Apple’s tvOS v 16.1 now provides the ability to learn a HOME button in their standard “Set Up Basic Buttons” option within their “learn remote” feature. It works just like their learning of all the other buttons. It’s the right most icon on the display of basic buttons to be learned.

Once learned it provides normal home button operations, and supports double click for the task manager

You can update your existing learned remote to add this feature as follows

AppleTV > settings > Learned_Remotes > your_learned_remote >
“Set Up Basic Buttons”

Press and hold each of your previously learned basic buttons until you get to the last one where you’ll press and hold a new button for the home button.

Since Apple’s home button icon looks like a rectangle, I’m using my stop button. It feels right.

BTW, I’m using an appleTV 4k 1st generation. I’ve been checking every year or two for a tvOS update that offers this, and when I checked today, it was there.

Happy surprise.

Pete