Using iPhone as my TV Remote with ATV4K

Channels Apple TV
#1

I want to share my TV remote experiences using my iPhone with ATV4K. This is coming from an Apple ecosystem setup. I start my TV remote workflow with Apple Siri Shortcuts from my iPhone launching it via Hey Siri voice commands or Locked Screen Shortcuts widget.

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My Siri Shortcuts turn on ATV4K in the Family Room + Vizio TV + Onkyo Audio Receiver via HDMI/CEC enabled, then it launches the Channels DVR app on ATV4K and tune to ESPN channel by default at startup, then it launches the Channels DVR app on my iPhone as well. It does all this from one Apple Siri Shortcuts. At this point AirPlay will be enabled in Control Center & Locked Screen on your iPhone and set the TV source to ATV4K in the Family Room.

From the Locked Screen you can play/pause, rewind/forward, pull iOS Apple TV soft remote, change the TV volume, and launch the Channels DVR app directly.

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Once it launches the Channels DVR app on my iPhone, then I use the Channels DVR app to browse the On Now/Guide/Library and with the “Play To Your TV” enabled you can tune Live TV or Recorded Show and send the content to any TV in the house, if Channels DVR app is active.

I barely use the physical Apple TV Siri Remote. With Channels + iPhone + Siri Shortcuts + HomeKit + iOS automation more things are possible.

4 Likes
#2

Love it.

#3

This is great, very inspiring, thanks for sharing!

#4

I too have enjoyed this set up for quite some time. However, lately, the volume control has been missing from my lock screen. And the volume buttons on the side of the iPhone no longer work as well. If I unfair then pair the phone again with the AppleTV it will work for a short period of time. However the volume buttons on the lock screen have never shown up at least the last month or so. I’m assuming this is a tvOS 16 or iOS 16 bug and hopefully it will be resolved in the near future. anyone else seeing this? Thanks.

#5

Yes, very common issue, currently being discussed in many forums, I also re-paired and it worked for a while. And then it stopped working. This next time, re-pairing didn't work.

But then, based on a suggestion I saw on Reddit, I held down the side button on the iPhone while using the Remote app to invoke Siri, and then, the volume buttons started working again. At least for a while.

I think this is something Apple will fix in a future update.