iPhone Apple TV remote app is supposed to control TVs. How to make it do that?

Question

iPhone Apple TV remote app is supposed to control TVs. How to make it do that?

This is on the Apple Store site for the Apple TV:

"iPhone

A multifaceted remote lets you easily play, pause, fast-forward, rewind, and adjust the volume on your TV — all from the Lock Screen of your iPhone or in Control Center. "

But neither I nor Apple's support people have any idea about how to get it to talk to my TV, and there's only an x-ed out mute button on the screen that doesn't do anything.

The TV is a 2-year-old LG OLED that does talk HDMI-CEC.

How do I make it work?

Note that I've tagged Apple TV 4K 1st generation, but I have NFI which generation it is.

TIA

Apple TV 4K (1st generation)

Posted on May 29, 2024 4:13 PM

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Answer 1

pjswiz

Level 5

5,436 points

May 29, 2024 4:49 PM in response to derivativemusic

Hi derivativemusic,

Open Settings.
Tap on Control Center.
Under More Controls, add Apple TV Remote.

Now if you slide down on the upper right hand corner of your iPhone you can open your Control Center and will notice a new icon for the Apple TV Remote. Tapping on that will open the remote. At the top (in the middle), select your Apple TV.

You’ll now be able to control the TV from your iPhone.

Set up the Apple TV Remote on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

If you want to be able to control the sound, you’ll need a HomePod, soundbar, or other AirPlay-compatible speakers.

If you can't set up the Apple TV Remote

Try these steps. After each step, see if you still need help.

Check that your iPhone or iPad is on the same Wi-Fi network as your Apple TV or AirPlay-compatible smart TV. On your iOS or iPadOS device, go to Settings > Wi-Fi. On your Apple TV, go to Settings > Network.

Make sure that your iPhone or iPad is updated to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS, and your Apple TV is updated to the latest version of tvOS.

Restart your Apple TV or AirPlay-compatible smart TV. Also try restarting your iPhone or iPad.

If you still can't set up the Apple TV Remote, contact Apple Support.

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Answer 2

Urquhart1244

Level 10

146,244 points

May 30, 2024 3:40 AM in response to derivativemusic

Volume control from the Apple TV software remote doesn’t work for TVs, as that would require sending an IR signal, which iPhone or iPad isn’t capable of. It can work for select supporting AV receivers through Wi-Fi to the Apple TV box, then as HDMI-CEC to the receiver. It can work for select AirPlay and bluetooth speakers connected directly to Apple TV (e.g. changing audio gain).

It seems that TVs (any brand/model) do not support being volume controlled from other devices over HDMI-CEC using standardized commands.

CEC implementations may support any subset of the total described functions. Nothing is mandatory; each manufacturer can choose what part of CEC it wants to support. Other connected devices can’t dictate what a TV should support, if the TV manufacturer didn’t implement a specific CEC function.

Apple TV 4K, but I have [no idea] which generation it is.

Identify your Apple TV model - Apple Support

Find your Apple TV model number - Apple Support

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Answer 3

May 30, 2024 12:39 PM in response to Urquhart1244

Will check out pjswiz' solution - thanks for that! - but Urquhart1244, the LG remote control responds to voice commands. Not only that, there's an iOS LG remote control app that works over Wi-Fi or possibly Bluetooth. It just happens to make you go through multiple screens before the remote opens, making it a nonstarter.

Either way, that's not IR!

Also, pretty much any recent TV is able to work with universal remotes, including the DirecTV ones we use only for that (we don't subscribe to them anymore). Basic functions like volume up/down and mute always work with generic remotes.

To be clear, I'm not expecting the Apple TV remote app to do anything esoteric. All I want is to be able to turn it on and control the volume (actually, it's more complicated because we have a soundbar, but we've been using the universal remote for that so hopefully it won't be an issue).

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Answer 4

May 31, 2024 2:49 PM in response to pjswiz

pjswiz, I just read what you wrote.

That's not the issue. We use the Apple TV Remote *app* all the time.

It controls the Apple TV box itself, but not the LG television (which in our case is sending its audio to a soundbar).

And yet if you look at what I pasted from the Apple Store, it says the app should be able to control the TV.

Apparently that's wrong.

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iPhone Apple TV remote app is supposed to control TVs. How to make it do that?

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