desk and I swap between my work laptop, personal laptop, and Switch without touching a cable. Cost less than lunch.
NEWCARE 8K@60Hz HDMI 2.1 Switch 3 in 1 Out
Try this one for a home theater setup where you need zero signal drops. I had cheaper switches that would flicker during movies and it drove me crazy. This one has been rock solid for eight months straight, no flickering once.
Kinivo HDMI Switch 4K HDR 550BN
Snag this if you want to send one source to two screens. I run my cable box to both the living room TV and the bedroom TV so my wife and I can watch the same game from different rooms during parties. Guests think it's magic.
SGEYR HDMI 2.0 4K Switch Splitter 3 in 1 Out with IR
Cable Management So Your Setup Doesn't Look Like Spaghetti
Consolidating remotes meant nothing when the back of my entertainment center still looked like an electrical fire waiting to happen. These cleaned everything up and made me feel like a functional adult.
Toss these on every cable behind your TV. I spent a Saturday afternoon bundling everything and now when I need to unplug one thing I can actually find it. A hundred ties for a few bucks is the best money I spent all year.
VELCRO Brand ONE-WRAP® Ties Reusable Light Duty
Use these along your baseboards if you have cables running down the wall. My mounted TV had two ugly black cables dangling below it and these hid them completely. Took maybe twenty minutes to install with the adhesive strips.
Medium Raceway Variety Kit- White
Get this specifically for wall-mounted setups. I was quoted over a hundred bucks by an electrician to run cables through the wall. This kit cost a fraction of that and my power and HDMI cables are invisible now. Wish I'd done it sooner.
ECHOGEAR TV Cord Hider Kit, DIY Wall Cable Cover
Pair this with your desk setup if you have a universal remote for your monitor and speakers. All my power strips and adapters sit in the tray underneath and my desk finally looks clean enough to show on a video call without shame.
LAKNUY No Drill Under Desk Cable Management Tray
Swap out zip ties for these reusable ones. I used to cut zip ties every time I needed to add a new device and it was annoying. These peel open and re-wrap in seconds. Small thing but it makes reorganizing painless.
Monoprice Hook and Loop Fastening Cable Ties, 6in
Smart Plugs to Control Devices a Remote Can't Reach
Some of my older devices like a box fan and a floor lamp had no smart features at all. Rather than replacing them, I just made them smart with plugs that respond to voice or schedules.
Try these for lamps or fans that you want to turn off from bed. I used to get up to turn off the living room lamp every single night. Now I just say ‘goodnight’ and it shuts off along with everything else. Two bucks per plug basically.
Wyze, Smart Home Smart Plug, Wifi Enabled, Two-Pack
Grab this if you want something tiny that doesn't block the second outlet. My old smart plug was so bulky it covered both sockets. This one is compact enough that I still have room for the vacuum charger right next to it.
EP10 | Kasa Smart WiFi Plug Mini | TP-Link Canada
Use this with Google Home if that's your ecosystem. Set up a schedule so your coffee maker turns on ten minutes before your alarm. I wake up to fresh coffee now and it feels like having a personal assistant for twelve dollars.
GE Cync Indoor Smart Plug, Works with Alexa and Google
Keep it simple if you're already using Alexa for everything. Setup took about ninety seconds and I use it to kill power to my TV setup completely at night. My electricity bill dropped a little, which was a nice bonus I didn't expect.
Amazon smart plug won't find my wifi during set up.
Snag the four pack if you want to make an entire room controllable at once. I put one on each lamp, the fan, and the sound machine in my bedroom. One voice command handles all four. Bulk buying these saved me from buying them one at a time over six m...
Meross Smart Plug Mini, 15A & Reliable WiFi
Batteries and Accessories So Nothing Dies Mid-Movie
Nothing ruins a movie night faster than a dead remote. I started keeping rechargeable batteries and a charging station near the couch after the third time I had to pause a film to hunt for triple-As in a junk drawer.
Swap out disposables for these and stop throwing money away. I calculated I was spending about forty bucks a year on batteries just for remotes and controllers. These paid for themselves in three months and I always have a charged set ready.
Energizer Rechargeable AA Batteries (8 Pack)
Get these for high-drain devices like gaming controllers. They hold charge longer than the regular rechargeables I was using before. My Xbox controller lasts noticeably longer between charges now, which matters during long weekend sessions.
Panasonic, Eneloop AA Rechargeable Batteries
Use this as your central charging station. I keep it on a shelf in the TV stand and rotate batteries through it weekly. Having eight bays means I'm never waiting for one set to finish before charging the next. Absolute workhorse.
Tenergy TN480U 8-Bay LCD Fast Charger with 8 Pack AA
Ditch the disposable AAAs in your Fire Stick remote. This slides right in and you charge it with a micro USB cable. I haven't opened a battery package for that remote in over a year now. One less thing to think about.
Fire Stick Remote Replacement Controls
Toss this on your Apple TV remote immediately. That little glass remote is so slippery it fell off my armrest and cracked on the floor. The silicone case adds grip and a little shock protection. Learned this lesson the expensive way so you don't have...
Cover for Apple TV 4K 6Th 2021 Remote