How to use your iPhone as an Apple TV remote

Have you ever been watching something on your Apple TV® only to realize you can’t find the remote anywhere? It’s very annoying to have to drop everything to find the remote, especially since it’s small enough to hide in lots of different places. The better solution? Use your iPhone® to control your Apple TV.

At Asurion, our experts help customers get the most out of their gadgets every day, from walking them through setting up a new phone to sharing lesser-known iPhone features. Here’s their guide to quickly and easily setting up your Apple TV remote on your iPhone.

Setting up your iPhone as an Apple TV Remote

To sync your Apple devices, follow these steps:

1. First, make sure to update the iOS on your iPhone to the latest version.
2. Open the Control Center on your iPhone.
3. You should see a symbol at the bottom of the Control Center that looks like an Apple TV remote control. If not, add it by taping the + in the upper-left corner, then select Add a Control and pick Remote.
4. Tap on the Remote button to open the remote and choose your Apple TV from the dropdown list.
5. You may need to enter a four-digit code that appears on your Apple TV into your iPhone.

After you complete these steps, you should be ready to use your iPhone as a remote for your Apple TV. 

If the Apple TV remote is not working on your iPhone, make sure your Apple TV and iPhone are on the same Wi-Fi network. You can also restart your phone or, as a last resort only, factory reset your iPhone. 

Using the Apple TV Remote features

The Apple TV Remote on the iPhone has slightly different buttons than the Siri® remote your Apple TV comes with. 

Navigating the Apple TV interface

Like with the touchpad on the Siri remote, you can swipe in the grey square on your iPhone remote to navigate up, down, left, or right on your Apple TV. Tap in the middle of this box to select something. If you want to return to a previous screen, tap the circle with a back arrow at the bottom of your iPhone screen. The only other directional buttons in the iPhone Apple TV Remote are the channel up and down buttons. 

Entering text with the iPhone keyboard

Manually entering text with the original Apple TV remote can be tedious since you have to scroll back and forth to all the keys you need. With the Apple TV Remote on your iPhone, it’s much easier. Tap on the space where you want to type, and a keyboard will pop up on your iPhone. Then, just type in your text, like writing anything else on your phone. These and other hidden features on your iPhone make it an incredibly convenient, useful tool. 

Controlling volume and mute settings

If your Apple TV has AirPlay-compatible speakers like a HomePod® or soundbar, you can adjust the volume with the volume up and down buttons on your iPhone. You can also silence the TV quickly with the mute button in the upper-left corner. If not, you’ll need to use your original Apple TV remote or the television’s remote to control the volume.

Viewing and switching between open apps

See what apps you have open on your Apple TV by double-tapping the button that looks like a TV screen, the TV button. Then, you can scroll between them and even switch to another open app by tapping on it.