We’re hearing from some developers that iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan use a new AirPlay encryption, which is not compatible with older Apple TV firmwares and software mirroring solutions like AirServer and Reflector.

In iOS 9 and El Capitan, Apple TVs running firmware version older than 6.2 appear as an audio only destinations:

In order for AirPlay to work, both iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan require Apple TV running firmware 6.2 and newer, meanwhile the latest jailbreakable Apple TV software version is 5.3.

People with jailbroken Apple TV’s running 5.3 will need to upgrade to 6.2 or newer to continue using AirPlay.

Of course, if you’re using a jailbroken Apple TV, you may choose not to update to iOS 9 or/and El Capitan and keep AirPlaying your content to the Apple TV.

Some developers told us they are re-implementing the encryption in their software to be ready for the final iOS 9/El Capitan update.

It is expected that iOS 9 will be released in mid-September. OS X El Capitan will launch sometimes in October.

This Wednesday, Apple is hosting an event where it is expected to unveil a next-generation Apple TV, which is rumored to be be thicker and slightly wider than the current-generation model and feature Apple’s A8 chip, a new, “drastically improved” remote with touchpad, more on-board storage, an improved operating system with support for Siri voice control and a long-awaited App Store.

Read more on Apple TV 4: 

• Apple TV 4 specs and price revealed
• Apple TV 4: big focus on gaming and Siri, support for Bluetooth game controllers
• Apple TV 4 will cost $149-$199, available in October

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

The post iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan won’t let you AirPlay to jailbroken Apple TV (or those running older firmware) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Last week XBMC released the beta 3 of their next major update – XBMC 13.0 Gotham that was released back in March with a support for 3D movies, improved UPnP capabilities, “dramatic” Audio Engine improvements and various visual changes that improve usability and logic (check out the full list of changes). Here is a tutorial on how to install XBMC Gotham (beta 3) on Apple TV 2.

Note: XBMC 13.0 will only works on jailbroken Apple TV 2 (latest jailbreakable Apple TV firmware is 5.3). If you have an Apple TV 1 and want XBMC badly, you can find out how to do it here.

Requirements

• Jailbroken ATV 2 running firmware 5.3 or older
• Mac computer (use Terminal app)  or Windows PC (use PuTTY app)

Step 1: Install the latest stable version of XBMC – XBMC Frodo (12.3). If you already have Frodo installed, go directly to Step 2.

• Launch the “Terminal” or “PuTTY” application.
• Ensure that your computer and your Apple TV are on the same network.
• Connect to your Apple TV via SSH using the following commands.

ssh root@[Your Apple TV’s I.P. Address]

Example: ssh root@192.168.2.18
This can be found under General/Network on your ATV’s main menu

Note: Should you receive an “Authentication Error,” copy and paste the following command into the Terminal window and press Enter, then continue.

rm ~/.ssh/known_hosts

• Agree to any security prompts by typing “yes” (without quotations), then press enter.
• When prompted for a password, type the word “alpine” (without quotations) then press Enter.

• Copy and paste the following commands into your Terminal or PuTTY app, pressing the Enter key after each. It’s important that you wait for each one to finish before moving onto the next. Don’t worry… you will know when each line is finished.

apt-get install wget

wget -O- https://apt.awkwardtv.org/awkwardtv.pub | apt-key add -

echo "deb https://apt.awkwardtv.org/ stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/awkwardtv.list

echo "deb https://mirrors.xbmc.org/apt/atv2 ./" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xbmc.list

apt-get update

mkdir -p /Applications/AppleTV.app/Appliances

apt-get install org.xbmc.xbmc-atv2

mkdir -p /Applications/XBMC.frappliance

reboot

Step 2: Install XBMC 13.0 Gotham beta 3

• Launch the “Terminal” or “PuTTY” application.
• Connect to your Apple TV via SSH using the following commands.

ssh root@[Your Apple TV’s I.P. Address]

• When prompted for a password, type the word “alpine” (without quotations) then press Enter.
• Copy and paste the following commands:

rm -f *xbmc*.deb

wget https://mirrors.xbmc.org/apt/pre-release/atv2/deb/org.xbmc.xbmc-atv2_13.0-0~b3_iphoneos-arm.deb

dpkg -i *xbmc*.deb

rm *xbmc*.deb

Done! You should now have the beta 3 of XBMC 13.0 Gotham installed on your Apple TV.

To ensure the new build fits your screen:

• Launch XBMC from the main menu on Apple TV
• Enter the “Settings” sub menu under the “SYSTEM” heading.
• Select the “Appearance” tab from the left menu bar.
• Change “Settings level” from Standard (default) to Advanced

• Under the “Skin” menu,you’ll now want to choose “-4%” for the “Zoom” field so that your XBMC configuration will properly fit your television display.

Depending on the television, you might have to play around with this, but it should work flawlessly at the “-4%” setting. Press “MENU” on your remote to return back one level once this is done.

Congratulations! Your Apple TV now has XBMC 13.0 Gotham installed on it, and fitting on your screen.

Now, check out Top 10 best XBMC addons for Apple TV 1 and Apple TV 2

More on XBMC:

• How to change skins in XBMC on Apple TV
• How to clone the XBMC installation
• Use XBMC to extend your Apple TV’s hard drive

.. and more.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

The post How to install XBMC 13.0 Gotham on Apple TV 2 appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Some time ago we reported on a new hack discovered by an iOS hacker David Schuetz that let us put our own apps on Apple TV. By enabling an Apple TV OS feature called Add Site, Schuetz was able to add a custom site pointing at a Raspberry Pi media server which he added to the Apple TV. The hack quickly got closed as Apple disabled the Add Site feature. In a new post Schuetz explains what exactly happened and speculates on the future of his hack.

You can go through the article for the detailed explanation of what happened with the Add Site feature, here’s the conclusion:

If your ATV is on 6.x, and it doesn’t already have the Add Site profile loaded, then you can’t add it, unless you get a profile signed by Apple. And since the Apple TV program isn’t open to the public, you can’t get that profile. So, we’re pretty much stuck.

Great for Security. Lousy for DIY Apple TV hackers. Right?

Well, there is one workaround: If your ATV is on 5.2 or 5.3, you can still add the profile (you just won’t see the button), and then upgrade to 6.0, and, boom!, the Add Site application is available, and fully functional.

Unfortunately, Apple also introduced a signature test when using the Add Site feature. How to deal with this? Schuetz promised to discuss it in the next post.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ for more coverage of this topic.

The post Apple TV hacking: “Add Site” hack follow-up appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Seas0nPass, the popular Apple TV jailbreak tool, has been recently updated by FireCore and now allows for an untethered jailbreak of Apple TV 5.3 (Apple TV 2 only). Released in June last year, Apple TV software version 5.3 added HBO GO, WatchESPN, Sky News, Crunchyroll and Qello to our little black boxes.

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to untether jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.3 using Seas0nPass:

Pre-launch checklist

1. Download and install the latest version of iTunes (check for updates through Software Update located in Apple menu).
2. Download Seas0nPass for Mac [10.6 or later] or Windows [XP or later].
3. A micro USB cable will be required to complete the jailbreak.
4. Disconnect any iPods, iPhones, and iPads from your computer.

Jailbreaking

Step 1: Unzip the ‘Seas0nPass.zip’ file and launch Seas0nPass.

Step 2: Select the ‘Create IPSW’ button to start the jailbreak process.

Step 3: The latest Apple TV software will be downloaded and used to create a custom ‘jailbroken’ software file.

Step 4:When prompted, connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable (leave power disconnected).

Once the light on the front of the Apple TV begins to flash rapidly, point the remote at the AppleTV and hold both the MENU and PLAY/PAUSE buttons for 7 seven seconds.

Note: This step will require the silver (aluminum) Apple TV remote that was included with the ATV2. The older, white (plastic) remotes will not work.

Step 5: Seas0nPass will complete the restore automatically, and confirm when complete.

Step 6: iTunes will confirm the restore when complete – your Apple TV is now jailbroken.

Note: To confirm the jailbreak was successful a (temporary) red FC logo will appear in the lower right corner of the screen – as shown below.

Enjoy!

aTV Flash (black) users that are already running 5.3 can jailbreak by following these two easy steps:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Manage Extras
2. Install the Maintenance (2.4) update and the Click to Untether (1.2) items – restart the Apple TV when prompted.

Note: The current version of Seas0nPass doesn’t provide a jailbreak for the Apple TV 3.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

The post How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.3 (iOS 6.1.4) using Seas0nPass (untethered; Mac & Windows) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

So you didn’t update your Apple TV 2 firmware to version 6.0 (iOS 7) when it came in September, hoping for a jailbreak for 5.3 software (iOS 6.1.4 – 10B809) to come sooner or later? The wait is finally over as an updated version of FireCore‘s Seas0nPass now allows for an untethered jailbreak of Apple TV 5.3 (Apple TV 2 only).

The update was possible thanks to the help from @iH8sn0w, @winocm, and @SquiffyPwn.

FireCore also revealed that “there has been some encouraging progress made on Apple TV 6.0+” (thanks to the work of @evad3rs and @nitoTV) and they hope to have more news available “soon”.

If you’re on 6.0.x but have the SHSH blobs saved for 5.3, you can use Seas0nPass to first downgrade and then jailbreak your atv2.

Here is how to jailbreak (instructions provided by FireCore):

Option 1 – if you’re already running 5.3

1. On the ATV2, navigate to Maintenance > Manage Extras
2. Install the Maintenance (2.4) update and the Click to Untether (1.2) items – restart the Apple TV when prompted.

Option 2 – to update or reinstall 5.3

1. (Optional) Navigate to Maintenance > Settings > Manage Backups and create a new backup. Double-check to ensure the backup is listed in the Restore From Backups menu.
2. Download the latest version of Seas0nPass.
3. Open and run Seas0nPass normally, to update the Apple TV to 5.3 untethered.
4. Download and run the new 2.4 version of aTV Flash (black) to reinstall.

If you’re new to aTV Flash (black) you can read our full review here.

Note: The current version of Seas0nPass doesn’t provide a jailbreak for the Apple TV 3.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

The post Untethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 5.3 released appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

FireCore has released aTV Flash (black) 2.3 for Apple TV 2, which includes a bunch of new features, stability improvements and support for the recently released Apple TV 5.3 firmware. According to FireCore, the new version of aTV Flash (black) is also the first step to bring a number of the new features of Infuse to the Apple TV.

What’s new in 2.3?

• Added Apple TV 5.3 compatibility
• Added Croatian, Hungarian, Romanian, and Slovak localizations
• Media Player is now ‘Infuse for Apple TV’
• Improved Dolby (AC3) audio
• Improved metadata fetching
• Improved detection of subtitle encoding
• Improved reliability of settings backups
• A few other minor fixes and performance improvements

If you’re already running a version of aTV Flash (black) the new 2.3 version can be installed through the Maintenance –> Manage Extras menu. Links for the new version can also be found in your FireCore account under the Downloads tab.

If you’re not yet using aTV Flash (black) you can get started here.

Read the review of Infuse for iPhone/iPad.

The post aTV Flash (black) 2.3 for Apple TV 2 now available appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Apple has just released a big update to the second and third generation Apple TV. Apple TV software version 5.3 adds HBO GO and WatchESPN, which are now available directly on our little black boxes. In addition, three new content providers are also available today on Apple TV including Sky News, Crunchyroll and Qello offering live news, sports and current TV programming.

HBO GO users get unlimited access to their favorite HBO shows, including HBO original programming, hit movies, sports, documentaries, comedy specials and more. This includes full seasons of the best of HBO, plus bonus features and special behind-the-scenes extras. HBO GO on Apple TV requires a subscription to HBO through participating television providers.

WatchESPN on Apple TV delivers a one-stop video destination for sports fans with live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPN Buzzer Beater/Goal Line to those who receive ESPN’s networks as part of their video subscription from affiliated providers. Popular sports and fan-favorite shows include college football and basketball, Monday Night Football, MLB, NBA, major golf tournaments, all four Grand Slam tennis events, SportsCenter, PTI and more. Additionally, curated on-demand video featuring the most recent and relevant content—including highlights and news clips from ESPN.com as well as short-form segments from programs such as E:60, Outside The Lines, SC Featured, Sport Science and others—will be accessible through WatchESPN for the first time via Apple TV to all users.

Sky News on Apple TV delivers a live 24/7 news feed to users in the US, UK and Ireland, including breaking news and headlines from business, politics, entertainment and more. In addition to the live feed, users can catch up on specific stories at any time via the extensive on-demand news library.

As always: if you are on jailbroken ATV2, stay away from this update for now if you don’t want to lose your jailbreak.

The latest jailbreakable Apple TV software version is 5.2 (untethered) or 5.2.1 (tethered).

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ to be first to know when the jailbreak for Apple TV 5.3 comes out.

Here are the direct download links:

AppleTV2,1_5.3
AppleTV3,1_5.3
AppleTV3,2_5.3

The post Apple TV software update 5.3 adds HBO GO, WatchESPN, SkyNews & more appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.