The aluminum Siri Remote that ships with recent Apple TV 4K boxes is a Bluetooth device, so you can pair it with a Mac. This guide covers the 2nd generation (2021) and 3rd generation (2022, USB-C) Siri Remotes â the ones with the click-and-touch clickpad. Once paired, the clickpad drives the cursor, the edges scroll, and the side buttons become mappable â a tiny, pocketable Mac remote.
Which Remote Is This?
This guide is for the 2nd / 3rd-gen Siri Remote (slim aluminum body, circular clickpad, power button up top). The older 1st-gen Siri Remote (glossy black, glass touch surface, 2015â2021) behaves differently and isn't covered here.
What You'll Need
Siri Remote
2nd gen (2021) or 3rd gen (2022, USB-C)
Mac Computer
macOS 11 Big Sur or later
Bluetooth
Built-in Bluetooth
Unplug Your Apple TV First
The Siri Remote will keep reconnecting to a nearby Apple TV, which blocks pairing to your Mac. Unplug the Apple TV (or move well out of range) and keep it off for the whole process.
Pair via Bluetooth
Unplug the Apple TV
So the remote disconnects from it and is free to pair with your Mac. Leave it unplugged until you're done.
Enter Pairing Mode
On the remote, hold Volume Up (+) and the Back button together until it enters pairing mode. (Volume is on the right edge; Back is the arrow button below the clickpad.)
Open Bluetooth Settings on Mac
Click the Apple menu () > System Settings > Bluetooth. Make sure Bluetooth is on.
Connect
The remote appears under Nearby Devices. Select it to connect â it joins as a standard Bluetooth HID device.
Troubleshooting
Remote Won't Enter Pairing Mode
- Make sure the Apple TV is fully unplugged or far out of range
- Hold Volume Up (+) and Back together â keep holding until something changes
- If the remote is low on charge, charge it (Lightning on 2nd gen, USB-C on 3rd gen) and retry
It Keeps Reconnecting to the Apple TV
- The Apple TV must stay off/unplugged for the whole pairing
- Once paired to the Mac, press a button to wake the link to the Mac instead
Cursor Feels Off
- The clickpad is small â tune cursor speed and the edge-scroll behavior in ControllerKeys
- The side buttons (Back, Vol, TV) can all be remapped to clicks or shortcuts
What Can You Do With a Siri Remote on Mac?
It's not a gamepad, so its appeal is as a tiny pointer and remote:
- Clickpad as a trackpad â move the cursor with the touch surface, click to select
- Edge scrolling â swipe the clickpad edges to scroll pages and feeds
- Mappable buttons â bind Back, Volume, and the TV button to clicks, keys, or shortcuts
- Couch control â pause/play, scrub, and navigate a Mac plugged into the TV from the sofa
Turn Your Siri Remote Into a Mac Trackpad
ControllerKeys maps the Siri Remote's clickpad to your cursor, the edges to scrolling, and every side button to a shortcut â a pocket-sized Mac remote. Free 14-day trial.