I just bought an A2540 remote to replace the lost remote on my A1842 4k Apple TV (tvOS 13.0 17J586). The remote won’t pair. When I press "down"+"Volume up", I get to message to bring the remote closer to complete pairing. It never completes pairing.
If your Apple TV remote isn't working - Apple Support
The Siri Remote (2nd generation) requires tvOS 14.5 or later. You will have to update your Apple TV first, before the replacement remote can pair. Doing so may require a (borrowed?) functional remote (or the software remote on iPhone).
I upgraded to 15.5 and the remote paired without issue. Manual update did the trick!
I think it's interesting that I have automatic updates turned on, but the unit was still on v13.x.
New Siri remote won't pair with my A1842 4k Apple TV.
