What is apple tv hacks

What is apple tv hacks

I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of an Apple fan boy. Not so much that I’ll stand in line for the newest iPhone, but enough that I own an iPhone, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. I love the simplicity of their devices but yet they have a bunch of cool “insider hacks” that aren’t included in their instruction manuals. So today I wanted to break down 8 of my favorite Apple TV hacks and tricks that will make the slick streaming device even more useful. Let’s get to it…

1. Learn to Quickly Switch Between Apps

It’s a little more cumbersome to switch between open apps on the Apple TV compared to your iPhone.

But a neat little trick to quickly switch between apps is to double tap the TV button on the Apple TV remote.

This will show you all of your open apps.

You can then move your finger on the touchpad from right to left and tap the pad to go to that specific app.

You can also swipe up to close out the highlighted app.

2. Organize the Home Screen With Folders

Your Apple TV home screen will undoubtedly get cluttered with apps.

But you can remedy this situation by creating folders just like you would on your iPhone.

Highlight an app then hold down the touchpad until the app icon starts shaking.

Next move the app over another app, that you want in the same folder, and press the touchpad button and a new folder will be created.

If the folder already exists you just move the app you want to add over the folder and press the touch pad button.

3. Hard Time Hearing? Try This Cool Hack

The next time you’re watching a loud action movie (or any show for that matter), but can’t hear the dialogue, just hold the microphone (Siri) button on the remote and say “What did he/she say?”.

The program will automatically rewind 10 seconds and closed captioning will come on temporarily so you can read what is being said.

This is easily the one Apple TV hack that I use the most.

4. Easily Manage Your Subscriptions

This one hit close to home because I recently discovered I was paying $5/month for ESPN+ because I forgot to cancel my subscription.

To make sure you’re not paying for any subscriptions that you don’t use, go to Settings, Users and Account, (Your Name) Account, Subscriptions.

It’ll show all of your current and expired subscriptions so you will never get charged for something you don’t use.

5. Login to Your TV Provider Only ONE Time

If you’re like me, you have TV provider subscriptions to apps like ESPN, CBS, ABC, FOX, and Fox News.

Instead of manually typing in your login credentials to each app individually, do it JUST ONCE in your Apple TV.

To make it happen go to Settings, Users and Accounts, TV Provider.

Once you login you’ll never have to log into individual apps EVER again. Major time saver.

6. Control the Screensaver

My kids love the constantly updated moving video and pictures on the Apple TV screensaver.

But did you know you can really have some fun with it and learn the location of the footage?

Once the screensaver is activated, you can do a gentle touch of the touchpad to bring up a description of whatever you’re looking at.

Then as the drone footage moves, the description is also updated which is REALLY cool.

If you want to move to the next image you can gently swipe to the right on the touchpad and you’ll move to the next video capture.

Also, to instantly access the screensaver, from the home screen, simply tap the Menu button twice and the screensaver will come on.

7. Use Bluetooth To Your Advantage

Did you know you can pair your wireless headphones or AirPods to your Apple TV?

This is a great feature if you’re watching late at night or want to watch in silence.

Just go to Settings, Remotes and Devices, Bluetooth.

Have your device in pairing mode and it will show up under My Devices. Click on your device and it will get paired immediately.

8. Know Exactly When to Charge the Remote

One of my favorite things about owning an Apple TV is the fact that the remote in chargeable.

No longer do you have to deal with dying AAA batteries that make the remote only work part of the time.

To find out the battery percentage on your remote, you simply visit Setting, then Remotes and Devices.

Then click on Remote and it will tell you the battery level so you’ll know when to charge it.

Ask the Reader: What cool Apple TV hacks did I miss? Let me know in the comments below.

By Kyle James

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The Best Apple TV Hacks Everyone Should Know About

by Jenefey Aaron Updated on 2020-03-23 / Update for Apple TV

The Apple TV is already cool all on its own, but that has never prevented us from trying to make it even better. Apple TV hacks can help you get the most out of your Apple TV experience. In other words, they can make it easy for you stay on track with all your binge-worthy shows on Netflix or Hulu or stay updated on the latest podcast you are following. The following are just some of the best Apple TV hacks to help you make your Apple TV even better;

1. You can Stream From a Friend’s Apple TV

With your Apple TV, you can stream media including video, music and photos from your computer to your TV. But Apple TV can only connect devices that share the same Wi-Fi network. If you are at a friend’s house, you may be out of range. In this case you can use an app called Younity app that allows you to take any media and stream it on any Apple TV on demand. Plus, it is completely free to download on iTunes.

Younity also has a lot of other functions like the ability to merge all the content in all your devices. This means that all the photos, music and photos that you have on your computer iPad or iPhone will be merged and available to play on the Apple TV at the same time. This gives you the benefit of streaming your music from your laptop to your brother’s iPhone without having to reconfigure your settings.

2. Talk to Your Apple TV

If you have the new Apple TV and remote, you can use Siri just as you would on your iPhone. You can complete voice searches and get matching results for your queries. This way, Siri can help you easily locate any movie or TV show you need.

The functionality also extends to an app search on tv0S 9.2. You can either use Siri to request a specific app or a type of app in which you will get multiple results and choose. To use this cool function, just press the microphone button on the remote and ask Siri for what you want.

3. Reduce Sensitivity on the Touch Surface

If you find that the touch surface is a little too sensitive for your needs, you can easily fix this in the settings. Simply go to «Settings > Remotes and Devices > Touch Surface Tracking. You may find that the default is set to medium and that you can easily change it to fast or slow.

4. Rewind or Fast Forward (Sort of)

What most people don’t know is that Apple TV actually has a way for you to go back 10 seconds into any media playing on the TV or 10 seconds back. This is a cool trick that you can use to go back when you miss something important or fast forward past a commercial. It may not be as efficient as a fast forward or rewind, but it works. To use this feature just tap on the Touch surface on the left to go back and on the right to go forward 10 seconds.

5. Put your Apps in Folders

With the new Apple TV, you can easily organize all your apps in folders just as you would on your iPhone or iPad. To put any app in a folder, highlight the specific app and then hold down the Touch Surface until the app begins to jiggle. You can then simply drag and drop the app into a folder of your choice.

If you want to create a new folder based on that app, press the Play/pause button and choose an option. Type in the name of the folder and you’re good to go.

Bonus Tip: Easily Fix Apple TV Issues

If you have been using iOS devices, you probably know that sometimes they behave abnormally. These issues including iOS stuck problems like a device stuck in recovery mode also occur on the Apple TV. To fix any issue you may be having with your Apple TV, we recommend you use Tenorshare ReiBoot, an iOS System Recovery program that is designed to help you overcome all these issues.

It is easy to use, compatible with all versions of the iOS software and highly effective. Try ReiBoot to get your Apple TV Working normally again.

Summary

The Apple TV hacks listed above may be functionalities you did not know existed on the device. One this is for sure, each one of them will make using Apple TV very easy.

Updated on 2020-03-23 / Update for Apple TV

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Apple TV Hacks

Contents

History [ edit | edit source ]

Disclaimer [ edit | edit source ]

Apple TV hacks have been available since days of Apple TVs release. Apple is not currently preventing users from installing Apple TV hacks, but users are warned that applying hacks will void the product’s warranty. [1]

Software Hacks in the Beginning [ edit | edit source ]

Apple TVs operating system was described by w:Walt Mossberg as «a modified version of the Mac operating system». [2] Hackers began creating Front Row extensions by gaining SSH and FTP access to the device.

Initially, software hacking required physical changes to the Apple TV hardware; the bottom rubber panel was removed (which is near impossible to do perfectly) and the hard drive connected to a computer. This leaves the rubber not fully connected and a sticky residue on the bottom metal. It is an aesthetic barrier to modification. [3]

Because of problems associated with swaping the Apple TV hard drive, AppleTVHacks.net and FatWallet.com offered a US$1,000 reward for an external USB drive hack to utilize the USB «service port». [4] Mid-2007, the USB hack was released. [5]

The New Method: Patchstick [ edit | edit source ]

The community-created «Patchstick» project enables Apple TV owners to add software modifications using the USB hack. Users can download a Patchstick image to a USB drive and reboot the Apple TV from the drive. Software is then automatically transferred from the USB drive to the Apple TV device. [6] [7] A commercial version of the Patchstick was released mid-2008, the aTV Flash software. This software allows playback of common media files and includes a web browser, RSS reader and ability to download metadata from the w:IMDB. In a similar way to the open-source Patchstick method, the aTV Flash requires no physical modifications to the Apple TV. [8] aTV Flash also enables the Loop pointer from Hillcrest Labs to be used for navigating Apple TV menus, and controlling video playback. [9]

Creating the open-source Patchstick was a manual effort until the Mac atvusb-creator application was released in late 2008 on Google Code. [10] [11] atvusb-creator is noted as the «easiest way» to create the Patchstick and loads a USB drive with dropbear ssh, bin tools including compression and FTP utilities, and two plugins (SoftwareMenu and w:XBMC Media Center/w:Boxee Installer/Launcher). [12] [13]

Replacing Front Row: Boxee [ edit | edit source ]

Boxee is an open-source «media center application based on XBMC with a social networking spin» and includes its own plugins for Internet media services such as Flickr, Last.fm, Shoutcast, Joost, Comedy Central, MTV, and Hulu. Boxee also includes user-defined RSS audio, video, torrent and text feeds. [14] [15] Boxee installs a Netflix plugin, but Apple TV doesn’t have enough processing power to run Microsoft’s w:Silverlight, which Netflix depends on. [16] [17]

Boxee How Tos [ edit | edit source ]

• Install Boxee or XBMC on an Apple TV [18]
• Hack Your Apple TV With Boxee [19]
• Max Out Apple TV’s Potential With Boxee [20]
• Cut the Cable For Good with Boxee and Apple TV [21]

Apple TV Updates [ edit | edit source ]

The Apple TV software updates typically remove any software hacks that are installed. Major hacks are updated on a regular basis and the Apple TV device can easily be re-hacked. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] The most common method used to «re-hack» is by using the Patchstick to reload hacks after an Apple TV software update. [27] Although major hacks have been updated, most Front Row plugins have not been updated to work with Apple TV 2.x. AwkwardTV reports 10 plugins out of 32 have been certified to be compatible with the «Take Two» update. [28]

Software How Tos [ edit | edit source ]

• access the device remotely through SSH, [29]
• get Apple TV’s version of Front Row running on other Apple computers, [30]
• install regular versions of w:Mac OS X v10.4[31]
• install regular versions of Linux[32]
• add support for other codecs [33]
• create Front Row w:plugins. [12][34]

Hardware How Tos [ edit | edit source ]

Hardware modifications allow users to expand Apple TVs capabilities. Customers can:

• upgrade the hard drive on their Apple TVs, [35] although a repair company such as Weaknees, MacService, and w:iResQ can install hard drive upgrades with data transfer. The company offers upgrades to 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, and 250GB hard drives. [36]
• output color through w:composite video[37][38][39][40] This hardware-based w:hack, which requires inexpensive hardware to trick the built-in w:operating system, enables users with non-w:HDTV TV sets, for which the Apple TV was originally designed, [41] to connect Apple TVs to them.

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