It's compatible with Harmony IR remotes
It's compatible with Harmony hub‑based products
Power on your television, automatically set the correct inputs, and begin navigating your Apple TV with a single Harmony remote. Use the Harmony mobile app on-screen keyboard* to make password entry easier or use voice search for movies and television shows.
And if you have a Harmony hub‑based product, then you can create a "Bedtime" Activity that automatically turns off your TV at 9:00PM, locks the door, closes the blinds and even turns on your night light. Harmony makes bedtime a little easier.
Apple TV generations 1 (2007) and 4 (2015) don't allow Bluetooth keyboards to pair with them, including the keyboard used in the Harmony mobile app. Harmony can power on and control your Apple TV and Apple TV apps for these generations, but cannot be used for keyboard or voice text entry.
If you added an Apple TV generation 4 (2015) into your Harmony Account prior to Nov. 20th 2015, then you must delete and re-add Apple TV to avoid receiving future prompts to Bluetooth pair.
Harmony IR based remotes
During the setup process, Harmony will ask you for the manufacturer and model numbers of your television, AV receiver and other devices. Enter manufacturer "Apple" and model number "Apple TV", you will be prompted to select your Apple TV generation. Harmony will also guide you through the creation of a Watch Apple TV Activity.
Harmony hub products
During the setup process Harmony will automatically scan your home network searching for connected Apple TV devices. Once found, Once found, Harmony will either automatically create a Watch Apple TV Activity or guide you through the process of creating one. If you wish to select a channel to launch each time the Activity begins, you may edit your Activity to select one.
If your Apple TV is not detected, ensure it's powered on and connected to the same Wi‑Fi network as your Harmony hub.
Once your Apple TV is set up, you may then enable text and voice entry using the Harmony app.
Text and voice entry, as well as keyboard control are not available for Apple TV generations 1 (2007) and 4 (2015).
Only Harmony hub and Harmony hub‑based products have access to the Harmony mobile app.
Text and voice entry, as well as keyboard control are not available for Apple TV generations 1 (2007) and 4 (2015).
Harmony IR based products
Harmony hub‑based products
Create a Watch Apple TV Activity (recommended)
Want to enable voice and text entry on Apple TV?
Harmony hub‑based products allow you to use the Harmony mobile app to enter text more easily from your mobile device. Or, use the voice-to-text feature to skip typing all together. This is available for Apple TV generations 2 (2010) and 3 (2013). Generations 1 (2007) and 4 (2015) do not permit keyboard text entry.
Harmony hub will send text commands to Apple TV using Bluetooth. To enable this you must first pair the two devices:
Harmony and Apple TV should pair after several seconds. If you're having problems pairing, try removing any existing keyboard pairings from Apple TV by selecting it, clicking OK, and selecting Forget this device.
Harmony hub‑based products may also use the Harmony mobile app:
Direction Pad Navigation will navigate the Netflix app.
Media Keys such as Play, Pause, Stop, Fast-Forward and Rewind commands work.
During playback pressing the up arrow twice will bring up the item description. Holding OK will bring up the subtitles and AirPlay speaker options.
Text entry is possible using the Harmony mobile app for Apple TV generations 2 (2010) and 3 (2013). Generations 1 (2007) and 4 (2015) do not support text entry.
Direction Pad Navigation will navigate the Hulu app.
Media Keys such as Play, Pause, Stop, Fast-Forward and Rewind commands work.
During playback pressing the up arrow twice will bring up the item description. Holding OK will bring up the subtitles and AirPlay speaker options.
Text entry is possible using the Harmony mobile app for Apple TV generations 2 (2010) and 3 (2013). Generations 1 (2007) and 4 (2015) do not support text entry.
Direction Pad Navigation will navigate the YouTube app.
Media Keys such as Play, Pause, Stop, Fast-Forward and Rewind commands work.
During playback pressing the up arrow twice will bring up the item description. Holding OK will bring up the subtitles and AirPlay speaker options.
Text entry is possible using the Harmony mobile app for Apple TV generations 2 (2010) and 3 (2013). Generations 1 (2007) and 4 (2015) do not support text entry.
Direction Pad Navigation will navigate the Vevo app.
Media Keys such as Play, Pause, Stop, Fast-Forward and Rewind commands work.
During playback pressing the up arrow twice will bring up the item description. Holding OK will bring up the subtitles and AirPlay speaker options.
Text entry is possible using the Harmony mobile app for Apple TV generations 2 (2010) and 3 (2013). Generations 1 (2007) and 4 (2015) do not support text entry.
The behavior of other apps may vary depending on the app's design.
Adjust the physical buttons on your remote
Harmony has already optimized the buttons on your remote; however you can further customize these buttons depending on your preference.
Add, remove or rename commands on your remotes screen
Harmony displays commands specific to your Watch Apple TV Activity on your remote screen. You can add, remove or rename them.
Customize Harmony mobile app buttons
You can view common Apple TV commands on your phone or tablet screen. You can add, remove or rearrange these commands.
Set your own swipe gestures
By default, swiping up or down on the gestures screen will change volume. There are 22 gestures in total, view and customize them from the app.
Apple TV may sometimes come linked with a specific Apple remote and will ignore commands sent from any other Apple or Harmony remote control. To allow Harmony to interact with your Apple TV, you must send an "unlink" (or "unpair") command. You may send this using your Harmony remote.
Using a Harmony remote
Using the Harmony mobile app
Apple TV generation 4 (2015) uses a feature called HDMI CEC which can turn on compatible TVs and change inputs automatically. This may conflict with Harmony control, so we recommend it be disabled.
From the Apple TV main menu, select Settings > Remotes and devices > Turn on your TV with your remote, and ensure this setting is Off.
Apple TV has a power management feature that will turn off your media player after a period of inactivity. This may conflict with Harmony control, so we recommend it be disabled.
From the Apple TV main menu, select Settings (gear icon) > General > Sleep timer, and continually press OK until the option Never is selected.
The Harmony Team tests and updates our products to work with the most recent version of Apple TV software. We recommend you keep your Apple TV up to date so we may communicate with it.
Apple TV generations 1 (2007) and 4 (2015) do not support Bluetooth pairing.
To update your Apple TV to the current software version:
Apple TV generation 4 (2015) doesn't currently support a Harmony initiated sleep command.
Harmony hub‑based remotes also allow text entry* using your voice or from the keyboard in the Harmony mobile app. To enable this, Harmony hub and Apple TV must be paired using Bluetooth. You will be prompted to pair during setup using Harmony app, or on first time use for Harmony Ultimate or Ultimate Home remotes.
*Apple TV generations 1 (2007) and 4 (2015) do not allow Harmony to Bluetooth pair and therefore text entry is not currently possible.
Apple TV may be controlled using infrared (IR) signals that are sent directly from your Harmony remote.
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We're constantly improving our database. The more information you provide, the more likely we will be able to fix the issue.
This is not a support form. Visit our contact us page if you'd like to contact a support specialist.
We recommend visiting our Harmony Activity troubleshooter to help narrow down the specific problem and find instructions on how to correct it. Device not turning on? Switching to the wrong input? We can help.
Or, you may want to visit our community forums. Harmony product managers actively participate and provide help.
Thank you for being a Harmony customer