This seems to be the same issue that was listed earlier but the Solution did not work for me. When I enter my Apple ID and iCloud password, it sends me a verification code which I enter. After I enter it, it spins for a bit and tells me that iCloud is unavailable. Any help would be appreciated!
So here's the thing. The Apple TV 3rd generation is limited now, but still useful.
I felt I was struggling with this too, but then I remembered that I didn't use iCloud on this device anymore anyway.
How to get connected
In short: don't use iCloud to sign-in, just sign-in with iTunes and Home Sharing and you'll get most of the features you need.
There really isn't any reason to connect your Apple TV with iCloud anymore as there is no more Photo Stream, iMovie Theatre nor any of the other iCloud services that the Apple TV 3rd generation was able use as they have all now been discontinued.
iTunes Purchases (audio and video) & Apple TV+
I now can listen to my Apple iTunes purchased music on the Apple TV again and I can even watch from my Apple TV+ subscription shows. You can't access Apple Music, because that wasn't out when this device came out, but it will stream from any music you have in iTunes Match (iCloud Music Library) and not rely on your device. I was apple to enjoy watching Apple TV+'s Greyhound movie and any other show on with the service on this Apple TV.
Home Sharing
With Home Sharing on, you can go to your Mac and under Sharing (Media Sharing) you can enable the sharing of your computer's Music and Photos. From there you can stream any of your Media you have (Audio, Video and Photos for the Screensaver). Download the iTunes Remote app to your iPhone and then you can control any Media on your Apple TV independent of your Mac. (This is also how you get around the AirPlay limitation [see below].)
To access your computer's media libraries, just go to the Computers app from the Apple TV Home Screen.
Screensaver
Once connected with Home Sharing to your Mac, you can go to the screensaver settings and you should see your Mac listed at the bottom and you can select any of the Photo Albums that you share in you Media Sharing as your screensaver. (I haven't tested this, but it may load in a copy of the selected photo album so that your Mac doesn't always have to be connected.)
AirPlay
As for Mirroring video to get video to your Apple TV, you need to use an older iOS or Mac device that still uses AirPlay 1, AirPlay 2 devices are not supported on the Apple TV due licensing agreements to get AirPlay to work on non-Apple devices like Samsung TVs. But you can get around some of this by using the older device or accessing your Mac's media using Home Sharing.
Summary
So, don't totally fret, the Apple TV 3rd generation is not a complete brick. You just can't use iCloud anymore (but none of those services the Apple TV 3rd gen used are no longer active). But you can still use, via the iTunes sign-in, iTunes Purchase, Apple TV+; and use, via Home Sharing, all the media on your connected Mac devices that use Home Sharing with the same Apple ID.
The Apple TV 3rd Generation is a great Media streamer for my Home Sharing audio when coupled with a stereo receiver with the digital audio output that the newer Apple TVs don't have.
iTunes Remote
I have a similar problem with an Apple TV 4K 1st gen (A1842) running on iOS 17 (21J354):
After it shows a "Update user settings on this Apple TV…" dialog on the phone and "Signing In…" on the TV. These screens run forever…
PS: This did not help…
Unfortunately appending the 2 factor auth key into password doesn’t work
I am now convinced that there is no fix for this and that Apple have zero intention of re-enabling older devices to iCloud - it is a case of buy a newer one or do without
Forced replacement
they should just state this and stop us all wasting our time trying to deploy fixes that won’t work
Hi I’m having the same issues as OP and even after a restart and me signing in and out of the iTunes Store I still can’t login to iCloud. More support would be appreciated
Please can you resolve this issue. I am having the same problem. I’ve done everything suggested and I get the same message over and over and over.
The login to iTunes with the Apple ID is fine on the Apple TV 3rd generation but the iCloud login fails! It seems like a planned obsolescence forcing us to upgrade our ten year old device to see our photos on the TV again.
I have not been able to use either Icloud nor Itunes to share pictures to my Apple TV 3.
I have reset and restored the device, upgraded to the latest firmware, and still no luck.
I can provide my Apple ID, Password and the two factor confirmation only to tell me that the ICloud is not available or that my User / password may be incorrect.
I have tried literally a hundred times over a period of two days.
I wanted to use the screen saver capability to display family pictures during a Funeral. that is now impossible.
Apple used to be reliable and now is just paranoid.
Another thread on the same topic with some info but no answers:
Apple TV 3rd Gen - Apple Community
I’m hoping there is a chance that Apple will fix this. It looks like they tried to make this work with TVos 7.9…
I can't see my photo stream …
Nobody can see the My Photo Stream on any device, as the service has been discontinued.
My Photo Stream - Apple Support
… my playlists or anything related to my iCloud account on my Apple TV
Advanced Data Protection for iCloud as an account property may invalidate some iCloud services on devices with older software. It may have been turned on through one of your other devices. It can be undone if wanted.
I missed this step in How to get connected:
Same boat looks like apple has got us by the nards lol.
Add one more to the long list. I have the same issue as the rest of the gang.
Unable to sign in
I have the same problem.
Itunes store works but not icloud.
Is this a wpa 2/3 issue? how do you know if it is? Ios 15 uses wpa2/3 mixed, and it seams that you can't check with those.
I no longer have an old iphone so i can't set up a clean wpa 2 network.
/Fredrik
Same happening here on my two 3rd gen…. Apple said the same thing to me, that its too obsolete. Yeah. Thank you agan Apple. Never again. I learned. And yeah I’m able to log in on iTunes but not iCloud.
I’m not sure what frustrates me more, that the older appletv’s still show the option to login to iCloud, or that I spent hours doing the same thing over and over thinking I’d finally get a different result. Isn’t that the definition of chaos!?!
However, like most of you I finally quit trying but about two weeks ago, one of my third gens had mysteriously connected to iCloud. So obviously I tried the other three 3rd gens and after 10 attempts on each and feeling like an idiot, I gave up.
Now I’m considering how to put an uninterruptible power supply on that mystery 3rd Gen so it doesn’t reboot back into that cloudless state. But why in the world would I do all that instead of dropping a few bucks on a 4K 2gen or a few more the 4K 3gen…? Because it’s the principle of things, yes!
Can’t login to iCloud on Apple TV 3rd generation
