Multiple Apple Remotes no longer work with Apple TV!

I've been using Apple TVs since the minute Steve Jobs introduced them in 2007. I bought the 2nd and 3rd Generation Apple TVs the minute each of them were introduced. I've been watching every Apple Keynote Address since they were available online or on CDs from the early 1990s, on my HDTV via my latest Apple TV when that was possible. I watch far more TV through my Apple TV than via my Cable Box, much of it music and music videos from iTunes on my 2006 Mac Pro! But as of YESTERDAY I am seriously thinking of getting another, ANY OTHER manufacturer's similar internet streaming box!!!

WHY??? Because YESTERDAY, for no apparent reason except some programmer's or software engineer's stupidity, my Apple TV stopped working with all but ONE of my Apple REMOTES!!!

Why is that stupid? Because, in my household there are three people who use Apple TV all day, and each of them have an aluminum Apple Remote which they all use to control what the Apple TV is streaming. We have two other Apple Remotes lying around in case one of us misplaces his or her Apple Remote, which happens occasionally. ALL FIVE of the Apple Remotes, just like the beige plastic Apple Remotes that they replaced, always worked with all three of my Apple TVs! Then yesterday, suddenly, only the LAST Apple Remote that was paired with this 3rd Generation Apple TV is able to control it.

I've spent HOURS trying to fix this. This wasn't caused by an Automatic Update to the Apple TV's iOS; there has been no update in recent days. I've got Automatic Update turned on, just as I, a good Apple citizen, have my Apple TV set up to automatically send back Usage Data to Apple. I've rebooted my Apple TV. I've put brand new 2032 button batteries into my Apple Remotes. I pulled the power cord out of my Apple TV for 15 seconds and again for five minutes and then restarted it. As per instructions, I have Unpaired and re-Paired each and all of my 5 Apple Remotes. All to no avail. Only the last Apple Remote that was paired with the Apple TV works! Horrible. And STUPID, if it was a deliberate programming decision and it was introduced in a minor automatic update.

Worse, I've been using the Remote app on my 5th Generation iPod touch to replace ONE of the unusable Apple Remotes, and as of a couple of minutes ago even THAT stopped working with my Apple TV! Well, I was able to fix that fairly easily by pairing the iPod touch Remote app with my Mac Pro and then pairing it again with my Apple TV. But I don't think that solution would be so easy for many non-technologically-inclined users. I also don't think that a $200 or $300 iPod touch is a very acceptable replacement for a $20 Apple Remote, especially since everyone buys iPod touches for totally different uses (I use mine primarily for taking notes using voice-activated audio or video -- it is by far the best device for that purpose out there -- police departments should take note).

I'm hoping that this multiple Apple Remote problem somehow resolves itself, unless it is a hardware problem with my Apple TV. If so, I can hold out until Apple's media event next week, which I HOPE will premiere a new 4th Generation Apple TV, hopefully which will once again allow my five Apple Remotes to all control my Apple TV interdependently, without having to Unpair and Pair each one each time you wanted to use it, requiring you to quit whichever Apple TV app you were using each time, or alternatively to use Sneaker-Net to deliver the one working Apple Remote to each person who wants to use it, which can be difficult since at least one of the users is very ill! (Whew! A long sentence. But I hope you get the point.)

Two days ago, I could never have imagined myself getting a Roku or an Amazon, Sony, Microsoft or some other streaming device. It just proves how fast a stupid little decision (if it was deliberate) can turn EVERYTHING around!