How to Change the Input on a Roku TV

I've set up two TCL Roku TVs this way — a 5-Series (55S546) with a soundbar and an Xbox on HDMI, and a 4-Series (43S435) I use with a Blu-ray player. My honest take: once you stop hunting for a Source button that doesn't exist, the Home-screen tiles are actually faster than a source list. The one thing that annoyed me was my Xbox grabbing the input every time it woke up — that's HDMI-CEC, and I'll show you how to stop it below. If you specifically own a TCL Roku set, our TCL Roku TV input guide covers the antenna, AV, and stuck-input quirks unique to those models.

First, get clear on what you're trying to do. "Changing the input" can mean three different jobs: switching to a device you already connected, cleaning up the tiles so the right one is easy to find, or switching when your remote is missing. The 30-second test points you at the right one.

The 30-second test

Answer one question before you touch anything. The right method depends entirely on which of these you actually want.

1. 1Do you just want to watch a device you already plugged in (a console, cable box, Blu-ray)? Press Home and pick its tile — Method 1.
2. 2Do the tiles confuse you, or do you want the right input labeled and up front? Rename or hide them — Method 2.
3. 3Is your remote lost, dead, or unresponsive? Switch inputs from your phone or let HDMI-CEC do it — Method 3.

Method 1: Switch inputs from the Home screen

This is the standard way, and on a Roku TV it's the only built-in one. Roku doesn't use a classic Source list — every HDMI port and the Live TV tuner sits as a tile on the Home screen, right next to your streaming apps. So switching inputs means selecting the right tile.

1. 1Press the Home button on the remote. Hit the house-icon button at the top of your Roku remote. This always jumps back to the Home screen no matter what app or input you're on. A Roku TV has no separate Source or Input menu — every connection lives on this grid of tiles.
2. 2Find the input tile you want. Use the arrow pad to scroll the tiles. Each HDMI port shows as its own tile — HDMI 1, HDMI 2, HDMI 3 — alongside the Live TV tuner and your streaming apps. If you renamed a port, it shows that name instead, like “Blu-ray” or “Game console.”
3. 3Highlight the tile and press OK. Move the highlight box onto the right input tile and press OK (the button in the center of the arrow pad). The TV switches to that source right away. If the screen stays black, the device on that port may be off or asleep — turn it on first.
4. 4Switch back the same way. To leave that input, press Home again and pick a different tile — an app, the Live TV tuner, or another HDMI port. There's no “back to TV” shortcut button; Home is how you move between every source on a Roku TV.

When it won't work: if the HDMI tile is missing entirely, the port is hidden or the input detection is off — fix that in Method 2. If the tile opens to a black screen, the device on that port is off or asleep, not the TV's fault. Roku's own steps for adding and switching inputs are on its support site.

Method 2: Rename or hide input tiles

Generic labels like "HDMI 2" make you guess which device is where. Roku lets you rename each input with a real name and an icon, and hide the ports you never use. Do this once and switching inputs gets a lot faster, because the tile says exactly what it is.

1. 1On the Home screen, highlight the input tile you want to change — don't open it, just move the highlight box onto it.
2. 2Press the Star (*) button on the remote to open Options. Choose Rename input, then pick a preset like Cable, Blu-ray, Game console, or Streaming — or type a custom name.
3. 3To clean up the grid, choose Hide input from the same Star menu, or go to Settings > TV inputs and turn off the ports you don't use. Re-show them anytime the same way.

Catch: renaming a tile is cosmetic — it doesn't change which physical port the device is plugged into. If you swap a device to a different HDMI port, rename the tile again so the label still matches.

Method 3: Switch inputs without the remote

Lost the remote or drained its batteries? You can still change the input three ways. Each one gets you to the tiles or switches the source for you, so a missing remote doesn't strand you on the wrong input.

1. 1Use a phone app. Install the free Roku app or a universal remote app, join the same Wi-Fi as the TV, and use its on-screen Home button and D-pad to select the input tile — exactly like the physical remote.
2. 2Let HDMI-CEC switch it. Under Settings > System > Control other devices (CEC), turn on 1-touch play. Now when a connected device powers on, the TV jumps to its input on its own.
3. 3Use the set's own button. The physical button under the TCL panel — a single key or a joystick nub — mainly powers the set on and off. On most models it can't cycle inputs, so treat it as a last resort, not an input switch.

The phone route is the one I reach for. Once the TV is on Wi-Fi, install Smart TV Remote on your phone, join the same network, and you get the Home button and D-pad on screen. Tap Home, steer to the HDMI tile, and press OK — no physical remote needed. It can't magic a device awake, but it drives every menu the boxed remote does.

Catch: a phone app needs the TV already on the network, so it's no help if the set is fully off with no CEC. In that case, see our guide to turning on a TCL Roku TV without a remote first, then switch the input from the app.

Which method fits your situation

The three methods solve different problems. Match what you're actually trying to do to the one that gets you there fastest — and see whether it needs a working remote.

My advice: rename your inputs once (Method 2) and everyday switching becomes trivial — you press Home and see "Xbox" instead of "HDMI 3." Keep the phone app installed as a backup for the day the remote goes missing, and only lean on HDMI-CEC if you like your console pulling the input automatically. And if you'd rather send a phone or laptop screen to the TV than switch to an HDMI device, see how to screen mirror on a Roku TV instead, or screen share to a Roku TV to cast a single app or your own photos. If a source lands way too bright after you switch to it, here's how to turn the brightness down on a Roku TV per input. And if the input tiles or the Home screen are slow to load every time you switch, that's the system cache dragging, not the HDMI source — here's how to clear the cache on a Roku TV.

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