My Apple TV2 stopped responding to the IR remote all of a sudden. The white LED would blink with every button press, but nothing would happen. I was able to pair the Apple TV's remote with my Macbook Pro, and it worked fine. My old plastic IR remote, which still works with my MBP also displayed the same behavior with the Apple TV.

The Apple TV did respond to the iOS remote app, so that's not the problem either.

  • It sounds like there is an issue with the IR receiver on your Apple TV. If that's the case, that's a hardware fault and we can't help you. Take it to an Apple Store (not an authorized Apple service center) and get them to run diagnostics. – user10355 Sep 23 '11 at 5:01

I only asked this question because it was bothering me all day and couldn't find an acceptable answer, so here it is:

Hold the Left/Back button and the Menu button (on the aluminum remote) for 6+ seconds.

That's it!

  • What does that sequence do? – user10355 Sep 23 '11 at 16:58
  • Also, does it reset the Apple TV or the remote? – Rangachari Anand Sep 23 '11 at 19:43
  • It seems to unlink and re-link the remote. The unlink icon displayed and then the remote was immediately recognized. – Paul Ward Sep 24 '11 at 1:21

Same thing happened to me. In my case, the solution was to use a iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) and download the free Remote App.

With that App you gain control again to the AppleTV, move to the configuration menu and pair again the remote with the box. It takes a minute and everithing was back to normal.

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