A Dedicated Home Button for Apple TV: Bring Back the Convenience

There’s one thing that frustrates me about the Apple TV – the lack of a dedicated Home button on the remote. Returning to the Home Screen can be a real pain, forcing me to repeatedly hit the Back button or hold it down. And let’s be real, it’s easy to accidentally trigger the screen saver or launch an app you didn’t intend to open.

A Brief Look Back at the Past

If you remember, before September 2019, you could get back to the Home Screen with a simple tap of the TV/Control Center button. Those were good times. Unfortunately, a software update in tvOS 13.0 changed everything.

The Why Behind My Request

I’m not a huge fan of the Apple TV app, which is why the lack of a dedicated Home button gets under my skin. The app doesn’t support every streaming service, with Netflix being the glaring omission. This means I often end up navigating from the Home Screen to my preferred apps.

A dedicated Home button would save me time and hassle. I’d prefer to jump back to my starting point with ease rather than hunting for the button or fumbling through menu options.

Bringing Back the Home Button

The good news is that anyone with an Apple TV can revert to the old behavior and bring back the dedicated Home button. It’s simply a matter of adjusting a setting.

A Quick Fix to Regain Convenience

• Enable the “Legacy TV Navigation” setting under Settings > remotes > [your Apple TV remote].

With this setting, you’ll get back to the dedicated Home button that we all once knew and loved. Give it a try and discover the difference it can make in your Apple TV experience.