Everyone knows that you can control your Apple TV by using your iPhone. Most of the time you’ll have your iPhone or your Siri remote with you so you can easily control your Apple TV box but what happens if for some reason you don’t? What about if you only have your Mac at hand? Can you control your Apple TV with your Mac?
Apple also recently removed the Apple TV Remote app from its app store and has instead built the feature into the new Control Center in iOS 12. However, this is annoying if you won’t have iOS 12 but still want to have an app on your iPhone or Mac to control your Apple TV. Apple wants you to have to upgrade to iOS 12 or buy a Siri remote but we’ve found a couple of workarounds so you can still control your Apple TV with an app and we’ll go over them below.
Whilst these Mac controlled ways to use your Apple TV aren’t as sophisticated as the control on your iPhone or Siri remote, they still do the basic job well. There are two third-party apps that we think are good enough that can help you to control your Apple TV from your Mac.
Ezzi Keyboard
If you want to control your Apple TV from your Mac then look no further than Ezzi Keyboard. Ezzi Keyboard is an app that will cost you $0.99 and it will let you do a whole host of things. First thing you’ll need to do is pair your Apple TV with your Mac;
- Download the Ezzi Keyboard app from the app store
- Turn on your Apple TV and move to Settings->General->Bluetooth and select your Mac name in the list of Bluetooth devices.
- Wait until your Mac shows up on your Apple TV
- Click ‘pair’ with your Mac and you’re done.
Ezzi Keyboard turns your MacBook into a Universal Bluetooth keyboard. Once you have the app activated, you’ll be able to;
- Use your Mac’s full-sized keyboard with your iPhone or iPad to text much faster on them.
- Type texts, messages, replies in social networks, status updates, etc.
- Past logins & passwords from your Mac to your mobile device or Apple TV.
- Reply instantly to your friends or colleagues in team collaboration tools.
- Easily edit long emails or documents on your phone or tablet.
- Use a single keyboard with all your Apple devices
Ezzi Keyboard can be used for Apple TV;
- Navigate Apple TV menus.
- Rewind and fast-forward favourite movie scenes.
- Browse your iTunes collection.
All you need to do to get going is download the Ezzi Keyboard app on your Mac and then turn on your Bluetooth settings. Once you have done this, you can pair your Mac with your Apple TV and begin using the Ezzi Keyboard as a remote.
The Ezzi Keyboard app currently has a rating of 2.2 / 5 so the next third-party app option might be better for you.
Another third-party app to control your Apple TV from your Mac is CiderTV.
CiderTV
CiderTV is a basic version of Ezzi Keyboard but it’s free and had better reviews too! All you need to do is pair your Mac with your Apple TV by using the same method as mentioned for the Ezzi Keyboard app and then you’ll be able to use your Mac as a Bluetooth remote control.
The CiderTV app has some basic functions;
Main controls:
- Arrow left = Move to the left
- Arrow right = Move to the right
- Arrow up = Move up
- Arrow down = Move down
- Enter = Select
- Esc = Menu
Hotkeys:
- Option + Arrow up = Select previous device
- Option + Arrow down = Select next device
- Option + Shift + Tab = Hide/Unhide CiderTV window
Just like the Ezzi Keyboard app, you can navigate between TV menus and select different shows by using the app on your Mac. The app currently has a rating of 4.1 / 5 on the app store making it the most reliable third-party Bluetooth remote app.
That’s how to control your Apple TV from a Mac. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section.
