Apple TV Master: How to solve your YouTube woes, solved!
Many of you are having problems with YouTube not working on the Apple TV. Some of you can't use it at all, some can't see some videos and others can do everything but see their favourites and subscriptions. Fret not. I have all the solutions for you and will happily resolve any of your major Apple TV issues. It seems like Apple's tech support team doesn't even know how to work their own. Alright, let's get started.
1. To view videos on YouTube, there are no settings which need to be adjusted in your router. If you are able to view YouTube videos on your iPhone or laptop over your wifi network, then you should be able to do so too on your Apple TV. For starters, make sure you've updated to the latest Apple TV firmware.
2. While you can search for videos in YouTube quite easily, you'll notice search results appear differently for content when compared to your browser results. This is because the Apple TV's YouTube function filters out content when you are not logged in, much in the same way you cannot view certain videos when using your browser. To fix this, simply create a free YouTube account at YouTube.com. Be sure to state your age as over 18. Once done, use that newly created account to login into your Apple TV's YouTube interface. You should be able to see more content now.
3. Can't log into YouTube? Be sure to enter in your YouTube username and password properly. They are case sensitive. If your username is a registered Gmail account or email address, type in your entire email as your username. For instance, stevejobsman@gmail.com would be your username, not just stevejobsman. For those of you who hate to type using the onscreen keyboard with the remote, you can also type using a touch keyboard when connected through your iPhone or iPod Touch's remote app. No more hours wasted tryna type in letter by letter!
4. Okay. So you're logged in. You can search. You can find stuff. You can view history, etc. But you still can't see your favourites and subscriptions? It gives you an error? Trust me. This problem was wracking my brain for months. This is how you fix it. Open up your desktop web browser (Safari, Firefox, etc) and log into YouTube.com using your YouTube account. Once logged in, in the top right next to your username click on 'Account'. Once there, click on the 'Privacy' link to edit your privacy settings. Now here is where the weirdness comes in. Under the 'Recent Activity', uncheck all the options and hit save. Then go back and check off, at least, both 'Favorite a video' and 'Subscribe to a channel'. Hit save and exit your browser. Restart your Apple TV for good measure and log into YouTube again on your Apple TV. You should now be able to see your favourites and subscriptions. If at anytime you find this method fails, load up the browser again and repeat this process. It should 'reset' whatever the **** the Apple TV does to screw it up in the first place.
It appears the Apple TV checks your public settings rather than actually using your account. Your account is only used for verification purposes, otherwise it is in no way really tied to your account. This is proved when resolving the last step as well as not being able to view your browser-based history or recent searches. The Apple TV YouTube interface is simply a front end much like the app found on the iPhone/iPod Touch.
Hope this helps everyone. If you have any problems, I believe you PM me, if not, reply here.
1. To view videos on YouTube, there are no settings which need to be adjusted in your router. If you are able to view YouTube videos on your iPhone or laptop over your wifi network, then you should be able to do so too on your Apple TV. For starters, make sure you've updated to the latest Apple TV firmware.
2. While you can search for videos in YouTube quite easily, you'll notice search results appear differently for content when compared to your browser results. This is because the Apple TV's YouTube function filters out content when you are not logged in, much in the same way you cannot view certain videos when using your browser. To fix this, simply create a free YouTube account at YouTube.com. Be sure to state your age as over 18. Once done, use that newly created account to login into your Apple TV's YouTube interface. You should be able to see more content now.
3. Can't log into YouTube? Be sure to enter in your YouTube username and password properly. They are case sensitive. If your username is a registered Gmail account or email address, type in your entire email as your username. For instance, stevejobsman@gmail.com would be your username, not just stevejobsman. For those of you who hate to type using the onscreen keyboard with the remote, you can also type using a touch keyboard when connected through your iPhone or iPod Touch's remote app. No more hours wasted tryna type in letter by letter!
4. Okay. So you're logged in. You can search. You can find stuff. You can view history, etc. But you still can't see your favourites and subscriptions? It gives you an error? Trust me. This problem was wracking my brain for months. This is how you fix it. Open up your desktop web browser (Safari, Firefox, etc) and log into YouTube.com using your YouTube account. Once logged in, in the top right next to your username click on 'Account'. Once there, click on the 'Privacy' link to edit your privacy settings. Now here is where the weirdness comes in. Under the 'Recent Activity', uncheck all the options and hit save. Then go back and check off, at least, both 'Favorite a video' and 'Subscribe to a channel'. Hit save and exit your browser. Restart your Apple TV for good measure and log into YouTube again on your Apple TV. You should now be able to see your favourites and subscriptions. If at anytime you find this method fails, load up the browser again and repeat this process. It should 'reset' whatever the **** the Apple TV does to screw it up in the first place.
It appears the Apple TV checks your public settings rather than actually using your account. Your account is only used for verification purposes, otherwise it is in no way really tied to your account. This is proved when resolving the last step as well as not being able to view your browser-based history or recent searches. The Apple TV YouTube interface is simply a front end much like the app found on the iPhone/iPod Touch.
Hope this helps everyone. If you have any problems, I believe you PM me, if not, reply here.
Windows XP Pro, 1TB Time Capsule, 160GB AppleTV, 16GB iPhone 3G
