WiFi IR Controller

A WiFi IR controller is a small black puck that puts every infrared remote in the room onto your phone.

• Why most people buy a WiFi IR controller
• It fires in every direction
• What else comes onto the phone
• Read this: it is infrared only
• What is in the box, and what is not

Why most people buy a WiFi IR controller

A split unit in a Dar bedroom answers to a plastic remote and nothing else. It has no app, no Wi-Fi and no way into any schedule.

A WiFi IR controller learns its codes and puts it on your phone. Start the bedroom AC from the car so the room is cool when you arrive. Set it to come on at six and off at ten. None of that touches the wiring or the warranty, and it works on units far older than any smart standard.

It fires in every direction

The infrared goes out 360 degrees, so it does not have to be pointed at anything. Stand it somewhere central and it reaches the whole room.

Range is published as 8 metres by some sellers and 12 by others, and we record both rather than picking. In practice, put it in the same room as the appliances rather than a corridor outside, and neither figure will matter.

What else comes onto the phone

Televisions, decoders, fans, projectors and amplifiers all land in the Tuya or Smart Life app beside the rest of your kit, and once set up Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant drive them by voice.

There is a large preset code library, and anything not in it can be learned by pointing your existing remote at the puck and pressing the button.

Read this: it is infrared only

It does not do radio. Garage doors, roller shutters, some ceiling fans and cheap RF remote sockets are all out of reach, because those use radio rather than infrared and do not need line of sight.

If any of those are on your list, this is the wrong product and the BroadLink RM Pro+ is the one that does both. Check what your remotes actually use before ordering: if it works through a closed door, it is radio.

What is in the box, and what is not

The puck is about 68mm square and 20mm tall, and runs on 5V over micro USB. The USB lead is in the box; the plug adapter is not. Any phone charger will do, but it is worth knowing before delivery day.

It joins 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and needs no hub or gateway of its own. If you would rather have infrared, Zigbee and Bluetooth Mesh from one device, our three-in-one gateway does all three. The app is documented at tuya.com.