How Do I Program Channels on TV Without Remote?

Programming channels into your television's memory is important to keep available channels easy to find and to enhance your overall viewing experience. If you don't have a remote to do this, however, it may be difficult or annoying to channel surf. Programming your TV is possible without the remote, but it does require some understanding about general TV menu systems and how they are used to perform certain functions.

Every TV is equipped with some sort of menu system that controls features like picture preferences, timers, screen settings and channel programming. This menu is most commonly accessed and navigated via the remote control's "menu" and navigation button. A menu item is selected by pressing the "enter" button. The menu is then cleared by pressing "exit" or "menu" at any time during menu navigation. All televisions have a control panel on the front that allows access to this menu without a remote.

All televisions have a channel programming feature that scans all available channels and commits them to memory for future reference. Some TVs also have a channel-labeling feature. If the station carries information about the program, channel labeling usually happens automatically and is displayed on your screen. Because it generally searches a hundred channels or more, channel programming usually takes a long time.

Without a remote, accessing your TV's menu and programming the channels are more difficult. Sit down in front of your TV and find the "menu" button. It may be immediately visible or hiding behind a flip-down panel. Press it, and the onscreen menu will appear. Use the channel or volume buttons to navigate to the programming menu. The "enter" button is one of the other panel buttons. Experiment until you find the correct one. Due to variances in TV menu systems, the programming feature may be located in difference places, so browse the menu to familiarize yourself with it. Once familiar with the menu, change your source to either "cable" or "antenna" depending on which service you use. Begin the channel programming and wait for it to finish. Once it's programmed, your TV will now automatically skip to channels that are available to you when you change channels.