Use Phone as Xbox Controller on Smart TV: How-To Guide
Xbox started testing a way to use your phone as an Xbox controller on a smart TV this week, no gamepad required. The preview, which Xbox announced Wednesday, lets a supported Android phone or iPhone act as a game controller for Xbox Cloud Gaming on supported smart TVs, with controls loading directly in the phone's mobile browser instead of through a dedicated app (Xbox Wire).
Xbox is careful about how far this goes. The announcement promises the feature on "a supported Smart TV" and says both new input previews, this one and a separate Nano Controller test, are still being tested, meaning availability and supported games or devices may be limited while Xbox collects feedback (Xbox Wire). Skipping the gamepad doesn't skip the rest of Xbox's cloud setup. An eligible Game Pass subscription or separately purchased cloud playtime, plus a reliable high-speed connection, are still required (Xbox Wire).
This piece covers how to check whether a TV, app version, and account currently qualify for the Xbox Cloud Gaming phone controller, the steps to try it, and how it differs from a second, unrelated US-only preview Xbox calls cloud connect (GamesHub).
Check this first: is your TV and account eligible
Xbox's announcement confirms the preview works with "a supported Android or iOS phone" paired with "a supported Smart TV," but it doesn't publish a list of qualifying brands, models, or software versions (Xbox Wire). Nothing in that wording guarantees the option shows up on every TV running the Xbox app.
Here's what's actually confirmed versus reported secondhand:
- Confirmed by Xbox: a supported Android or iOS phone works with a supported Smart TV; no brand or model list has been published.
- Reported by Hyprcurrent, unconfirmed by Xbox: the rollout covers 2021-and-newer Samsung TVs, most newer LG sets, and select Fire TV and VIDAA-powered devices (Hyprcurrent).
- Unresolved: Xbox's existing support list of Xbox Cloud Gaming platforms names play.xbox.com, LG, VIDAA, Fire TV, and Meta Quest, with Samsung notably absent, even though select Samsung TVs are getting a Nano Controller promotion in the US this holiday season (Hyprcurrent). The supplied sources do not reconcile that conflict, so Samsung owners especially should confirm support directly in the app rather than rely on either list.
General Xbox Cloud Gaming support on a TV isn't the same as eligibility for the phone-controller preview specifically. Prior rollouts only establish which TVs run the Xbox app at all. LG TVs on webOS 24 or later, including 2022 OLED models and select 2023 sets that received a firmware upgrade, got the app last year, though not every 2022 or 2023 LG set qualifies (Xbox Wire). Hisense TVs running VIDAA OS 9.6 or higher followed this summer (Xbox Wire). Xbox said in September that the app would come to select TCL TVs in the coming months; the supplied announcement does not confirm the current rollout status (Xbox Wire). None of those three announcements mention phone controls at all.
Four things are worth confirming before trying the preview: the TV is on the latest supported Smart TV experience, the country supports Xbox Cloud Gaming, the account has an eligible Game Pass tier or purchased cloud playtime, and Preview Features is visible under Settings > Account (Xbox Wire).
How to use your phone as an Xbox controller on a supported smart TV
Turning on the test itself is straightforward once those boxes are checked. Open the Xbox app on the TV, go to Settings > Account, and switch on Preview Features (Xbox Wire).
Launching a game without a physical controller paired brings up an option to use a phone for that session. Hyprcurrent describes the connection method as an on-screen QR code that the phone's camera scans to link up (Xbox Wire; Hyprcurrent).
From there, controls open directly inside the phone's mobile browser on Android or iOS. No separate controller app or purchased accessory is needed for this part, and some games present control layouts tailored to that particular title's play style, though Xbox hasn't named which ones get the custom treatment (Xbox Wire).
Xbox directs participants who hit problems to tap the Xbox icon inside the phone controls and select "Give Feedback," a documented channel for reporting issues during this limited rollout (Xbox Wire).
What "no controller needed" doesn't cover
A phone removes the need to own or pair a gamepad, but it doesn't touch the rest of Xbox's cloud gaming requirements. Streaming still needs a compatible TV, an eligible Game Pass subscription (Ultimate, Premium, or Essential) or separately purchased cloud playtime, and a reliable high-speed internet connection (Xbox Wire).
Hyprcurrent reports that Game Pass cloud play is receiving monthly limits in November: 15 hours for Ultimate, 10 for Premium, and 5 for Essential (Hyprcurrent). That figure comes from Hyprcurrent's reporting rather than a Microsoft plan page, and nothing in the supplied research confirms it on an official Xbox source, so the cap is worth verifying directly before relying on it.
The catalog question sits apart from both the controller preview and the hour caps. Game Pass subscribers can stream a library that varies by region, device, and plan, and can also stream some owned titles outside the core Game Pass catalog. A phone solves the input problem, not the catalog or subscription-tier question (Xbox Wire).
Don't confuse this with cloud connect
Alongside the Xbox phone controls preview, Xbox is testing a second, unrelated feature called cloud connect. It lets the Xbox Nano Controller send inputs over Wi-Fi straight to the cloud server instead of over Bluetooth to the TV, which addresses latency rather than controller availability (Xbox Wire).
Cloud connect is US-only and requires buying the Nano Controller separately, priced at $49.99 according to both GamesHub, citing Insider Gaming, and Hyprcurrent (GamesHub; Hyprcurrent). Xbox says the Wi-Fi connection can help reduce input latency but hasn't published measured results, and the company itself calls cloud connect an early test that won't work with every cloud gaming experience yet (Xbox Wire).
Setup runs through the Xbox beta app on Android or the Xbox Accessories app on PC, and the PC route requires Xbox Insider enrollment, a separate path from scanning a QR code with a phone (Xbox Wire). Playing Xbox games on a TV with a phone controller doesn't require any of this; cloud connect only matters for Nano Controller owners chasing lower latency.
What to do now
Eligibility for the phone-controller preview depends on TV model, app version, region, and account access that Xbox hasn't fully detailed. Any third-party device list, Hyprcurrent's included, should be treated as unverified until Xbox publishes its own compatibility page (Xbox Wire; Hyprcurrent).
Xbox has confirmed only that availability and game support are limited overall. It hasn't published a reader-facing explanation for why the Preview Features toggle or the phone-controller prompt might be missing in any specific case, so there's no official troubleshooting list to check against yet.
Readers can check their TV app version, confirm their country supports Xbox Cloud Gaming, and verify an eligible Game Pass tier or purchased cloud playtime before assuming the feature is broken rather than simply not yet rolled out to them. If the prompt appears and something breaks mid-session, Xbox's "Give Feedback" option inside the phone controls remains the documented way to flag it.
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