Use your Mac keyboard to control a TV’s volume, power, and input

Use your keyboard to adjust a compatible TV’s volume, toggle mute, choose an input selection and send separate standby and wake commands. This example uses one LG webOS TV through HDMI-CEC. Test each command first, then configure the keyboard actions for that TV.

Before you begin

You need an Apple silicon Mac, a compatible LG webOS TV connected as a physical display, and a supported HDMI command path. Check Apple’s current HDMI-CEC compatibility list for your built-in HDMI port or adapter. Working video and HDMI audio do not establish CEC support, and hardware brightness support does not establish volume support.

Keep the TV’s physical remote nearby. Use its own speakers for this example. An amplifier or soundbar can receive commands differently. Know the actual HDMI port connected to the Mac and how to return to it with the remote.
Keep a separate physical desktop visible while changing input or putting the TV into standby. On a MacBook, leave the lid open and built-in display connected. If enabled, turn off Settings > Displays > Overview > Connection Management Settings… > Disconnect built-in display when an external display is connected. Keep other connection safeguards enabled. An independent recovery monitor must remain outside mirroring or streaming relationships with the TV.
Move important windows to the other desktop before changing TV input or power. If existing synchronization or power automation interferes with testing, pause that rule temporarily.

The procedures below require BetterDisplay to stay running in your user session. Native media keys need the permission offered by BetterDisplay. The later shell-script Shortcuts have separate permissions. Neither a listening message nor an on-screen volume indicator proves that the TV changed.

Verify the TV and HDMI path

Turn on the TV and select the Mac’s actual HDMI input using its remote. Enable the TV’s CEC feature. On models matching LG’s webOS 22/6.0 example, the route is All Settings > General > Devices > HDMI Settings > SIMPLINK (HDMI-CEC) > On. Follow LG’s model-dependent instructions if your menus differ.
In BetterDisplay, open Settings > Displays > [TV] > Device Control > Add or Remove Controllers…. Select Add beside HDMI-CEC, if it is not already added. Open Configure HDMI-CEC… on its card. The display must be connected to open the sheet.
Keep Enable volume control and Enable HDMI input selection on. Keep Enable power control off. This option controls automatic sleep/wake handling. The virtual remote's direct buttons work without it. It starts off because macOS can already send CEC power commands. In Advanced Settings, use Command destination > TV for this speaker test, and leave Manage CEC tunnel state off.
Use the refresh icon beside HDMI-CEC connection status and wait for the check to finish. A verified result is a useful starting point. Unsupported, unavailable or inactive-tunnel results need transport investigation before this recipe can continue. See CEC connection states. Even a verified result needs the command checks below.
Set HDMI input count to the actual numbered inputs you intend to expose. The default is 4. You can enter 1–15. This generates menu entries, rather than detecting working ports. Check the Mac’s port on the TV itself. A displayed (Mac) suffix is additional information when the address is available.

These settings save as you edit them. No Apply step is needed. The experimental tunnel-management option can cause loss of signal on wake, so it is not part of this setup.

Verified HDMI-CEC connection settings for the connected LG television

The LG television reports a verified HDMI connection, a ready CEC tunnel and Mac input address 1.0.0.0. Experimental tunnel management remains off.

Prove volume, input and power with the remote

Pause audio. Use the physical remote to establish a suitably quiet TV volume and a known mute state, then resume a quiet test sound through the TV. If needed, select the TV in System Settings > Sound > Output, as described in Apple’s HDMI audio guidance. Check the TV’s own volume indication. An app percentage may not reflect its actual level.
Open App Menu > [TV] > Device Control > Show HDMI-CEC Remote. Press volume down once, then volume up once. Check the actual audible result and TV feedback. Press mute once and again to verify both directions. CEC supplies relative up/down and mute-toggle commands, with no absolute-volume readback or percentage slider.
Open App Menu > [TV] > Input Source. Choose a known alternative HDMI port in the CEC list, observe the TV’s actual input, then use the physical remote to return to the Mac. If the command path remains available, also test the CEC entry for the Mac’s actual port. Controller headings separate the lists when several controllers offer inputs. A generated entry is not evidence that that input exists or accepts switching.
Pause playback and move to the recovery desktop. In the HDMI-CEC remote, use the sleep icon to send standby. Check the TV’s actual state. Then try its wake icon separately. These direct buttons remain available independently of Enable power control. If the TV does not return, use its physical remote to turn it on and select the Mac’s HDMI port.

Make volume and mute reach the TV

Open Settings > Displays > [TV] > General Settings and enable Keyboard control affects this display if needed. It is initially on.
Open Settings > Displays > [TV] > Device Control > Volume Control…. Keep Associate this display with an audio device that has native volume controls off for direct CEC commands. Check that Controller identifies HDMI-CEC, with up/down volume and toggle mute. If it names another controller, disable the competing method for this TV before testing. For a TV without working DDC, remove its DDC Control assignment through Add or Remove Controllers…. An enabled app slider does not establish DDC support. Removing a controller keeps its saved configuration.
Open Settings > Keyboard. Enable Listen to native audio keys, then complete Set up Accessibility Permissions… if offered, or Set up Device Control and Data Access… on macOS 27 and later. Follow the app’s permission sheet and restart BetterDisplay if it reports Accessibility Configured - App Restart Needed. See permission setup.
Open Native Audio Key Settings…. Under App should assume control over native audio keys when, select There is at least one controllable display connected. This lets BetterDisplay handle the keys without matching the audio output to the TV’s name. The default engagement choice requires that match. Turn Handle devices with native volume control off for this isolated test, and keep Leave mute key under OS control off so BetterDisplay handles mute too.
Close the sheet. Under Volume Control Affects:, select Screen with the mouse pointer. This destination choice is separate from whether BetterDisplay listens. Keep the TV as an independent extended desktop with no mirror/stream targets, place the pointer on it, and press volume down once. Check the TV’s audible level, then test up and mute/unmute individually. Avoid holding keys during the first test.

Relative TV commands can otherwise be followed by a native macOS audio adjustment. Disabling Handle devices with native volume control prevents that fallback during this test. Turn it back on later if you want native-volume fallback for other outputs. Check that only the intended TV responds. Keyboard preferences save immediately, but permission changes can require the restart above.

Native Audio Key Settings with a controllable-display eligibility condition and native forwarding, OS mute, and fine-scale overrides off.

Configure native audio keys for a connected controllable display, with native-audio forwarding off. This session has no connected HDMI-CEC television.

Connected LG television reporting HDMI-CEC relative volume and toggle mute control

The connected LG television provides HDMI-CEC volume up/down and toggle mute. Native audio-device association is off.

Bind known inputs to specific keys

Open Settings > Keyboard > Custom Keyboard Shortcuts > Keyboard Shortcuts… > Input Source. Choose two unused rows.
In the first row, use Select Display to choose the actual TV, then Select Input to choose its verified Mac HDMI port with the (HDMI-CEC) controller suffix. Record an unused key combination in that row’s recorder. In the second row, choose the same TV and a separately verified alternative CEC HDMI input, then record a different unused combination.
Test the alternate-input combination from the visible recovery desktop. Return with the Mac-input combination only if the command path remains usable. Otherwise use the physical remote. Repeat the Mac-input combination while already on that input to check that it stays predictable.

Each row stores a specific display and controller-specific input identifier. Input shortcuts do not use the pointer-based audio destination, and an input from the LG network list is not interchangeable with the same numbered CEC input. An unavailable display or transport can still prevent the action.

Two temporary LG television input shortcuts selecting HDMI 1 and HDMI 4 through HDMI-CEC

Unused rows bind the LG television’s Mac input on HDMI 1 and alternate HDMI 4 through HDMI-CEC, while existing bindings remain visible.

Add separate standby and wake Shortcuts

Use two named Apple Shortcuts for the already-tested CEC commands. BetterDisplay’s custom Turn display off action sends DDC power, and LG’s screen on/off action blanks or restores the picture. Use the CEC commands below for standby and wake.

With the TV connected, open Settings > Displays > [TV] > Display Information… > Identifiers and record its actual Tag ID. This numeric identifier belongs to your BetterDisplay installation. Check Settings > Application > Integration > Enable CLI access and notification based integration. Enable it if needed.
In Apple’s Shortcuts app, use the toolbar’s Add button to create a new shortcut. Name it TV Standby and add one Run Shell Script action. Use the standby command below after replacing ACTUAL_TAG_ID with the TV’s numeric Tag ID. The example assumes BetterDisplay is installed in /Applications. Use your actual installed app’s executable path if different, keeping the path quoted.

"/Applications/BetterDisplay.app/Contents/MacOS/BetterDisplay" perform -tagID=ACTUAL_TAG_ID -sendRemoteKey=standby -specifier=CECController

Create a second shortcut named TV Wake with one Run Shell Script action, using the same actual path and Tag ID:

"/Applications/BetterDisplay.app/Contents/MacOS/BetterDisplay" perform -tagID=ACTUAL_TAG_ID -sendRemoteKey=wake -specifier=CECController

If scripts are blocked, enable Shortcuts > Settings > Advanced > Allow Running Scripts, following Apple’s scripts guidance. Follow any permission prompt shown for these Shortcuts. This is separate from BetterDisplay’s native-key permission.
With playback paused and the recovery desktop visible, run TV Standby from its editor. Check actual standby. Try TV Wake separately. Use the physical remote if the command path has disappeared. Check the TV’s actual state even if the script completes successfully.
Once the observed result is acceptable, open each shortcut’s Details button, select Add Keyboard Shortcut, and assign two different unused combinations. Apple documents keyboard execution. Reserved system combinations cannot be overridden. Test each once from the recovery desktop, with BetterDisplay running and the same verified HDMI connection.

The explicit -specifier=CECController keeps these requests on the CEC remote when other remotes are configured. The command does not enable automatic power handling, wake a disconnected TV by network, or restore the Mac’s input automatically. After wake, check the selected input and use your verified Mac-input action or physical remote as needed.

Check the result

With quiet playback through the TV, verify one keypress for volume down/up and mute/unmute. Confirm the TV itself responds and another output’s volume remains unchanged. Test each input combination and the return route, then stop playback and test standby and wake separately. Keep the recovery display visible throughout.

Repeat after a normal reconnect while the TV is on. Confirm that the TV’s identity and controller-specific input selections still match. If standby removes the usable command path, record keyboard wake as unavailable for that state and keep the physical remote available.

Troubleshooting

Video works but CEC commands do not: check the actual Mac/adapter compatibility, TV CEC preference, current connection status and command destination. Leave experimental tunnel management off while establishing the supported path. See HDMI-CEC settings.
The virtual remote works but volume keys do not: check native-key permission/restart, listening status, engagement policy, pointer destination and Keyboard control affects this display. Inspect Volume Control… for the actual controller. Restore a quiet test state before trying again.
Another device changes too: check the native-volume fallback, display/audio association, synchronization and mirror/stream relationships. Target Displays explains related targets. Do not use an on-screen percentage as evidence of the TV’s volume.
Input or wake stops working after standby: recover using the physical remote and the Mac’s known port, then recheck connection status. A remembered identifier cannot create a command path that the TV or adapter has removed.
A power Shortcut fails: check the actual installed executable path, replaced numeric Tag ID, running BetterDisplay, CLI-access setting and Shortcuts script permissions. See CLI examples. Do not remove the selector or controller specifier to make a request succeed on an unintended device.

When a network controller is the better fit

If your TV has no supported CEC path, use the model-appropriate Network Controller as a separate setup. The LG webOS controller supports pairing, reported inputs and device-dependent volume modes. The Samsung Smart Device sends remote-style volume and mute keys. Their commands and input identifiers differ from this CEC example.

For LG, a saved paired, waiting to connect state can be normal with an on-demand connection. Compare the actual IP address before deleting pairing data or resetting the TV. If waking fails, check the separate Wake-on-LAN path, actual MAC address, model-specific network standby and network reachability. A fixed IP, successful pairing or packet-send message does not guarantee waking. See LG connection troubleshooting.

Undo the test setup

Stop playback and any running Shortcuts. Use the physical remote to return the TV to the Mac’s input. Remove the new keyboard bindings and Apple Shortcuts if you no longer want them.
Choose your preferred native audio-key engagement and target settings. Turn Handle devices with native volume control back on if you want the fallback for other outputs.
Set your preferred TV volume, mute state and audio output. Keep HDMI-CEC configured if it works for you. If you added it only for testing and want to remove it, use Remove on its card. Its saved configuration remains.
Check your display arrangement and main display after input and power testing. Re-enable any automatic rules you paused if you still use them.
Turn built-in automatic disconnection back on only if you want that behavior again and an external display is usable. Disable CLI access or Allow Running Scripts only if no remaining workflow needs them.

Removing a controller or permission does not restore the TV’s hardware settings. Use its physical remote for those adjustments. See Apple’s per-shortcut privacy instructions to review permissions for a Shortcut you keep.

Additional information

This section explains licensing and platform requirements for this workflow.

Features requiring Pro license

The custom Input Source keyboard rows require Pro or an active trial. The HDMI-CEC controller, native audio-key targeting and the CEC remote requests used by the two Apple Shortcuts have no separate Pro requirement. Features used alongside them retain their own requirements.

Platform compatibility

The documented app requires macOS 26.3 or later. This CEC workflow requires Apple silicon, a compatible non-Apple physical display and a supported HDMI command path. This controller is unavailable on Intel Macs. LG and Samsung network controllers are available on both architectures with compatible reachable devices, but require their own setup. Native media keys require the offered system permission, and shell-script Shortcuts require scripts to be allowed. Command support and wake behavior remain device- and transport-dependent.