Pairing my ATV remote along with a Harmony universal?

[kat.hayes]

I have a 4K AppleTV that I paid some AV installer to connect to all of my equipment, including a Harmony TV remote over a year ago. The AppleTV remote no longer seems to be paired to it and I want to pair it to use as a backup. When I go to the remote option under settings, it says there is no remote paired though when I click On it, there is an unpair remote option under the Manage option.

1. I want to make sure I am not unpairing the Harmony Remote by clicking on this. Is this going to unpair the Harmony remote or the AppleTV remote? The Harmony is programmed to do a bunch of stuff and I do not want to worry right now about getting it working again.

2. Where is the option to try and pair the ATV remote? I do not see it. Can I have both the Harmony remote and an AppleTV remote paired?

Thanks!

 

[waw74]

pairing on the aTV remote isn't what it really sounds like, and there's 2 different definitions of pairing.
Either IR or bluetooth.

for the old IR remotes (pretty sure Harmony uses this)
each remote has a code (0-254) that it sends along with each button press so think "Play 134"
when an aTV is paired to an IR remote, it only listens to commands with a matching code number.
an unpaired aTV will listen to any code number.
The commands programed into the harmony have a code that you can't change (although you might be able to find another command set that has a different code)
apple remotes randomly change their code when you pair them.
in theory you could have a paired aTV, but have many remotes work with the same aTV, if they have the same code.


for the siri remote,
it uses bluetooth, and is a wireless connection between 2 distant devices, (1 specific aTV and 1 specific remote)
the pairing process is initiated from the remote, and not the aTV.
to do this, hold your remote near the aTV, and hold the menu and volume up buttons down (you should see an on-screen notification that it paired) you might need to charge the remote.

If your Siri Remote or Apple TV Remote isn't working - Apple Support

If your remote isn't working as expected, learn what to do.

support.apple.com

 

[Longkeg]

The Harmony uses infrared and doesn’t pair like the ATV remote. It must be in line of sight to communicate with the ATV. Clicking “Unpair Remote” will not affect it.

The ATV remote uses Bluetooth and can talk to the ATV from anywhere in the house as long as it’s in Bluetooth range. Pairing is done from the remote itself not the ATV. Hold down the Menu and Volume Up buttons simultaneously until the ATV reports that pairing is complete.

 

[Mr. Zarniwoop]

I use my Harmony setups with Bluetooth for my Apple TVs. Use "Harmony Beta" for Device Manufacturer Name and "Test Apple TV" for Device Model Number. I've had no issues.

 

[kat.hayes]

Thanks

 

[DaveSanDiego]

Not sure.. but I think it depends on what model Harmony you have .... the 660/665 are IR, but I believe the others (hub models) are WifFi or BT. Also I "asssume" you are programming the remote via the app provided by Harmony.

I am using a 665 with a 4K ATV and it works fine... only anomoly seems to be when I switch from the ATV (HDMI2) back to my OTA DVR (HDMI1).... it switches... pauses, the goes back to HDMI2 again, then I switch back to HDMI1 and it stays

 

[HDFan]

You should at least wait until the end of June.

Since it didn't happen at WWDC then the next shot would likely be the September phone release.

The Harmony uses infrared and doesn’t pair like the ATV remote. It must be in line of sight to communicate with the ATV.

I believe the others (hub models) are WifFi or BT.

Harmony Hub remotes use Infrared (IR), Bluetooth and Wi‑Fi. Hub remotes do not have to be in line of sight, but the hub does.

 

[Mr. Zarniwoop]

Hub remotes do not have to be in line of sight, but the hub does.

Not if you use the "Test Apple TV" device on the Harmony per my note above, then the hub is Bluetooth-connected and does not use IR to control the Apple TV.

 

[jxrxme]

I use my Harmony setups with Bluetooth for my Apple TVs. Use "Harmony Beta" for Device Manufacturer Name and "Test Apple TV" for Device Model Number. I've had no issues.

Can you control the Apple TV volume up/down?
I used “Harmony Pro” / “BT Apple TV 4” as setup which works via Bluetooth too. But I can’t control my AirPods or Bluetooth speakers volume since these commands are missing on the remote (the remote wants to control the TVs volume).