For the last several months, a large number of Apple TV users have been battling connectivity issues with the Siri Remote. Despite growing complaints, however, Apple still hasn’t rolled out a fix for these problems — even in recent tvOS 16.3 and tvOS 16.3.1 updates.
Apple TV + Siri Remote connectivity issues
Apple released a new version of the Apple TV 4K last fall, adding a new A15 Bionic chip inside, support for HDR 10+, and a new Siri Remote with USB-C for charging. Other than the change to USB-C, the Siri Remote included with the 2022 version of the Apple TV 4K is identical to the previous generation.
There are countless threads on Reddit and Apple’s support website complaining of connectivity issues between the Apple TV and Siri Remote. The problems seem exclusive to the Siri Remote with USB-C, which Apple also sells as a standalone accessory for users of previous-generation Apple TV models.
Users say that Siri Remote regularly disconnects from their Apple TV, without any sort of pattern or explanation. These users say that the Siri Remote will disconnect while the Apple TV is playing something, usually minutes after the remote was used to initiate that playback.
One Reddit user explains:
I thought maybe the remote was dead, so I charged for a few hours. Then the remote showed in the top corner as “connected” then 30 seconds later it disconnects. This cycled a few times over the next few minutes. I restarted Apple TV and then it reconnected, thought nothing of it. Now two days later, same thing. It’s requiring a full restart of Apple TV to get it to connect. The whole time, I could use control center remote on my iPhone no problem.
Still no fix or acknowledgement from Apple
The latest Apple TV 4K and USB-C Siri Remote were released in November. Since then, Apple has released multiple updates to tvOS 16, including tvOS 16.1.1, tvOS 16.2, tvOS 16.3, and tvOS 16.3. None of these updates, however, have successfully solved these problems.
Twitter user @aaronp613 also points out that the-C USB Siri Remote itself has not gotten a firmware update since its original launch in November.
The lack of an official fix, let alone the lack of acknowledgement from Apple, of this issue is only leading to more frustrating from Apple TV users. Complaints continue to pile up on social media, and yet Apple is silent.
One user on Reddit writes:
While using the iOS Remote App is better than not having any way to engage the ATV, its a pain point for me. One of the primary reasons I purchased this model was the “improved” remote design. Count me as an unhappy customer.
Top comment by David Fenner
I have several apple tvs that performed almost flawlessly over the years. I replace two of the older AppleTVs with the 2022 models with USB-C remotes. I experience unresponsive remotes almost every other day. Even when working, I sometimes have to get within two feet of the AppleTV for the remote to work. Unpairing, re-pairing, and often rebooting the AppleTV is all that seems to help. Very frustrating.
If you’re having these connectivity issues with your Apple TV and Siri Remote, we have a guide on a few different things that might solve the problem (albeit temporarily). One theory suggested that swapping out the HDMI cable used with your Apple TV would solve the problem, but this turned out to not be true.
In my experience, the problem seems exclusive to the USB-C version of the Siri Remote. I recently upgraded to the 2022 Apple TV 4K, but because I knew about all of these connectivity bugs, I held off pairing the new remote. Instead, I’m just using my old Lightning version of the Siri Remote with the new Apple TV, and everything is working normally. This is far from an ideal solution, but it’s something to try if you happen to have an old remote sitting around.
Are you having problems with Siri Remote connectivity with your Apple TV? Which Siri Remote and Apple TV model do you have? Let us know in the comments.
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