How to make the home button on your Apple TV remote take you home again

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If you own an Apple TV and are anything like me, you’ll have been hit with a weird surprise a while ago: a button on the remote randomly changed function. Where once you clicked and were taken to the Apple TV home screen, an overnight change meant you were directed to the Apple TV app instead.

apple tv remote — This is the Apple TV remote, and the button that changed is circled in red. Just so you know, okay?

This totally threw me off. I can’t recall a single other occasion where the function of a button changed without any warning. Although I eventually got used to it (you can go to the home screen by doubling clicking the aforementioned button), I still found it deeply irritating.

But, then, I discovered you can actually change this setting back. Oh, how the angels began singing on that fair day.

And yes, before anyone sends me an email, it did take me a long time to find out that this setting exists.

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So, tell me, how do you make the home button on the Apple TV remote take you home again?

Very easily, thankfully.

Step one: head into the Apple TV “Settings” app
Step two: go to “Remotes and Devices”
Step three: click on “Home button” and the option will change from “TV app” to “Home Screen”
Step four: sigh in relief

Yep, changing the setting really is that easy.

To be honest, I kinda wish I knew this trick a long, long time ago. This home button alteration has provided me with slight irritation for months on end now, so finding this fix is both a huge relief (wooo, easy access to the home screen again) and greatly frustrating (booo, why didn’t I find this sooner?).

And if you don’t have an Apple TV? Well, you can buy yourself one here.

Anyway, hopefully this information helps you in some small way — good luck!

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Story by Callum Booth

Callum Booth is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of TNW, where his reporting (show all) Callum Booth is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of TNW, where his reporting was cited widely, including in VICE, the FT, and the BBC. Callum’s writing has appeared in The Verge, The Daily Telegraph, Time Out, and many more. He covers the full spectrum of technology, with a particular focus on how it shapes our daily lives. And a lot of regulation stuff too. Outside of work, Callum’s an avid bookworm, a Fisherman’s Friends addict, and resolutely unshaven. Follow him on Twitter @CallumBooth or visit www.callumbooth.net.