Why isn't my Anki Remote connecting?
If your Anki Remote won't pair with your Mac, iPad, or phone for the first time — or it stopped connecting to a device it worked with before — walk through these in order. One of them will fix it.
On iPad specifically? Here's the full walkthrough for how to connect your Anki Remote to iPad before you dig into the fixes below.
Check the LED
Flashing blue: your remote is in Pairing Mode and ready to connect. Open Bluetooth on your device and select "Anki Remote" from the list.
Solid blue (or no flash): your remote is already paired to another device. This is the most common cause. Read the next step.
No LED at all: the remote is off or the battery is dead. Hold the START button for 3 seconds to turn it on, or plug it in for 15 minutes if the battery is depleted.
Is it paired to another device?
The Anki Remote can only be actively connected to one device at a time. If you last used it with your iPad and now you're trying to connect to your Mac, it's still holding the previous connection.
To free it up: go to the previous device (iPad, other Mac, phone), open Bluetooth settings, and "Forget" or "Remove" the Anki Remote. Then hold START on the remote until the blue light flashes to re-enter Pairing Mode, and connect from your new device.
Move within 3 feet of your device
Bluetooth range is more finicky than the spec sheets admit. Backpacks, monitors, USB 3.0 hubs, and even microwaves on the 2.4GHz band can block pairing. During the initial pair, get close.
Toggle Bluetooth off and back on
On your Mac, iPad, or phone, turn Bluetooth off from the menu bar or Control Center, wait 5 seconds, and turn it back on. This forces your device to refresh its scan for nearby remotes.
Confirm the remote is in Key Mode, not Game Mode
Look at the mode slider on your remote. If it's up (Game Mode), your remote isn't sending keyboard-compatible signals — it'll pair over Bluetooth but Anki won't recognize it. Slide it down to Key Mode and try again. (More on this in the Game Mode vs Key Mode section below.)
Still not connecting? Hard reset it
Find the reset pinhole on the back of the remote. Insert a pin or paperclip and hold for 10 seconds. Turn the remote off, back on, and try pairing again from scratch. This clears any stuck pairing state.
If none of that works, email us at support@ankiremote.com with your device (Mac model / iPad / iPhone), macOS or iOS version, and what the LED is doing when you try to pair. We'll usually diagnose within a day.
My Anki Remote is connected but the buttons aren't doing anything
Bluetooth says "connected." The LED is solid. You press a button and… nothing happens in Anki. This is a distinct problem from the one above, and it's almost always one of four causes.
Cause 1: You're in Game Mode instead of Key Mode
This is the culprit 80% of the time. Look at the mode slider on your remote. If it's up (Game Mode), the remote is sending gamepad signals instead of keyboard signals — and Anki only responds to keyboard input. Slide it down to Key Mode and try again.
Game Mode isn't broken — it's the wrong mode for Anki. See the Game Mode vs Key Mode section below for what each is for.
Cause 2: Anki isn't the active window
The remote sends keystrokes to whatever app has focus on your screen. If your browser is on top or you've clicked into a different window, button presses go there instead of Anki. Click into Anki so its window is highlighted, then try a button.
Cause 3: The Anki add-on isn't installed (Study Remote v2 Pro users)
If you have the newer Study Remote 2 Pro, some buttons — including the left joystick — require the free Anki add-on to work. If you skipped that step during setup, install it now:
In Anki desktop, go to Tools → Add-ons → Get Add-ons.
Paste code 693153301 and click OK.
Restart Anki for the add-on to load.
The core buttons (Show Answer, Again/Hard/Good/Easy) work without the add-on, but full functionality requires it.
Cause 4: Anki was open before the remote connected
Occasionally, Anki loses track of newly-connected input devices if it was already running when you paired the remote. Quit Anki fully (Cmd+Q on Mac, not just closing the window) and reopen it.
If none of the above worked
Try a different button — some button-specific issues point to a single stuck key rather than a full-remote problem.
Unpair the remote, restart your device, and re-pair from scratch. This clears any stale keystroke routing.
Hard-reset the remote using the pinhole on the back (10-second press with a pin), then re-pair.
Still stuck? Email support@ankiremote.com with your device, macOS/iOS version, and which specific buttons aren't working. Screenshots of your Bluetooth settings and the mode slider position help us diagnose faster.
How do I turn off my Anki Remote?
We have this at the top of the page for a reason. The most common reason for the Anki Remote to keep dying is that it may not be turned off.
To turn off your Anki Remote:
