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Step-by-step fixes for the home. No need to log anything in — just read along.

🛠️ Tech Help

Apple TV remote — volume buttons stopped working

The remote itself is fine — the TV and the Apple TV just lost their volume "handshake." Try these in order and test the volume after each one. The first few fix it almost every time.

  1. Unplug the TV for 1 minute. Pull it from the wall, wait a full minute, then plug it back in. This is the most common fix.
  2. Restart the Apple TV. On the remote: Settings → System → Restart. Or just unplug the little Apple TV box for 10 seconds.
  3. Restart the remote. Hold the TV button (the one with a tiny TV icon) and the volume-down button together for 5 seconds, until the light on the box blinks. Wait 20 seconds, then try.
  4. Turn HDMI control back on. In the TV's menu, find this setting and make sure it's ON (Samsung calls it Anynet+, LG SimpLink, Sony Bravia Sync, others "HDMI-CEC"). A TV update can quietly switch it off.
  5. Check the volume setting. Settings → Remotes and Devices → Volume Control. It should list your TV. If not, pick "Learn New Device" and follow the steps with the TV's own remote.
  6. Push the HDMI cable in firmly. Unplug the Apple TV's HDMI cable from the TV and push it back in. Still no luck? Try a different HDMI socket (note which one it was in first).
  7. Charge the remote for 30 minutes. A low battery drops volume control first, with no warning.
  8. Install any updates. Apple TV: Settings → System → Software Updates. Also check the TV for an update in its own settings.
  9. Reset both together. Unplug the TV and the Apple TV. Wait 1 minute. Plug the TV in first and let it start, then plug the Apple TV back in.
More options (if none of the above worked)
  • Use the TV's own remote for volume in the meantime — it always works.
  • Use your iPhone as the remote. Open Control Center, tap the Apple TV Remote; its volume buttons work the same way.
  • Re-pair the remote. Hold it a few inches from the Apple TV, then hold the Back button and volume-up together for 5 seconds.
  • Last resort — reset the Apple TV. Settings → System → Reset. Choose "Reset" (not "Reset and Update").
  • Soundbar or receiver (not your setup). The volume buttons only control whatever device is actually playing the sound, and only on the right input.