If you have an Apple TV and, like us, you have lost the remote, you no doubt use the Remote control app on your iPhone.
Were you aware that there is now a Remote available via Control Centre? Well, now that Apple has stopped making the Remote app available on the iOS App Store, it’s time to start using it instead.
In fact, just to complicate things further, Apple has actually had two Remote apps, so we’ve often been confused in the past as to which one we should use. One Remote app has an icon that resembles the Apple TV remote, while the other Remote app has a blue icon with a play symbol and was designed to be used with iTunes. The Apple TV Remote app has now been removed from the iOS App Store, although it still lurks on our iPhone.
You can safely ignore these two apps now and start to use the Remote in Control Centre, which is baked into the iOS rather than being a separate app. This has been part of iOS since iOS 12, it’s just that people probably weren’t aware that it was there unless it popped up at a moment when their Apple TV was suggesting they might like to use the keyboard to type something for search.
How to find the Apple TV Remote app
To get to your Remote you need to open Control Centre. How you do this depends on which iPhone you are using. If your iPhone uses Face ID you need to swipe down from the right corner of your iPhone. Older iPhones may need to swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
Your Control Centre will look something like this – although your layout may be different (we’ll explain how to change it next).
You can tap on the Remote control icon to open your Remote control and use it for your Apple TV.
There are various controls available, including a swiping area for navigation, a mic to use Siri, the menu button (which actually takes you back a step), search (which will include a keyboard option when you tap on it), and the home button (which looks like a TV screen and takes you back to the home page).
We find using the Remote on our iPhone is preferable to using the Apple Remote because of the inclusion of a keyboard, although obviously you could use Siri and dictate your searches.
How to add or move the Remote in Control Centre
- Tap on Settings
- Scroll down to and tap on Control Centre
- In the Included Controls section you should see all the controls you have in your Control Centre, such as Torch. You can move these around by taping on the three lines on the right and dragging them around.
- Find the Remote and move it up the list to make it easier to find.
- If the Remote isn’t in the Included Controls section, find it under More Controls and tap on the + to add it to the section above. Then just move it to where you want it.
Now when you access Control Centre on your iPhone you should see the Remote.
Here are some tips for how to set up and use the Apple TV. We also have a tutorial on How to use iPhone as TV remote, and how to use the physical Apple TV remote.
You can also listen to shows playing on your Apple TV via your AirPods – here’s how: How to pair AirPods with Apple TV
It’s rumoured that a new Apple TV could launch soon, you may also be interested in what’s on Apple TV+.
Author: Karen Haslam, Managing Editor
Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld more than two decades ago. Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Having edited the U.K. print and online editions of Macworld for many years, more recently her focus has been on SEO and evergreen content as well product recommendations and buying advice on Macworld.com.