How To Connect Your Apple TV To Wi-Fi Without The Remote (Solved)
Even if you lose your remote for your Apple TV, this doesn’t mean that you can’t watch your favorite shows.
Luckily for you, Apple TV can still connect to Wi-Fi without a remote control — making it easy, fast, and simple to control your TV!
But what is an Apple TV? This type of Smart TV makes it easy to stream and watch your favorite shows, movies, music, and games.
Instead of just watching cable channels, Apple TV provides users with an app store to access their favorite tools, games, and music streaming services, Siri voice capabilities, gaming options, streaming video, streaming audio, and cast video from your iOS device.
However, if you have been using your Apple TV and suddenly realize you can’t find your remote, this could be a call for concern.
BUT, it doesn’t have to be!
How To Connect Your Apple TV To Wi-Fi Without The Remote
If you want to connect your Apple TV to Wi-Fi and you don’t have the remove, there are a few easy methods available to you to bypass the remote. Most of them only require an ethernet cable, Bluetooth keyboard, or iPhone, making it a simple way for tech-owners to troubleshoot their Apple TV concerns.
Even if you have misplaced the remote or it is no longer working due to technical glitches, you can use other substitutions to get the job done.
Fortunately, there are other ways to access your streaming content without the dedicated TV remote.
So before purchasing a new one, you can use one of these easy and fast methods to continue watching your favorite Netflix show.
There are a few different methods that you can use to connect your Apple TV to Wi-Fi without a remote, but all of these steps start with first turning on the Apple TV.
Method #1: Ethernet Cable
The first way to connect your Apple TV to Wi-Fi without a remote is to use an ethernet cable.
An ethernet cable connects a router, internet modem, or network switch to your computer or TV.
Since the Apple TV has an ethernet port, it can be physically connected to your internet router.
Next, open the Apple TV Remote app on the Apple device by clicking on ‘Remotes and Devices’ under Settings.
You can use any device with the Apple TV Remote app installed (not necessarily the remote itself).
Then, connect to Wi-Fi using the ‘new remote.’
Method #2: Share Password
The second method to connect your TV to Wi-Fi without the trusty remote is to share your Apple ID password from another iOS device (i.e., iPhone, iPad, MacBook, etc.).
You can’t connect to the Apple TV unless you have the Apple TV remote and enter the Wi-Fi password — but you can share the Wi-Fi network SSID and password to another device if you have updated the software of your TV.
First, turn on your iOS device’s Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Next, turn on the TV.
Then, touch the Apple TV control box with the iOS device.
Directions will appear on the screen for you to follow.
touch the Apple TV control box with the iOS device
Method #3: Use Your iPhone
We just talked about using another iOS device to hard passwords — but using your iPhone is even easier! You can use the Control Center Remote Feature through AirPlay (a built-in feature that all iPhones have when you swipe from the home screen).
To connect to Wi-Fi, do the following:
- Make sure your iPhone is updated to the latest version of iOS software
- Go to ‘Settings’
- Click on ‘Control Center’
- Add the Apple TV Controls
- Click the + button next to Apple TV to add the button to your Control Center
- Swipe up to access the Control Center from your home screen
- Click on the remote icon
- Connect the Apple TV to the router with an ethernet cable
- Click on ‘Settings’ -> ‘Network’ -> ‘Wi-Fi’ -> select your Wi-Fi network
- Input the four-digit PIN password on your iPhone
Method #4: Use A Bluetooth Keyboard
Maybe you have used a Bluetooth keyboard in the past to connect with your iPad to write long papers or compose emails.
If so, this is the perfect solution to connect your Apple TV to Wi-Fi without having the remote handy.
Plus, even if you don’t have a Bluetooth keyboard lying around, you can convert a laptop keyboard into a Bluetooth one by downloading a Bluetooth app for your keyboard.
Once you have the keyboard, follow these steps:
- Pair your Bluetooth keyboard
- Click on Settings
- Go to ‘Remotes and Devices’
- Click on ‘Bluetooth’ and search for the keyboard
- Select the keyboard
- Enter the four-digit passcode
- Connect to your Wi-Fi network using the Bluetooth keyboard
Method #5: Use An Old Remote
If you have an old remote from a ‘normal’ non-smart TV, you can still use this to help your Apple TV connect to Wi-Fi.
By using an ethernet cable and a standard TV remote, you can connect to Wi-Fi by doing the following steps:
- Choose a standard TV remote with directional buttons
- Connect an Ethernet cable to the Apple TV
- Click on ‘Settings’ -> ‘General’ -> ‘Remotes’ on the Apple TV using your iPhone through the Control Center
- Click on ‘Learn REmote’
- Teach the Apple TV how to use the standard remote
- Disconnect the ethernet cable
- Use the standard TV remote to access the Wi-Fi settings
Method #6: Use Your Macbook
Even if you don’t have a Bluetooth keyboard, we said earlier that you could convert a keyboard into a Bluetooth one through a specific app.
In the case of using a Macbook, you don’t even need the app — just the correct cables.
Do the following steps to help connect your Macbook to your Apple TV and access Wi-Fi in minutes:
- Connect your iPhone to your Mac
- Connect your Mac to the Apple TV using the Ethernet cable and a USB dongle
- Turn on your Apple TV
- Select ‘Preferences’ on your Mac
- Click on ‘Sharing’
- Click on ‘Share your connection’
- Select ‘Wi-Fi’
- Click on ‘To computers using’ and check off ‘Ethernet’ and ‘iPhone USB’
- On the iPhone, click on the AppleTV from the Control Center
- Download a Bluetooth app to your Macbook (like Typeeto) to turn your keyboard into a Bluetooth one for free
- Go to your iPhone and connect your Mac using the Bluetooth setting
- Unplug the Ethernet cable from the TV
- Use the Mac’s Bluetooth keyboard to connect to Wi-Fi