LPT: How to pair a Fire TV remote with a Mac Book (and other MacOS devices)

Submitted by philipp on Sat, 04/25/2015 - 13:44

I have an Amazon Fire TV with its sleek remote control and like the simplicity of both the Fire TV and the remote. The remote control has only a few buttons and is quite easy to use with the the Fire TV’s menu, as well as with other applications, such as Kodi (formaly known as XBMC). Furthermore, the remote uses Bluetooth instead of infrared to communicate with the Fire TV. Hence, you don’t need a direct line of sight between the remote and the Fire TV. The nice thing about the remote control is that it is also possible to pair the remote with other devices, such as an Apple MacBook. The following steps will guide you through this.

But careful: To re-pair / reconnect the Fire TV remote with the Fire TV you need to enter the settings on your Fire TV. If your remote is paired to another device, you can use the Fire TV app for your smartphone to do so.

Note: This will also work for the slightly different remote control of the Amazon Fire TV stick

PAIR THE FIRE TV REMOTE WITH A MACBOOK (AND PROBABLY OTHER BLUETOOTH HOSTS)

  1. Enable Bluetooth on your MacBook by clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar.

  2. Go to the Bluetooth system preferences by selecting "System preferences bluetooth".

  3. When this Bluetooth preferences window is open, OS X permanently searches for nearby Bluetooth devices. Now you press the Home-Button (⌂) on the Fire TV remote for about 5 seconds and the Fire TV remote will appear. Now press the „Connect“ button.

That’s it -- the remote control is paired to your computer and you can now use the Fire TV remote for presentations or for controlling your music.

REPAIR REMOTE WITH AMAZON FIRE TV.

Use the Fire TV remote app on a smartphone to control your Fire TV.

  1. On your Fire TV go to „Setttings“ and select „Game controller and bluetooth devices“.

  2. Select the entry „Amazon Fire TV remote control“. You first need to disconnect the Amazon Fire TV remote control by pressing the Options button (≡) followed by the Select button (◎) to confirm on the smart phone).

  3. Now select "Add a new remote control" and the Fire TV will start to search for bluetooth devices around. Press the home button (⌂) on the remote control for 5 seconds. The Fire TV should now repair with the remote.

That should be it.

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