Best Xbox Series X Media Remote, Plus the Free Phone App
The one dedicated remote still listed for Series X and S, the free remote inside the Xbox app, and what HDMI-CEC can and cannot do with a TV remote.
Of the dedicated remotes we found, only the 8BitDo Media Remote for Xbox is still listed by its maker for the Xbox Series X and Series S, so buy that, in the short edition unless you want number keys. Try the remote control inside the Xbox app on your phone before you spend anything. It costs nothing.
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8BitDo Media Remote for Xbox
8BitDo’s product page carries the “Designed for Xbox” label and lists the Xbox Series X, Series S and Xbox One as compatible. The long edition is 197.5 mm long and 95 g, with number keys, navigation, media controls and the Xbox button. The short edition is 134.25 mm long and 68 g, the same remote without the number keys, so it is about 6 cm shorter and 27 g lighter.
It works by infrared. 8BitDo’s FAQ says no pairing is needed, and that you should aim it straight at the console from within 8 metres with nothing in the way. Strong light can shorten that range. It runs on two AAA batteries, which the spec sheet lists as included.
The backlight goes off after five seconds without a press, and one that keeps blinking, or stops coming on, means the batteries need changing. A dedicated Home button wakes the console.
8BitDo’s own pages give three limits. The volume buttons change your TV’s volume through the Xbox over HDMI-CEC, so your TV has to support CEC and the Xbox’s HDMI-CEC options have to be on. It moves a selection up, down, left and right, with no pointer mode. And some buttons do nothing in some countries, because the features behind them are regional.
8BitDo’s page gives no price. It sends buyers to Amazon’s US and UK stores, and the remote is not in 8BitDo’s own online shop. 8BitDo Media Remote for Xbox on Amazon
The remote inside the Xbox app
The Xbox app for Android and iPhone has a remote control built in, for navigating menus, controlling media playback and entering text on the console from your phone. Typing a search is the job where a phone keyboard beats any remote with arrow keys.
To switch it on, Xbox Support gives these steps:
- Press the Xbox button on the controller to open the guide.
- Go to Profile & system, then Settings, then Devices & connections, then Remote features, and tick the box to enable remote features.
- Go back to Settings, open Power options and choose Sleep.
- In the app, signed in with the same Microsoft account, tap the Console icon on the Home tab and then Open remote control.
Remote control is not the same thing as Remote Play, which streams games to the phone. Xbox Support also says the app and its features may not be available in every region.
Can your TV remote control the Xbox?
Not the menus, going by Xbox’s support pages. HDMI-CEC keeps power, input and volume in step between the console and the TV, and for the menus you still need a media remote or the app. The Xbox Series X and S have no infrared blaster, according to Xbox’s own FAQ, so they talk to the TV over the HDMI cable. The settings are under Profile & system, Settings, General, TV & display options, TV & A/V power options.
Xbox’s HDMI-CEC page lists six options you can tick:
- The console turns other devices on.
- The console turns other devices off.
- Other devices can turn the console on, which includes switching the TV to the Xbox input.
- Other devices can turn the console off.
- The console sends volume commands to the TV, receiver or soundbar.
- Pressing the Xbox button on the controller switches the TV to the Xbox input.
None of them lets you move around the Xbox with the TV’s remote, and we found no Xbox support page that describes one.
If CEC does nothing, Xbox Support’s advice is to check the TV first. Most TVs ship with it off, under a brand name of their own: the FAQ gives SimpLink on LG sets as an example. Some TVs support it only on certain HDMI ports, and a device sitting between the console and the TV can block it.
Voice control and the Google Home app
With your hands full, Alexa or Google Assistant can do some of this, free if you own an assistant device or app. Xbox Support says the Xbox skill for Alexa is available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the US, and that the Xbox action for Google Assistant is supported in all markets in English. Both need the console set to Sleep and digital assistants enabled under Devices & connections. The commands it lists cover power, volume, pause and play, and launching games and apps.
The free Google Home app can also act as a touch remote, with the same two settings on the console. Xbox’s update notes list power, directional navigation, home, back, play and pause, skip, volume and mute among its controls.
None of this depends on a particular speaker, an Amazon Echo Dot and a Google Nest Mini included. If you are choosing one anyway, we have a separate page on smart home hubs.
Does the Xbox One Media Remote work on Series X?
Xbox Support gives two answers. Its Series X and S FAQ says the consoles are compatible with most Xbox One accessories, “including the Media Remote”. Its page about the Xbox One Media Remote asks the same question and answers no: the remote works only with the Xbox One console.
We cannot settle that from the pages, and we would not buy one for a Series console on the strength of either. If one is already in a drawer, pointing it at the console costs nothing.
Other remotes you will see
The Inteset INT-422 is on its maker’s site at $25.95, fully backlit, able to learn codes and control four devices. The page names the Xbox One and Xbox 360, not the Series X or S, so we cannot list it as verified.
The PDP Talon Media Remote has lost its maker’s page. PDP’s website now forwards to Turtle Beach, to a page headed “Where’s PDP?”, and the address of PDP’s Xbox media remote lands on a general accessories page. We found no media remote in Turtle Beach’s US store. Shops may still hold stock, but there is nothing from the maker to check it against.
Logitech has stopped manufacturing Harmony remotes, the Harmony Elite among them. It says support continues and that remaining stock is sold through retailers.
SofaBaton and One For All make universal remotes. One For All’s support page names the Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One for its Smart Control 8, and we found no page from either maker that names the Series X or S.
