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Adrienne Maxwell is an editor covering AV gear. Her specialty is video projectors, so she spends a lot of time alone in dark rooms. Brazil Type wi-Fi smart plug Factories
One For All introduced the new Smart Control Pro universal remote at CES 2024. Check out What to look forward to for more details.
Fewer people need a universal remote control these days, which explains why the category is dying and great options are hard to find. But if your home-entertainment system is more complex than the basic media player, TV, and soundbar combo, and you’re looking for one remote to control all your gear, the Sofabaton U2 Universal Remote Control is the best option we’ve found. This model has some notable flaws, but it can control a wider variety of home-entertainment devices, and it has a better physical design than its competitors.
This remote can control 15 AV components, including Bluetooth-based devices, and the button layout is intuitive. But it lacks backlighting and activity buttons, and programming advanced tasks can be challenging.
This remote can control eight AV components, has a logical button layout, and is fully backlit. But it can’t control Bluetooth devices, and the setup process is archaic.
If your home-entertainment system is more complex than the basic TV-soundbar-streamer setup, you’d benefit from a universal remote.
Since fewer people need universal remotes these days, you won’t find many good options that you can set up and program yourself.
We looked for remotes that can control up to eight devices, have an intuitive button design, and support more advanced programming.
The cheapest remotes usually control only infrared devices. The better models can also control gear via Bluetooth and sometimes Wi-Fi.
This remote can control 15 AV components, including Bluetooth-based devices, and the button layout is intuitive. But it lacks backlighting and activity buttons, and programming advanced tasks can be challenging.
The Sofabaton U2 Universal Remote Control offers more features and control options than similarly priced competitors. It can control up to 15 devices, including both infrared- and Bluetooth-based AV devices, so it’s more flexible than many lower-priced remotes, which typically work only with IR devices.
The remote’s button layout is intuitive, and the OLED screen at the top makes it easy to switch between the AV devices you want to control. You can program the U2 using a setup app for iOS or Android, and the app provides a lot of customization options to reassign what the remote’s buttons can do.
While the U2 remote is better than everything else we tested, it still has some notable drawbacks. It lacks backlighting, and it has no dedicated activity buttons for grouping different devices together to perform tasks such as “watch TV” or “watch a movie.” You can still create activities and assign them to random buttons, but you have to figure out all the programming yourself—and we fear that the app’s learning curve may be difficult for someone who has never programmed a universal remote.
This remote can control eight AV components, has a logical button layout, and is fully backlit. But it can’t control Bluetooth devices, and the setup process is archaic.
The Insignia 8-Device Backlit Universal Remote is a good choice for people whose gear works via infrared control (IR); it doesn’t work with devices that you control by Bluetooth, radio frequency (RF), or Wi-Fi. If you’re not sure how your device is controlled, try this: Point your device’s remote at the floor in the opposite direction from the device’s location and then press a button. If the remote still executes the command, it’s likely using Bluetooth or RF, not IR.
This fully backlit remote can control eight devices and has all the important buttons you need, including three activity controls that allow you to group devices together to watch a movie, listen to music, or watch TV. The layout is clean, albeit somewhat generic-looking, and the buttons are fairly large.
The programming process is old-school, though: You have to manually input codes for your different AV devices and then teach the remote any functions that are missing or executing incorrectly. These steps are not as quick or intuitive as using an app, and the owner manual is not as clear and concise as it could be. But at the end of the process, this remote should be able to do most everything you need it to.
I am the supervising editor of Wirecutter’s AV coverage, and I have worked as a writer and editor in the consumer electronics industry for over 20 years. During that time, I have reviewed numerous audio and video devices, including virtually every major DIY universal-remote platform.
Today’s home-entertainment equipment delivers more functionality in fewer boxes. The average living-room entertainment system may include only one source device—say, a streaming media player, cable/satellite set-top box, or gaming console—plus a smart TV and a soundbar. For a setup like this, a universal remote probably isn’t necessary because basic control of these devices (such as browsing content, changing channels, and adjusting volume) is built into—or can be easily added to—the remote that came with your media player or TV.
If, on the other hand, your home-entertainment system is built around an AV receiver and multiple source components, and sitting down to watch a movie or play a video game requires shuffling among several remotes to switch inputs and control multiple components simultaneously, a universal remote is exactly what you need.
In the past, you could find a few high-end DIY remotes that incorporated a bit of smart-home control to adjust your lighting, temperature, or security system too, but those options have all but vanished. If you’re looking for advanced whole-house and smart-home control, you’re better off turning to a local specialty AV retailer that can create a more personalized control system from a company such as Control4, Crestron, or URC. It’s a more expensive option, but if done properly, it will result in a much more satisfying experience.
In years past, if you wanted an advanced universal remote that you could program yourself, you had many choices, from brands such as Harmony, Pronto, Sony, UEI, and URC. But today’s sad truth is that fewer people are buying DIY universal remotes, and this category is nearly dead. When Logitech discontinued Harmony universal remotes a few years ago, it killed the last of the big-name brands.
Sure, you can still find a ton of inexpensive replacement remotes whose primary purpose is to replace the one the dog chewed up. But those remotes aren’t designed to provide an intuitive, customized, activity-based experience; they’re just designed to hold a lot of buttons to control your different devices.
In contrast, a good universal remote should offer the following features:
While the pickings are definitely slim these days, we continue to test any new universal remote that meets the core criteria above.
To test each remote, I program it to control two different AV systems in my home: One is a more basic living-room setup with a Hisense TV, a Polk soundbar, and an Apple TV 4K media player. The second is a more complex home-theater system with an LG TV, an Onkyo AV receiver, an Oppo Ultra HD Blu-ray player, a Chromecast with Google TV, and an Xbox One X. The equipment consists of a mix of traditional IR devices and Bluetooth devices. During my testing, I live with each remote for a while to see how intuitive and reliable it is to use on a daily basis.
This remote can control 15 AV components, including Bluetooth-based devices, and the button layout is intuitive. But it lacks backlighting and activity buttons, and programming advanced tasks can be challenging.
The Sofabaton U2 Universal Remote Control delivers the essential elements we look for in a good universal remote: the ability to control many assorted devices, a good physical design with all the necessary buttons, and the option to customize how those buttons work to get the best experience. The U2 isn’t perfect, but it’s better than every other affordable DIY remote we’ve tested.
It can control up to 15 infrared and Bluetooth devices. Most “universal” remotes under $50 can control only infrared devices, those that require line-of-sight between the remote and the device. That covers a lot of TVs, disc players, audio receivers, and cable/satellite boxes. But a growing number of new devices rely instead on Bluetooth control, which means you need a remote like the U2 if you want complete system control.
In our tests, we were able to program the U2 to control all of our devices in two systems—a total of eight components, including Google Chromecast and Apple 4K TV media players that use Bluetooth.
Like all other remotes in this price range, the U2 can’t control RF or Wi-Fi gear, which includes smart-home devices and any Roku streaming device that comes with the Roku voice remote.
It has a clean, simple design, with almost all the buttons you need. The remote itself is a manageable size that’s not too wide, long, or heavy; even with my small hands, I could reach all the controls with my thumb without having to shift the remote around in my hand. The bottom half of the chassis is a bit thicker and heavier than the top, which keeps the remote feeling balanced. The U2 runs on two AA batteries, which are included in the package.
At the top of the remote is a simple OLED screen that shows the model names of the devices you’ve added (you can customize the text), plus a scroll wheel to quickly select the device you want to control. The screen automatically lights up when you pick up the remote. Referring to customized device names is more intuitive than looking at the generically labeled device buttons you get on many remotes (including our runner-up).
Because the U2 is not locked in to a set of prelabeled device buttons, it can control multiple models of the same type—say, two media players, two TVs, and two audio systems. It can control a total of 15 devices. As a result, you can set up this remote to control multiple systems around the house.
Basic programming is easy, thanks to the setup app. Programming the remote requires the free Sofabaton app for iOS or Android. You have no option to use computer software or to program the remote manually, so if you don’t own an iOS or Android mobile device, this is not the remote for you (consider our runner-up pick instead).
The remote communicates with the app via Bluetooth, so the first step in the setup process is to pair the two. Next you add the devices you want to control by choosing from a list of preloaded devices or entering the manufacturer and device name. Sofabaton claims that its code database includes over 60,000 devices and 6,000 brands. The software automatically (and wirelessly) updates the remote with the proper control codes after you add each new device.
I loaded all of my gear from both of my AV systems in just a few minutes, since all of my devices were in the Sofabaton database. At this point, the remote was able to execute most of the basic commands I needed for my devices.
The buttons are customizable, but it requires effort and patience. Once you’ve loaded all your devices into the app, you have the option to customize the remote’s buttons. With most devices, you can reassign any button to perform any task on any device that you’ve loaded into your system configuration. You can also quickly teach the U2 infrared codes from your existing remotes to make sure it has all the control capabilities you need.
Overall, I found this process to be straightforward but not necessarily quick. Your time investment will depend on how precisely you want to tweak your controls. The Sofabaton app makes you customize every little thing yourself. For instance, you get no quick code to lock the volume and mute buttons to your AV receiver or soundbar; you have to manually reassign the volume buttons for every source device. This is easy enough to do in the app (here’s a helpful video), but if you have lots of specific desires for how things ought to work, be prepared to spend time making it all happen.
The good news is that all of the programming and customization has to happen only once (unless you tend to upgrade your AV gear a lot). And any little tweak you make uploads to the remote instantly via Bluetooth. I didn’t encounter any connection issues between the remote and the app, and when all was said and done, the U2 successfully controlled both of my systems the way I wanted it to.
The U2 offers some minor improvements over the U1. Compared with the original, now-discontinued U1 (our former top pick), the U2’s IR range is wider and longer, so you don’t have to point the remote right at your gear rack to make sure commands execute properly. The new system is a little more forgiving.
Also, the number pad on the new remote is larger, which makes it a touch longer overall. And the battery compartment is a bit easier to open.
Although we found a lot to like about the Sofabaton U2, it has a few significant drawbacks. The hard truth is, you have only a smattering of DIY universal-remote options to choose from these days, and they all have notable flaws. We think the U2’s low price makes some of its flaws easier to overlook, but you may feel differently.
It lacks backlighting. Add in the remote’s black-buttons-on-a-black-shell design, and using it in a dark room is somewhat more challenging. But the button layout is intuitive, and the main navigation, volume, and channel buttons are clearly distinguished by size and shape, both of which help to alleviate those challenges.
It has no dedicated activity buttons. These days, many remotes have dedicated activity buttons to launch a sequence of commands, such as “watch TV” or “watch a movie.” Sofabaton has inexplicably omitted them here. You can create your own activity button that does what a “watch TV” button would do, but you have to figure out the macro (or sequence of steps) and assign it to a random button. That may work fine for you since you’ll know what button you picked, but it won’t be as clear for others trying to use the remote.
For my family, the most logical option was to program a “watch TV” macro onto the power button for the Apple TV or the Google Chromecast—likewise with the Xbox for a gaming macro. But it’s a shame that Sofabaton omitted such a simple and important feature.
If you’ve never programmed a universal remote before, advanced setup will be a challenge. The process of creating multistep activities—for instance, to turn all your gear on, switch to the right inputs, and make sure volume control is assigned to the right device—is more mentally taxing than some people are willing to tolerate. Gone are the days when Harmony’s computer software would figure out all the steps for you.
Don’t expect much help from the Sofabaton literature, either. Neither the setup guide nor the app provides instructions for macro or activity setup. Here’s a helpful video.
It can pair with only one Bluetooth device at a time. When you’re trying to add a Bluetooth-based source such as a Google Chromecast, you have to unpair the remote from the setup app to test the device control and then re-pair it to the app to proceed with setup. It’s kind of annoying, but here’s hoping you have to do this only once, during initial setup.
This remote can control eight AV components, has a logical button layout, and is fully backlit. But it can’t control Bluetooth devices, and the setup process is archaic.
If you can control all of your devices by infrared (IR), the Insignia 8-Device Backlit Universal Remote is a nice alternative to our top pick that’s slightly more affordable. As the name suggests, it can control up to eight AV components and is fully backlit. (A five-device version is also available.) The setup process is archaic, but it does not require use of an app, which some people may prefer.
It has all the necessary buttons but no customizable device screen. This Insignia remote looks like your standard stock remote, with a whole lotta buttons taking up every bit of the front-panel real estate. Thankfully, the button layout is logical, with core functions such as volume, channel, mute, home, menu, back, exit, and navigation grouped together near the center. And the buttons are large and decently spaced.
The remote is longer and less contoured than the Sofabaton U2, and I had more trouble reaching all the buttons with my thumb without having to shift the remote around in my hand. But the full backlighting is a welcome addition. The remote requires two AA batteries (not included).
At the top you’ll find three activity buttons (with icons to watch TV, listen to music, or watch a movie), as well as eight device buttons with generic labels for items such as TV, stream, disc, and audio. When you press a device button, it briefly lights up to confirm that you are now controlling that device.
You can assign any device to any of the eight buttons, but since this remote has no customizable device-name screen as on our top pick, it’s best to match the button to the device type whenever possible. That essentially limits this remote to controlling only one AV system, or maybe one video system and one audio system.
It controls only IR-based equipment. That means it needs line-of-sight with all your gear. We found the IR window to be sufficiently wide to ensure that commands execute reliably. If you want to hide your gear away in a cabinet, you need to pick up an IR repeater kit, as well.
Because this Insignia remote does not support Bluetooth devices, I could not program it to control my Bluetooth-based Google Chromecast, but I was able to use it to control all the other components in my system.
The setup process takes place on the remote itself. Instead of the app-based approach you get with our top pick, this Insignia remote requires that you either manually put it in setup mode and punch in codes to add your devices or initiate an automatic code search for each device button. Either way works, but be prepared to jump back and forth a lot between the remote and the supplied setup pamphlets to follow the instructions.
Unlike cheaper eight-device remotes we looked at, this Insignia model does have learning capabilities, so you can reassign buttons, fix codes that aren’t working, and build macros. I found it easy to teach the remote some missing codes from my AV receiver, as well as to reconfigure how the buttons worked to control my Apple TV media streamer properly.
I also liked the ability to quickly set a “master volume” code that locks the volume and mute buttons to your AV receiver, soundbar, or TV without a lot of extra programming. In addition, the manual approach allows you to fix commands instantly—no need to reach for your phone to launch a setup app.
That said, my attempts to build more advanced activity macros for “watch TV” and “watch a movie” definitely involved some trial and error, which I attribute more to the confusing owner manual than to the remote itself. Setup and customization took me longer on this remote than on the Sofabaton U2, but eventually I programmed this remote to do everything I wanted—except control my Bluetooth-based Chromecast, of course.
If you want a more stylish alternative to the Insignia remote: The One For All Smart Control 8 URC7880 is similar in functionality to our runner-up pick. This is an IR-only, eight-device remote for which you must do most of the programming manually. (You can add devices via a setup app, but that’s it.) The manual process of adding devices, learning IR codes from your device remotes, and building macros is essentially the same as for the Insignia model, though the One For All manual is more clearly written.
Where the two remotes differ is in their physical design. This One For All model lacks backlighting but looks more sleek and modern. It has five activity options (versus three for the Insignia remote) and places the most commonly used controls lower. It has only one physical device button, which you have to press repeatedly to scroll through your various devices. The single activity button works the same way. We found this design to be less intuitive in everyday use, as getting to the command you need takes more button presses. But that’s a subjective call.
If you’re looking for a simplified, big-button remote for TV watching: The Flipper is an IR-only remote that’s specifically marketed toward older adults and people with dementia, but it’s also a simple remote for young children. This isn’t really a universal remote since it can control only two devices, namely a TV and a set-top box. It’s meant for people who watch live TV from traditional cable/satellite boxes or their TV’s internal tuner.
The Flipper has large buttons for power, mute, volume up/down, and channel up/down, as well as a number pad that hides beneath a slide-down panel. It isn’t backlit, but it uses different colors for the power, mute, volume, and channel buttons, which may be more helpful for those with low vision.
I tested the Flipper using the internal TV tuners in Samsung and LG TVs. But thanks to the mom of a Wirecutter colleague, I also was able to get it in the hands of a few residents at a senior living center who were in need of a new remote. Although our testers would’ve liked the volume and channel buttons to be vertically aligned (instead of horizontally), they did appreciate the Flipper’s size and shape: The buttons were easy to read, and the remote was not too heavy, too big, or too small. They found it easy to set up (the process took about one minute), and they thought the instructions were easy to understand. And it controlled their two devices perfectly.
We also like that the Flipper gives you three ways to program the remote to help ensure compatibility.
At CES 2024, One For All highlighted the $60 Smart Control Pro, a fully backlit universal remote that can control up to six devices. There are three activity buttons, as well as direct buttons to switch between devices and to launch the Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and YouTube apps. This remote offers voice control for Google or Android TV media players, and you can set up the remote using the My Nevo app.
Although we prefer universal remotes that can control eight devices, we still plan to test this one to test how it compares with our picks.
Sofabaton’s X1 Universal Remote Control costs more than three times the price of the U2. This model can control a lot more devices—up to 60—and adds a wireless hub to control AV and smart-home equipment via Wi-Fi. The remote itself has a larger, more customizable screen (with the ability to create activities) but fewer physical buttons. The X1 is clearly the company’s attempt to create a more advanced DIY remote to fill the void left by Harmony’s departure, but early reviews were quite negative, and Sofabaton pulled the remote from sale for a while. The company has since reintroduced the X1—but the reviews are still mediocre, so we chose not to test it.
We tested GE’s 8-Device Backlit Universal Remote, a low-priced, fully backlit, IR-only remote that’s available in several colors. Its button layout and programming process are almost identical to that of our runner-up, the Insignia eight-device remote, but it lacks activity buttons. More importantly, it lacks learning capability, so you can’t program in macros, fix controls that don’t work properly, or add controls from your device remotes. This model will suffice if you just want the most basic control options for up to eight devices, but the more advanced user is likely to be frustrated by the absence of customization options.
Like the Flipper, Continuus’s EasyMote is a simplified, big-button remote. Our older testers generally liked the EasyMote, but they thought the Flipper’s slightly larger size made it more comfortable to hold. We appreciated the EasyMote’s bright, green backlighting (which you can turn off) and its wrist rope. But I noted that the instructions had smaller print, so they might be harder to read. Plus, the EasyMote doesn’t have a number pad to directly tune in a certain channel; this may be fine for people who stick with over-the-air channels or basic cable, but it will be a pain if you have a large channel lineup. Finally, the EasyMote offers only two ways to program in your devices, namely doing a quick code search or having it learn the IR from your device remotes. You can’t program in specific manufacturer codes as you can with the Flipper, which was something that we thought was easier and more reliable than doing a generic code search.
The Harmony Companion, the Harmony 665, and the Harmony Elite were former picks in this guide, but Harmony’s parent company, Logitech, discontinued the entire line. You might still find these remotes in stock or on a resale site, but no new models are being manufactured. Though each remote had its flaws, the Harmony line was still a step above the competition in how many features the remotes offered for the price and how much easier they were to program for people with complicated home-theater systems. If you’re thinking about getting one before they’re all gone, the company’s statement on the product discontinuation added the following: “We expect no impact to our customers by this announcement. We plan to support our Harmony community and new Harmony customers, which includes access to our software and apps to set up and manage your remotes. We also plan to continue to update the platform and add devices to our Harmony database. Customer and warranty support will continue to be offered.”
Universal Remote Control (the company) used to offer a variety of good DIY remotes, but it now focuses on the professional-installation market. You may be able to find some older DIY URC remotes online, but at elevated prices.
Several other universal remotes that we previously tested have been discontinued, including the Caavo Control Center and the Sevenhugs Smart Remote U and Smart Remote X.
If you don’t want another handheld device, you might consider an app-based control system, such as the (also-discontinued) Logitech Harmony Hub or the MoesGo Wi-Fi Smart IR+RF Remote Controller, which lets you use your mobile device as a remote control. We don’t recommend this approach, however, because using your mobile device’s touchscreen as a remote requires you to look away from the TV screen and down at your device to search for the right part of the screen to touch, and this makes channel surfing and volume tweaking cumbersome. Plus, it’s a pain to have to wake up your phone or tablet and wait for the app to reconnect with the system whenever you want to change the channel or the volume. Sure, to avoid that you could disable sleep mode on your phone, but in that case you’d be draining your phone’s battery while you’re watching a movie or show.
This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.
Adrienne Maxwell is the supervising editor of Wirecutter's audio/video team, covering everything from headphones to TVs. She has been a writer, editor, and reviewer in the consumer electronics industry for 20 years, and previously served as the executive editor of Home Theater Magazine and the managing editor of HomeTheaterReview.com.
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