How to Control TV Volume and Power with Your Apple TV Remote
Having trouble getting your Apple TV Remote to change the volume or turn on your TV? Try these steps.
When the 4th Generation Apple TV came out, there was a lot of buzz about all the awesome Siri Remote features and tvOS updates. When I finally got around to upgrading, I thought: Holy smokes! I can control the volume with this thing. And I can turn the TV on too!
It’s the little things that matter to me. If you’re using an 4th Gen Apple TV, the Apple TV 4K, or later, your Siri Remote for Apple TV can be the one remote to rule them all.
To control your TV with an Apple TV remote, follow these steps.
If you want to control your TV volume with the Apple TV remote, you’ll need a 4th Gen Apple TV and Siri Remote (or later). Follow these steps to get started. Once you have it set up, keep in mind that the Apple TV volume control uses infrared (IR) to communicate. So, unlike the Apple TV itself, which uses Bluetooth and WiFi, you’ll need to have a line of sight with your TV and the Apple TV remote to control volume. You’ll notice that if you have Control TVs and Receivers set to Off in your settings menu, Apple TV will tell you “For better control, enable CEC on your TV.” HDMI-CEC stands for High Definition Media Interface—Consumer Electronics Control. Most HDTVs support it, but you wouldn’t immediately know it. It can sometimes be disabled by default, and despite being an industry standard, like Wi-Fi, manufacturers use other names for HDMI-CEC. These include: If your TV supports one of these features, you’ll be able to use CEC on your Apple TV. There’s one thing you’ll need to watch out for, however. If you bought your HDMI cables a long time ago, then you may need to upgrade your cables. CEC was implemented starting in HDMI 1.2a in December 2005. Additional CEC features were added in HDMI 1.3, HDMI 1.4, and HDMI 2.0. If you bought an HDMI cable after 2013, chances are that it’s an HDMI 2.0 cable (or newer) and is fully supported. Otherwise, you’ll need to upgrade your cable. Enabling HDMI-CEC on your TV will vary, depending on the device you’re using. You may need to check your user manual for find the most up-to-date answer. On my Vizio TV, it was easy to find—I found it under CEC in the System menu. Once I set it to Enabled, I was able to turn on tv with Apple TV remote and control it. I could also use the Device Discovery feature to have it find my Apple TV and Samsung BD Player via the HDMI connections. Thanks to the steps above, you can quickly use your Apple TV remote to control your TV’s volume and power settings. Want to make sure you’re always getting the latest features for your TV? Make sure to install the latest updates on your Apple TV as soon as they become available.How to Control TV Volume with the Apple TV
How to Turn the TV On and Off Using Apple TV Remote
Using CEC on Your Apple TV
What is CEC?
How to Enable HDMI-CEC on Your TV
Using Your Apple TV
15 Comments
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Julia
December 30, 2017 at 2:00 pm
Super helpfull post. I talked to several Apple workers who don’t know this. My Apple remote still won’t control the volume. It is able to turn the tv on and off. According to the 5th Apple guy I spoke to that’s because of my HDMI cable or maybe HDMI input on my tv, but I bought a new cable (2.0) and my tv is 2 years old (Philips). Do you maybe know why I still can’t control the volume? I did the ‘learn control’ thing and ofcourse my tv has HDMI-CEC.
Jonathan Williams
September 7, 2021 at 9:31 pm
Long press the power button. That works for me. Still don’t have volume control yet.
IJ
October 30, 2021 at 9:47 pm
I had volume control problems with my Apple TV remote. Everything worked except volume. Problem arose after I brought home a HomePod mini. Took a while but I had placed the HomePod in front of the tv. This obstructed the IR receiver on the television. Moved the ball to the right and hey presto! Volume works fine.
Sanjay
May 23, 2020 at 12:58 am
Thanks for this super helpful article. I did this and it was working like a charm! My apple TV (4k) remote was turning on and off my samsung just by waking and sleeping the apple TV. This was happening great for like a month, then all of a sudden, it stopped working and reverted back to the prior state (only controlling volume). I checked all the settings and nothing’s changed, they’re just not working. Checked my Samsung, and it stll has the CEC on. Any ideas??? I just updated the apple tvOS, and that didn’t help either….
Timon
December 26, 2020 at 1:40 pm
Try removing the IR devices from the Apple TV settings, and keep the Volume Control set to Auto. After selecting Auto, it will display in the Remotes and Devices menu page as “Auto via HDMI (receiver)” or “Auto via HDMI (TV)” depending on which device the Apple TV is connected to.
Breanna
March 14, 2021 at 8:48 pm
Thank Christ I found this article! I purchased a new Apple TV remote because I lost my last one. The volume wouldn’t work and I was literally about to go mad lol. Thanks for this
Steve Krause
March 16, 2021 at 1:13 pm
Excellent Breanna, I’m glad we were able to help you with your sanity. :) Thank you for the article feedback!
Cullen
September 22, 2021 at 7:51 pm
This should literally be upvoted to the first site when people search for “how to turn tv on/off with Apple TV remote.
If I could give you a rating it be 100 out of 10! Thank you so much for a clear and straight to the point guide!
Rich
September 29, 2021 at 12:55 pm
Any suggestions for controlling the volume when my Apple TV and receiver are located behind a door? I have a projector, which is wired through the ceiling and into a storage closet behind a small door. I can use a Harmony remote to control everything, and the Apple TV remote works for everything except for volume. If there’s no direct line of sight to the Apple TV or the receiver, is there a workaround?
Mike
October 30, 2021 at 11:53 am
My Apple TV Remote works fine with volume and turning the tv off. However, it stopped turning the tv on. I have done the power disconnect/reset for both the Apple and the tv. Control TVs and Receiver is on. Volume is on and in auto. I tried deleting 2 other ir remotes, but “deleting” didn’t make them go away. Situation is the same, volume works, power off works, but power on does not work. Ideas?
Al
December 3, 2021 at 3:47 am
Really helpful just been struggling for weeks.
Dan Sonego
May 29, 2022 at 9:43 am
The Apple remote controls volume turns on and off the Apple TV but only turns on the TV. Will not turn it off. Any ideas? i followed all the steps you mentioned but still doesn’t turn off the TV.
Mr. Zenni
June 8, 2022 at 8:00 pm
I updated my mom’s Vizio TV, and now whenever I turn the TV off using the Apple remote, we get a confusing message about inputs, then the TV switches to SmartCast! This is sooo frustrating because before I updated the TV, the Apple remote worked fine turning the TV on and off! My mom is 82 years old and now she has to use two remotes to turn the TV on and off, I am soooo pissed at Vizio right now, why won’t they fix this issue? There are long threads on Reddit with people screaming bloody murder about this issue but Vizio does nothing, so lame! I’m never purchasing another Vizio product as long as I live.
Elizabeth Markowitz
August 9, 2022 at 2:59 pm
Thank you for the article, but my volume still does not work on my Apple TV remote. It used to work, and then when I got home from vacation last month, I noticed it doesn’t work anymore. I am still able to turn on and off the TV with the Apple TV remote, but I hate having to have the TV remote out too just to control the volume. Any suggestions? I went to Remotes and Devices > Volume Control > TV via IR and then had it learn my TV remote. Then my TV remote was still the only device that would work for the volume. I also tried disconnecting and reconnecting the Apple TV. That didn’t work. And I have forgotten the new device (the TV remote) thinking that may help, and that didn’t work. Any suggestions would be appreciated. This sucks having to use the TV remote just for the volume. Thank you so much!!
Mythirdeye
October 15, 2022 at 10:30 am
Thanks for the HDMI tip. I forgot those cables upgrade too. I changed out my HDMI when someone borrowed it on accident. Switched it back. Tv comes on now. Voila! Thanks for sharing. I can’t handle using the tv remote AND the Siri Remote. Nope. Hah.