Update: The Function 101 Button Remote for Apple TV has been updated with Bluetooth, allowing the multi-button remote to operate without a direct line of sight. This is essential if, like many Apple TV owners, you mount the streaming box behind the TV or hide it in a cabinet. Otherwise, the remote looks and works the same and is a great replacemene for your Apple TV.
If you hate the complicated Apple TV Siri remote, the Function 101 Button Remote for Apple TV is a good replacement remote.
It’s a traditional infrared remote (and now with added Bluetooth) with 18 simple buttons, hence the name. Thanks to its familiar design, it may be the easiest way to use your Apple TV.
It works with most TVs and home theater components out of the box, runs on regular batteries, and isn’t as easy to misplace as Apple’s remote control. There’s a lot to like and it’s on sale for 25% off exclusively for Cult of Mac readers over Memorial Day weekend.
![Review of Function101 Button Remote as a replacement for the Apple TV remote Review of Function101 Button Remote as a replacement for the Apple TV remote](https://i0.wp.com/keynoteusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Review-of-Function101-Button-Remote-as-a-replacement-for-the-scaled.jpeg?resize=1170%2C878&ssl=1)
101 Button Function Remote Control Review: An Affordable Replacement
![Function_101_Apple_TV_button_remote_2 Apple TV Function 101 Button Remote: The Function 101 Button Remote is a solid, easy-to-use alternative to the much-hated Siri remote.](https://i0.wp.com/www.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Function_101_Apple_TV_button_remote_2-780x618.jpg?resize=780%2C618&ssl=1)
Photo: Keynote USA/Mac Cult
The Button Remote is compatible with Apple TV and the latest Apple TV 4K and is programmed to work with both devices out of the box. It exists only because of the strange shortcomings and design choices of Apple’s Siri Remote, both the original Siri Remote, which was widely hated and its more recent replacement, which people still hate. Apple’s Siri Remote is still too small, complicated, and too symmetrical to operate in the dark with touch alone. It is difficult to use and is easily lost.
Of course, Apple is well aware of the shortcomings of the original Siri Remote, which is why the clicker was replaced with a new design. The new aluminum Siri Remote ditches the glass trackpad in favor of a familiar button wheel and costs $59, double the price of Function 101’s Button Remote. Plus, it’s still small and fiddly. And it must be recharged via Lightning cable.
A better design for an Apple TV remote
By contrast, the Function 101’s remote button is about twice the size and twice the thickness. It’s not a large remote, but it’s much easier to hold and use than any of the Siri remotes.
The problem may be that the Siri Remote was designed not only to play videos but also to play games. It has accelerometers so it can be used as a Wii-style game controller. Its touch panel also works as a joystick for games. The Siri Remote also includes a variety of inscrutable (and hard-to-discover) gestures, taps, and long-press clicks that invoke various commands.
![Function_101_Apple_TV_button_remote_3 Feature 101 Button Remote Review: The Feature 101 Remote is larger than the Siri Remote, making it easier to use and find between couch cushions.](https://i0.wp.com/www.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Function_101_Apple_TV_button_remote_3-780x585.jpg?resize=780%2C585&ssl=1)
Photo: keynote USA/Mac Cult
The Button Remote’s 18 buttons are arranged in a familiar pattern that will be immediately recognized by anyone who has operated a TV remote (i.e., everyone aged 2 1/2 and up). The remote control has a nice rubbery surface. And the buttons themselves feel pleasantly tactile and clickable.
Unlike the original Siri Remote, this one comes with dedicated buttons for fast forwarding and rewinding, skipping forward and backward, and stopping playback completely, as well as mute and channel/page forward and back buttons.
Siri’s sliding keyboard is replaced with a standard four-way carousel with an “OK” button in the middle. It’s very easy to use and much more accurate than Siri’s Glasspad.
Infrared and AAA batteries
Because it is an infrared (IR) and Bluetooth remote control, this Apple TV remote control replacement also works with almost all TVs and home theater systems on the market. Out of the box, the Button Remote comes programmed to work with Samsung TVs. We have a Samsung TV with a Sonos sound bar (and satellite speakers) and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the button remote worked perfectly with my entire setup without any configuration. When does that happen?
You can easily program the remote button to control volume, mute, and power on your TV, sound bar, or receiver, which is nice. (Instructions can be found on the Feature 101 FAQ page.)
Another big plus: the Button Remote runs on a pair of AAA batteries instead of being recharged with a Lightning cable. In my book, this is better. Whenever I need the Siri remote, it’s always, always, always dead.
Because the Button Remote works via infrared and Bluetooth, you no longer need a clear line of sight to the Apple TV. If your streaming box is hidden in a cabinet or behind a large flat screen, you’ll no longer have trouble operating the Function 101 remote.
No Siri and no input control
The Button Remote does not have an input button, so it cannot be used to change the inputs on your TV. If, like me, you have multiple devices connected to your TV (a cable box, a game console, an Apple TV), you can’t use the remote with buttons to switch between them.
However, it’s not a big loss. When the remote button wakes up Apple TV (via the Menu button), it also wakes your TV to the correct input.
The Button Remote also lacks a microphone, so you can’t use it for Siri voice commands.
This is the biggest loss for me. The only thing I like about the Siri Remote is Siri. Speech recognition is great for entering long and complex passwords. Additionally, it is often useful for searching for programs (although not always). Your experience with Siri may be different. I’ve heard a lot of people complain that Siri is useless, so the lack of a microphone may not be a big loss.
There’s also no dedicated TV button, which on the Siri Remote takes you to the Apple TV home screen. However, simply press and hold the Menu button on the remote to open the home screen.
There are a couple more hidden commands worth mentioning:
- Press and hold the P^ button to open the Apple TV Control Center.
- Press and hold the Pv button to open the App Switcher.
- Double-tap the UP arrow above the OK button to close an unresponsive app.
An affordable and reliable Apple TV remote replacement
I’m a bit old school and often too lazy to learn new ways of doing things, which is why I like the Button Remote. Everything is extremely familiar and easy to use, even in the dark. This alternative Apple TV remote control is reliable and easy to find if it gets lost between the couch cushions.
I miss Siri commands, but that’s not a big deal. The Button Remote does the job. That’s $40 well spent.
The Function 101 Button Remote for Apple TV (Bluetooth Edition) is available from Function 101 for $39.95. However, Cult of Mac readers can get 25% off sitewide with code CULTFMAC25 through Memorial Day weekend. The discount also applies to the infrared edition of the Button Remote, in addition to Function 101’s fantastic cable management products.
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