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It's relatively straightforward to detect some button presses on the tvOS Siri Remote: the pause/play button, the touchpad area, and with marginally more effort, the MENU button. But there seems to be no way detect or override the function of the + and - buttons, or the Siri or home buttons.

Or is there?

Vel Genov
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Grumdrig
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1 Answers1

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Currently the + and - (volume) buttons on the Siri remote are accessed through private functions. These can't be overwritten or detected, as they have a reserved function. The same goes for the home button.

There are a couple of points that support this claim. First, as the OP noted, there are no events that detect any actions related to the volume buttons. They don't trigger the pressesBegan or similar events either.

Another good place to look for more options with the remote/controller is GCGameController. It looks like it has functionality related to all, but the volume buttons, which are reserved. Take a look at the Using the Apple TV Remote as a Game Controller section here. It mentions all of the buttons on the remote that can be used in a CGGameController.

As I mention in my other posts, this is a fairly new OS and not everything is available yet. You can always file a bug report with Apple and request certain API to be made public.

Vel Genov
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  • Yeah, also not the "home" button (which looks like a TV, I guess), or the Siri button (the microphone). While that makes sense from one point of view, it cripples the remote for use as a gamepad, say, for a platformer. – Grumdrig Jan 15 '16 at 00:20
  • I agree with you. They do have a point that these buttons should be reserved in most cases, there are certain occasions when they should be overwritten. I spent a couple of hours when I saw your question, since that was bothering me too. All I found just confirmed my previous knowledge, that these buttons are reserved. Keep in mind that it's a new platform though. I'm sure if Apple gets enough bug reports about it, they might reconsider their position. – Vel Genov Jan 15 '16 at 02:50
  • lol they have not, eh :) – Fattie Dec 12 '22 at 16:41