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Take Control of Your Apple Remote With These Tips
Get even more from Apple TV's easy-to-use remote control
By Jonny Evans Jonny Evans Writer Johnny Evans is a former Lifewire writer who specializes in iPhones, iOS, and Apple TV and blogs daily about it at other publications. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on August 23, 2021 Reviewed by Jessica Kormos Reviewed by Jessica Kormos Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email iPhone & iOS Switching from Android Even with just six buttons, the Apple TV Siri Remote is a powerful remote control, and it is ever so easy to learn how to use its basic abilities. Lifewire / Ellen Lindner Moving beyond these basics, you can do eight really useful things with this remote (or even a properly configured alternative remote). These may make a positive difference in how you use your Apple TV. 01 of 08 Reboot Fast
Apple Inc. Missing volume? Sluggish menus? Stuttering games? Don’t fret. You probably won’t need to upgrade your broadband or send your Apple TV back to the shop — all you'll need to do is reboot the system. There are two ways to do this: Navigate to Settings > System > Restart.Press the Home and Play/Pause buttons until the lights on Apple TV blink and the Sleep screen appears. Click Sleep to turn off the Apple TV and any attached devices. Press the Home button to restart. If a reboot doesn't solve things, then you may need to consult our advanced troubleshooting tips. 02 of 08 Sleep on Demand
Apple Inc. You can use the remote control to put your system and your compatible TV to sleep. All you do is press and hold the Home button (the one that looks like a TV screen) until the Sleep screen appears. Tap Sleep. 03 of 08 Fix Text Entry Errors
Apple Inc. When using the Siri Remote to enter text on Apple TV, you may make a mistake even if you dictate the text. The fastest way to get rid of errors is to use the Siri Remote, press the Microphone button and say Clear, and Siri deletes what you’ve written so you can start over again. 04 of 08 More Menu for You
Apple Inc. The Menu button does these things for you: Single-click it to go back to the previous screen.Click it twice to go to the Home screen.Tap it three times to access the accessibility shortcuts, if you have them enabled. 05 of 08 App Switcher for Easy Navigation
Apple Inc. Apple TV apps run in the background after you launch them, even when you are not using them. They are not active apps, and they aren't doing anything. They are in a hold state until the next time you need them. Apple's tvOS, the operating system that runs Apple TV, is stable enough to handle background apps, and you can use this fact as a fast way to flip between apps. Here's how it's done: Double-tap the Home button to enter the App Switcher view. It is like a carousel of all your active applications showing app previews of each one. After you are in this view, you can swipe left and right between the apps, double-tap an app and immediately start using it, or swipe an app preview upward to close that app. This is a much faster way to navigate between those apps you most often use. 06 of 08 Quick Caps
Apple Inc. When typing in the character input field using your Siri Remote, a quick tap of the Play/Pause button causes the next character you type to be capitalized automatically. That's one of so many useful text input tips for the Apple TV. One of the best text input tips is to use the Remote app on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch for text entry. 07 of 08 Subtitles While a Movie is Playing
Apple Inc. If you begin watching a movie in a language different from your own, but forgot to enable subtitles before you began watching the movie, you don't need to restart the film. Switch on subtitles while a film is playing on your Apple TV. You won't miss or repeat a moment's action: Swipe down on the trackpad while the movie is playing to reveal a menu at the top of the screen. Look closely, and you’ll see a range of settings you can adjust, including controls for subtitles, audio settings and more. Select Subtitles, and they will play with your movie.Flick up on the menu using your remote control to remove it from the screen. 08 of 08 Scrub Through Video
Apple Inc. You may find scrubbing through a video using Apple TV is an acquired skill, but you should persevere. When you want to move between elements in a movie quickly, remember these tips: Press the Play/Pause button to pause what you are watching before scrubbing.Swipe left or swipe right to move forward and backward in the video.Scrubbing speed responds to the velocity of your finger movement, so a fast swipe moves through the video faster than a slow one. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Fix It When an Apple TV Remote Isn't Working How to Set up the Apple TV With Your iPhone How to Change Language on Apple TV How to Turn Down the Volume on Apple TV How to Pair an Apple TV Remote How to Turn On and Turn Off Disney Plus Subtitles How to Connect an Apple TV to Wi-Fi Without a Remote How to Turn Off Subtitles on Netflix How to Connect AirPods With an Apple TV Is an Apple TV Worth It? How to Control Apple TV with iPhone Control Center How to Use Your Mac as a Bluetooth Keyboard for Apple TV How to Turn Off Your Apple TV How to Force-Quit or Close an iPad App How to Use the Redesigned Apple TV 4K Siri Remote (2021) How to Get Disney Plus on Apple TV Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies