As a proud Apple TV owner, I have recently been frustrated with my remote lagging – making it difficult to enjoy my favorite shows and movies. After doing some research and testing, I’m here to share what I’ve learned about the causes of Apple TV Remote lagging and how to fix it. In this blog post, I’ll talk about the common culprits behind this issue, as well as a few solutions that I’ve found to be effective. Hopefully, this will help other Apple TV owners out there who are dealing with the same issue. Thanks for reading and I hope you find this information useful!
If you’re an Apple TV user, you might experience an Apple TV remote lagging. Despite Apple’s high-quality tech, a hardware or firmware issue might arise every now and then.
| Reasons for Lagging | Solution | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Battery needs charging or replacing | Method 1: Charge Your Remote’s Battery | Charge the battery, or replace it with a CR2032 or BR2032 lithium 3V coin battery, if necessary |
| 2. HDMI cable issue | Method 2: Change Your HDMI Cable Connection | Replace the HDMI cable with a new one |
| 3. Faulty power cycle on Apple TV | Method 3: Reboot Your Apple TV Device | Press and hold TV & Back/Menu buttons, disconnect the device, wait, reconnect, and restart from settings |
| 4. Remote needs restarting | Method 4: Restart Your Remote | Restart Siri Remote, Apple TV Remote, or Apple Remote depending on the remote type |
Table of Contents
4 Reasons Why Apple TV Remote Is Lagging
- The remote’s battery needs to be charged or changed.
- An issue with the HDMI cable.
- Faulty power cycle on the Apple TV device.
- Your remote needs to restart.
How to Fix the Problem of Apple TV Remote Lagging
Now that we’ve covered the possible root causes, let’s delve into how to fix each one of them.
Method 1: Charge Your Remote’s Battery
Sometimes, the answer is so simple that you may completely overlook it. The first thing you should do when you start noticing your Apple TV remote bugging is to charge it for a while.
One way to make sure whether this is a battery issue or an issue with the Apple TV receiver is to use the remote app. If it works just fine, then it’s definitely the remote’s battery that needs recharging.
Alternatively, you might need to change the batteries entirely. While the batteries in the Apple TV or Siri remotes are rechargeable, they still have a lifespan. Once they’ve exhausted all their recharging cycles, they’ll need to be changed entirely.
You should exchange the old battery with a CR2032 or BR2032 lithium 3V coin battery, depending on the type of remote you have. You can find those easily at most drug stores or electronic stores.
Method 2: Change Your HDMI Cable Connection
Apple TV uses the HDMI cable as guidance to control the TV volume and power. So, when there are issues with the HDMI cable, it could lead the remote to become dysfunctional or completely stop working.
Sometimes, if your HDMI cable is too long, it might collect kinks over time, which would stand in the way of Apple TV detecting the TV model.
This leads to a pause where the Apple TV tries to detect the model every time you press a button on your remote, resulting in those momentary and annoying lags.
A simple change of the HDMI cable you use would fix your troubles, and it should work just fine.
Read more: Apple TV looks washed out
Method 3: Reboot Your Apple TV Device
Electronics can get messy with their power cycles, and ones that work wirelessly can also face issues with interference and signals.
That’s why a good refresh or reinitialization can occasionally fix the issue. You can do so as follows:
- Press down and hold both the TV button and the Back button (2nd gen Siri Remote) or Menu button (1st gen Siri Remote) until the status light on the ATV starts blinking quickly.
- Disconnect the device from the power outlet, wait at least six seconds and reconnect it.
- Go to “System” from the Apple TV “Settings” and press “Restart.”
Method 4: Restart Your Remote
Instead of restarting the Apple TV device, we can try restarting the remote itself. The process will change depending on what kind of remote you have.
Restarting a Siri Remote or Apple TV Remote
To restart an Apple TV remote or Siri Remote, press the TV/Control Center button and the Volume Down button simultaneously. Do that for at least 6 seconds or until you see the status light blinking quickly.
Release both buttons, then wait for five to 10 seconds until you see a “Connection Lost” prompt appear on the screen of your TV.
Your remote is supposed to restart at that point, and then you’ll see a “Connected” prompt on the screen.
Restarting an Apple Remote
To restart an Apple Remote, long press down the Menu button and Left arrow for at least 6 seconds. Then, search for the “Unlink” icon on top of the remote’s icon, which looks like an undone chain.
Then, to link it back again, long press down the Menu and Right arrow for at least 6 seconds. Once you see the icons on the screen, look for the “Link” one with two tied chains.
Read more: Does Apple TV upscale to 4k?
Final Words
If you find your Apple TV remote lagging or simply not responding, try going through the few troubleshooting methods we’ve mentioned above. By no means, however, should you slam it or keep pressing the buttons aggressively.
You can contact Apple Support if all else fails, and if there’s a manufacturing fault in your remote, they’ll send you another one right away.
