Understanding the Color Button Functions on the Remote Control

Modified on Fri, 7 Aug at 6:56 AM

The four colored buttons on your remote (Red, Green, Yellow, and Blue) are shortcuts, and what each one does depends on which screen you are looking at. Rather than a fixed list, your box tells you what they do right now, on screen. Those on-screen labels are the reliable answer, because software updates change what these buttons do.

How to See What Each Button Does

Look for small colored labels along the bottom of the screen. They match the button colors on your remote, and each one names what that button does on the screen you are currently on.

While watching live TV: press the Down button or the Live TV button to bring up the Info Bar at the bottom of the screen. The labels appear there.
In the Program Guide: open the guide and look along the bottom of the screen.

If a color is not shown, that button does nothing on that screen. This is the single most common reason a color button appears not to work.

What These Buttons Are Used For

Across the Program Guide and full-screen viewing, the colored buttons cover shortcuts such as starting and stopping a recording, showing technical and signal information for a channel, and opening the channel list to hide or reorder channels. Which colour does which of these depends on your software version, so use the labels on screen rather than memorising a pairing.

For the features themselves, see:

How to use the DVR function, for recording, including the external drive you need
How to check Signal Strength and Quality, for the signal and technical readout
How to Use the Channel Editor to Hide/Add Channels?, for hiding and showing channels

Recording used to be a beta-only feature. As of version vANTB1R_2.0.4 (11 May 2026) it is on the main update channel, so you no longer need to switch to beta to record.

If That Did Not Work

Nothing happens when I press any of the four color buttons. Check the bottom of the screen first. If no colored labels are shown at all, the remote itself may not be paired with the box. See the remote re-pairing guide.

A color button does nothing on the screen I am looking at. Check whether that color is labeled along the bottom of the screen. If it is not, the button has no function there and pressing it will do nothing. These buttons are mainly used while watching in full-screen mode and in the Program Guide; on screens like Settings or Home they generally do nothing.

The Red button does not turn my TV on or off. That is a different button. Your remote has a separate button labeled TV, and it is used to teach the remote your TV's power command. See the TV Power Button Infrared Learning Guide.

The Red button does not do what another help article says it does. Go by the label on your screen. If a help article contradicts it, the article is out of date and we would like to know: please tell support which article it was.

The recording button does not start a recording. Check three things: your software version (recording needs 2.0.4 or later on the main update channel, or a beta version that includes it), whether an external hard drive is connected and formatted correctly, and whether you have a program highlighted in the guide rather than the cursor elsewhere on screen.

The channel list or channel editor shortcut is not labeled on my screen. Older software does not have this shortcut. Check your version on the About page in Settings, and update if an update is available.

The signal information button shows nothing. Select a channel for preview first by pressing OK/Select on it, which starts a small preview in the top right corner, then press the button labeled for signal or technical information.

A button does something different from what another help page says. Trust your screen. The labels along the bottom of the screen come from the software on your box, so they are right for your version even when a help page is out of date. If you find a page that contradicts your screen, please tell support which one, and we will correct it.

Why These Buttons Change Function

The remote has four color buttons and the box has far more features than that, so each color is reused for a different task depending on which screen is open. Software updates also add new uses for these buttons. That is why the same button does one thing in full-screen mode and another in the Program Guide, why it can change after an update, and why the labels on screen are the answer we point you to rather than a fixed list.

Still Stuck?

If none of the above matches what you are seeing, contact support and include:

Your device's serial number, on the About page in Settings or printed on the bottom of the device. It has two parts joined by a hyphen, for example DGIA3L13318079E-GZ24070063600640. Please send the whole thing, not just one half.
Your software version, also on the About page in Settings.
Which screen you were on (full-screen playback or the Program Guide) and which color button you pressed.

Last reviewed: 7 August 2026.