How to remove the Remote app from iPhone or iPad

You can’t fully stop your iPhone or iPad from working as your Apple TV remote. But here are some steps you can take.

For starters, every Apple TV comes with a physical Siri Remote. In addition, you can use your iPhone or iPad, or that of a person added to your Apple TV, as a remote to do pretty much everything the physical Apple TV remote can do.

If you don’t want to use an iPhone or iPad as a remote, you can deregister it in Apple TV remote settings and then forget about using the Remote in iOS Control Center.

Deregister your iPhone or iPad as the Apple TV remote

1. Open the Settings app on your Apple TV.
2. Go to Remotes and Devices.
3. Select Remote App and Devices.
4. Select your or a family member’s iPhone or iPad.
5. Click Forget This Device, followed by Remove.

Ideally, the iPhone or iPad should no longer work as a remote to control this Apple TV. However, in my tests, I found that even after removing my iPhone and iPad by following the above steps, I could still open the Remote app from iOS Control Center, and it would connect to my Apple TV to function as a remote. So, to stop this, your best bet is to remove the Remote app icon.

Remove Apple TV Remote from iOS Control Center

The Apple TV Remove app is not available as a traditional app on iPhone or iPad. As a result, you won’t find it on the Home Screen, App Library, iPhone Storage settings, or other places from where you could uninstall it.

The Remote app is only available as an iOS Control Center button, Lock Screen button, and Shortcuts app action. So, remove them from these places if you have them added. Here are the steps for Control Center:

1. Open Control Center on your iPhone or iPad and tap the plus button (+) at the top to enter editing mode.
2. Tap the minus button for the Remote to remove it.

Stop getting Apple TV keyboard notifications on iPhone

In case you don’t want to get Apple TV Keyboard Input notification on your iPhone or iPad every time you begin typing something on your Apple TV, then go to iOS Settings > Notifications > Apple TV Keyboard and turn off Allow Notifications.

Stop seeing Apple TV playback controls on iPhone or iPad Lock Screen

There is no way to stop seeing what’s playing on your Apple TV on your iPhone or iPad Lock Screen unless:

• Something else is already playing on the iPhone or iPad.
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are turned off from iOS Settings (not just Control Center).
• iPhone or iPad is not in close proximity to your Apple TV.
• Or, you have removed Apple TV from the Apple Home app.

As you can see, there is no clear option to fully stop using the iPhone as Apple TV remote or stop showing media controls on the iOS Lock Screen. While most of us appreciate how well Apple devices work together, not having the option to disable certain ecosystem features can be irritating.

Also, check out:

• 19 tips for using your Apple TV Siri Remote like a pro
• 6 things to do before selling your Apple TV

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2026/04/10/stop-using-iphone-as-apple-tv-remote/