iMac "Remote Controls" - One Remote to rule them all?

[jasonnorm]

Hoping someone can give me a quick tip to resolve this rather annoying problem.

My wife and I both have iMacs (I have the new 24" while she has the prev gen 20" - Don't ask me how I pulled that off because I still don't know! lol...). Maybe it has something to do with the iPhone I bought her when I bought the new 24"

The problem is that they are situated closely enough where if I use the remote to use FrontRow it sends the signals to her iMac and vice versa. She was not as .... amussed ... as I was when we first discovered this

Any ideas? Can I restrect the signal to one iMac only via some type of "pairing" similar to what the TV does?

 

[jdmlight]

Absolutely. Turn off one of the iMacs (to make sure you don't pair the remote to both computers), then hold down the Play/Pause and Menu buttons on the Apple Remote for ~5 seconds. An icon will appear on your screen that looks like an Apple Remote with a chain link above it (similar to what you get when you hold down the play/pause button for 3 seconds to put your computer to sleep). This remote will now work with only this iMac. Repeat the process with the other iMac.

To unpair the remote, open System Prefs, click Security, then click the "Unpair" button at the bottom.

Another useful hint: if you hold down the "Menu" button at startup (with Boot Camp installed on an Intel Mac), you will get the menu that allows you to choose Windows or OS X.

 

[Jackattack]

Press and hold the Menu and Next/Fast-forward buttons simultaneously on the remote for 5 seconds.

The previous post suggested play/pause and menu... but I'm not sure if that's correct. Maybe on older macs... Anyway that is direct from apple and it worked for my 24" Aluminum.

 

[jdmlight]

Press and hold the Menu and Next/Fast-forward buttons simultaneously on the remote for 5 seconds.

The previous post suggested play/pause and menu... but I'm not sure if that's correct. Maybe on older macs... Anyway that is direct from apple and it worked for my 24" Aluminum.

I also have a 24" Aluminum...I just tried both combinations: play/pause&menu and next/fast-forward&menu, both work. Strange...

 

[Jackattack]

That is strange. Well nothing wrong with more options! Plus I learned something new today!

 

[jasonnorm]

Thanks everyone! Worked like a champ.

 

[VideoFreek]

For the sake of completeness, it should also be mentioned that you need to be logged in under an Administrator account to successfully pair a remote.

 

[GuntherS]

Another useful hint: if you hold down the "Menu" button at startup (with Boot Camp installed on an Intel Mac), you will get the menu that allows you to choose Windows or OS X.

Thanks for the tip!