Apple TV tips

Tip: adjusting how movies and TV shows are sorted in your Apple TV Wish Lists

Apple TV Siri Remote in hand

Aside from major new features in Apple's new tvOS 9.2 firmware for the fourth-generation Apple TV, which released to the public on Monday, March 21, there're plenty of under-the-hood improvements to be excited about.

Among them are handy sorting options for the movies in your Wish List and TV shows in your Favorites. In this tutorial, we'll demonstrate how you can tell your Apple TV to show recent TV episodes first and change sorting options for movies in your Wish List.

How to update your Apple TV Siri Remote

Apple TV and Siri Remote on a red yellow gradient background

A tvOS update may include new firmware for the Siri Remote to fix bugs, improve reliability, and add new features. Improve your Apple TV experience by learning how to effortlessly update your Siri Remote, and stay in control with the latest features and improvements.

How to place Apple TV in recovery mode

If your Apple TV won't start up properly, or you are a developer who wants to install a tvOS beta, you must first put your set-top box in recovery (DFU) mode. As is the case with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices, entering DFU mode makes a malfunctioning Apple TV discoverable in desktop iTunes so you can restore it to factory settings, downgrade to an earlier version of the software or side-load a beta firmware onto it.

The method to put an Apple TV into DFU mode differs from that for other iOS devices. In this post, you'll learn how to put an Apple TV into recovery mode so you can restore it to factory settings if it's acting up.

How to filter mature language for Siri and Dictation

Sometimes when you use the dictation feature on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad—or just converse with Siri and it misunderstands you—you might be in for a surprise seeing explicit language that you don't really want others to see, especially if you talk to Siri on your new Apple TV and kids are present.

Fortunately, both iOS and tvOS give you all the controls you need to prevent profanities from showing up when you use speech-to-text or Siri. In this post, you'll learn how to disable explicit language for Siri and Dictation on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad and filter out explicit language for Siri on your Apple TV.

How to disable explicit music and podcasts on your Apple TV

Among other enhancements, a software update for the fourth-generation Apple TV has brought out podcasts to your living room experience via Apple's Podcasts app.

If you have kids and everyone in your household is using the same Apple TV, it might be a good idea to prevent explicit content in Apple Music and Podcasts.

In this quick tutorial, we're going to show you how to disable mature language for music and podcasts on the Apple TV by flipping a switch in Settings.

How to access changelog for Apple TV app updates

Recently Updated apps on Apple TV

In this quick tutorial, you'll learn how to browse recently updated apps on your Apple TV and access official changelogs from developers, which typically provide a treasure trove of information detailing new features, refinements, fixes, and other information.

How to bring back old password-entry grid on fourth-generation Apple TV

To me, the new software keyboard in tvOS is absolutely the biggest pain point and a major step back from the old password-entry grid on previous Apple TV models.

As ridiculous as it sounds, Apple has opted to put all the characters in a single line, two-row layout. This isn't just odd from a user experience standpoint, the new keyboard design in tvOS is a lot slower and clunkier to maneuver than the previous grid-style one.

And with the amount of passwords needing entering in third-party video apps, it's especially annoying and cumbersome. But as it turns out, there's a way to bring back the old password-entry grid to speed up typing those passwords.

How to quickly go back where you were after accidentally scrubbing on Apple TV remote

You're sitting on your couch watching a movie. You reach for the Siri remote to adjust the volume, and once again, you accidentally scrub forward or backward when your finger touches the Touch surface. Now you're struggling to scrub back where you were until you find the right spot.

If you own the new Apple TV, you have most likely faced this annoying situation several times. Thankfully, a quick press of a button can fix this problem and take you right back where you were before you accidentally scrubbed.