Remote Lag? Apple TV 4K

I submitted a support case with apple last week and we think we found a solution to this issue. The issue is caused by not having an HDMI 2.1 cable. The only cable that is HDMI 2.1 is this one sold by Belkin(Link below). I previously tried 6 different new HDMI cables and none of them worked. After 48 hours of testing this cable appears to have resolved this issue.

Belkin Ultra High Speed 4K HDMI Cable (2m) - Apple

Yes, it's Terrible, It lags at 4K and then works fine at 1080P making me believe that the hardware is NOT good enough for 4K. At 4K, the remote responds after 4-5 seconds lag and sometimes does not even move which keeps confusing the user experience.

Can't believe Apple missed this during testing for a product that costs three times more than it's competition.

I have this issue also. It's a little inconsistent and I haven't done too much systematic troubleshooting, but it seems like after I do a restart it lags for a bit, and then stops after a few minutes of use. Eventually (like maybe the next day when I walk up to it) it starts again and I restart and the cycle continues. It also seems correlated to how far away from the TV I am. If I'm close it happens less. When I'm far away it happens more. Bummer.

For me, I experience occasional lag with the remote when scrolling, inputting text or using Siri. However, I do not experience the same lag when using an iPhone as a remote – response and momentum are perfect.

This suggests to me that the problem is not an inherently laggy UI, but rather a laggy Bluetooth connection that somehow correlates with 4k output.

Perhaps the Bluetooth controller shares resources with the CPU/GPU, which are stressed when outputting 4k, whereas remote control from an iPhone is done over Wi-Fi, which might use a different set of resources unrelated to 4k output.

I have the same issue. Turning off 4k HDR fixes the issue. I've called apple and they're aware of the issue and offered no other solution.

What's the point of 4k HDR if the remote doesn't work properly. It's a very frustrating issue.

Switching AppleTV from 4K to 1080p fixed everything for now. Also, people in forums have been saying switching out your cable (probably for an Ultra High Speed 4K cable) will fix 90%+ of the problem.

I also have this issue. Replaced 4 Apple TV 4s with new 4k units but might be going back to the prior versions based on remote lag. It was driving me crazy until I found that changing it to 1080p from 4k might solve the trick. Crazy enough, this did it. However, now I'm not sure why I upgraded my units if I can't reliably run the remote while outputting 4k. Hope a fix is coming soon.

I couldn’t agree more. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of traction about it. I’m not sure if I have a defective unit or if it’s software. It’s driving me crazy and it doesn’t make sense to have made the upgrade since I’m always in 1080P sdr all the time now anyway

Seems like this has been an issue since release, a couple months now. Pretty disappointing given that I’ve come to trust in overall quality’s Apple products. I’m going to test my other units to see if this is the same across all my Apple TV 4ks. Having to NOT run 4K content just to make the remote useable is quite frustrating. I’m currently running 1080p 60hz HDR.

Yes same here with a Sony x850, remote lag makes the upgrade a waste. Have all Apple for home automation since inception but they are losing across the spectrum now, need some innovation delivered that works

That’s unfortunate since I bought this hdmi2.0 cable from amazon in the hopes of fixing it... didn’t work.

When calling Apple they said they were aware of the issue however not sending me a new cable.

Learning this though I want to ask again. The specs of the cable are not mentioned and the on screen test seems to pass.

Even then it seems to be strange that a cable would produce the lag when using the remote app on the phone doesn’t have this issue. It seems to be buffering the physical remote control commands since it happens in slow motion and sticks

HDMI Cable 6ft - HDMI 2.0 (4K @ 60Hz) Ready - 28AWG Braided Cord - High Speed 18Gbps - Gold Plated Connectors - Ethernet, Audio Return - Video 4K 2160 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NQ9OQU2?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Funny enough, this is correct! The 4K setting was unusable unless using the remote app. However, after I changed the cable to the Belkin cable, the remote works beautifully! So strange that this was all due to a cable. Happy it works now though.

Hold on a second. I bought this thing in September and the standard didn’t come out until late November! That’s impossible for me to believe that they would release something when here was no cable to use at that time. I don’t want to buy an Apple cable when I don’t need to.

If it was required it should have been included. This is not good

I had this issue and was finally able to fix it.

I have two Apple TV 4K devices, 32 and 64. Both were having the lag issue regardless of which remote (I even tried my 4th Gen ATV remote) or ATV. I recently finished my basement and my TV (65in LG OLED) is hanging on the wall and behind that wall is my utility room where I keep all my AV equipment. The equipment, including the ATV 4K, sits roughly 2-3 ft high on shelving units. Also on that wall I have 3 monoprice Alpha in-wall speakers.

I noticed that whenever I had the lag issue, it would improve if I moved closer to the wall separating the viewing room from the utility room. This told me that it there was a signal strength issue or interference issue. I tested the signal strength idea first. I took the ATV 4K off the AV self and moved it on a horizontal 2x4 I had running between wall studs. This moved the ATV 4K directly behind the TV and right up next to the drywall. This moved the ATV about 2 feet closer to were I sit to watch TV so in theory, the signal strength should improve thus reducing the lag affect if signal strength is the issue. The result: The lag was worse. Much much worse. Eureka!

I then moved the ATV 4K directly down to the floor. Same distance from the viewing area but as far away from the TV as I could possibly get it. The result: NO MORE LAG! I continued to use the remote for the next few hours and the lag issue never returned.

tl;dr

I fixed my AppleTV 4K remote lag by moving the the ATV 4K away from my LG OLED TV. Specifically, so that the TV wasn't directly between the ATV 4K and where the remote would be used.

Note:

It is possible that it was a combination of TV, Speakers, Receiver, IR Repeater, Network Switch, Speaker wires, Power Strips, etc that combined to cause the interference but in my opinion, the LG OLED was the biggest cause of remote lag.

After reading these boards and seeing that some users solved the issue by using the Belkin Dolby Vision HDMI cable sold on Apple.com, I called Apple and demanded that they send me one for free. They did and connecting the Apple TV4k with it solved the laggy remote issue issue.

I think that every single person on this board should make the same call to Apple Support. Tell them right off the bat that you want them to send the cable that is required to operate their product. It should have been included.

Good luck and enjoy watching movies in 4k!