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Sep 09, 2023

The 2 Best Universal Remote Controls of 2023

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We have added a What you need to know box, and added our thoughts on the new Sofabaton X1 remote to the Competition section.

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–soundbar combo, and you’re looking for one remote to control all your gear, the SofaBaton U1 Universal Remote Control is the best option we’ve found. It has some notable flaws, but this model can control a wider variety of home-entertainment devices, and it has a better physical design than its competitors.

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, there are fewer great options that you can set up and program yourself.

We looked for remotes that can control at least eight devices, have an intuitive button design, and are easy to program.

The cheapest remotes usually only control infrared devices. The better ones can also control gear via Bluetooth and sometimes Wi-Fi.

The U1 can control up to 15 AV devices and supports Bluetooth control. And it relies on a mobile app for setup. But it lacks backlighting and activity buttons, and programming advanced tasks can be challenging.

The SofaBaton U1 Universal Remote Control is a well-designed universal remote that offers a lot more features than you might expect for $50. It can control up to 15 devices, including both infrared- and Bluetooth-based AV devices. So it's more flexible than many of the lower-priced remotes on the market. It has an intuitive button layout that includes most of the control options you’ll need, and the OLED screen makes it easy to switch between the different AV devices you want to control. You can program the U1 using a convenient setup app for iOS and Android, and the app provides a lot of customization options to reassign what the remote's buttons can do. But the U1 has some drawbacks. It lacks backlighting and a Help function to fix any messed-up commands. And there are no dedicated activity buttons for grouping different devices together to perform tasks like "Watch TV" or "Watch a Movie." You can still create activities and assign them to whatever buttons you choose, but you have to figure out all the programming yourself—and we fear the app's learning curve may be high for someone who has never programmed a universal remote. But despite these issues, the U1 is the best option we’ve found for people who have a mix of IR and Bluetooth devices.

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The URC7880 includes all the important buttons and can control eight AV components, and you can group devices together into activities. But you can't control Bluetooth devices, and the setup process is archaic.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $40.

The One For All URC7880 Smart Control 8 is a simple, affordable remote for people who can control all their gear via infrared (IR). It can't control Bluetooth-based devices like the Google Chromecast or Nvidia Shield TV, but it will work fine with the majority of AV products, including most cable and satellite boxes, Blu-ray players, soundbars, gaming consoles, and AV receivers. (If you’re not sure how your device is controlled, try this: Point the remote at the ground in the opposite direction from the device it's supposed to control, and then press a button. If the remote still executes the command, then it's using Bluetooth or radio frequency, not IR.) The URC7880 can control eight devices and has all the important buttons you’ll need—including five activity controls that let you group devices together to watch a movie, play video games, and so forth. But, like the Sofabaton U1, it lacks backlighting and a Help function. One For All says you can set up this remote using an app, but the app just lets you add devices. The majority of the programming takes place the old-fashioned way—by manually putting the remote in programming mode and punching a lot of buttons. It's not ideal, but it gets the job done—and it means anyone can program this thing, even if they don't own a mobile device.

We also tested a couple of simple, large-button remotes designed for people with vision, memory, or confusion issues, and we recommend the Flipper, which is an IR-only remote that can control a TV and set-top box. You can read more about it here.

The U1 can control up to 15 AV devices and supports Bluetooth control. And it relies on a mobile app for setup. But it lacks backlighting and activity buttons, and programming advanced tasks can be challenging.

The URC7880 includes all the important buttons and can control eight AV components, and you can group devices together into activities. But you can't control Bluetooth devices, and the setup process is archaic.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $40.

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 20 years. During that time, I have reviewed numerous audio and video products, including virtually every major DIY universal-remote platform. I also review budget projectors, portable projectors, and other AV accessories for Wirecutter.

Today's home entertainment equipment delivers more functionality in fewer boxes. The average living-room entertainment system may include a single-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.

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A good universal remote not only eliminates coffee-table clutter and the remote shuffle but also reduces button pushes by combining multiple actions into one button press. For instance, instead of having to push separate buttons to turn on your TV, switch HDMI inputs, power on your AV receiver, change inputs there, turn on your Blu-ray player, and—finally—get your movie started, a good universal remote can reduce all of that to one command (Play Movie), which you can access at the touch of a single button. The technical name for this bundling of commands is macros, but remote-control manufacturers usually call them activities or scenes. This functionality used to be reserved for high-end, professionally programmed systems. But these days relatively inexpensive remotes can do the same complex job.

Although a few DIY universal remotes incorporate a bit of smart-home control to adjust your lighting, temperature, or security system, there aren't many options that can intuitively perform complex home-automation tasks. If you’re looking for advanced whole-house control, with lots of complex lighting scenes and independent control of different sources in different rooms, you’re better off turning to a local specialty AV retailer that can create a more-personalized control system from a company like Crestron or Control4. It's a more expensive solution, 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 (as opposed to models that are sold exclusively through dealers, like Crestron and Control4, that program them for you), you had many choices—from brands like Harmony, Sony, Pronto, URC, and UEI. 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, it killed the last of the big-name brands—as well as all of our former picks in this guide—and left us pondering how to proceed.

Sure, you can still find a ton of low-end replacement remotes—models whose primary purpose is to replace the one the dog chewed up and do little else. But those remotes aren't designed to provide a really intuitive, streamlined, activity-based experience. They’re just designed to hold a lot of buttons to control your different devices (usually a total of four to six devices).

By contrast, a good universal remote should offer the following features:

Although the pickings are slim in today's market, we continue to call in new remotes that meet as much of the above criteria as possible.

To test the remotes, I set up each one to control two different AV systems in my home: One is a more-basic living-room setup with a Samsung TV, Polk soundbar, and Apple TV 4K media player. The second is a more-complex home-theater system with an LG TV, Onkyo AV receiver, Sony Ultra HD Blu-ray player, Chromecast with Google TV, and Xbox One X. The equipment consists of a mix of traditional IR devices, Bluetooth devices, and some Wi-Fi smart-home lighting and temperature items from Lutron and Honeywell. My family lives with each remote for a while to see how intuitive and reliable each is to use on a daily basis.

The U1 can control up to 15 AV devices and supports Bluetooth control. And it relies on a mobile app for setup. But it lacks backlighting and activity buttons, and programming advanced tasks can be challenging.

For an attractively low price, the SofaBaton U1 Universal Remote Control combines the essential elements of a universal remote—a good physical design with the necessary buttons, the ability to control many (and a variety of) devices, and the option to create shortcuts to launch activities (such as "Watch a Movie") with a single button press. It can control up to 15 AV devices, including both IR- and Bluetooth-based devices, which covers most of today's AV equipment. You can program this remote using a convenient mobile app that makes adding, removing, and changing devices easy. And you can reassign buttons to perform different tasks, as well as learn IR codes from your existing remotes. On the downside, the remote lacks backlighting and dedicated, clearly labeled activity buttons (such as "Watch TV") that make it easier for everyone to use. And the setup app requires you to figure out a lot of the advanced programming yourself, which may prove to be too challenging or frustrating for some people.

The U1 has a clean, simple design, with almost all of the buttons you’d need organized in an intuitive way that's actually quite similar to that of our former top pick, the now-discontinued (and more expensive) Harmony Companion. Our only complaint about the button layout is that fast-forward/reverse and chapter skip share the same buttons by default, but you can reassign those functions to other buttons if you want. 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 U1 is powered by two AA batteries, which are included in the package.

At the top of the remote there's a simple OLED screen that shows the model names of the devices you’ve added, with a scroll wheel to quickly select the device you want to control. The screen automatically lights up when you pick up the remote. Being able to see the actual model names is more intuitive than generic device buttons labeled TV, STB, or AUD. And since the U1 is not locked in to a set of pre-labeled device buttons, it can control multiple models of the same type—say, two media players, two TVs, and two audio systems. Add in its ability to control a total of 15 devices, and the U1 certainly can be set up to control multiple systems around the house.

As we mentioned, the U1 can control IR and Bluetooth devices, which should cover most any AV device you want to add to your system, including Bluetooth devices like the Chromecast with Google TV, Nvidia Shield TV, and some gaming consoles and older Fire TV players. But it can't control Wi-Fi–based devices, so you can't integrate smart-home lighting or temperature controls. That's not a surprising omission for something in this price range. The Harmony Companion was one of the more affordable remotes to support Wi-Fi, and it cost $150 or more.

To program the U1, you need to use the free SofaBaton app for iOS and Android. There's 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 budget pick instead). The remote communicates with the app via Bluetooth, so the first step in the setup process is to pair the two. And then you can start adding your devices; this is a straightforward process in which you can choose from a list of preloaded devices (including Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Nvidia, DirecTV, and Xfinity) or enter the manufacturer and device name. SofaBaton claims its code database includes 350,000-plus devices and 6,000 brands. The software automatically (and wirelessly) updates the remote with the proper control codes after each new device is added. I loaded all of my gear from both of my AV systems into the remote in just a few minutes, since all of my devices were in the SofaBaton database.

Once a device is loaded into the app, you’re given the option to customize the buttons. With most devices, you can reassign any button on the U1 to perform any task from any device that you’ve loaded into your system configuration. You can also quickly learn IR codes from your existing remote, and you can choose what you want each device to be named on the OLED screen. But you can't add any actual control functions to the screen, as you could with our former budget pick, the now-discontinued Harmony 665.

Overall, we found the basic setup process to be straightforward but not necessarily quick. Your time investment will depend on how precisely you want to tweak your controls. SofaBaton makes you customize every little thing yourself (unlike the Harmony setup software, which figured out a lot of stuff for you). For instance, if you want to control your AV receiver's volume and mute functions while watching your Apple TV (without having to jump back and forth between devices), you have to manually reassign the volume buttons. It's easy to do in the app, but if you have lots of very specific desires for how things ought to work (like I do!), be prepared to spend time making it happen. (More on this below.)

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 can be uploaded to the remote instantly, as long as it's connected to the app, so there's no need to search for a cable, connect the remote to your computer, and load an all-new configuration. I didn't encounter any connection issues between the remote and the app, and when all was said and done, the U1 successfully controlled both of my systems the way I wanted it to.

Although there's a lot we like about the SofaBaton U1, it has a few significant drawbacks—some are expected for a remote in this price range, and some are just unfortunate design choices. The hard truth is, with the death of the Harmony remote line, consumers have been left with a smattering of universal-remote options that all have notable flaws. We think the U1's low price makes some of its flaws easier to overlook than those of its competitors, but you may feel differently.

The U1 lacks backlighting, which, combined with this remote's black-buttons-on-a-black-shell design, makes using it in a dark room somewhat more challenging. But the U1's intuitive button layout and the fact that the main navigation, volume, and channel buttons are clearly distinguished by size and shape will help alleviate those challenges.

This remote requires line-of-sight to control any IR-based equipment, and you need to be deliberate in pointing the U1 at your gear rack—and keeping it pointed there until any command sequences are done. My family is accustomed to using a Wi-Fi–based system, where you can point the remote anywhere in the room and the commands will still work, so the U1 took some getting used to. (If you want to hide your gear away in a cabinet, you’ll need to pick up an IR repeater kit like this one.) And if the U1 fails to execute a command, there's no Help button to work out the problem. You have to select the device in question and resend the command.

Perhaps most importantly, there are no dedicated activity buttons labeled "Watch TV," "Watch a Movie," and the like. You can create your own activity button that does what a "Watch TV" button would do—like turn on all the necessary devices, switch to the correct inputs on your TV and receiver, and perhaps launch a menu. 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 gaming. But it's a shame that SofaBaton omitted such a simple and important feature.

Speaking of macros, the process of creating them, though logistically simple in the app, will be more mentally taxing than some people will tolerate. If you’ve never programmed a universal remote before, or you’re used to the Harmony setup software that figures out the main steps for you, the learning curve for a more complex AV system will be high. And don't expect much help from the SofaBaton literature; the setup guide is poorly written and says nothing about macros. There are some very low-budget instructional videos available through the app—with no dialogue, just video of someone's hand using the app.

Finally, the U1 remote can pair with only one Bluetooth device at a time. So when you’re trying to add a Bluetooth-based source, you have to unpair the remote from the setup app to test the device control, and then re-pair to the app to keep going with setup. It's kind of annoying. SofaBaton is reportedly working on a new remote that will support more than one Bluetooth device, but we don't have any further details yet.

The URC7880 includes all the important buttons and can control eight AV components, and you can group devices together into activities. But you can't control Bluetooth devices, and the setup process is archaic.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $40.

If all of your devices can be controlled by infrared (IR), the One For All URC7880 Smart Control 8 is a simple, affordable remote that has all the important buttons, including activity control to group components together. With support for eight AV devices, the URC7880 can accommodate a pretty extensive home-theater system. And, though archaic, the ability to program the remote manually may actually be welcomed by people who don't own a mobile device and therefore can't program their remote using an app. The drawbacks are that this remote doesn't work with Bluetooth devices, the programming options aren't as flexible as those of the SofaBaton U1, and we didn't find the button layout and shape to be as intuitive.

The URC7880 has all the necessary buttons we like to see, and the core functions, like volume, mute, channel, home, menu, back, exit, and navigation, are grouped together near the center. There are even a few app-shortcut buttons (including a dedicated Netflix button) that you can program from the device of your choosing. Overall, though, we didn't find the physical design to be as intuitive as the SofaBaton's. Eight pre-labeled devices are listed at the top, with one device button to scroll through them all (a button for each device would be faster). All of the buttons are smallish and—beyond the navigation wheel in the center—not well distinguished by shape. Plus, the remote's longer, slimmer form makes everything feel a bit cramped, and I had more trouble reaching all the buttons with my thumb without having to shift the remote around in my hand. Add in the lack of backlighting, and we think this one will be a bit more challenging to use in a dark room.

The remote requires four AAA batteries, and they are not included in the package—which is kind of obnoxious. Make sure you add a set to your shopping cart.

On the plus side, the URC7880 does have an activity button that can scroll through five activities (TV, movie, music, game, and custom). During setup, you can designate which devices should be grouped together for a certain activity, and the URC7880 will automatically assign key buttons (like volume, input, home, and navigation) to control the correct device. Plus, a press-and-hold of the red power button serves as an all-off for each activity. With the SofaBaton U1, you have to program all these things yourself, so the URC7880 is actually a little easier to set up in that respect. Plus, the inclusion of activity controls cuts down on how often you’ll need to switch between devices.

As we mentioned, the URC7880 can only control IR-based equipment, so it needs to have line-of-sight with all your gear. Its IR window was a bit wider and more robust than that of the SofaBaton, so I didn't have to be quite as direct in my pointing. But it does not have a Help button to deal with commands that aren't executed properly, and it could not control my Bluetooth-based Google Chromecast. Nor does it support Wi-Fi–based smart-home devices, which is not at all surprising for a remote in this price range. If you want to hide your gear away in a cabinet, you’ll need to pick up an IR repeater kit like this one.

One For All says you can set up this remote using an app, but that's misleading. Yes, there is a free One For All setup app for iOS and Android, and yes, it pairs with the remote via Bluetooth and lets you add your devices by inputting the manufacturer name and model number or testing different codes. But that's all the app offers by way of setup. If you want to change the behavior of buttons, fix codes that aren't working, or build macros, you have to do it directly on the remote (you can add devices manually, too); this involves pressing the "Magic" button to put the remote in programming mode and then pressing a lot more buttons to accomplish a certain task. Thankfully, the printed instructions are thorough. This process is more labor-intensive than what SofaBaton offers through its setup app. And the fact that the remote's programming mode times out after a few seconds means you must act quickly and deliberately. There was definitely some trial and error involved as I tried to build macros for "Watch TV" and "Play Video Games." But eventually I got the remote programmed to do everything I wanted—except control my Chromecast, of course. (Yes, the remote communicates with the app over Bluetooth, but you can't actually control anything via Bluetooth.)

The fact that you can program the remote manually is a plus for those who can't or don't want to use a mobile device to program a remote. It also means you can fix commands instantly, without even having to reach for your phone to launch an app.

Because the URC7880 is locked into eight device options—labeled TV, STB, BLU, AUX, DVD, GAME, MEDIA, and S.BAR—you’re more limited in how you can configure the remote. Unlike the SofaBaton, which can be set up to control different systems around your home, the URC7880 lets you assign only one TV device, one set-top box, one gaming console, and so forth. Sure, you could program a game console onto the DVD label and a second TV onto another unused category, but that's not helpful for other people trying to use the remote. This one is really meant to control a single system, which is fair given its low asking price.

Finally, the One For All setup app does have one helpful feature: a remote finder. If you can't locate the URC7880, you can press a button in the app to make the remote beep.

The Flipper is a simple, large-button remote designed for people with vision, memory, or confusion issues (or perhaps for young children who are prone to randomly pressing the remote's buttons and throwing your whole AV system out of whack). It's not really a universal remote because it can control just one or two devices: a TV and a set-top box. The Flipper is an IR-only remote intended for channel surfers who use traditional cable/satellite boxes or their TV's internal tuner. It's not designed for people who use streaming media devices and will not work with devices that are controlled via Bluetooth or radio frequency (RF). (If you’re not sure how your device is controlled, point the remote at the ground in the opposite direction from the device it's supposed to control, and then press a button. If the remote still executes the command, then it's using Bluetooth or RF signals.)

We tested two popular large-button remotes: the Flipper and the EasyMote. Both have six primary buttons for power, mute, volume up/down, and channel up/down, but the Flipper adds a number pad so you can directly punch in a desired channel. We like that it hides the number pad behind a slide-down panel, to keep the main remote design as simple as possible. The Flipper isn't backlit like the EasyMote, but it uses different colors for the power, mute, volume, and channel buttons, which may be more helpful for those with eyesight limitations.

I tested both remotes using the internal TV tuners in my Samsung and LG TVs. But (thanks to the mom of a Wirecutter colleague) I also was able to get them in the hands of a few residents at a senior living center who were in need of a new remote. We all preferred the Flipper over the EasyMote. Although our senior testers would’ve liked the volume and channel buttons to be vertically aligned (instead of horizontally), they did like the remote'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 very easy to set up (it took about one minute), and they thought the instructions were easy to understand. And it controlled their two devices perfectly. I like that the Flipper gives you three ways to program the remote (versus only two for the EasyMote) to help ensure compatibility. And the number pad may prove essential for cable/satellite customers who have lots of channels to navigate.

If you don't want another handheld device, you might consider an app-based control system, such as the (recently discontinued) Logitech Harmony Hub or MoesGo, 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 real 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, you can disable sleep mode on your phone. But you’ll be draining your battery during the time you’re watching a movie or show.

Since our last update in May 2021, several universal remotes that we previously tested have been discontinued, including the Caavo Control Center and the Sevenhugs Smart Remote U and Smart Remote X.

Logitech's Harmony Companion, Harmony 665, and Harmony Elite were our former picks in this guide, but parent company Logitech discontinued the entire line. You might still find these remotes in stock for a while, 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 you got for the price and how much easier the remotes 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."

Sofabaton recently launched the crowd-funded X1 universal remote, which costs roughly three times more than the U1. This model can control a lot more devices (up to 40) and adds a wireless hub to control AV and smart home equipment via W-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. Unfortunately, early Amazon reviews were very negative, and it has been unavailable for a while—so we have not tried to test it. Perhaps the company is working on fixes and will reintroduce it at a later date.

Universal Remote Control (the company) used to offer a variety of good DIY remotes, but it now focuses on the professional-installation market. You can still find some older DIY URC remotes online, but at elevated prices.

Like the Flipper, the EasyMote is a large-button remote designed for people with vision, memory, or confusion issues. Our senior testers generally liked the EasyMote, but they thought the Flipper's slightly larger size made it more comfortable to hold. We appreciated the bright, green backlighting (which you can turn off) and the 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 over-the-air or basic-cable users, 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 (a quick code search or learning the IR from your device remotes). You can't program in specific manufacturer codes like you can with the Flipper, which was something we thought was easier and more reliable than doing a generic code search.

Adrienne Maxwell

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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