Diver_Down Author

Level 1

33 points

Apple TV Won't Login to HomeShare

I am receiving the following error on my 3rd Gen Apple TV:

“Unable to Sign In

The Apple ID you entered couldn’t be found or your password was incorrect.

Please try again.

To change or reset the password for your Apple ID, go to http://iforgot.apple.com on your computer.”

Fact: Apple released new iOS code and my Apple TV can no longer log in to

HomeShare

Fact: I am able to log into iTunes (so Apple can sell me stuff)

Fact: My Apple TV is on Ethernet (hard wired, not WiFi)

Fact: I can connect to HomeShare with my Windows devices and my other

Apple devices (iPhones, Macs, iPads) so it is a fact the issue is not

the ID or Password.

Fact: Apple support person requested that I log into HomeShare with a

two-factor code at the end of my password

Fact: I did and received the same error message

Fact: They asked me to try again and requested a screen sharing session

Fact: I performed the same actions again and got the same results (even with

"supervision")

Fact: I was told to restore the Apple TV to factory defaults

Fact: I did and still get the same error message

Fact: This was escalated to a senior support person who told me that it was

a server issue at Apple, and it was only affecting Apple TVs from being able to

Fact: I explained how this is not possible and that I didn't believe him

Fact: The senior support person gave me what he said was his direct dial

with his extension

Fact: The number he provided does not work. When you dial the number, it

asks for the extension followed by the #. When you do that, it then asks for

the same information a second time. When you do that the message is "We're

sorry Apple is now closed" regardless of the time of day that you call and

refers you do a different number for support.

Fact: I go through to a different senior support person who asked if I was

still having the issue

Fact: I stated that if I wasn’t, I would not have called back to Apple

48-hours after I reported the issue and had not heard anything back from Apple

Fact: The senior support person said that engineering has requested a video

or photo of the error message and asked me to take a picture of my TV screen

(above)

Fact: I took the picture and received an error message on my iPad

"Unable to Upload File"

Fact: The senior person asked if there was an error code or anything more

descriptive. I told him no, that I read him the exact code.

Fact: this person asked me to email the file to myself and then upload it. I

did and it failed.

Fact: the utility states it supports up to 50GB of files but could not

upload a 2.3MB file

Is anyone else having this issue? If so, were you able to resolve it and if

you did, how?

I'd like to get this fixed.

Apple TV

Posted on Aug 28, 2019 7:58 PM

Top-ranking reply

efwolf359

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Aug 31, 2019 1:37 AM

slight update, I was also advised on a workaround to allow me to access my iTunes library until they fix the problem.

all you need to do is to create a new Apple ID WITHOUT two factor authentication. In iTunes go to home sharing & sign out of your existing ID. Sign into home sharing with the newly created ID (just in the home sharing section, nowhere else) then finally turn on home sharing on the Apple TV and use the newly created Apple ID and it will allow you to stream your library as before.

hope this helps somebody

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141 replies

Oct 11, 2019 5:07 PM in response to Iksy

I reported the problem to an exec at Apple, who escalated it yesterday. He told me that as of this morning it is now fixed. I just verified the fix. My 3 Apple TV Model 3s all work now. If I had to guess, it was a 2FA timeout problem in the Apple cloud. No, I'm not going to give out his name or his contact info, but he certainly has my thanks. The link to this support site I'm sure certainly helped.

Tuco09

Level 1

116 points

Oct 7, 2019 9:46 AM in response to Diver_Down

Seems there are a lot of us having this issue. I have and suggest everyone having a problem with home sharing send apple a feedback report. "https://www.apple.com/feedback/"

Regards

del0083

Level 1

8 points

Oct 11, 2019 3:33 AM in response to Poolenc

now all ATS'v working 11.10.2019. apple have fixed the issue. I can now sign into my ID, and Home Sharing on all ATV's 3 and 4th gen..

Diver_Down Author

Level 1

33 points

Aug 29, 2019 3:27 PM in response to Tvhelp999

I feel your frustration, they tried telling me that it was a server issue also. If you press Apple support to explain how their network is set up so that they have servers that only support or authenticate Apple TV devices for HomeShare they are unable to provide any plausible explanation. My 30+ years of IT and networking experience can tell you that they are feeding you an excuse to placate you. They have no idea what the issue is and have no resolution. If they haven't had you to reset you Apple TV (completely erase the information and load a clean copy of the iOS on the device resetting it o the original factory settings) they will. You may want to try that in the interim and see if that resolves your issue - it didn't resolve anything for me.

Diver_Down Author

Level 1

33 points

Aug 30, 2019 11:14 AM in response to Meladeo

You are experiencing the same thing I am experiencing. It appears there is a defect in the latest updates that is not compatible with older (or at least 3rd Gen) Apple TVs. There are now 3 of us with the same issue. In my conversations with Apple, they acknowledge they are having issues with this and older devices.

Oct 1, 2019 9:15 AM in response to Diver_Down

I have also been having this issue with one of my two Apple TV 3’s. Tried everything and nothing worked but got excited when I saw an update last night. After update I was able to login to iTunes and when I click on computers it asks if I want to use my iTunes username to login into home sharing. Of course it loads into the two factor auth, sends me code, and rejects password.

However, it got me thinking of a possible solution and I will have to try it out tonight when I get home but has anyone tried to restore their Apple TV via iTunes? Secondly, it looks like Apple is still signing some of the old versions of the software and this might allow us to restore to a previous update and restore home sharing function.

rorbua75

Level 1

8 points

Nov 13, 2019 7:23 AM in response to Diver_Down

I am having the same problem with signing in to Home Sharing after updating to Catalina. I have a gen 2 Apple TV.

I have tried everything Apple Support said to try. Still no luck. Spoke to a senior advisor who said my gen 2 Apple TV is obsolete and simply needs to be replaced. Senior Advisor said Apple Engineers are aware of the problem but that no fix is in the works anytime soon. He recommended buying a new Apple TV as I had received lots of use out of my old gen 2 Apple TV. It looks like I am stuck with having to buy a new Apple TV. I hope it solves the problem.

Tuco09

Level 1

116 points

Oct 10, 2019 4:18 PM in response to del0083

Seems there are a lot of us having this issue. I have and suggest everyone having a problem with home sharing send apple a feedback report. "https://www.apple.com/feedback/"

Regards

Tuco09

Level 1

116 points

Oct 10, 2019 4:25 PM in response to lchalesT2020

Seems there are a lot of us having this issue. I have and suggest everyone having a problem with home sharing send apple a feedback report. "https://www.apple.com/feedback/"

Regards

Aug 29, 2019 2:49 PM in response to Diver_Down

I’ve had the same issue today also been on phone for 90 mins

so frustrating... there telling it me due to there servers and there calling me back...

still waiting for call!!!!!

mine is also effecting my iCloud as well

Diver_Down Author

Level 1

33 points

Aug 29, 2019 3:21 PM in response to vazandrew

The problem with it being account related is that I can log out and log in to HomeShare from other devices, such as my Windows PCs, my iPads, etc. without an issue. I am able to log into iTunes on the Apple TV, this issue is specific to HomeShare on this Apple device. If it were an account issue, the I would not be able to log into HomeShare from any device. If it were a local network issue, then I should not be able to access iTunes with my account on the AppleTV.

I appreciate your feedback, you are validating the troubleshooting steps that I have taken prior to contacting Apple with this issue. If you have other suggestions or think I may have overlooked something, please continue to share.

Diver_Down Author

Level 1

33 points

Sep 12, 2019 4:30 PM in response to dvleemin

I feel your pain. I called a couple of nights ago hoping for some progress and was told "Engineering is investigating it." I asked how long it took to investigate, since it's been over two weeks. I was old that it will take as long as it takes and was old in essence to stop calling and they would call me when there are updates. The attitude was very much one of we really don't care and we will work on it when we feel like, so stop bothering us.

I've been in the tech sector for over 30 years, there is no reason why this issue should take more than 2-3 days to resolve. If Apple really wanted to resolve this issue they could downgrade the older devices to a previous version of the iOS. Apple is the only company I know of that does NOT perform a restore point (a backup) of the system before they upgrade, that is why it is difficult, if not impossible for them to go back to a working version. Their own arrogance and sloppy process puts them in this position and then the customer is treated like we should be gracious and thankful they even took our call.

Sep 15, 2019 3:01 AM in response to niklasgustafsson

And to add, I also tried generating an app-specific password on AppleID web and tried to use that on appletv 3rd gen Home sharing, but this also does not work, same result page as everyone else is seeing.

Sep 16, 2019 9:00 AM in response to Tvhelp999

I'm getting this issue with Home Sharing too: won't let me log in. But for the iCloud piece of things, see my comments here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250420575?answerId=251217201022&page=3.

mufc76

Level 1

4 points

Sep 25, 2019 12:55 AM in response to Diver_Down

I have 2 x ATV 3, and 3 x ATV4 HD/4K. The ATV 4's log in just fine. the ATV3's don't. I have tried restoring on the units themselves, I have plugged into my PC and restored them through iTunes. I have typed in password with verification codes appended. I have used the remotes, I have used the remote app, and I have used a Bluetooth keyboard. Does not matter what I try it will not log into icloud or homesharing. I realise that apple wish to update new hardware with new features etc, but I simply want to use the ATV3 for displaying shared photo albums...a feature that was possible but now Apple has broken somehow. It is so annoying. Please anyone if you have luck please let us know!

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Apple TV Won't Login to HomeShare