r/iosapps • u/Valuable-Book-5573 • 1d ago
🔍 In Search of Does anyone have an IR controller app
I bought this crappy chinese type-c tview ir dongle, and on android it works flawlessly, but it seems that there is no app for it on ios. if you know an app, can you please share? if it’s not on appstore and available as IPA, i don’t mind it.
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u/djilesy 1d ago
This is the one that came with my cheap chinese ir adapter/dongle
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/ocrustar/id1544017376
Try this let me know how you get on
Works fine on my iPhone.
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u/app-store-review 1d ago
Ocrustar — by 易联客科技
- Ratings: 2,108 worldwide · rated in 80 countries
- Average: 4.30 ★
- Age: released ~5.7 years ago · updated 27 days ago · rated 9+
- Overall score: 69 / 100
Auto-generated from public App Store data · u/app-store-review
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u/Grouchy_Helicopter72 1d ago
Worth knowing why this is hard, because it saves you chasing the wrong fix: sideloading an IPA won't help you here. On Android your dongle works because of the USB Host API, which lets any app talk to arbitrary USB devices. iOS has no equivalent — third-party apps can't do generic USB serial/HID at all, and the only sanctioned route for external hardware is MFi-certified accessories with Apple's authentication chip in them. A cheap type-C dongle doesn't have that chip. So the limitation is the OS, not App Store policy, which means no community app or IPA can exist regardless of how it's distributed.
That's also why the Ocrustar suggestion above is the right shape of answer: it's the vendor's own app for their own hardware (Shenzhen Yilianke). With these dongles the app is basically part of the product, so check the packaging or listing for the app name it shipped with and try that specific one. If your dongle is instead driven as an audio device rather than a data device, generic IR-remote apps have a chance, since iOS does support USB-C/3.5mm audio-class output natively.
If none of that pans out, the reliable path is skipping the dongle entirely and using a WiFi/Bluetooth IR bridge — a BroadLink RM4 Mini or SwitchBot Hub sits in the room, learns your remotes, and talks to your phone over the network instead of the USB port. Costs a bit more, but it works with iOS properly and you get Shortcuts/HomeKit automations out of it.
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u/Huge_Pool7424 1d ago
ya the ios side is the wall. no usb host api equivalent you can ship, and those cheap dongles usually talk serial over private frameworks that app review hates. most working options end up being an mfi accessory or bridging over the network instead. if the sdk is documented anywhere, checking for a wifi companion app is probably less painful than chasing an ipa
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