One of the most discussed bugs with Netflix on Apple TV popped up this March, when Dolby Digital 5.1 audio output suddenly stopped working, after the Apple TV 6.1 update. It ruined the whole Netflix experience for many, because the speakers are returning only stereo audio which beats the whole purpose of the multi-speaker setup.

With the 6.1.1 update, Netflix claimed to have fixed the bug and DD 5.1 started working for most subscribers. A few days later, however, it broke again without any apparent reason or update. Many users claim to have contacted both Apple and Netflix only to receive vague answers and blames on each other.

If you’re one of the affected, here’s some good news.

Folks at 9to5Mac, after multiple emails on the issue, have finally received an official reply. In the mail, Netflix has acknowledged the problem and confirmed that they’re working on a fix.

We are aware of the issue and are working to deploy a fix. […] We hope to have the fix out soon, but I can’t commit to a date. We have put a workaround in place that will playback titles in stereo instead of Dolby Digital 5.1.

Two months sounds a little too long for Netflix to come up with a fix, or at least to acknowledge what seems to be a minor, but annoying bug. Anyway, it is comforting that the media giant is doing something in this regard. Though we don’t have an exact date for the fix, users can surely ready their ears to feel that surround sound again.

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This Friday, Apple revealed a major security glitch in Apple’s iOS devices, relatated to SSL implementation. Later analysts looked into it only to find that OS X and Apple TV are also affected and that it is an easily exploitable yet a seriously injurious one.

I’m not going to talk details about the Apple bug except to say the following. It is seriously exploitable and not yet under control.

— Matthew Green (@matthew_d_green) February 21, 2014

The bug seems to result in failed validation of SSL certification of sites. And for users that would mean, many data which are supposed to be secure are being transferred un-encrypted. Though domain access seems to be protected, direct SSL connections to IP addresses was found to be exploitable. So a hacker’s access to data used through Safari is unlikely, but to that through apps is possible as most of them communicates directly with their servers. And that is why Apple TV apps can also be affected.

Apple describes the vulnerability as follows:

Impact: An attacker with a privileged network position may capture or modify data in sessions protected by SSL/TLS

Description: Secure Transport failed to validate the authenticity of the connection. This issue was addressed by restoring missing validation steps.

You can read more on the bug here.

But no worries, Apple is quick to seal the bleed and released new software updates for the affected devices. 7.0.6 for iOS devices, 6.1.6 for older iOS devices and 6.0.2 for Apple TV 2 and 3 are now available. You can goto Settings > General > Software update to check for and install the new firmware.

However OS X bug is still unrepaired, during the time of writing. You can quickly browse to gotofail.com to find out if any of your device is vulnerable. If yes, I recommend you guys to update immediately. Else any hacker could pose as a secure site and pull you data.

Now, though things have settled a bit for users, they are far from over for Apple. It is still uncertain as to when the bug was introduced (surely before iOS 6) and whether anybody has already been victim to unauthorized access. Many developers have explained on their blogs as to how the bug works and how it could be exploited and this could pose a great threat to those who haven’t patched it yet.

On the other hand, some are accusing this to be an intentional backdoor for NSA access while others are wondering if there are more such simple, unnoticed security breach roads. Only time will tell if Apple will shine above these dark clouds or get buried in lawsuits.

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

The post Apple patches major security bug on Apple TV via 6.0.2 update appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Netflix finally added full AirPlay support to their app in the latest iOS 7 update but in the process of doing so the company broke the feature which allowed an iOS device to be connected to the TV with the HDMI AV adapter.

Interestingly, it seems the addition of AirPlay has directly caused the problems, with some users speculating that the update was part of some negotiation with Apple and Netflix to encourage users to purchase Apple TVs for the AirPlay feature.

Netflix have commented on the issue stating that they are aware of the problem and it is only affecting a very small amount of users. They are working on a fix to the bug which they will publish “as soon as they can”.

If you’re experiencing this bug, an Apple support thread suggests turning off AirPlay will force video to output via the HDMI adapter.

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

The post Netflix bug preventing HDMI output to TVs will be fixed appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

AppleInsider discoverd a growing thread at the Apple Support Communities website where users report issues after updating their Apple TVs (2nd and 3rd generation) to the latest Apple TV 5.1 software. It looks like many Apple TVs are getting bricked after running the update:

After running the software update option on the Apple TV, a number of users indicated that the hardware simply displayed a blinking light, while nothing but a black screen is shown on their HDTV. Others found that their Apple TV could no longer connect to their network after updating, rendering the streaming-centric device useless.

According to AppleInsider, manually downgrading the Apple TV software to version 5.0.2 has been discovered to work as a possible fix:

The process requires installing an IPSW restore file from Apple, plugging the Apple TV into a Mac or PC with a micro USB cable, and force restoring the software through iTunes.

Remember that if you’ve previously saved your Apple TV’s firmware signatures (SHSH blobs) using TinyUmbrella or aTV Flash (black), you can downgrade Apple TV 2 software using Seas0nPass.

Here are the IPSW restore files:

Apple TV 2:
https://appldnld.apple.com/AppleTV/041-4362.20120605.t8i4U/AppleTV2,1_5.0.2_9B830 _Restore.ipsw

Apple TV 3:
https://appldnld.apple.com/AppleTV/041-4361.20120605.grjot/AppleTV3,1_5.0.2_9B830 _Restore.ipsw

Apple TV software update 5.1 has been released on September 24, 2012. The biggest changes included support for Shared Photo Streams, the ability to switch between iTunes accounts and to send audio content from Apple TV to AirPlay-enabled speakers and devices

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