The Apple TV is an amazing (and necessary, in my opinion) companion to any TV or projector. My rule of thumb... never install a new display without one! You probably already know all about the Apple TV App Store, games, watching video, listening to music and viewing your Photos library, but did you know that you can connect various Bluetooth devices to your Apple TV to make it even more powerful?
In this post, we'll walk through how to pair Bluetooth headphones, keyboards, controllers, and more with your 4th generation Apple TV.
Before we begin, you should know that while there are apps that let you use your iOS device as a controller with your Apple TV, you can't pair your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch to your Apple TV. With that out of the way, let's begin!
Pair your Bluetooth accessory
Use these steps to pair a Bluetooth accessory to your Apple TV (4th generation):
- Put your Bluetooth accessory in pairing mode using the instructions that came with it.
- On your Apple TV, go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Bluetooth. Your Apple TV will search for nearby Bluetooth accessories.
- Choose your Bluetooth accessory.
- If asked, enter a passkey or PIN. On your Apple TV, your accessory should now appear in My Devices.
Unpair your Bluetooth accessory
On your Apple TV (4th generation), go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Bluetooth. Select your accessory, then select Forget Device.
Using more than one Bluetooth accessory
Your 4th generation Apple TV can support several Bluetooth controllers simultaneously, up to this many:
- One Siri Remote or Apple TV Remote
- Two MFi (Made for iOS) Bluetooth controllers, or one MFi Bluetooth controller and one Bluetooth audio accessory (like headphones or speakers).
You might be able to pair more accessories, but at some point you might need to unpair others to allow for new ones. Some apps might let you use an iOS device as an additional controller, which doesn't require Bluetooth. For help using an iOS device as a controller in an app, contact the app developer.
Now that you know what you can pair and how to pair it, get started!
