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Apple TV prompt requires another Apple device

383 points by fortran77 4y ago

gumby 4y ago
This is an interesting failure because AppleTVs are common in conference rooms (configured in conference room mode!). It wouldn't make sense for such a setup to even have an icloud account associated with it.
- midoridensha 4y ago
  Maybe companies with conference rooms should think twice about using Apple equipment in a corporate environment then.
  - gumby 4y ago
    Well it makes it trivial to throw a display up on the big screen (either share screen or second display) if you have a mac or idevice. Of course if you can't operate it it's the opposite of trivial. The worst case is someone from IT uses their own iphone to set it up, then leaves the company. I'm not sure you can even reset to factory settings without talking to the device.
gchamonlive 4y ago
Is it possible to spin up an AWS EC2 Mac instance and sign in with it?
- gchamonlive 4y ago
  Maybe even https://github.com/sickcodes/Docker-OSX https://github.com/sickcodes/Docker-OSX ?
- endgame 4y ago
  To use an EC2 mac, you need to set it up as a dedicated host for at least a day, which costs nearly $35 USD.
tqkxzugoaupvwqr 4y ago
I saw the tweet and assumed it’s just an annoying prompt but doesn’t impede functionality. Does he say he can’t use the Apple TV?
- fortran77 4y ago
  It will pop up periodically, even in the middle of a movie.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
mecha_ghidorah 4y ago
Oh my god that is just an insane design choice
- CoastalCoder 4y ago
  [flagged]
  - Scalene2 4y ago
    Insane and moronic can mean two very different things that can be incompatible with one another.
  - maxbond 4y ago
    You do not have to look at any market data to conclude that is unacceptably user hostile - I don't mean "acceptable" as in financially, I mean that it's unconscionable.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - mecha_ghidorah 4y ago
    I mean... I am. It's hostile to the user, period. It doesn't matter if 99% of AppleTv owners have another device, it's still user hostile. I suppose it might not be "insane", just malicious, if the intent is to force some amount of the N% of people with just an AppleTv to buy another apple product. Then it wouldn't be insane or stupid, but it would be scummy as hell.
riffraff 4y ago
Apple won't let you use "find my device" on airpods unless you have an iPhone either, iirc. Its shitty behavior, but sadly unsurprising.
- ceejayoz 4y ago
  I'm able to locate airpods via icloud.com using a web browser.
  - parker_mountain 4y ago
    How did you enroll the airpods in find my network?
- jdminhbg 4y ago
  “Find My” depends on a custom chip iPhones have.
  - luckylion 4y ago
    So you can only locate your airpods if they're with your iphone? Best make sure you lose them together then :)
    - ceejayoz 4y ago
      No. You can locate your airpods if they're near any iPhone, iPad, or Mac. All you need is a web browser. https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/5/22711557/apple-lost-airpods-pro-max-find-my-network-now-available https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/5/22711557/apple-lost-airpo...
    - deergomoo 4y ago
      I mean...AirPods don't have GPS or a way to upload their location, so yes. The location shown on the map is the last place one of your devices (or, in recent times, anyone's iOS device) last saw it. That's usually good enough to tell "I left them at home" vs "I left them in that café"
  - 4y ago
messe 4y ago
Assuming you’re living in a country with decent consumer rights laws, I’d return the device to the seller. It’s no longer fit for purpose.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
thought_alarm 4y ago
[flagged]
- makeitdouble 4y ago
  https://twitter.com/hugelgupf/status/1615048884568588288?s=20&t=2OULH-rRbC8VWUxM_QHDVA https://twitter.com/hugelgupf/status/1615048884568588288?s=2...
- Karsteski 4y ago
  You're missing the point though. The device should be usable on its own. This is extremely anti-consumer, it doesn't matter if there's a simple solution
  - denkmoon 4y ago
    These devices are pointless "on their own". What would an Apple TV do without any external dependencies? Play the pre-loaded screen savers?
    - wincy 4y ago
      What? You can watch Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and do a ton of other things that absolutely don’t require an iOS or macOS device to activate it.
      - falcolas 4y ago
        Based on my last two experiences, you can't on Roku - you can't watch Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+. Worse, you need a working payment method with Roku to use the device. Personally, I find that a bit more egregious. EDIT Nevermind this last bit. I didn't see that the top level workaround... doesn't work around the issue.
        NikolaNovak 4y ago
        I am Confused as what you're trying to say. I have Roku express and a TV with built in Roku. Neither requires me to own any weird additional devices to watch Netflix, Disney,prime etc?
terrorOf 4y ago
[dead]
deleted 4y ago
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timr 4y ago
It's bigger than just this -- I have Apple devices, and I still can't get the message to go away. This is a bug. In general, upgrading to the latest TV OS has been a serious step backwards in terms of usability. (I should note that clicking on the remote causes the annoying message to disappear, then repeat once, then goes away for...a day? Long enough to watch whatever I wanted to watch, anyway.)
makeitdouble 4y ago
It's interesting how the responses basically split into two camps: - the "just buy an iPhone" and "you've brought it on you, what did you expect" camp - the "Apple fix this" camp At the point I'm reading this, the first camp represents the vast majority of the responses. That's interesting regarding Apple's ongoing lawsuits and regulaory pressure. For most people Apple domination and dictating the rules is basically a fact of life I guess. Will that change when Apple's forced to open its ecosystem and bring more complaints that were kept silent, or will they be booing as their champion is getting "bullied" into compliance ?
- galoisscobi 4y ago
  I’m fully in the apple ecosystem but agree that a person shouldn’t be forced to buy another device to use the device at hand. The ecosystem should be a nice to have and not a necessity (although Apple Watch might be an exception, given how much it relies on the iPhone for its functionality). The fact that they were able to use their Apple TV before this TOS prompt seems like this blocking TOS prompt was a miss on Apple’s part and they should fix it.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    Until 2 months ago, they forced you to have an Apple Watch to be able to watch Fitness+ videos, even if you were already paying for the Apple One bundle that includes Fitness+. There was no technical reason for this requirement, as Fitness+ is just videos, and even if you had an Apple Watch, you did not need to be wearing it to watch the videos.
    - galoisscobi 4y ago
      What do you think caused them to open up Fitness+ videos to non-Apple watch owners?
    - Someone1234 4y ago
      While we're on the topic but silly Fitness+ restrictions: Each family member needs to have their OWN iPad to use it with Fitness+. For example, I have an iPad + Apple Watch, I can use it with Fitness+. My wife however, with her own Apple Watch, cannot use MY iPad for Fitness+. Instead, she needs a whole other iPad set up as her, or it cannot "see" her Apple Watch/has no concept of her. Family Sharing is under-baked. Fitness+ is also under-baked. The fact they have zero interactive fitness games on Fitness+ is frankly embarrassing, I had fitness equipment 20 years ago which had interactive games tied to your workouts, and Apple with the best programmers in the world, 100x more powerful hardware, and better development toolkits has developed nothing beyond video-recordings of studio workouts. Actually the fitness-gaming ecosystem is frankly is a terrible state. Currently, Nintendo or Meta are the leaders in spite of them doing little to try.
neximo64 4y ago
I almost ignore any comments about Apple and prices or to do with spending money. They're a business of course they're going to do that... surprisingly it leaves very little opinion about Apple if you filter those out.
maxutility 4y ago
Not mentioned in the OP: if your only Apple Device is an iPhone 7 or earlier, you’re out of luck, since iOS 16 requires iPhone 8 or newer.
- davidmurdoch 4y ago
  So, it's not "an Apple device", but an iPhone that is required?
  - Bud 4y ago
    [dead]
  - Terretta 4y ago
    iPod Touch works fine, for example. Also, it's not actually needed to set up the TV device.
mklepaczewski 4y ago
Last time I checked a parent needed their own Apple device to set up app limits, downtime, accept/reject app installation requests on child's device. Thanks Apple. Now I have an option to give my kid unrestricted access to their device and to the whole Internet, or buy another IPhone just because my child uses Apple product.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- jtbayly 4y ago
  Or not let your child use an Apple device . That's actually your choice if it's your choice whether/which apps they can install.
  - gtvwill 4y ago
    Bit hard when its the dad thats non-existant in the kids life buying them a iphone @ 12. Restrict the usage of that and see how well your relationship with your kid holds up. Had this happen to us, my partners kids. Its a subtle attempt to destabilize and subvert her authority as parent figure even though old mate isn't even around, hasn't been for years and still is an abusive S*t. We got forced to buy a iphone in order to put parent restrictions on. Its shits as. I hate apple. Company does bulk crap that enables abusers and does piss all to prevent it or be like hey...maybe this is a ethically shit thing to implement. Maybe its gonna cause a whole host of people grief. Don't even get me started on apple air tags.
    - scarface74 4y ago
      Yes I’m sure that Apple has meetings and talks about how to enable abusive parents. If she has custody, she can just say no to her kid.
  - mklepaczewski 4y ago
    There are many reasons why it's not that simple. My kid may be old enough to make the decision on which phone to buy, but not old enough to have unrestricted access to it. I may be divorced, and the device might have been given to them buy another parent. The device might have necessary features that are missing from other non-Apple device.
srott2 4y ago
Similar to the Chromecast, I was trying to set one up. https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/2998456 https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/2998456 "Download the Google Home app on your Chromecast-supported Android device."
- ikiris 4y ago
  The chromecast didn't have an actual UI to manage.
  - zamadatix 4y ago
    You used to be able to set it up via any device though not just Android/iPhone which made sense as more than just phones can use it. At least it's not just Pixels or something.
- amiga-workbench 4y ago
  You used to be able to set them up from the Chrome browser, back when Chromecast support was implemented via a browser extension and not baked in. They completely gutted Chromecast support in Chrome quite a while ago, you can't even adjust the playback volume from your computer any more.
  - davidmurdoch 4y ago
    I wonder if they had to gut it due to the Sonos suit.
    - notatoad 4y ago
      the volume adjustment feature disappearing was definitely in response to the sonos lawsuit
- slenk 4y ago
  There is literally a button in the link you provided saying how to do it on iOS also...
xg15 4y ago
Bonus points for Apple Support chiming in - to address an unrelated issue that another commenter casually mentioned. About the original problem? Not a single word. At least they are sending a clear message... https://twitter.com/AppleSupport/status/1615094275334619136 https://twitter.com/AppleSupport/status/1615094275334619136
- zimpenfish 4y ago
  Well, he did get an Appler asking for a Feedback ID which is more than nothing. https://twitter.com/DanCUnderwood/status/1614943132340068353 https://twitter.com/DanCUnderwood/status/1614943132340068353
  - hugelgupf 4y ago
    [OP here] I filed a thing for them and this person will get it in front of the right people. I have more faith in that more than generic Apple support anyway.
  - xg15 4y ago
    Ah, apologies. I didn't realise that person was an Apple employee. That definitely makes a difference.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
awinter-py 4y ago
excited for them to release their VR headset so they can speedrun the 'buy a quest to get support on your other account' timeline
robbomacrae 4y ago
Having worked at Apple I feel like this is a mortal risk they are taking. The Apple Watch could be the next big thing that replaces the smartphone, except they require an iPhone to use it. So instead of taking a short term hit and moving with the times they greedily hold on to their money maker and risk a competitor bringing out a standalone version and tanking the entire thing. Likewise the Apple TV is a great product and could dominate its category if it didn't require an iPhone.
- Bud 4y ago
  [dead]
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  Nothing's replacing the Smartphone unless it's got a camera in the same ballpark of quality and usability. Several use cases for a smartphone—including a couple major ones—don't really work with a watch, mostly for camera-related reasons. If it's not good as a camera, it's also not good as a scanner replacement, not good for remote check deposit, not good for things like the Measure app (or any other AR stuff), and so on. For a while I thought I'd go all-watch if they ever released a standalone watch, but paying more attention to how I use my phone, there's just no way. I'd just have to buy a separate camera, then I'd have two things to carry, plus it'd be much worse (since it's not like standalone cameras tend to have e.g. built-in text recognition). I think that's likely true for most people.
  - Retric 4y ago
    I don’t think either can do it alone, but Watch + [ AR glasses or tablet + earbuds ] could more directly replace a smartphone.
    - yamtaddle 4y ago
      Yeah, AR glasses are what will actually be the Next Smartphone, as far as rapidly attaining ubiquity. If they can fix the bulkiness and battery life issues, anyway. And sure, decent chance that'll involve tethering the glasses to some kind of watch where the actual brains and long-range radios live. Or to a smartphone or tablet that you can leave in a pocket or bag all the time (why wear a watch when the AR glasses could just paint a fake one on your wrist?)
Someone 4y ago
I wonder whether that prompt still is 100% correct, given that Apple recently put an Apple TV app on the Microsoft Store (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/apple-tv/9mw0zwqfh0m2 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/apple-tv/9mw0zwqfh0m2)
- kotaKat 4y ago
  Which, for some bizarre reason, you can't install on an arm64 Windows 11 computer despite it being able to run x86/x64 software no issue.
  - anticensor 4y ago
    Possibly to make you buy an Apple TV, which is Apple's own arm64 computer in the TV form factor.
slenk 4y ago
I wonder if install iTunes on a Windows PC would work?
amelius 4y ago
Hmm, so they will use some sort of cookie to link the two devices?
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  They'd both be logged into the same iCloud account, so why bother?
amelius 4y ago
We want dumber TVs, not smarter ones.
tarotuser 4y ago
How does this not violate the Sherman Antitrust act under illegal tying of services and goods? > (From Wikipedia) Success on a tying claim typically requires proof of four elements: (1) two separate products or services are involved; (AppleTV and other Apple phone/iPad, as demanded by the tied product in question) (2) the purchase of the tying product is conditioned on the additional purchase of the tied product; (Yes, and forced only after using said hardware for its claimed fitness of playing shows) (3) the seller has sufficient market power in the market for the tying product; (QED) (4) a not insubstantial amount of interstate commerce in the tied product market is affected. (again, QED) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_(commerce) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_(commerce)
- NLPaep 4y ago
  The market power is too weak Apple TV market share is below 3%? https://www.statista.com/statistics/1171132/global-connected-tv-devices-streaming-market-share-by-platform/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1171132/global-connected...
  - tarotuser 4y ago
    I could see that. However the only flaw with that graph is that the scope is world-wide. I believe the Sherman Antitrust Act cares primarily about US operations.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - zmmmmm 4y ago
    Not sure if "market power" is strictly synonymous with "market share" though. It is probably possible to argue they have much more power than the 3% would suggest. You could even argue that "power" in this context is actually framed around an idea of latent market share - the amount of market share that can be achieved outside of normal competitive means. But yes, in general this would underscore the criticism of US competition policy that it's designed to close the gate after the horse already bolted.
- deleted 4y ago
HollowEyes 4y ago
I just wanted to get Apple music going, and had to jump through hoops. In the end I added an iCloud account to the macmini, and now whenever I go to use Apple music/access my apple account on another device, I have some ridiculous process of having to authenticate via the Mac mini. I also have a phone number registered, but it appears to count for nowt.
kitsunesoba 4y ago
To me this feels like a shortcut taken by the tvOS team more than a push for the user to own more Apple devices. What I'm guessing has happened is that that there's probably no standardized dialog in the tvOS SDK that is suited to a scrolling ToS/EULA screen and in the interest of pushing a release out the door faster an engineer was told to shove this message in an alert and call it a day. It's bad and should be fixed either way.
- rgovostes 4y ago
  This is almost certainly the correct answer. It might also be a generic dialog populated with a server-provided message. Apple TV definitely is not intended to require that you own another Apple device. Even the Apple TV+ subscription service is supported on other platforms like Roku (https://www.roku.com/blog/apple-tv https://www.roku.com/blog/apple-tv). Apple has never required that you run the latest iOS to use iCloud (see minimum requirements on https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204230 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204230). Also, you can definitely accept the iCloud T&C with a Mac, which the error message omits. It's clearly just a very dumb bug and an inaccurate message, one that will likely be fixed in a few days. Not really worth the #1 slot on HN with 190+ comments.
  - fortran77 4y ago
    Except that he tried it and it didn’t work. There was no message to accept the TOS.
    - rgovostes 4y ago
      Except what? Tried what? What are you responding to? Edit: If you are responding to the part about accepting T&C on a Mac, I meant in the iCloud system settings panel, and not through the browser. (Though I would also expect that to work. The fact that it doesn't just underscores that this is a dumb bug.)
  - assttoasstmgr 4y ago
    [flagged]
jelly 4y ago
I think the current title is mistaken, the twitter user isn't claiming he can't use the Apple TV, he's just saying the message appears. I encountered the same message when iOS 16 had just released and wasn't available on my iPad yet. It wasn't a blocking message, pressing "OK" was enough to make it go away, and when iPadOS 16 finally came out I was able to clear it. It's bad UX but the Apple TV can still be used as before.
- hugelgupf 4y ago
  [twitter OP] This is true. Appears once a day or so, you hit OK. Sometimes during a show you're watching, sometimes while it starts up. Don't know if it becomes blocking some day...
  - jcul 4y ago
    Had something similar while setting up apple TV on a non-apple device for my parents, also had no apple devices. Turns out, in my case at least, the warning was a little misleading. It required me to log into their apple / icloud account and accept some terms, I did this with a normal browser (again non-apple) and the warning went away. May be different in your case as I was setting up a new account for them.
- crazygringo 4y ago
  Yes, I'm flagging the submission because of this -- I'm sure tons of people are upvoting based on the totally inaccurate title. Which I feel weird about because I don't want to flag the story or the tweet or the comments... it's just the title specifically. So I kind of wish there were a way to flag a title. Hopefully it gets dang's attention and he'll handle it.
  - pvg 4y ago
    it gets dang's attention and he'll handle it. That attention is easy to get with an email. As to the story, it just becomes a story about an irritating periodic modal which is not very interesting once the title misunderstanding is gone.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
acodesmith 4y ago
Log in to your Apple account in a browser and accepts the terms. Log out of the tv and log back in. Same thing happened to me. The original poster is mistaken.
- kobayashi 4y ago
  The OP said that would not work. https://twitter.com/hugelgupf/status/1614843798928109569 https://twitter.com/hugelgupf/status/1614843798928109569
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - acodesmith 4y ago
    I logged out of the AppleTV and logged back in. When I did that I was prompted to accepts the terms.
- smileybarry 4y ago
  It didn’t work for me, logging into iCloud on the web didn’t bring up the EULA, even if I opened iCloud Mail. I have a second Apple ID and had to take an iPad and sign out (1st), sign in (2nd), accept, sign out (2nd), sign back in (1st).
jaimex2 4y ago
We own you or you can get out.
xil3 4y ago
Makes me wish I didn't just buy the 12.9 iPad pro with the overly priced magic keyboard. Very disappointed in apple. P.s. I use an Android phone.
polalavik 4y ago
Also Apple TV (the software/app) will not let you cast to a smart tv/ Google chrome/ Roku etc. you have to workaround it by casting it from the browser version and casting through chrome.
- scarface74 4y ago
  Or you could just install the AppleTV app on your Roku.
Ballu 4y ago
I have the same issue with any Apple services, Apple wants me to use iOS device (I faced this issue when tried to upgrade the Apple Music to bundle with other services).
AlbertCory 4y ago
Details: I own a Mac & no other Apple devices. My TV is an LG. I have the Apple streaming service on the TV, purely because they have some pretty good shows (Ted Lasso, Separation, Acapulco). Is there something an Apple TV device would do for me? I'm not seeing it.
- Hnrobert42 4y ago
  I got one because I didn’t trust my TV enough to connect it to the internet, and I wanted to watch things from my Plex server on my tv.
- kitsunesoba 4y ago
  A lot of people prefer standalone streaming boxes over integrated "smarts" because they tend to run more smoothly due to having vastly more powerful hardware and tend to receive software updates for a much longer period (see Samsung smart TVs where features stop working in 1-2 years). A dedicated streaming box also sometimes makes it easier to cut out the egregious data harvesting that smart TV makers employ to subsidize their TVs (though Roku and Amazon Fire devices are still data vacuums). My personal setup is a 2018 Sony TV with an Apple TV 4K. The smarts on the TV aren't the worst, but the Apple TV handily beats it in fluidity, so the TV has never been connected to the internet and never will be.
- JohnBooty 4y ago
  Apple TVs make convenient AirPlay streaming targets, not sure how AirPlay support is on smart TVs. Seamless integration with Apple pay and your Apple account, if you have that. You can use your iPhone (or iPad?) as an input device for the Apple TV. Very handy for typing in passwords or whatever. Would not apply to you obviously. Can also pair a BT keyboard with the AppleTV for the same purposes, FWIW. IIRC Apple TVs don't collect the insane amounts of information that smart TVs collect. Apple TVs might have better interfaces as well, though that's obviously subjective. All the smart TV interfaces I've used have been pretty trash. But maybe they're better now, I dunno.
- v7p1Qbt1im 4y ago
  A media player like nvidia shield or apple tv is just a lot more performant and gets updated for ages. TV firmware mostly gets abandoned when the next generation releases. The interface gets laggy and slow very quickly. Also, some people have Plex/Kodi setups with a NAS. Not fun to try to play UHD Bluray remuxes on a TV directly.
providedotemacs 4y ago
I recently discovered that iTunes on Windows no longer includes drivers for iPhones. So there is no way to sync music onto an iPhone from Windows.
_samjarman 4y ago
Hanlon's Razor most likely the cause. Doesn't mean its not a bug though.
fbdab103 4y ago
Related - is there a way I can download pictures from an Iphone to a Linux computer locally? Not interested in using any form of cloud intermediary. Evidently, if I plug a cable from an Iphone into a computer, enter my password, this still represents a threat if it is not overseen by iTunes. The device is in my hand, connected to the intended destination, and it is non-trivial to retrieve my data. Just absurd behavior from Apple. Edit: I should add -the IPhone does mount. For instance, it lets me view my Firefox Downloads folder or VLC folder to which you could move media in and out of the device. However, access to my personal photos is a step too far.
- 542458 4y ago
  Strange - you can connect an iPhone directly to a windows computer with no iTunes around. I wonder why that doesn’t work on Linux. In any case, I think there are apps around that make the iPhone serve a web interface to your files on your local network. Would that work? No cloud intermediary involved.
  - fbdab103 4y ago
    I did see posts that there were applications which might function as the local webserver route. Lacking any alternatives, that is the option I am likely to pursue, but I hate installing additional applications. Especially if the only purpose is to workaround a deliberate Apple-knows-best decision. Which ultimately leaves me less secure than if Apple provided a first-party solution for local file transfer.
- kps 4y ago
  For photos, don't mount it as mass storage, use PTP.
- aendruk 4y ago
  Yep it’s absurd. Similar issue with transferring music to the device; I can drop MP3s on it but the music player is oblivious to them. For photos I ended up scheduling a nightly SMB push to my NAS via a third-party app named PhotoSync.
- 4y ago
diydsp 4y ago
Apple removed support for my wifi receiver one day out of the blue. Apple removed youtube from my appletv one day just out of the blue. So done with them!
- jrnichols 4y ago
  What wifi receiver? Why is it up to Apple to support third party hardware? Youtube? That's not an Apple product. I don't recall the YouTube app ever being removed. What are you referring to?
  - diydsp 4y ago
    It's called Apple Airport. See: It was made by Apple and they simply dropped support for it. They made a new version and I could buy it to get back what I used to have. https://www.macworld.com/article/671121/what-is-apple-airport.html https://www.macworld.com/article/671121/what-is-apple-airpor... Here's an article about Apple dropping support for youtube playback. Part of the reason I bought the AppleTV was because it had support for youtube playback. Then they announced it was going away, and then they yanked the support, and then they announced I could buy a new AppleTV to get back what I used to have. https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/3/22311881/apple-tv-2012-youtube-discontinued-app-replacement-google-roku-amazon https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/3/22311881/apple-tv-2012-you...
    - jrnichols 4y ago
      Apple discontinued the Airport units, yes. but they still work. I have one here right now. No, Apple did not drop support for YouTube playback. Google/YouTube stopped developing the app for the older versions. This was 100% on Google, not Apple. Not sure why you claimed that Apple did this when that is factually incorrect. Cheers!
      - diydsp 4y ago
        The thing is, I can rage against google for that but the net effect is the same: I can't trust that what I buy from Apple will stay. If Apple cared, they could have made the app themselves with their rife resources, but they are complacent with the bait and switch. I'm done with them and their other shady practices, from scanning photos for content, to logging peoples' locations, colluding to raise ebook prices, discriminating against android users in sms groups, software upgrades that slow down the device, pushing people to discard otherwise fine hardware, poor treatment of families with children, smoking voiding their warranties. I'm all done with them. What model of airport do you have? I assume it's a newer one than mine. Here is evidence of their blase attitude toward obsoleting working equipment. They deliver a an implicit threat by saying: "If your router is 6-7 years old or older, it is probably time to consider replacing the product, especially if you are interested in up to date security." https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253164032 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253164032
tails4e 4y ago
This kind of policy is why I refuse to buy apple. My 14yr old daughter has an iPhone and I cannot administer it as a parent without owning an iPhone or similar device myself. A basic Web UI is all that's needed to access the screen time settings, but nope. It's clearly by design, you're either all in with them, or they dont want you.
- shagie 4y ago
  If you could administer it from the phone, it would be possible for an enterprising child to remove those same restrictions on that device (how many stories have we heard of kids removing the parental control software from a computer?) If you could administer it from the phone, it could be used to partially lock you out of your own device if done by a 3rd party (loan to a friend, and you get it back and you can't use any of the other things on it). If you could administer it from the web, someone else on the web could use it to lock your out of your own device. --- Having one device owned by the parent managing another device owned by the child ensures that only the parent is managing the child's device and furthermore that only a set of devices that have been set up under the same Apple ID family can be administered.
  - tails4e 4y ago
    I want to do the opposite - i. e. administer it from another phone, or Web UI, which I have the password to.
    - shagie 4y ago
      If you can administer it from a webUI that doesn't have authentication back to another device you hold with the keys for managing that Apple account, then so can an attacker. For another phone, yes - that would work... but it needs to be one that holds the private keys for the apple account. Those keys are held by a part of the apple hardware that prevents them from accidentally leaking outside. Because of how "find my device" works, leaking those keys would allow a 3rd party to track you (or access your stored secrets associated with your account) - and so Apple has been very careful with the hardware and software securing those keys. From Apple's perspective, the ability to administer the family plan from a web UI is inherently risky and possibly privacy violating - neither are things they want to let go of. Part of the brand value is that it isn't risky to use their devices and that they make the privacy of the people them something that those people trust. And so, consider, that you're asking Apple to allow someone to log into a website and use a password (possibly compromised) to restrict the functionality that a given device has without being able to verify back (send apple verify codes to devices held by that same account) that the person making the changes is one who should be able to do it.
tempestn 4y ago
I recently ran into a similar thing with their streaming service, Apple TV Plus. Started a trial and wanted to add a profile for my wife. Browsed around the site for how to do that but couldn't find anything, so I googled and found apparently the only way to do it is to use the "family sharing" app on an Apple device. Apparently while you can subscribe and stream via the web, you can only add family profiles on an Apple device. For some reason.
emsy 4y ago
Apple became an accountant led company. It’s no longer about the best customer experience, just money. I’m quite fond of the old old Apple.
mark_l_watson 4y ago
On my Chromebook, I log into iCloud.com to access email and access account settings. Perhaps logging in on a browser could setup an Apple TV or Apple Watch? I think that the Apple Watch is the most exciting Apple product ever, including the serial number 71 Apple II I got in the late 1970s. As many other people here have said, Apple needs to fix this problem.
Lendal 4y ago
They have a generous return policy. Buy an iPhone, sign in with it to accept the terms and get your AppleTV working, then erase the iPhone and return it for a full refund.
chemmail 4y ago
This is not so hard to believe as the OG ipod was to help boost sales of Macbooks, which were plummeting in sales. A lot of "fashion" apple devices are generally limited to using iPhones like Apple Watch and Airpods. It doesn't really make sense to buy those unless you use an iPhone already. Ran into this problem with me wife who uses a Samsung. I wanted to use watch walkietalkie so i just had to let her use my old iPhone to get it working. Sadly the walkietalkie feature is just trash.
thedougd 4y ago
In a similar vein, I can't use Siri on the EcoBee thermostat without also owning a HomePod. It's either not a technical limitation or a very poorly conceived one.
rchaud 4y ago
Is there an LLM trained on that Tech Emails twitter account? It'd be amusing to see A simulation of Steve Jobs writing an email with the subject line "Setting up new Apple TV, left phone at home"
gloosx 4y ago
I had to move my old iPhone 7 to trash box and move to something else back in the days. One day it started to ask to my iCloud password every time i wanted to download something. Not just the password, but the password multiple times and security questions, finishing that flow did not make the prompt go away, essentially trapping me inside some kind of never-ending auth loop which was not going away even with full factory reset. The support at the time was not answering any questions, leaving me with generic responses that i need to go thru that flow. Apple is king of bad UX loops and frustrating experiences in software, don't know why they got hardware so right, but the software is magnitudes behind
DuckFeathers 4y ago
They are worth 2 trillion. Our only hope was Europe to regulate them but now the corrupt American empire has started a war there so they will no option but to be lenient to the US corporations. Our best option now is to avoid funding the terrorist economy when possible.
nunez 4y ago
Can we stop posting Twitter links?
henry_viii 4y ago
> Requires a device running iOS 16 or later, or iPadOS 16 or later So even if you have an iPhone SE 1st gen (released 2016) or an iPad mini 4 (released 2015), you still won't be able to accept the new T&Cs.

383 points by fortran77 4y ago

This is an interesting failure because AppleTVs are common in conference rooms (configured in conference room mode!). It wouldn't make sense for such a setup to even have an icloud account associated with it.

midoridensha 4y ago
Maybe companies with conference rooms should think twice about using Apple equipment in a corporate environment then.
- gumby 4y ago
  Well it makes it trivial to throw a display up on the big screen (either share screen or second display) if you have a mac or idevice. Of course if you can't operate it it's the opposite of trivial. The worst case is someone from IT uses their own iphone to set it up, then leaves the company. I'm not sure you can even reset to factory settings without talking to the device.

gchamonlive 4y ago

Is it possible to spin up an AWS EC2 Mac instance and sign in with it?

gchamonlive 4y ago
Maybe even https://github.com/sickcodes/Docker-OSX https://github.com/sickcodes/Docker-OSX ?
endgame 4y ago
To use an EC2 mac, you need to set it up as a dedicated host for at least a day, which costs nearly $35 USD.

tqkxzugoaupvwqr 4y ago

I saw the tweet and assumed it’s just an annoying prompt but doesn’t impede functionality. Does he say he can’t use the Apple TV?

fortran77 4y ago
It will pop up periodically, even in the middle of a movie.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

mecha_ghidorah 4y ago

Oh my god that is just an insane design choice

CoastalCoder 4y ago
[flagged]
- Scalene2 4y ago
  Insane and moronic can mean two very different things that can be incompatible with one another.
- maxbond 4y ago
  You do not have to look at any market data to conclude that is unacceptably user hostile - I don't mean "acceptable" as in financially, I mean that it's unconscionable.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- mecha_ghidorah 4y ago
  I mean... I am. It's hostile to the user, period. It doesn't matter if 99% of AppleTv owners have another device, it's still user hostile. I suppose it might not be "insane", just malicious, if the intent is to force some amount of the N% of people with just an AppleTv to buy another apple product. Then it wouldn't be insane or stupid, but it would be scummy as hell.

riffraff 4y ago

Apple won't let you use "find my device" on airpods unless you have an iPhone either, iirc. Its shitty behavior, but sadly unsurprising.

ceejayoz 4y ago
I'm able to locate airpods via icloud.com using a web browser.
- parker_mountain 4y ago
  How did you enroll the airpods in find my network?
jdminhbg 4y ago
“Find My” depends on a custom chip iPhones have.
- luckylion 4y ago
  So you can only locate your airpods if they're with your iphone? Best make sure you lose them together then :)
  - ceejayoz 4y ago
    No. You can locate your airpods if they're near any iPhone, iPad, or Mac. All you need is a web browser. https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/5/22711557/apple-lost-airpods-pro-max-find-my-network-now-available https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/5/22711557/apple-lost-airpo...
  - deergomoo 4y ago
    I mean...AirPods don't have GPS or a way to upload their location, so yes. The location shown on the map is the last place one of your devices (or, in recent times, anyone's iOS device) last saw it. That's usually good enough to tell "I left them at home" vs "I left them in that café"
- 4y ago

messe 4y ago

Assuming you’re living in a country with decent consumer rights laws, I’d return the device to the seller. It’s no longer fit for purpose.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

thought_alarm 4y ago

[flagged]

makeitdouble 4y ago
https://twitter.com/hugelgupf/status/1615048884568588288?s=20&t=2OULH-rRbC8VWUxM_QHDVA https://twitter.com/hugelgupf/status/1615048884568588288?s=2...
Karsteski 4y ago
You're missing the point though. The device should be usable on its own. This is extremely anti-consumer, it doesn't matter if there's a simple solution
- denkmoon 4y ago
  These devices are pointless "on their own". What would an Apple TV do without any external dependencies? Play the pre-loaded screen savers?
  - wincy 4y ago
    What? You can watch Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and do a ton of other things that absolutely don’t require an iOS or macOS device to activate it.
    - falcolas 4y ago
      Based on my last two experiences, you can't on Roku - you can't watch Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+. Worse, you need a working payment method with Roku to use the device. Personally, I find that a bit more egregious. EDIT Nevermind this last bit. I didn't see that the top level workaround... doesn't work around the issue.
      - NikolaNovak 4y ago
        I am Confused as what you're trying to say. I have Roku express and a TV with built in Roku. Neither requires me to own any weird additional devices to watch Netflix, Disney,prime etc?

terrorOf 4y ago

[dead]

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

timr 4y ago

It's bigger than just this -- I have Apple devices, and I still can't get the message to go away. This is a bug. In general, upgrading to the latest TV OS has been a serious step backwards in terms of usability. (I should note that clicking on the remote causes the annoying message to disappear, then repeat once, then goes away for...a day? Long enough to watch whatever I wanted to watch, anyway.)

makeitdouble 4y ago

It's interesting how the responses basically split into two camps: - the "just buy an iPhone" and "you've brought it on you, what did you expect" camp - the "Apple fix this" camp At the point I'm reading this, the first camp represents the vast majority of the responses. That's interesting regarding Apple's ongoing lawsuits and regulaory pressure. For most people Apple domination and dictating the rules is basically a fact of life I guess. Will that change when Apple's forced to open its ecosystem and bring more complaints that were kept silent, or will they be booing as their champion is getting "bullied" into compliance ?

galoisscobi 4y ago
I’m fully in the apple ecosystem but agree that a person shouldn’t be forced to buy another device to use the device at hand. The ecosystem should be a nice to have and not a necessity (although Apple Watch might be an exception, given how much it relies on the iPhone for its functionality). The fact that they were able to use their Apple TV before this TOS prompt seems like this blocking TOS prompt was a miss on Apple’s part and they should fix it.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  Until 2 months ago, they forced you to have an Apple Watch to be able to watch Fitness+ videos, even if you were already paying for the Apple One bundle that includes Fitness+. There was no technical reason for this requirement, as Fitness+ is just videos, and even if you had an Apple Watch, you did not need to be wearing it to watch the videos.
  - galoisscobi 4y ago
    What do you think caused them to open up Fitness+ videos to non-Apple watch owners?
  - Someone1234 4y ago
    While we're on the topic but silly Fitness+ restrictions: Each family member needs to have their OWN iPad to use it with Fitness+. For example, I have an iPad + Apple Watch, I can use it with Fitness+. My wife however, with her own Apple Watch, cannot use MY iPad for Fitness+. Instead, she needs a whole other iPad set up as her, or it cannot "see" her Apple Watch/has no concept of her. Family Sharing is under-baked. Fitness+ is also under-baked. The fact they have zero interactive fitness games on Fitness+ is frankly embarrassing, I had fitness equipment 20 years ago which had interactive games tied to your workouts, and Apple with the best programmers in the world, 100x more powerful hardware, and better development toolkits has developed nothing beyond video-recordings of studio workouts. Actually the fitness-gaming ecosystem is frankly is a terrible state. Currently, Nintendo or Meta are the leaders in spite of them doing little to try.

neximo64 4y ago

I almost ignore any comments about Apple and prices or to do with spending money. They're a business of course they're going to do that... surprisingly it leaves very little opinion about Apple if you filter those out.

maxutility 4y ago

Not mentioned in the OP: if your only Apple Device is an iPhone 7 or earlier, you’re out of luck, since iOS 16 requires iPhone 8 or newer.

davidmurdoch 4y ago
So, it's not "an Apple device", but an iPhone that is required?
- Bud 4y ago
  [dead]
- Terretta 4y ago
  iPod Touch works fine, for example. Also, it's not actually needed to set up the TV device.

mklepaczewski 4y ago

Last time I checked a parent needed their own Apple device to set up app limits, downtime, accept/reject app installation requests on child's device. Thanks Apple. Now I have an option to give my kid unrestricted access to their device and to the whole Internet, or buy another IPhone just because my child uses Apple product.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
jtbayly 4y ago
Or not let your child use an Apple device . That's actually your choice if it's your choice whether/which apps they can install.
- gtvwill 4y ago
  Bit hard when its the dad thats non-existant in the kids life buying them a iphone @ 12. Restrict the usage of that and see how well your relationship with your kid holds up. Had this happen to us, my partners kids. Its a subtle attempt to destabilize and subvert her authority as parent figure even though old mate isn't even around, hasn't been for years and still is an abusive S*t. We got forced to buy a iphone in order to put parent restrictions on. Its shits as. I hate apple. Company does bulk crap that enables abusers and does piss all to prevent it or be like hey...maybe this is a ethically shit thing to implement. Maybe its gonna cause a whole host of people grief. Don't even get me started on apple air tags.
  - scarface74 4y ago
    Yes I’m sure that Apple has meetings and talks about how to enable abusive parents. If she has custody, she can just say no to her kid.
- mklepaczewski 4y ago
  There are many reasons why it's not that simple. My kid may be old enough to make the decision on which phone to buy, but not old enough to have unrestricted access to it. I may be divorced, and the device might have been given to them buy another parent. The device might have necessary features that are missing from other non-Apple device.

srott2 4y ago

Similar to the Chromecast, I was trying to set one up. https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/2998456 https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/2998456 "Download the Google Home app on your Chromecast-supported Android device."

ikiris 4y ago
The chromecast didn't have an actual UI to manage.
- zamadatix 4y ago
  You used to be able to set it up via any device though not just Android/iPhone which made sense as more than just phones can use it. At least it's not just Pixels or something.
amiga-workbench 4y ago
You used to be able to set them up from the Chrome browser, back when Chromecast support was implemented via a browser extension and not baked in. They completely gutted Chromecast support in Chrome quite a while ago, you can't even adjust the playback volume from your computer any more.
- davidmurdoch 4y ago
  I wonder if they had to gut it due to the Sonos suit.
  - notatoad 4y ago
    the volume adjustment feature disappearing was definitely in response to the sonos lawsuit
slenk 4y ago
There is literally a button in the link you provided saying how to do it on iOS also...

xg15 4y ago

Bonus points for Apple Support chiming in - to address an unrelated issue that another commenter casually mentioned. About the original problem? Not a single word. At least they are sending a clear message... https://twitter.com/AppleSupport/status/1615094275334619136 https://twitter.com/AppleSupport/status/1615094275334619136

zimpenfish 4y ago
Well, he did get an Appler asking for a Feedback ID which is more than nothing. https://twitter.com/DanCUnderwood/status/1614943132340068353 https://twitter.com/DanCUnderwood/status/1614943132340068353
- hugelgupf 4y ago
  [OP here] I filed a thing for them and this person will get it in front of the right people. I have more faith in that more than generic Apple support anyway.
- xg15 4y ago
  Ah, apologies. I didn't realise that person was an Apple employee. That definitely makes a difference.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

awinter-py 4y ago

excited for them to release their VR headset so they can speedrun the 'buy a quest to get support on your other account' timeline

robbomacrae 4y ago

Having worked at Apple I feel like this is a mortal risk they are taking. The Apple Watch could be the next big thing that replaces the smartphone, except they require an iPhone to use it. So instead of taking a short term hit and moving with the times they greedily hold on to their money maker and risk a competitor bringing out a standalone version and tanking the entire thing. Likewise the Apple TV is a great product and could dominate its category if it didn't require an iPhone.

Bud 4y ago
[dead]
yamtaddle 4y ago
Nothing's replacing the Smartphone unless it's got a camera in the same ballpark of quality and usability. Several use cases for a smartphone—including a couple major ones—don't really work with a watch, mostly for camera-related reasons. If it's not good as a camera, it's also not good as a scanner replacement, not good for remote check deposit, not good for things like the Measure app (or any other AR stuff), and so on. For a while I thought I'd go all-watch if they ever released a standalone watch, but paying more attention to how I use my phone, there's just no way. I'd just have to buy a separate camera, then I'd have two things to carry, plus it'd be much worse (since it's not like standalone cameras tend to have e.g. built-in text recognition). I think that's likely true for most people.
- Retric 4y ago
  I don’t think either can do it alone, but Watch + [ AR glasses or tablet + earbuds ] could more directly replace a smartphone.
  - yamtaddle 4y ago
    Yeah, AR glasses are what will actually be the Next Smartphone, as far as rapidly attaining ubiquity. If they can fix the bulkiness and battery life issues, anyway. And sure, decent chance that'll involve tethering the glasses to some kind of watch where the actual brains and long-range radios live. Or to a smartphone or tablet that you can leave in a pocket or bag all the time (why wear a watch when the AR glasses could just paint a fake one on your wrist?)

Someone 4y ago

I wonder whether that prompt still is 100% correct, given that Apple recently put an Apple TV app on the Microsoft Store (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/apple-tv/9mw0zwqfh0m2 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/apple-tv/9mw0zwqfh0m2)

kotaKat 4y ago
Which, for some bizarre reason, you can't install on an arm64 Windows 11 computer despite it being able to run x86/x64 software no issue.
- anticensor 4y ago
  Possibly to make you buy an Apple TV, which is Apple's own arm64 computer in the TV form factor.

slenk 4y ago

I wonder if install iTunes on a Windows PC would work?

amelius 4y ago

Hmm, so they will use some sort of cookie to link the two devices?

yamtaddle 4y ago
They'd both be logged into the same iCloud account, so why bother?

amelius 4y ago

We want dumber TVs, not smarter ones.

tarotuser 4y ago

How does this not violate the Sherman Antitrust act under illegal tying of services and goods? > (From Wikipedia) Success on a tying claim typically requires proof of four elements: (1) two separate products or services are involved; (AppleTV and other Apple phone/iPad, as demanded by the tied product in question) (2) the purchase of the tying product is conditioned on the additional purchase of the tied product; (Yes, and forced only after using said hardware for its claimed fitness of playing shows) (3) the seller has sufficient market power in the market for the tying product; (QED) (4) a not insubstantial amount of interstate commerce in the tied product market is affected. (again, QED) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_(commerce) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_(commerce)

NLPaep 4y ago
The market power is too weak Apple TV market share is below 3%? https://www.statista.com/statistics/1171132/global-connected-tv-devices-streaming-market-share-by-platform/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1171132/global-connected...
- tarotuser 4y ago
  I could see that. However the only flaw with that graph is that the scope is world-wide. I believe the Sherman Antitrust Act cares primarily about US operations.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- zmmmmm 4y ago
  Not sure if "market power" is strictly synonymous with "market share" though. It is probably possible to argue they have much more power than the 3% would suggest. You could even argue that "power" in this context is actually framed around an idea of latent market share - the amount of market share that can be achieved outside of normal competitive means. But yes, in general this would underscore the criticism of US competition policy that it's designed to close the gate after the horse already bolted.
deleted 4y ago

HollowEyes 4y ago

I just wanted to get Apple music going, and had to jump through hoops. In the end I added an iCloud account to the macmini, and now whenever I go to use Apple music/access my apple account on another device, I have some ridiculous process of having to authenticate via the Mac mini. I also have a phone number registered, but it appears to count for nowt.

kitsunesoba 4y ago

To me this feels like a shortcut taken by the tvOS team more than a push for the user to own more Apple devices. What I'm guessing has happened is that that there's probably no standardized dialog in the tvOS SDK that is suited to a scrolling ToS/EULA screen and in the interest of pushing a release out the door faster an engineer was told to shove this message in an alert and call it a day. It's bad and should be fixed either way.

rgovostes 4y ago
This is almost certainly the correct answer. It might also be a generic dialog populated with a server-provided message. Apple TV definitely is not intended to require that you own another Apple device. Even the Apple TV+ subscription service is supported on other platforms like Roku (https://www.roku.com/blog/apple-tv https://www.roku.com/blog/apple-tv). Apple has never required that you run the latest iOS to use iCloud (see minimum requirements on https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204230 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204230). Also, you can definitely accept the iCloud T&C with a Mac, which the error message omits. It's clearly just a very dumb bug and an inaccurate message, one that will likely be fixed in a few days. Not really worth the #1 slot on HN with 190+ comments.
- fortran77 4y ago
  Except that he tried it and it didn’t work. There was no message to accept the TOS.
  - rgovostes 4y ago
    Except what? Tried what? What are you responding to? Edit: If you are responding to the part about accepting T&C on a Mac, I meant in the iCloud system settings panel, and not through the browser. (Though I would also expect that to work. The fact that it doesn't just underscores that this is a dumb bug.)
- assttoasstmgr 4y ago
  [flagged]

jelly 4y ago

I think the current title is mistaken, the twitter user isn't claiming he can't use the Apple TV, he's just saying the message appears. I encountered the same message when iOS 16 had just released and wasn't available on my iPad yet. It wasn't a blocking message, pressing "OK" was enough to make it go away, and when iPadOS 16 finally came out I was able to clear it. It's bad UX but the Apple TV can still be used as before.

hugelgupf 4y ago
[twitter OP] This is true. Appears once a day or so, you hit OK. Sometimes during a show you're watching, sometimes while it starts up. Don't know if it becomes blocking some day...
- jcul 4y ago
  Had something similar while setting up apple TV on a non-apple device for my parents, also had no apple devices. Turns out, in my case at least, the warning was a little misleading. It required me to log into their apple / icloud account and accept some terms, I did this with a normal browser (again non-apple) and the warning went away. May be different in your case as I was setting up a new account for them.
crazygringo 4y ago
Yes, I'm flagging the submission because of this -- I'm sure tons of people are upvoting based on the totally inaccurate title. Which I feel weird about because I don't want to flag the story or the tweet or the comments... it's just the title specifically. So I kind of wish there were a way to flag a title. Hopefully it gets dang's attention and he'll handle it.
- pvg 4y ago
  it gets dang's attention and he'll handle it. That attention is easy to get with an email. As to the story, it just becomes a story about an irritating periodic modal which is not very interesting once the title misunderstanding is gone.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

acodesmith 4y ago

Log in to your Apple account in a browser and accepts the terms. Log out of the tv and log back in. Same thing happened to me. The original poster is mistaken.

kobayashi 4y ago
The OP said that would not work. https://twitter.com/hugelgupf/status/1614843798928109569 https://twitter.com/hugelgupf/status/1614843798928109569
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- acodesmith 4y ago
  I logged out of the AppleTV and logged back in. When I did that I was prompted to accepts the terms.
smileybarry 4y ago
It didn’t work for me, logging into iCloud on the web didn’t bring up the EULA, even if I opened iCloud Mail. I have a second Apple ID and had to take an iPad and sign out (1st), sign in (2nd), accept, sign out (2nd), sign back in (1st).

jaimex2 4y ago

We own you or you can get out.

xil3 4y ago

Makes me wish I didn't just buy the 12.9 iPad pro with the overly priced magic keyboard. Very disappointed in apple. P.s. I use an Android phone.

polalavik 4y ago

Also Apple TV (the software/app) will not let you cast to a smart tv/ Google chrome/ Roku etc. you have to workaround it by casting it from the browser version and casting through chrome.

scarface74 4y ago
Or you could just install the AppleTV app on your Roku.

Ballu 4y ago

I have the same issue with any Apple services, Apple wants me to use iOS device (I faced this issue when tried to upgrade the Apple Music to bundle with other services).

AlbertCory 4y ago

Details: I own a Mac & no other Apple devices. My TV is an LG. I have the Apple streaming service on the TV, purely because they have some pretty good shows (Ted Lasso, Separation, Acapulco). Is there something an Apple TV device would do for me? I'm not seeing it.

Hnrobert42 4y ago
I got one because I didn’t trust my TV enough to connect it to the internet, and I wanted to watch things from my Plex server on my tv.
kitsunesoba 4y ago
A lot of people prefer standalone streaming boxes over integrated "smarts" because they tend to run more smoothly due to having vastly more powerful hardware and tend to receive software updates for a much longer period (see Samsung smart TVs where features stop working in 1-2 years). A dedicated streaming box also sometimes makes it easier to cut out the egregious data harvesting that smart TV makers employ to subsidize their TVs (though Roku and Amazon Fire devices are still data vacuums). My personal setup is a 2018 Sony TV with an Apple TV 4K. The smarts on the TV aren't the worst, but the Apple TV handily beats it in fluidity, so the TV has never been connected to the internet and never will be.
JohnBooty 4y ago
Apple TVs make convenient AirPlay streaming targets, not sure how AirPlay support is on smart TVs. Seamless integration with Apple pay and your Apple account, if you have that. You can use your iPhone (or iPad?) as an input device for the Apple TV. Very handy for typing in passwords or whatever. Would not apply to you obviously. Can also pair a BT keyboard with the AppleTV for the same purposes, FWIW. IIRC Apple TVs don't collect the insane amounts of information that smart TVs collect. Apple TVs might have better interfaces as well, though that's obviously subjective. All the smart TV interfaces I've used have been pretty trash. But maybe they're better now, I dunno.
v7p1Qbt1im 4y ago
A media player like nvidia shield or apple tv is just a lot more performant and gets updated for ages. TV firmware mostly gets abandoned when the next generation releases. The interface gets laggy and slow very quickly. Also, some people have Plex/Kodi setups with a NAS. Not fun to try to play UHD Bluray remuxes on a TV directly.

providedotemacs 4y ago

I recently discovered that iTunes on Windows no longer includes drivers for iPhones. So there is no way to sync music onto an iPhone from Windows.

_samjarman 4y ago

Hanlon's Razor most likely the cause. Doesn't mean its not a bug though.

fbdab103 4y ago

Related - is there a way I can download pictures from an Iphone to a Linux computer locally? Not interested in using any form of cloud intermediary. Evidently, if I plug a cable from an Iphone into a computer, enter my password, this still represents a threat if it is not overseen by iTunes. The device is in my hand, connected to the intended destination, and it is non-trivial to retrieve my data. Just absurd behavior from Apple. Edit: I should add -the IPhone does mount. For instance, it lets me view my Firefox Downloads folder or VLC folder to which you could move media in and out of the device. However, access to my personal photos is a step too far.

542458 4y ago
Strange - you can connect an iPhone directly to a windows computer with no iTunes around. I wonder why that doesn’t work on Linux. In any case, I think there are apps around that make the iPhone serve a web interface to your files on your local network. Would that work? No cloud intermediary involved.
- fbdab103 4y ago
  I did see posts that there were applications which might function as the local webserver route. Lacking any alternatives, that is the option I am likely to pursue, but I hate installing additional applications. Especially if the only purpose is to workaround a deliberate Apple-knows-best decision. Which ultimately leaves me less secure than if Apple provided a first-party solution for local file transfer.
kps 4y ago
For photos, don't mount it as mass storage, use PTP.
aendruk 4y ago
Yep it’s absurd. Similar issue with transferring music to the device; I can drop MP3s on it but the music player is oblivious to them. For photos I ended up scheduling a nightly SMB push to my NAS via a third-party app named PhotoSync.
4y ago

diydsp 4y ago

Apple removed support for my wifi receiver one day out of the blue. Apple removed youtube from my appletv one day just out of the blue. So done with them!

jrnichols 4y ago
What wifi receiver? Why is it up to Apple to support third party hardware? Youtube? That's not an Apple product. I don't recall the YouTube app ever being removed. What are you referring to?
- diydsp 4y ago
  It's called Apple Airport. See: It was made by Apple and they simply dropped support for it. They made a new version and I could buy it to get back what I used to have. https://www.macworld.com/article/671121/what-is-apple-airport.html https://www.macworld.com/article/671121/what-is-apple-airpor... Here's an article about Apple dropping support for youtube playback. Part of the reason I bought the AppleTV was because it had support for youtube playback. Then they announced it was going away, and then they yanked the support, and then they announced I could buy a new AppleTV to get back what I used to have. https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/3/22311881/apple-tv-2012-youtube-discontinued-app-replacement-google-roku-amazon https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/3/22311881/apple-tv-2012-you...
  - jrnichols 4y ago
    Apple discontinued the Airport units, yes. but they still work. I have one here right now. No, Apple did not drop support for YouTube playback. Google/YouTube stopped developing the app for the older versions. This was 100% on Google, not Apple. Not sure why you claimed that Apple did this when that is factually incorrect. Cheers!
    - diydsp 4y ago
      The thing is, I can rage against google for that but the net effect is the same: I can't trust that what I buy from Apple will stay. If Apple cared, they could have made the app themselves with their rife resources, but they are complacent with the bait and switch. I'm done with them and their other shady practices, from scanning photos for content, to logging peoples' locations, colluding to raise ebook prices, discriminating against android users in sms groups, software upgrades that slow down the device, pushing people to discard otherwise fine hardware, poor treatment of families with children, smoking voiding their warranties. I'm all done with them. What model of airport do you have? I assume it's a newer one than mine. Here is evidence of their blase attitude toward obsoleting working equipment. They deliver a an implicit threat by saying: "If your router is 6-7 years old or older, it is probably time to consider replacing the product, especially if you are interested in up to date security." https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253164032 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253164032

tails4e 4y ago

This kind of policy is why I refuse to buy apple. My 14yr old daughter has an iPhone and I cannot administer it as a parent without owning an iPhone or similar device myself. A basic Web UI is all that's needed to access the screen time settings, but nope. It's clearly by design, you're either all in with them, or they dont want you.

shagie 4y ago
If you could administer it from the phone, it would be possible for an enterprising child to remove those same restrictions on that device (how many stories have we heard of kids removing the parental control software from a computer?) If you could administer it from the phone, it could be used to partially lock you out of your own device if done by a 3rd party (loan to a friend, and you get it back and you can't use any of the other things on it). If you could administer it from the web, someone else on the web could use it to lock your out of your own device. --- Having one device owned by the parent managing another device owned by the child ensures that only the parent is managing the child's device and furthermore that only a set of devices that have been set up under the same Apple ID family can be administered.
- tails4e 4y ago
  I want to do the opposite - i. e. administer it from another phone, or Web UI, which I have the password to.
  - shagie 4y ago
    If you can administer it from a webUI that doesn't have authentication back to another device you hold with the keys for managing that Apple account, then so can an attacker. For another phone, yes - that would work... but it needs to be one that holds the private keys for the apple account. Those keys are held by a part of the apple hardware that prevents them from accidentally leaking outside. Because of how "find my device" works, leaking those keys would allow a 3rd party to track you (or access your stored secrets associated with your account) - and so Apple has been very careful with the hardware and software securing those keys. From Apple's perspective, the ability to administer the family plan from a web UI is inherently risky and possibly privacy violating - neither are things they want to let go of. Part of the brand value is that it isn't risky to use their devices and that they make the privacy of the people them something that those people trust. And so, consider, that you're asking Apple to allow someone to log into a website and use a password (possibly compromised) to restrict the functionality that a given device has without being able to verify back (send apple verify codes to devices held by that same account) that the person making the changes is one who should be able to do it.

tempestn 4y ago

I recently ran into a similar thing with their streaming service, Apple TV Plus. Started a trial and wanted to add a profile for my wife. Browsed around the site for how to do that but couldn't find anything, so I googled and found apparently the only way to do it is to use the "family sharing" app on an Apple device. Apparently while you can subscribe and stream via the web, you can only add family profiles on an Apple device. For some reason.

emsy 4y ago

Apple became an accountant led company. It’s no longer about the best customer experience, just money. I’m quite fond of the old old Apple.

mark_l_watson 4y ago

On my Chromebook, I log into iCloud.com to access email and access account settings. Perhaps logging in on a browser could setup an Apple TV or Apple Watch? I think that the Apple Watch is the most exciting Apple product ever, including the serial number 71 Apple II I got in the late 1970s. As many other people here have said, Apple needs to fix this problem.

Lendal 4y ago

They have a generous return policy. Buy an iPhone, sign in with it to accept the terms and get your AppleTV working, then erase the iPhone and return it for a full refund.

chemmail 4y ago

This is not so hard to believe as the OG ipod was to help boost sales of Macbooks, which were plummeting in sales. A lot of "fashion" apple devices are generally limited to using iPhones like Apple Watch and Airpods. It doesn't really make sense to buy those unless you use an iPhone already. Ran into this problem with me wife who uses a Samsung. I wanted to use watch walkietalkie so i just had to let her use my old iPhone to get it working. Sadly the walkietalkie feature is just trash.

thedougd 4y ago

In a similar vein, I can't use Siri on the EcoBee thermostat without also owning a HomePod. It's either not a technical limitation or a very poorly conceived one.

rchaud 4y ago

Is there an LLM trained on that Tech Emails twitter account? It'd be amusing to see A simulation of Steve Jobs writing an email with the subject line "Setting up new Apple TV, left phone at home"

gloosx 4y ago

I had to move my old iPhone 7 to trash box and move to something else back in the days. One day it started to ask to my iCloud password every time i wanted to download something. Not just the password, but the password multiple times and security questions, finishing that flow did not make the prompt go away, essentially trapping me inside some kind of never-ending auth loop which was not going away even with full factory reset. The support at the time was not answering any questions, leaving me with generic responses that i need to go thru that flow. Apple is king of bad UX loops and frustrating experiences in software, don't know why they got hardware so right, but the software is magnitudes behind

DuckFeathers 4y ago

They are worth 2 trillion. Our only hope was Europe to regulate them but now the corrupt American empire has started a war there so they will no option but to be lenient to the US corporations. Our best option now is to avoid funding the terrorist economy when possible.

nunez 4y ago

Can we stop posting Twitter links?

henry_viii 4y ago

> Requires a device running iOS 16 or later, or iPadOS 16 or later So even if you have an iPhone SE 1st gen (released 2016) or an iPad mini 4 (released 2015), you still won't be able to accept the new T&Cs.