Alexa Apple TV

The Alexa is an excellent way of customizing your smart home, like using the smart assistant to make custom skills in the application. Linking different brands to the voice assistant is a fantastic way to control and interact with your devices.

Can Alexa control Apple TV? The Alexa has no direct integration for the Apple TV, but you can use simple features like play/pause and volume control if you have smart speakers connecting to your TV. For more features, you will need a third device like the Harmony Hub Remote that you can link to your Alexa and give commands to your Apple TV. 

Keep reading to learn how you can link other devices to get access to more features with your Alexa and Apple TV and troubleshoot some of the issues that can come up. 

Can Alexa control Apple TV? 

You can control your Apple TV with your Alexa, but there are limitations to how much you can control without linking another device.

Since Alexa doesn’t have a direct integration for Apple TVs, you will only use simple controls like play/pause and volume levels if you have smart speakers. 

However, using Bluetooth through your Alexa to control speakers can be problematic and isn’t always the most viable option with an Apple TV. 

Connecting the Harmony Remote

If you want to get more features with your smart devices and your Apple TV, then linking your Alexa to the Harmony Hub Remote can help you send more commands to your TV.

There are two remote types to choose from: the hub-based remote and the IR remote. 

Connecting a hub-based remote

To connect your hub-based Harmony remote to your Apple TV:

  1. Add the Harmony app to your mobile device and open it.
  2. Select the “Menu” icon in the top left, then “Harmony Setup” from the drop-down menu. 
  3. Click on the “Add/Edit Devices ; Activities” option.
  4. Select “Devices,” then click the “Add device” option located at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Click “Scan for Wi-Fi Devices,” and Harmony will search for your Apple TV. Ensure that you connect your TV to your home Wi-Fi.
  6. A prompt will appear asking you to create an Activity. Click “Yes” and follow the prompts to build a “Watch Apple TV” Activity. 

Once you have the Activity complete, Harmony will be able to control your Apple TV and link your Alexa to the Harmony hub to use voice commands.

Connecting an IR remote

To connect your IR remote:

  1. Get the desktop MyHarmony software and sign in.
  2. Go to the Remote Gallery screen and select your device.
  3. Click the “Devices” option on the left side of the screen, then select “Add device.”
  4. Enter your device information with Apple in the “Manufacturer” text box and the model number of your Apple TV in the “Device Model Number” text box. A prompt will appear for you to select your Apple TV generation.

Next, you will need to set up an activity that allows you to use commands to control your TV:

  1. On the menu located on the left side of the screen, select the “Activities” tab, then click the “Add Activity” button.
  2. Select the “Watch Apple TV” Activity type and click “Next“. You will get a series of prompts to follow to finish setting up the Activity. 
  3. Sync your remote after making your changes. 

You can now link your remote to your Alexa and start using voice commands to launch Activities to control your Apple TV. 

How to Set Up Alexa commands?

Now that you have your Alexa connecting with your Apple Tv, you need to set up voice commands in the Alexa application so you can easily use your smart devices.

To set up Alexa commands:

  1. Open the Alexa app on your mobile device and click the drop-down menu in the top left corner of the Home screen.
  2. Select the “Routines” option to open the Routines menu and click the “+” button on the top right to add a new Routine. 
  3. Select the “+” option next to the “When this happens” area of the menu.
  4. Click the “Voice” option, which will open a prompt to enter the trigger phrase to start the routine. Enter your preferred phrase but remember not to put a period or any other punctuation at the end of the phrase.
  5. Now you can add an action that will happen after the trigger phrase. Click the ‘+” button in the “Add action” section of the menu and choose the “Smart Home” option.
  6. Click the “Control device” option and scroll until you find your Harmony device.

You can scroll through the control options and set up a routine for the Apple TV actions you want to control. If you want more details about setting up routines and other commands on your Alexa, you can check out the Amazon Alexa features page. 

Why is your Alexa not connecting?

If you’re having trouble connecting, it’s probably because of an issue connecting to your Wi-Fi. The easiest way to fix a Wi-Fi connection problem is to restart your device.

Unplug the power adapter at the back of the device and wait a few seconds before plugging it back in. Your device should connect automatically.

If you’re still having issues, then you can force your device to forget your Wi-Fi network and try setting it up again.

  1. Go to the Amazon website and select “Account ; Settings.” 
  2. Scroll until you see the “Your Content and Devices” option and click it.
  3. Go to the “Manage you Content and Devices” page and select “Settings” located on the right.
  4. You should see a list under “Saved Wi-Fi Passwords” to find your network.
  5. Click “Delete.”

You can now log in to your Wi-Fi network. If the connection still isn’t working, your should restart your router. 

Final Thoughts

There is no direct way to connect your Alexa to your Apple TV unless you are willing to have minimal control. In most cases, you will need a third device to link to your TV and set up commands that you can then voice activate through your Alexa.

While it is not an intuitive process, it makes controlling your smart devices much more accessible once you have everything set up. 

If you need to connect Apple Homekit to Alexa, check out this post “Can Alexa Control Apple Homekit“.

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