Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.



When Apple released the fourth-generation Apple TV in 2015, it also included a new Siri Remote with the set-top box (although in some regions Apple kept the original name "Apple TV Remote" due to Siri not working in those territories).

appletvremote1-800x255.jpg

The redesigned remote features dual microphones for Siri support as well as a glass touch surface for navigating the tvOS interface by swiping, tapping, and scrubbing to fast forward/rewind content. The remote also has a Menu button, a Home button (with a TV icon on it), a Siri button, a Play/Pause button, and a Volume Up/Down button.

With the release of the Apple TV 4K in 2017, Apple tweaked the remote design to add a raised white ring around the Menu button, making it easier to identify the correct orientation of the remote by both touch and feel. The buttons and operation of the remote, however, remained unchanged, and the revised remote is also included with new units of the fourth-generation Apple TV.

In this guide, we've collected 10 of our favorite tips for controlling features of tvOS using the Apple TV Remote included with the fourth generation Apple TV and the latest fifth-generation Apple TV 4K. Keep reading and you might well discover a new trick or two.


Click here to read more...

Article Link: Top 10 Apple TV Remote Tips and Tricks
Why doesn't Apple document these in official documentation? I shouldn't have to go digging around for this stuff.
 
SHORTCUT FOR QUICKLY MOVING AN APP INTO A FOLDER:
  • Navigate to the app you want to move
  • Press & hold the remote touchpad until the app jiggles
  • Press the Play/Pause button on the remote ("for Options”)
  • A list of options appears, including options to “Move to” all of the existing folders on your home screen.
  • Navigate to the folder you want to move the app to and then click the touchpad.
  • Voila!
You can also use this method to Create A New Folder or Delete an app.
[doublepost=1519796727][/doublepost]
Is there a tip for not losing the damn thing in bed? Can’t find black things in the dark.
I attached a Tile on the bottom of the backside of my ATV remote so I can always find it by using Tile app and making the remote beep. Plus, it helps me orient it in my hand by feel, without having to look at it.
(Bonus: if my iPhone is lost under a couch cushion I can double click the Tile button on the remote to make my phone ring.)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: sclawis300
Apart from being symetrical when picking up (there is one concave button, though) , this is the best remote ever (combined with great UI) .

What are (some of you) comparing it to, when you say it's the worst? Do you compare it with TV remotes with 54 buttons, air mouse , touch screen universal remotes or what ? Because all of those pale in comparison.

ATV4 Siri remote is the only remote I don't have to look at to pick button, do various tasks and even play some games pretty accurately.
 
Didn't know about the quick Restart and Sleep shortcuts. The Sleep shortcut especially is hugely beneficial, thanks!

I don't find myself using the Home button very much (and I have it set to Home screen) because I typically use the Menu button to back out of apps (don't know why, maybe I'm just weird). So I think I forgot about App Switching. Oops!
 
One that's not listed here: you can set up your ATV remote to change the volume, even when you have your sound and video going through an A/V receiver.

I also have found that using the "sleep" shortcut on the remote will turn off my video projector as well (though not, unfortunately, my A/V receiver).
 
I hate the remote I use the old aluminum Apple remote it works a lot better I can fast forward and reverse easier with the older remote

How could it possibly be easier than saying “fast forward 30 seconds” or five minutes or one hour?
[doublepost=1519906073][/doublepost]
Thanks. Never realized they exist. Just ordered a bright green one.

Number one tip would be buy a case. Makes it much easier to hold for sure. And helps with orientation.
 
Some of these tips are Supremely helpful. I wish the remote were more intuitive; I've discovered some of these by accident while owning the AppleTV, but several of these I just wouldn't stumble on.
Very excited for the quick switch to audio output. For some reason it doesn't hold onto the HomePod very well as the output device.
 
Here are a few:
• While video is playing back, triple-touch the touchpad (not click) and you will toggle on/off the subtitles.
• While video is playing back, rest your thumb on the right edge or left edge of the touchpad and onscreen you’ll see a visual cue to skip ahead or backward 30 seconds.
• To more quickly determine right side up on the remote, keep the lanyard loop accessory connected at all times.
• When watching a movie if you missed a line that a character says, just press the Siri button on the remote and say, “What did he/she say?” and the movie will back up to the part where that person first started talking.
 
I can’t get the restart shortcut to work at all on the Apple TV 4K.

To get the screen saver, you press menu once at the home screen. Not double press.
 
Sadley, I have come to the opinion that Jony Ive is a "fiendish" character, who gains pleasure through the infliction of pain and mental suffering upon innocent people.
 
The one thing I wish Apple TV had is a sleep timer. I like going to sleep with the TV on sometimes, but don't want it to stay on all night, nor wait for the sleep function to do its thing. Put the box to sleep AND turn off my TV. Simple!
 
I can’t get the restart shortcut to work at all on the Apple TV 4K.

To get the screen saver, you press menu once at the home screen. Not double press.

Me neither. It just brings up the Sleep prompt. I'm running tvOS 11.3 beta.
 
These types of comments crack me up. I’d urge you to try a Roku or Fire. The user experience is so much better on those just because of the full function remote. Even the same app (YouTube for example) is superior on the Roku.

Seems like you might be on the wrong website. I've been using ATV since the 2nd(?) generation, creature of habit, I prefer to stick with what I know. Troll on.
 
Why doesn't Apple document these in official documentation? I shouldn't have to go digging around for this stuff.

<sarcasm>Because good user interface design is intuitive. Don't you just know that triple clicking on the top right of the control pad while holding the remote at a 45-degree angle will...</sarcasm>
 
  • Like
Reactions: tennisproha
Seems like you might be on the wrong website. I've been using ATV since the 2nd(?) generation, creature of habit, I prefer to stick with what I know. Troll on.
FWIW, I’ve been using ATV since gen 1. I guess it is a scary world out there for you. Too bad you do t know what you’re missing.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.