Side note: keeping a tiny “living room kit” saves a ton of time—fresh batteries, a pocket flashlight, and a sticky note with your Wi-Fi name and the apps you actually use. Label the inputs on your TV stand once, and snap a photo of the back panel so you remember which cable goes where. When you sit down later, that little bit of prep turns a potential scavenger hunt into a two-minute routine, and whoever shares the space with you won’t be stuck guessing in the dark.

Personally, yes—you can run everything from an iPhone, but a little setup makes it painless. First time around, have the box and phone on the same SSID, sign in to your account in the app, and allow “Local Network” (and Bluetooth, if prompted). Open the app while the player is awake, let it auto-discover, and finish pairing. In the middle of that routine, https://mac.eltima.com/use-iphone-as-roku-remote/ has a clean step-by-step guide worth skimming. If discovery stalls, reboot the box, toggle Wi-Fi on the phone, and try once more before changing anything big.