How to connect the Magic Keyboard to your Apple TV

The Magic Keyboard may be made for the Mac but it also pairs perfectly with the Apple TV.

Yes, there's a new Apple TV coming later this month, but if you currently have an Apple TV (2012) you can easily pair it with the new Magic Keyboard and enjoy faster, less maddening search input right now, today.

How to pair your Magic Keyboard to your Apple TV (2012)

The Apple TV supports pairing with any standard Bluetooth keyboard, and that includes the new Magic Keyboard.

Turn the Magic Keyboard on if it isn't already. Otherwise, switch it off and then on to make it discoverable. (The switch is on the back left.)
Click on the Settings icon on the Home screen.
Click on General.
Click on Bluetooth.
Click on Keyboard: Magic Keyboard when it appears under the Devices list.

That's it. You're done. No codes, no pins, no fuss, no muss.

Note: For that reason I'd suggest doing the pairing the first time you turn the Magic Keyboard on, and turning it on when you're not around any other devices that might try to grab it first.

How to use Magic Keyboard to navigate your Apple TV

You can use the Magic Keyboard to perform all the basic navigation functions of the Apple TV remote.

Up, down, left, right: Up arrow key, down arrow key, left arrow key, right arrow key.
Select: Enter key.
Menu: Escape key.
Play/Pause: Play/Pause key.
Skip forward/back: Skip forward key, skip back key.

You can also quickly jump to any item in your Movie, TV Shows, or Music purchased list or library by typing in the first few letters of title or, in music, the artists name. For example:

Typing "bac" will jump you to "Back to the Future".
Typing "bat" will jump you to "Batman".

Should those fine films be in your collection.

How to disconnect or un-pair the Magic Keyboard from your Apple TV (2012)

If you want to stop using the Magic Keyboard, you can simply turn it off. If you want to disconnect it, or have your Apple TV forget about it entirely, you can do that in Settings.