Apple TV - Can't Sign In, or use YouTube (but other stuff works)

I have the exact same issue here as Rustychrome. I've read through multiple forums and tried all of the proposed solutions and NOTHING works! For what it's worth, I was both a Youtube and Gmail user before the consildation.

However, this is definitely an AppleTV issue. I have no problems logging into Youtube using the same credentials on my Sony DVD Player. Is there anyway to contact an Apple technician directly?

C'mon Apple, this is really dissappointing.

i had the same problem, but its kind of easy to fix it. You have to creat a YT's channel. That's pretty much what I did. I tried and tried to log in with my google account, but never had sucess. Then, I creat my own account's channel. And tried again to log in @ YT on my Apple TV. It worked!

This worked for me. Thanks Andre!

I'm glad that worked for you Andre, but that 's not going to fix anything for me. My YT channel has already been created and properly setup. As I mentioned, every other device recognizes it except AppleTV.

hi JMCX,

Let's try again.

With my original google account, the one that I already had 2 channels created before I bought the Apple TV, it did not worked at all.

What I did, and I wanted to do that, was creat a new gmail account just for my apple tv, then I can have favorites and watchting list and so on specically for tv.

So, I created this new account, but... it did not worked at all, again...

Then, I got my macbook, in front of the TV, and went to the YT's avatar, clicked on CREATE YOUR CHANNEL.

I guess, and don't know why, it will work JUST with your yuor primary YT's channel...

As soon as I did that, I tried again to log in @ apple TV's YT and worked, perfectly.

Let me konw if you do get thru this!

Good Luck!

Makes perfect sense Andre, and I do appreciate the help. I can certainly see how that might work.

However, I have no interest in having to create another gmail account, just so that I can then establish another primary YT channel my Apple TV will recognize. That solution is likely to create an entirely different but equally bothersome mess with linked accounts, integrated social media, etc. because everything is currently tied to my original gmail account and it's much easier that way.

Well, I dunno why this happens, but my guess would be that is something that google does on apple tv. I had the YT's app on my iPhone and it have a wayto pair with TV's, but not with the Apple TV, for instance.

But let's try to figure it out how can you log on.

I would try log out in your original Google/YT account and log in, and go to your 1st channel that you ever created (do youhave one, right? if don't, it probably will work it out if youjust create one...).

Try then to log in on Apple TV.

Other thing that "may" be causing conflict: your YT's region definitely should be the same that your Apple TV have on settings. Make sure to check that too.

If you have any update to do on your Apple TV, do it, and don't forget to RESTART the device. Many people that weren't trying to log in on YT on Apple TV had sucess after updating and restarting.

Hope you can make it!

Let me know,

a*

I honestly cannot believe how outrageously complicated this seemingly needs to be. When I bought this Apple TV folks were saying why bother. I'm beginning to think tehy are right! EVERY other device I have logs on to You Tube no problem. This......no chance. I've tried everything!!!

1) Going through the two step verification hoops. In fact when I try to input that password on ATV it tells me that the password /username are incorrect so it's clearly not even recognising the password as valid at the Google end.

2) Disabling two step and trying again.

3) Deleting my channel and trying again.

4) Deleting Google Plus and trying again (though why you need a Google + to have You Tube is beyond me, and invasive)

5) Setting up another channel. Trying again.

6) Re-enabled Two Step.

Round and round and round for a whole day just to get You Tube to work on Apple TV!!! Crap!!

Having wasted WAAY too much time trying to get this piece of junk to work I'm going back to watching YT with the iPad and using the Send To TV option, something that works, unlike Apple TV!!

I have just tried one more thing which oddly, works with Apple TV. I have on old rarely used gmail address so I signed in to You Tube with it on my laptop. Once logged in to You Tube I tried to log on to You Tube on ATV3. No joy.

I then created 'My Channel' under that account on the laptop which, by default, generates a Google + Page that it's tied to. After that I tried logging in on ATV and it worked!!!!

It seems to me therefore that it has something to do with how your You Tube account is set up and how My Channel under that account is set up and operating. There have been numerous suggestions (some of which date back a while such that I think they arr no longer even working soltuions - e.g. temporarily delink My Channel from Googe Plus, which I could not even find) which while they seem to have worked for others havent been needed in this case, inc.:

1) Temporarily unlinking the account from Google +

2) Enabling / disabling 2 step verification (in fact mine was enabled at the point I did this test and I was able to sign in without it.)

3) Checking or unchecking some channel selector box under You Tube / Settings / Advanced (which having just one channel I don't even have).

So, I wonder if its something to do with the My Channel under the account where people cannot get access?

Really bizarre. Go back to the original account and can't use it. Wonder if it's something to do with settings I've tinkered with under Google Plus relating to the My Channel on my original account.

Anyway, for now I'm gonna leave it logged in on the account that DOES work rather than the one that won't. I can't figure where the differences are to look any more and can't really be asked. I'd try deleting the whole Channel undet my original account but you can't. You have to delete the google+ profile and when you re-create it just comes back again. For now though, more important things to do in life!!!!

Finally checked backed with the original account and tried just about everything again. Including deleting Google+ and making a new channel, creating a new Google Plus. No joy. Even tried a second new channel and tried logging in with gmail credentials and also the Google specific address under Advanced on You Tube settings, both with and without secondary password protection. All failed. I just cannot seem to replicate full the account that does work with the one that doesn't so I'm going to have to resort to having yet another darned gmail address, this time to get You Tube to work. Why the original account won't work I have no idea. I can't delete and re-create that account as it has a blog tied to it which would also get deleted if its master email gets deleted.

About the ONLY thing that I can think of that might work, which I saw for some people, is changing the fairly secure complex password I have to a crappy 4 letter 4 digit pw. But it doesn't SEEM to be a problem with the PW. It's not that I can't log on, it just says the account cannot be used. But we'll see. Who knows what with Apple and Google between them. If the PW change doesn't work I'll resolve myself to needing the extra email account just to get You Tube to work (with the subscriptions etc).

Complete day wasted. I'll not be repeating it!!!

The thing I don't understand is, if Apple and Google are in some sort of fracas over YouTube on Apple TV, why does it work just fine on Macs, iPhones, iPads, etc.. Not to mention Boxee Box, and WD TV have no problem at all. It's more like an Apple TV specific bug that is not getting taken care of. And it doesn't make much sense to me for either company.

Indeed. Bizarre. But bizarre how it works for some accounts and not others. My newly created account with newly assigned channel no problem. Old account with previously created (and oft deleted) My Channel and Google Plus. No way.

I figure I'm getting closer to it now. I think it must have something to do with accounts that were auto-migrated to by Google when they decided to Plus You Tube.

Just now I tried dumbing my password down, as expected, no joy So, the final shot in the cocktail of stuff I tried DID, work!!! Aleit not how I really would like.

I logged into my original You Tube account and went to You Tube settings, Advanced. Previously I had tried creating another channel under my main account (which will also get its own Google + 'Page') and as a last chance thing I tried selecting THAT account under the account options tag that was currently showing My Current Account. I then unchecked the Show account options box and saved. Went to Apple TV, logged in and bang, connected.

Having logged in it is showing the email address for the main account but I checked by adding some vids to playlists under My Channels in the main account and in the extra My Channel I created. The vids are def showing uop under the new channel, which you have to switch to.

So it seems like there is some kind of conflict with the My Channel that gets created on some accounts, possibly depending on when they were created and how the associated Google+ page or account details have or are being used.

So in summary.

I can create a new YouTube account with a previously unused gmail account (or maybe a new one, too lazy to try), click to create My Channel then sign into ATV without any problem.

Or I go to an older account, that may have some baggage attached to it courtesy of Google changes, and am unable to sign in UNLESS I create a new My Channel then under YouTube settings on the master (original) account, select the NEW My Channel as the default account to use with You Tube and uncheck the option box to show channel selector.

What a mess!!!!!!

hi techaddict and todd,

I tried everything as I wrote before here.

But I guess that it only really works when you creat the very first mainly channel on YT.

It may be the YT's app on apple TV, I dont really think that's apple's fault on this.

Hope they can figure it out really soon, because it's really frustating for a lot of people buy the Apple TV and go thru this...

Yep. As above. For me, new account, new channel, no problem. I think the problem lies with older accounts when Google merged fully with YouTube and enforced Google Plue with My Channel. from memory I think my You Tube ID before was the same email address as is used for my Google services so that may well be where the problem lies. The only way I can get it to work with the old acount is create a new My Channel AND switch to it (via the drop down) in Advanced Settings under YouTube settings on the main account AND unchecking the Show Channel Options.

Bit of a pain but if I'm logged in to Google for other services at least I only need to switch to the other Channel to save stuff YouTube etc, rather than signing out of the old account and into a new Google ID.