Can't pair remote

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Can't pair remote

I can't get my apple remote to pair to my 2011 macbook pro (running 10.7.3). My appletv remote keeps conflicting with the MBP, so I want to pair the macbook to its own remote to alleviate this problem. If I hold the menu and next buttons, as instructed, nothing happens. However I have tried the same thing on an older macbook pro, with the same remote, and it pairs perfectly. The IR sensor is turned on in the privacy settings, and ive made sure to turn off any software that could be conflicting. Ive even tried it on a fresh user account and it still wont pair. The remote's normal functions work fine (play, pause, volume, etc.), however when I press the menu button I see this message in the console:

loginwindow: CheckBootstrap(): bootstrap_look_up(): 0x44e: Bootstrap Unknown Service

I assume this is because Front Row was removed in Lion.

Any ideas?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7), 2.2ghz, 8gb ram, 1gb gpu

Posted on Mar 17, 2012 12:10 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

b j t

Level 4

3,698 points

Mar 17, 2012 12:16 AM in response to abross86

Go to System Preferences / Security & Privacy / General

Make sure this check box is empty.

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Answer 2

abross86 Author

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Mar 17, 2012 12:19 AM in response to b j t

Thanks but I already said my reciever is turned on. Again, the remote functions perfectly, except that I cannot pair it with the MBP. If it helps, I am logged in with the administrator account, so that isnt the issue either.

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Answer 3

b j t

Level 4

3,698 points

Mar 17, 2012 12:25 AM in response to abross86

This link might help: Pairing your Apple Remote with your computer

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Answer 4

abross86 Author

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Mar 17, 2012 12:30 AM in response to b j t

Yes, I have gone through that procedure about 100 times. AGAIN, I was able to pair it just fine on an older macbook pro (2007) running 10.6.8, but not my current one running 10.7.3.

Since nobody seems to have a solution to this problem from the searching ive done, does anyone perhaps know where the paired remote settings are stored (a plist file somewhere, hopefully?). I'm thinking I can copy the settings from the older macbook pro to the new one.

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Answer 5

b j t

Level 4

3,698 points

Mar 17, 2012 12:38 AM in response to abross86

I have found a post that may help you { the post is for an older computer, but it may work }

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/395101?answerId=2351377022#2351377022

Based on the premise that you should push all of the buttons and see what happens I tried several other button combinations on the remote. To my surprise holding the Menu + Play/Pause buttons together for five seconds paired the remote with my MacBook Pro.

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Answer 6

abross86 Author

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Mar 17, 2012 12:46 AM in response to b j t

No luck. I tried every button combination I could think of. I suspect this has to do with some kind of corruption of the menu button mapping in lion, and perhaps the error the console is throwing is halting whatever process pairs the remote normally.

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Answer 7

b j t

Level 4

3,698 points

Mar 17, 2012 12:52 AM in response to abross86

Try resetting your mac's PRAM

If that doesn't work

Try resetting the SMC

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Answer 8

abross86 Author

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Mar 17, 2012 8:16 AM in response to b j t

Still nothing. I was able to find, however, that the paired remote settings is stored in com.apple.driver.AppleIRController.plist. I also found the UID of my remote by pairing it with the old laptop and then vieweing that plist (in this case 184). I ran this command in an attempt to manually pair the remote:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.driver.AppleIRController UIDFilter -string 184

It changed the settings in the plist, but didnt seem to have any effect, and the security/privacy control panel doesnt show it as paired. I feel like I'm close, but there must be something else im missing.

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Answer 9

b j t

Level 4

3,698 points

Mar 17, 2012 9:57 AM in response to abross86

This may be an obvious question, but have you checked that the lens of the remote is clean, AND the receiving lens on your mac is clean ?

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Answer 10

abross86 Author

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20 points

Mar 17, 2012 10:30 AM in response to b j t

Yeah it appears to be transmitting and recieving signals fine (I also did the iSight test to make sure all the buttons and the battery was working). As an experiment I also tried replacing the Lion AppleIRController.kext with the snow leopard driver and the receiver actually still worked, but it didn't solve the pairing issue. So it's not a driver issue which leads me to believe there must be some kind of software conflict. I've disabled every piece of daemon software I could find (i.e. growl and istat). Still didn't help. I'm afraid this is going to be an OS reinstall situation.

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Answer 11

b j t

Level 4

3,698 points

Mar 17, 2012 10:39 AM in response to abross86

It might be something "small" that is causing the problem that we BOTH aren't figuring out.

You could wait and see if someone else answers this question who has a bit more knowledge.

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Answer 12

abross86 Author

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Mar 17, 2012 10:48 AM in response to b j t

I'm sure I'll be kicking myself when I find the problem

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Answer 13

b j t

Level 4

3,698 points

Mar 17, 2012 10:50 AM in response to abross86

abross86 wrote:

I'm sure I'll be kicking myself when I find the problem

Same here 😉

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Answer 14

abross86 Author

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Mar 24, 2012 8:26 AM in response to b j t

Solved it! Turns out I was missing the launchdaemon "com.apple.remotepairtool." I found a copy on a friends computer and reinstalled it. How it went missing, I may never know.

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Answer 15

b j t

Level 4

3,698 points

Mar 24, 2012 11:25 AM in response to abross86

Good to here you fixed it. 🙂

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