How To Pair Apple TV Remote

While the Apple TV is one of the best media-streaming boxes you can get your hands on, it’s difficult to make it work without the remote. And while all the remotes released so far are easy to use, you can sometimes get stuck while pairing it.

Are you having trouble pairing your Apple TV remote? Read on as we walk you through the whole process and troubleshoot along the way.

How To Pair Apple TV Remote

Before pairing your remote, you need to determine which remote you have. 

The Apple TV 4K unit comes with a remote called Siri Remote in places that support Siri. However, it goes by Apple TV Remote in places that don’t support Siri. The original remote that comes with the 4K model features a white ring circling the Menu button. Apple updated it in 2021 and introduced a new silver remote with better Siri capabilities.

The remote that comes with Apple TV HD is also somewhat similar to the latest remote, despite being a previous-gen model. It has similar functions and appearance but doesn’t feature the white ring.

The second and third-gen Apple TVs come with the same silver-colored Apple Remote, while the first-gen device comes with a white remote, also known as the Apple Remote.

So how do you pair them? Different models have different ways of pairing; we explain them below.

Pairing Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD (4th-gen) Remote

If the device doesn’t turn on when you press the Home or Menu button on the remote, make sure the remote isn’t out of battery. There’s no battery indicator on the remote, and you might have missed the low-battery notification on the screen. So before you try anything else, charge the remote for at least half an hour using a USB-A charger and then try again.

Then, here’s what you should do:

1. Make sure your Apple TV has power. If it does, you’ll see a small, white LED on the front. If you don’t see it, unplug the device, wait for roughly 6 seconds, and plug it in again. You should now be able to see the white LED.
2. Switch on your TV and set it to the right HDMI port displaying the home screen.
3. Stand 3-4 inches away from the device and point the remote to the TV while holding the Volume Up and Menu buttons for 5 seconds.
4. If you’re prompted, put the remote on top of the device. You will then receive a message that the remote was successfully paired.
5. If you don’t see any confirmation message and your TV doesn’t respond to any button presses, unplug the Apple TV device. Wait for 6 seconds and plug it in again. Repeat steps 3 and 4. 

Pairing Apple TV (3rd, 2nd, or 1st gen) Remote

Pairing the older models is also not too different. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Make sure the Apple TV has power. Again, you’ll see a small white LED on the front. If you don’t, perform a hard reset by unplugging the power cable, waiting for 6 seconds, and plugging it in again.  
2. Switch on your TV, and ensure it is set to the right HDMI port and displays the Apple TV’s home screen.
3. To link the remote, hold the Right and Menu buttons together. You should see a confirmation message on the screen.
4. If you don’t see any message on the screen and the TV doesn’t respond to any button press, do a hard reset and repeat steps 2 and 3.  

If your Apple TV remote still doesn’t work with the Apple TV, it could be because it is defective. In that case, you can only get in touch with Apple support or head over to an Apple Store near you. 

Summary

You can do a lot with your Apple TV apart from streaming your favorite show. You can play games or even mirror a FaceTime call on a bigger screen. However, all of that becomes difficult without a paired remote. You now know how to pair the Apple TV remote. Hopefully, with the steps above, you won’t run into any problems!