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The Apple TV remote,at last not lostin the couch

A small silver slab that slips, always, into the cushions. So we put the remote on the iPhone, iPad and Mac you already own.

$4.99 once. iPhone, iPad and Mac included. No subscription.

Many Apple TV remote apps charge around $49 a year.

The free remote in Control Center can’t launch your apps, tell you who’s on screen or move under your thumb.

Download on the App StoreDownload on the Mac App Store
4.8/ 5
Rated on the App Store
  • Apple TV HD or 4K
  • Same Wi-Fi
  • No Siri Remote needed

Lost your remote? Start here →

Itsytv on iPhone showing the touch remote and now playing info
Four things worth pointing out

Small moves of
obvious intelligence.

01 / Launcher

Every app, one tap away.

Browse the apps installed on your Apple TV. Drag to reorder. Launch one and the remote slides back into view, ready for whatever happens next.

No more scrolling through a home screen made of billboard-sized icons with a thumbpad the size of a thumbnail.

Itsytv app launcher on iPhone
02 / Ergonomics

Left hand, right hand – your choice.

Drag the remote to whichever side of the screen feels natural. Reposition it vertically until your thumb lands home.

We don't think handedness is a preference; we think it's a fact. Itsytv respects that.

Itsytv in a one-handed ergonomic layout
03 / What's playing

Who's in this, again?

When something is playing, Itsytv looks it up – pulling artwork, plot, rating, genre, and cast straight into the remote.

Tap through for full credits with photos. That guy who looks familiar? He was in the other thing. Confirmed in two seconds.

Itsytv showing cast and details for what's playing
04 / Multi-room

One app, every TV.

Kitchen, bedroom, office. Itsytv knows them all, switches between them in a tap, and reconnects automatically to whichever you used last.

A house full of Apple TVs should not mean a drawer full of remotes.

Itsytv with multiple Apple TVs
iPad edition

Great success
on iPad.

Two panels, side by side. App launcher on one, remote on the other. Scrub, browse, and judge the cast – all at once, from the couch.

The iPad is the only device in your house that is both big enough to be useful and small enough to hold. Itsytv treats it that way – a proper desk for your remote, with room for the what's playing panel to actually breathe.

Flip it into portrait, switch hands, park it on your lap. The layout rearranges to suit the grip; nothing important ever ends up under your palm.

What's playing detail on iPad
Full cast, liveTap into What's playing for backdrop, rating, synopsis, and the entire cast – scrollable, with photos – right next to the remote.
Ergonomic layout on iPad
Left or rightDrag the panels to swap sides. Lefties, righties, couch-sprawlers – everyone gets a layout that fits the hand that holds the iPad.
Itsytv on iPad showing app launcher and remote side by side
Mac edition

Right in
your menu bar.

On Mac, Itsytv is a menu-bar tenant. One click and it's there; one click and it's gone. Type into Apple TV search fields from your keyboard. Control playback without switching apps.

Included with your purchase on the Mac App Store. Prefer Homebrew? There it’s free and open source.

brew install --cask itsytv
Itsytv for Mac: menu bar remote, app launcher, and now playing
From the App Store

People are saying
kind things.

Far better than the remote. Completely worth the money.
Slickmoose · United States ·
The app you've been waiting for. A perfect replication of the Siri Remote, and more.
DaveKorns · United States ·
Not just a remote app – more like a viewing companion.
Ian1903 · United Kingdom ·
Very intuitive layout, excellent background information, and just a great remote overall.
The PRG · United States ·
Love this app. It always works.
Mbpuser · United States ·
This is what the inbuilt remote should have looked like. Great work.
a.shrtlr · Austria ·

Read all reviews on the App Store ↗

Better together

The perfect Itsyhome companion.

Already controlling your lights, locks, and thermostats from the menu bar?

Itsytv completes the picture. One tidy row of icons between your Wi-Fi and your clock – your whole house, your whole TV.

Itsyhome smart home menu bar app
The fine print

Requirements
and other details.

iPhone & iPad

iOS 17
or later

Also iPadOS 17. Universal purchase.

Mac

macOS 14
Sonoma

Menu bar native. Apple Silicon or Intel.

Apple TV

4th gen
or later

tvOS 15 or later. Same Wi-Fi network. One-time PIN pairing.

Good to know before you buy

Same Wi-Fi
Your iPhone, iPad or Mac and the Apple TV need to be on the same network.
Pair with a PIN
The Apple TV shows a code on screen. Type it in once; no Siri Remote needed.
Volume over HDMI-CEC
Volume buttons work when the Apple TV controls volume over HDMI-CEC. Over infrared, they can’t reach the TV.
Netflix stays quiet
Netflix doesn’t report what’s playing, so its titles don’t appear. Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV+ and most others do.

Stop searching the couch.

$4.99 once. iPhone, iPad and Mac included. No subscription.

Many Apple TV remote apps charge around $49 a year.

The free remote in Control Center can’t launch your apps, tell you who’s on screen or move under your thumb.

Download on the App StoreDownload on the Mac App Store
4.8/ 5
Rated on the App Store
  • Apple TV HD or 4K
  • Same Wi-Fi
  • No Siri Remote needed

Lost your remote? Start here →

Troubleshooting

Itsytv says “No Apple TVs found.”

Itsytv needs local network access to discover Apple TV devices. If you declined the permission prompt, open Settings → Privacy & Security → Local network and enable Itsytv. Your iPhone and Apple TV must also be on the same Wi-Fi network.

My Apple TV doesn't show a PIN code when pairing.

Your Apple TV is probably restricting which devices can connect. Open Settings → AirPlay and Apple Home, set Allow access to Anyone on the same network, and make sure Require password is Off. Then check Settings → General → Restrictions and confirm AirPlay Settings and Remote App Pairing are both Allow. Keep them there – Itsytv needs them that way to maintain a connection.

The remote panel closes a few seconds after connecting.

Your AirPlay access is set to Only people sharing this home. Open Settings → AirPlay and Apple Home on your Apple TV and change Allow access to Anyone on the same network. Done.

Now playing information isn't showing.

Itsytv relies on AirPlay to receive now playing updates. Open Settings → AirPlay and Apple Home on your Apple TV and make sure AirPlay is set to On.

Now playing shows the wrong show or movie.

Apple TV occasionally reports now playing information from a previously used app instead of the current one – a known quirk of the Apple TV protocol itself. Restarting the streaming app on your Apple TV or switching playback usually clears it.

Netflix doesn't show now playing details.

Netflix recently updated their Apple TV player and no longer reports show information to the system. That means Itsytv can't display the title, artwork, or episode for what's playing in Netflix. This is a Netflix-side limitation. Disney+, HBO Max, Prime Video, Apple TV+, and most other streaming apps continue to work normally.

Volume buttons aren't working.

Volume control depends on your Apple TV configuration. If your TV uses HDMI-CEC for volume, the buttons will work. If your Apple TV is set to control volume over IR (infrared), commands from Itsytv won't reach the TV. Check Settings → Remotes and Devices → Volume Control on your Apple TV to see which mode is active. The mute button isn't supported by the protocol yet.

On Mac: I launched the app and nothing happened.

Itsytv on Mac is a menu bar app – a tiny TV icon in the top-right, not a Dock tile. On MacBooks with a notch, macOS silently hides menu bar icons that don't fit behind the notch. Hold ⌘ Cmd and drag unused icons off the menu bar; when Itsytv reappears, ⌘-drag it somewhere safe.