Setup guide
IPTV on Apple TV
Set up a player on Apple TV HD or 4K, with the iPhone keyboard trick that makes entering details painless.
What you need
An Apple TV HD or Apple TV 4K, your account details, and ideally an iPhone or iPad signed in to the same Apple account. The second of those is optional but makes the whole process considerably faster.
1. Install a player from the App Store
Open the App Store on the Apple TV and search for an IPTV player. The tvOS selection is smaller than Android’s but the apps that are there are generally well maintained. Install one and open it.
2. Let your iPhone do the typing
When the Apple TV puts a text field on screen and your iPhone is nearby and unlocked, a notification appears on the phone offering to type for you. Tap it and the phone keyboard drives the Apple TV field directly, which means you can paste a long M3U address instead of navigating a grid of letters with the remote.
If the notification does not appear, check that Bluetooth is on and both devices are signed in to the same Apple account. It is worth a minute of fiddling to avoid entering a sixty-character URL with a touchpad.
3. Enter your details
Add the M3U playlist address, or the Xtream Codes server, username and password, depending on what your player asks for. Save and wait for the first load to complete.
4. Watching from an iPhone or iPad instead
If you already have a player on your phone, AirPlay to the Apple TV is a perfectly good alternative for occasional viewing and needs no setup on the Apple TV at all. For regular use a native player is better: it does not tie up the phone, it survives a phone call, and it does not drain the battery.
Still deciding which plan fits?
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