
How to use Siri on the Apple TV
Everything you need to know about using Siri to search for and play TV, movies and music on the Apple TV.
It had a slow start and felt like an Apple hobby rather than a product they took seriously. But the Apple TV has improved vastly in features and content since its inception and is widely regarded to be one of the best quality streaming devices on the market.
The Apple TV also provides seamless interaction with Siri.
Where is Siri available on the Apple TV?
Siri can be used on the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV (4th generation) in these countries, regions, and languages:
Australia — English, Brazil — Portuguese, Canada — English and French, France — French, Germany — German, Japan — Japanese, Mexico — Spanish, Netherlands — Dutch, Norway — Norwegian Bokmål, Spain — Spanish, Sweden — Swedish, UK — English, US — English, and Spanish.
How to turn Siri on and off on an Apple TV?
To enable or disable Siri features on your Apple TV, go to:
Settings > General > Siri.

Activating and using Siri
Hold down the Siri button on the Apple TV Remote, say what you want, then let go of the Siri button.
Siri searches many apps (compatible apps will depend on your country) and shows your viewing options or the answer to your question.
Siri on the Apple TV doesn't give audio feedback but displays text on the screen; this is to avoid interrupting your viewing or listening.
If you press and release the Siri button, Siri will give you ideas on what you can use it for.
Searching for movies and TV shows with Siri
You can search content on your Apple TV by:
- Title
- Genre
- Cast
- Rating
- Age
- Popularity
- Director
- Actors
For example:
Find Star Wars
Show me some fantasy movies
Show me moves starring Jennifer Lawrence
Find me popular TV shows
Show me new releases
Find me new movies in 4k
Once you have the results of your search, you can refine them by asking:
Only ones from this year
Only dramas
If you're not sure what you want to watch, you can ask Siri to make some suggestions for you, even narrowing it down to a particular genre:
Show me something new
Show me something funny
Controlling an Apple TV with Siri
Use simple commands to control an Apple TV.
Play
Pause
Skip back**forward 5 minutes**seconds
Start from the beginning
Saying 'What did he/she say?' will skip back 15 seconds and turn on the subtitles.
If you're having trouble understanding what characters are saying on screen, or wish to watch in a foreign language with subtitles, try these phrases:
Turn on Subtitles
Turn on Closed Captioning
Using Siri with Apple Music
If you have a subscription to Apple Music, it's possible to search and play music via your Apple TV.
Siri can search for music using artist names, song titles, album titles, genres, and years.
Play music from U2
Play the latest Adele album
Play All I want for Christmas
Play songs from the 1970s
Play the top dance songs
Play the number one song from 2010
To control music once it's playing:
Play the next song
Skip this song
Play a song by a similar artist
Add this song to my library
Shuffle Adele songs
Siri can also play a radio station or create one for you:
Play country radio
Create a radio station based on Titanium
Other things Siri can do on the Apple TV
Besides being able to search and control TV, movies, and music, Siri offers a few other valuable services.
Check the weather
Siri can check the weather locally and worldwide to the same extent it can on the iPhone or iPad.
How warm is it today?
How's the weather in Seattle?
When is sunrise in Berlin?
Check stock prices
Find prices for stocks and worldwide markets.
How's Google stock today?
How is the FTSE 100 doing today?
Check sports results
Find out the latest scores and ask for information about players and teams.
Who won the World Cup?
Open and search for apps and content
Open installed apps on your Apple TV.
Open Netflix
Open Settings
Open Photos
Find lifestyle apps
Find podcasts about movies
Search YouTube for move trailers
Find cooking tips on YouTube
Want to discover more about using Siri, Apple’s popular virtual assistant? We’ve written a helpful collection of tutorials full of techniques for using apps, dictation, using Siri Shortcuts, and a comprehensive beginner’s guide to activating and using Siri.
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