Have you launched an app on your Apple TV and don’t know how to close it, or has the app become unresponsive and you need to force-close it? Well, there are some quick ways to get this done.
To close apps on your Apple TV, double-press the “Home” button on the Apple TV remote and scroll through the apps using the touch surface or clickpad. Choose an app and swipe up on the touchpad/clickpad to close it. Tap in the center to go back to the home screen.
Apple TV is a streaming media player that allows you to watch movies, TV shows, and live sports. The device receives digital data from streaming apps and streams it to a compatible television.
This article will guide you through closing apps on Apple TV, so you can keep your content organized. We will also discuss some reasons the apps become unresponsive on Apple TV.
Why Won’t Apps Close on My Apple TV?
If the apps won’t close on your Apple TV, this usually happens for the following reasons.
- Too many apps are open on the TV, making it hard to work correctly.
- The Apple TV operating system is unresponsive due to a temporary glitch.
- Cache data on your Apple TV is corrupted with junk files.
Closing Apps on Apple TV
Finding it hard to close apps on Apple TV? Our three step-by-step methods will help you exit the apps in no time.
Method #1: Using the Back Button on Apple TV Siri Remote
If you want to close the app but keep running it in the background, follow these steps:
- Point the Apple TV Siri Remote to the TV.
- Press the “Back” button on your remote.
This will close the app and take you back to the Apple TV home screen.
You can also use your iPhone as an Apple TV remote. To do this, go to the “Settings” on your iPhone and tap on the “Control Center” option. Tap the “Add” option next to the “Apple TV Remote” option. Access the “Control Center” by swiping down the upper-right corner of the screen or swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Select the “Apple TV remote” option and choose your Apple TV from the list. You can now use your iPhone as a remote to close the apps.
Method #2: Using the App Switcher
If you want to free up the space or quit the app altogether, use the App Switcher function with these steps.
- Double-press the “TV” button on your Apple TV remote.
- Use the touch surface (First generation Siri remote) or clickpad (Second generation Siri remote) to scroll through the apps.
- Choose an app and swipe up on the click-pad to close it. Now tap in the center of the touch surface or clickpad to head back to the home screen.
Method #3: Force Restarting Your Apple TV
Sometimes, the apps become unresponsive and won’t quit despite your multiple tries. To close such apps, you can force restart your Apple TV in the following way.
- Use the remote to launch “Settings” on your Apple TV.
- Scroll down and go to “System.”
- Click the “Restart” option to initiate the force restart process and close all the apps.
Make sure you don’t click on the “Reset” option; otherwise, your Apple TV will reset to default settings, and you will lose apps and other data.
If your Apple TV becomes unresponsive due to multiple apps or crashed Apple tvOS and won’t restart, unplug your TV and wait for 30-seconds. Plug it back after the elapsed time to turn it on.
Summary
In this guide on closing apps on Apple TV, we’ve discussed different methods to quit the apps and what to do if an app is unresponsive. We’ve also discussed why you might face difficulty closing certain apps and how to force close them.
We hope that you can now quickly exit the apps causing the issue and resume your entertainment on your Apple TV.
Frequently Asked Questions
To clear the app cache on your Apple TV and remove an unresponsive app, launch the “Settings” app and go to the “General Tab”. Select the “Manage Storage” option and click the trash icon. Find the app from the list and select it. All the app’s cache data will be deleted, and the app will be closed on your Apple TV.
Yes, you can download apps on an Apple TV. To do this, open the “App Store” from the Apple TV home screen and search for the app you want to download. Click on the “Price” or “Get” button. Click “Buy” to confirm the purchase if you have opted for paid apps. However, seeing the “Open” button means the app is already installed on your Apple TV.
