20 Amazing Apple TV Tips and Tricks You Need to Know in 2024

Apple TV has come a long way since it was first launched in March 2007. With more than a decade under its belt, and some major improvements over the years, now there’s definitely an argument for Apple users to buy an Apple TV.

There are also some great tips and tricks within Apple TV to help you get the most out of it.

From connecting Bluetooth devices to controlling smart home with Apple TV, we’ve got an assortment of Apple TV tips and tricks you probably didn’t know your tvOS device could do. These Apple TV Tips and Tricks will have you showing off your abilities to your friends and having them ask you where you learned it all – you can link them here and share the knowledge, of course!

Without any further ado, here are the 20 best Apple TV tips and tricks you should try today.

Editor’s note: Some of the tips and tricks in this article were put together using Apple TV 4K (third generation), Apple TV 4K (2nd generation), Apple TV 4K (1st generation), and Apple TV HD. Keep in mind some of these tricks might be different for you, depending on your hardware and software.

Best Apple TV tips and tricks

Here is a list of the Best Apple TV Tips and Tricks in 2023:

1. Connect Bluetooth devices to your Apple TV

You may need to connect your Bluetooth devices to your Apple TV to either reduce noise or to play games. These include: iPhone, iPad, MacBook, wireless keyboard, Sony playstation, Microsoft Xbox or any other compatible controller accessory.

If your Apple AirPods share the same Apple ID with your Apple TV, it will connect automatically

Steps to follow to connect your Bluetooth compatible accessory to Apple TV

1. Open Settings on your Apple TV
2. Go to Remote and Devices
3. Select Bluetooth
4. If you are connecting a game controller, select How to pair Game Controller and follow the onscreen instructions
5. For the Bluetooth devices, select the device in the Other Device List

2. You can set the TV button

Pressing your Siri Remote at the TV button once, it will take you to Up Next in the Apple TV, and pressing it again will take you to the home screen. You can change the settings so that when you press the TV button once, it will take you directly to Home Screen

Steps to follow to change the TV button

1. Open Settings on your Apple TV
2. Go to Remote and Device
3. Select TV Button
4. Then select either Home screen or Apple TV.

3. Restart your Apple TV

If your Apple TV is not responding, you can restart it to clear the errors

Steps to follow to restart your Apple TV

1. Press and hold the back and **TV/Control Center** buttons. Let go when the light on your device flashes
2. Alternatively, open Settings on your Apple TV
3. Go to System and select Restart
4. If the Settings menu and your remote don’t restart your device, disconnect your Apple TV from the power outlet. Wait for about five seconds to reconnect your Apple TV back

4. Updating your Apple TV Software

After some time, your Apple TV will need to update its Software. You can either set up your Apple TV to update automatically or when an update is available you will see a message on your Apple TV

Steps to follow to check Software update on Apple TV

1. Open Settings on your Apple TV
2. Go to System
3. Select Software update
4. If an update is available, click Download and Install to start the download

If you need to set up your Apple TV to automatically update Software you can do so by setting it up.

Steps to follow to set automatic software update on Apple TV:

1. Open Settings
2. Go to System
3. Select Software Update
4. Then select Automatically Update

5. Use VoiceOver on Apple TV

Without seeing your screen, you can control your Apple TV with VoiceOver. On the Touch Surface of your Siri Remote, you can use a simple gesture to move around the screen, and listen as VoiceOver speaks each time you highlight.

VoiceOver has two modes that are Navigation and Exploration. Navigation, speaks selected items on the screen as you navigate them using the Siri Remote. While Exploration, holds the currently selected items so that you can browse the screen with the Siri Remote. This lets you hear items and text elsewhere on the screen before selecting them.

Steps to follow to turn on or off VoiceOver on Apple TV:

1. Open Settings on your Apple TV
2. Go to Accessibility
3. Select VoiceOver
4. Choose either VoiceOver on or VoiceOver off.

6. Input AirPlay security on Apple TV

This Apple TV trick lets you insert a password on your AirPlay to prevent unwanted guests from streaming their own videos on your TV.

Steps to follow to set AirPlay security on Apple TV:

1. Open Settings
2. Go to AirPlay
3. Select Security
4. Click Password and set your desired password.

7. Customise the Apple TV home screen

You can customise your Apple TV home screen in various ways. With this Apple TV trick, you can rearrange apps, create a folder for apps, delete apps from the app store that you no longer use, or change the background appearance of your Screen

Steps to follow to delete an App on Apple TV:

1. Select the app you want to delete
2. Press and hold the clickpad center of your remote
   until the App starts to jinggle
3. Click the play or pause button for more options
4. Choose Delete

Steps to follow to rearrange apps on Apple TV

1. Select an App on your Apple TV
2. Press and hold the clickpad center until the App starts to jingle
3. Drag the App to a new location on the Home Screen
4. Repeat the above process for the Apps you need to change
5. Press the clickpad center to save the new arrangements

8. Add more Accounts to your Apple TV

You can add multiple Apple ID accounts to your Apple TV. This Apple TV trick will enable you and your family members or friends to switch between accounts smoothly.

Steps to follow to add apple account on Apple TV

1. Open the Apple TV App on your device
2. Go to Settings
3. Select Account
4. Click Add New Account
5. Follow the instructions to either sign in using your iPhone, iPad, MacBook or you can sign in manually

9. Use Family sharing on Apple TV

You can either Start a family members group, join a family members group or invite family members to join your group. You can share with upto six family members. This Apple TV trick lets you share Pictures, movies, live TV shows, music, Podcasts and more with your family members.

For you to activate family sharing on Apple TV, you must set it on a Mac, iPhone or iPad because Apple TV does not support the activation directly.

Steps to follow when you want to set up family sharing on your iPhone, iPad or Mac

1. Go to Settings
2. Tap your name
3. Select Family Sharing
4. Click Add Member
5. Follow the instructions to set up and invite your family members

10. Control your Smart Home with Apple TV

While you are away from your home, you need a HomeHub to control your HomeKit accessories. Apple TV being an Apple product, it works well to control your home when connected as a HomeHub.

Steps to follow to set up your Apple TV as a HomeHub:

1. Go to Settings on your Apple TV
2. Select Accounts ( make sure that your Apple TV is connected with the same Apple ID as your Apple devices)
3. Once you have signed it will automatically connect with your Home Hub

11. Setting up parental control on your Apple TV

With a lot of live shows and many apps in Apple TV, it’s more likely you can find a show or an App that is not suitable for children who are under age. Thankfully, this Apple TV trick allows you to input passcode on such channels and Apps.

Steps to follow to set up parental control on Apple TV:

1. Go to Settings
2. Select General
3. Press on Restrictions and input the password.

12. Activate Dark mode on Apple TV

You can be a movie lover and you watch either during the day or during the night. During the day it will be harder for you to notice the high contrast on your Apple TV than during the night. The high light during the night can damage your eyes. This Apple TV trick allows you to set your TV in Dark mode thus reducing the amount of light. You can also set both light and dark modes. When it’s day time it will show light mode and when darkness starts it will automatically change to Dark mode.

Steps to follow to set up Dark mode on Apple TV:

1. Open Settings on your Apple TV
2. Go to General
3. Open Appearance
4. Select Dark for dark mode ( also you can select Automatic to set up light mode during the day and Dark mode during the night)

13. Quick switch between the Apps on Apple TV

You don’t have to return to Home Screen to open the App that you had previously opened. With this Apple TV Trick, you just need to switch between different Apps to open the App that you need. This is like multitasking on an iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Steps to follow to switch between apps on Apple TV:between Apps

1. On your Siri Remote, press the TV button twice quickly
2. In App switcher view, navigate to a different App in the center of the screen
3. If you want to leave the App, press the Back button

14. Change Apple TV remote sensitivity

Your Apple TV Remote can be a bit sensitive to unnecessary touch. Thankfully, this Apple TV trick lets you avoid that by letting you cuddle the clippad to match your particular control style.

Steps to follow to change Apple TV Remote sensitivity:

1. Open Settings on your Apple TV
2. Go to Remote and Devices
3. Select Touch Surface Tracking
4. Choose Fast to make smaller thumb movements faster on your Apple TV screen. Select Slow to reduce tracking sensitivity.

15. Control what’s playing on your Apple TV

When you are watching your favorite TV shows or music, this Apple TV trick lets you control what is playing like a pro. You can either pause, play forward or backward your video.

To play or pause or pause a TV show or a movie on Apple TV, you will need to press the clickpad center press the Play or Pause button on your Siri Remote. To rewind or fast forward a video or a movie, you can either, first skip backward or fast forward 10 seconds by pressing right or left on the clippad ring and pressing again to skip 10 seconds. Second you can continuously rewind or fast forward by pressing and holding left or right on your clippad ring then press right or left repeatedly to cycle through rewind or fast forward speed action . The press the clickpad centeror play or pause button to resume playback

16. Put your Apple TV to sleep

Your Apple TV after being inactive for some period, it will automatically go to sleep. You can still select Sleep Now in Settings or you can put your Apple TV to Sleep with your Siri Remote

Steps to follow to put your Apple TV to sleep:

1. Press and hold the power button on your Siri Remote
2. Press and hold control center for three seconds to bring up control center
3. Then select Sleep and your Apple TV will go to sleep.

You need to wake your Apple TV, you can press the menu or control center on your remote and you are set to go.

17. Listen with Spatial audio

Next in our Apple TV tips and tricks, I want to highlight using spatial audio with head tracking. This is the best at-home surround experience that doesn’t involve a massively elaborate home entertainment system. To really take advantage, you’ll want AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro 2, newer Beats Headphones, or my favorite for this, the AirPods Max.

1. Make sure that you’re wearing your AirPods Pro (1st or 2nd generation), AirPods Max, AirPods (3rd generation), or Beats Fit Pro, and that they’re connected to your Apple TV.
2. Go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Bluetooth. Or you can press and hold the Home button on your Siri Remote while you’re playing audiovisual content in a supported app.
3. Choose your AirPods or Beats from the list.
4. Choose Spatial Audio while you’re playing multichannel content, or Spatialize Stereo while you’re playing two-channel stereo content. But to get the best experience, I suggest using head tracking — this changes the soundstage depending on where you turn your head, so if you turn your head to the left as you are facing your TV, then the audio will seem to come from the TV. But if you don’t want this, you can turn it off. Either way, to access this, open Settings > Accessibility > AirPods, then toggle Center audio on TV on or off.

18. Use Your iPhone or iPad as an Apple TV Remote

Next, let’s talk about the Apple Remote app – a lifesaver when your Apple TV remote is playing hide and seek. If you haven’t used it yet, you’re missing out. The app turns your iPhone or iPad into a full-fledged remote control with a touchpad, playback controls, and even a keyboard for easy text input.

So, how do you turn your iPhone or iPad into a handy Apple TV remote? Let’s break it down:

If your iPhone or iPad is running version 13 of the operating system or later, Apple TV Remote should automatically be added to the Control Center. If you’re using an older version — or if you don’t see it there for any reason — you’ll need to start by adding it.

1. On your iPhone or iPad, start the **Settings **app.
2. Tap Control Center. Check to see if Apple TV Remote is in the Included Controls section of the page. If not, scroll down and find the Apple TV Remote in More Controls. Tap the plus symbol to the left of the remote to add it to Included Controls.
3. Open the Control Center by swiping down from the top right of the screen. (If you are using iOS 11 or older, open the Control Center by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.)
4. Tap the Apple TV Remote button from the collection of buttons at the bottom of the screen.
5. If this is your first time using the remote, you will be asked to select your Apple TV from the list and then enter a four-digit code that’s displayed on the Apple TV screen.
6. Enter this code on your iPhone or iPad, and voilà! Your device is now a remote.

19. Rename your Apple TV

You can rename your Apple TV. Yeah – who knew? This can come in handy if you have more than one Apple TV in your house and want to know at all times which one is which on your network. To name your Apple TV, head over to Settings -> General -> About -> Name. At that point, you can choose from Apple’s default list of names.

Apple lets you name your Apple TV based on the room it might be in, such as the living room, but if you want to get even more creative, you can designate a custom name. We named ours Dave. Hi, Dave!

20. Reduce Loud Sounds for Night-time Viewing

Do action-packed films with sudden loud noises disturb your peace, especially during late-night binge sessions? Fear not, as Apple TV has a solution. ‘Reduce Loud Sounds’ is a fantastic feature that keeps the volume at a consistent level, so sudden loud noises won’t jolt you out of your seat.

Navigate to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Video and Audio’ -> ‘Reduce Loud Sounds’ and toggle the switch on. Now, you can enjoy your movies without disturbing your slumbering family members or neighbors.

Your Favorites Apple TV Tips and Tricks

So these were some of the best Apple TV tips and tricks you would love to try today. My favorite Apple TV tips and tricks include the ability to control smart home with Apple TV, ability to customize Apple TV screen and family sharing. There’s surely plenty more hidden Apple TV tips and tricks to discover, so I’ll keep tapping, swiping and noting anything I find. Did we miss out on something important that needs to be added to the list? Which are your favorite Apple TV tips and tricks? Let me know in the comments section below.

See also: Top 10 Advantages of Apple TV