Some days, there is nothing better than being able to sit down with your Apple TV, putting on your favorite song, movie, game, whatever, and just letting all your stresses fade away. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to deal with interruptions, and you need to take a break to address them. There are multiple ways you can do that, including pausing what you are watching or muting it. But how do you mute an Apple TV?
Some Apple TVs don’t have a mute button on their remote, but there are ways to get around that. The recent Siri Remote can turn off the audio on Apple TVs using the mute button. On older Apple TVs, you can mute it by turning the volume down.
But what remotes don’t have a mute button? And why do some lack the mute button?
How to Mute Apple TV
Depending on which Apple TV you have, muting your TV may be slightly more complicated to deal with than others.
Use the included remote with your Apple TV
This is the simplest option to take, especially since a lot of remotes that come with smart TVs have relatively few buttons compared to certain other remotes, like cable TV remotes. However, depending on which type of Apple TV remote you have, that “simple option” simply does not work, at least not without using a workaround. If the remote that is included comes with a mute button, then all you need to do is push the mute button. Once you are ready to unmute the Apple TV, just push the mute button a second time.
There are multiple remotes that are capable of being used with the Apple TV, including (but not limited to) the Siri Remote and the Apple Remote, both in 1st and 2nd generations. The 1st generation of both remotes lack a mute button, while the 2nd generation of both remotes has one. However, while these remotes’ mute buttons can work on a number of different televisions, they are not guaranteed to work on all of them.
Turn the volume all the way down
While this is not the most intuitive method of muting your Apple TV, if you are having any trouble getting the mute function to work, you can just hold the volume button down. This is true for both the compatible, physical remote and the mobile app. Of course, if your Apple TV remote does not have a mute/unmute button, this would be the most convenient solution available to you. To unmute the volume, just turn the volume level back up to an appropriate level.
Use other remotes to control the Apple TV
One nice feature about the Apple TV is that you can make certain remotes compatible with the Apple TV. The first thing required for compatibility is that your television or receiver supports HDMI-CEC (CEC standing for Consumer Electronics Control). You then need to use the HDMI port to allow control of the Apple TV via the receiver remote.
You can also use an infrared remote, which needs to learn the signals generated by the Siri Remote. To do this, go to Settings on the Apple TV, and then go to Remotes and Devices. Here, you will find the Learn Remote option. Select that, and then it will present to you a list of commands to follow on the remote you want to use. You can use any button you like for each command, but it would be sensible to try to map every function to as appropriate a button as you possibly can. If you do not have any arrow buttons on the remote you are using, for example, you can use numpad buttons (2, 4, 6, and 8) as arrow buttons instead. You can also put the Select button right in the middle, on the 5 button.
In addition to these basic commands, you can also add the ability to control volume, fast forward, rewind, pause, play, and more. You will also be prompted to name your remote and save it to the remotes list, so as to allow you to modify or remove them at a later date. Ultimately, being able to register many remotes to work with your Apple TV
Is there an Apple TV Remote app?
A lot of smart TVs have proprietary remote apps, such as the Roku Remote app which accompanies the Roku TV. But does one exist that can control an Apple TV?
Well, the answer to that is just a bit complicated. There is, for example, the iTunes App, which is capable of controlling Apple Music, iTunes, and the Apple TV… app. This tends to be confusing for a lot of people, who do not know what the difference is between the Apple TV device and the Apple TV app. Basically, there is the Apple TV, and then there is Apple TV Plus (AKA Apple TV+), which is similar to Netflix or Hulu, but focuses exclusively on original content.
How to enable subtitles on Apple TV
Sometimes you may want to do something on your Apple TV, but you do not want to disturb anyone with the sound. Thus, you can just mute the TV. Unfortunately, this has the obvious drawback of not having to be able to understand what is being said – unless you enable subtitles or closed captioning on the Apple TV. But how do you get it set up?
Ultimately, the solution will depend on whether you intend to set up subtitles or closed captioning on the Apple TV. To turn them on with the Apple TV, go to Settings, select Accessibility, and then select Subtitles and Captioning. Finally, select the option to turn them on. You can also add an accessibility shortcut following the instructions here. Apple TV also allows you to use a Braille display that connects to the Apple TV, which allows those who are both blind and deaf to follow along with what is happening on the screen.
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