Pair your Apple remote with your Mac

Pairing your remote with your Mac:

1. Log in on your Mac as an Admin user.
2. Get very close to your Mac (about 3 or 4 inches away).
3. Point the remote at the infrared sensor on the front of your Mac.
4. Press and hold the Menu and Next/Fast-forward buttons simultaneously on the remote for 5 seconds.
5. Your Apple Remote is now paired with your computer. You should see a chain-link style lock appear in the center of your screen for a moment.

To delete a pairing between the remote and your Mac:

1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple () menu in the upper-left menu bar.
2. Choose Security from the View menu.
3. Click the lock and enter your Administrator password if necessary.
4. Click Unpair in the Security pane.

Use the Security pane in System Preferences to turn the infrared (“IR”) reception on your Mac off (or back on). To do this:

1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple () menu in the upper-left menu bar.
2. Choose Security from the View menu.
3. Click the lock and enter your Administrator password if necessary.
4. In OS X Lion v10.7 or later, click the “Advanced” button in the lower-right corner.
5. Enable the “Disable remote control infrared receiver” checkbox.
6. In OS X Lion v10.7 or later, click the OK button.

Source:   AppleSupport