Is there a way to sign in to Apple TV on Fire Stick if the QR Code doesn’t come up?

My question is this: In the absence of a QR code, is there a way for me to actually sign in to the Apple TV app on a Fire Stick device? Details are below. 


I have seen many, many articles on this over the last year, but no solutions. I have THREE Amazon Fire Stick devices. I bought them all at the same time and installed them on three similar TVs last week. I attempted to install the Apple TV app on all three.


On two of the devices, I installed the app, opened the app, and a QR code popped up. I scanned the QR code, followed the link, and the app works perfectly on those two TVs.


On the third device, I installed the Apple TV app, opened the app, and there was no QR code. There were just two buttons: “Sign in Later” and “Sign In or Create Apple ID.” I clicked on the second button, entered my credentials, and got a “verification failed. Try again in a bit” error (I don’t remember the exact wording, but that was the gist).


I have tried this approximately 25 times over the last five days. 


I came to the internet 5 days ago and learned that the “verification failed” error is due to Apple’s 2FA and that it’s not going to work regardless of how often I try and that I probably needed to update my Fire Stick device. I did that. Uninstalled and reinstalled the app. Still no QR code.


I’ve even tried checking for new updates about six or eight times since then even thought it says it’s up to date. Uninstalled and reinstalled the app again a few times. Still no QR code.


It’s updated to the same settings at the other two devices that loaded with QR codes. But still no QR code on this device.


I have since then tried every combination of restarts, powering down, etc., and have even done a factory reset twice. This one Fire Stick device will not load the app with the QR code for me to sign in.


So again, my question is this: In the absence of a QR code, is there a way for me to actually sign in to this app? 


On a whim, I tried going into the Internet app on the Fire Stick device and going to tv.apple.com. I can sign in there without any problems (though I cannot access my purchased content in my library this way, so it’s no help). It makes the 6-digit code pop up on my phone and I can enter it and that’s fine. But then the app itself still is not signed in and even if I stay signed in in the Internet app, I cannot sign in through the app.


Amazon has tried to help me for hours — I’ve talked to eight different people — and they suggested I ask Apple if there is a different way to successfully log into the app if the QR code doesn’t work.


(Note that all other apps work on this particular device. Netflix, ESPN, Hulu, etc., they all gave me QR codes on this device. ONLY the Apple TV app won’t give me a QR code.)

FireTVStick4K(2018)/Soundbar(2019),

Posted on Dec 27, 2022 11:25 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 2, 2023 10:09 AM

OK YOU GUYS I THINK IT MIGHT BE FIXED (I'm the original poster). I did NOT do yet another factory reset because I didn't want to sign into everything all over again, but after someone else suggested that this is an easy fix and simply required a little factory reset, I wondered if maybe there was a new update available. So I checked and I did see that there was a new update available today. So here's what I did (AND I AM IN! IT WORKED! I hope this was not just a fluke and that you guys can all get in, too):


1 - I checked the Apple TV app first. Still no QR code. So I deleted the app.

2 - Next, I went into my fire TV Settings and did the "check for updates" thing that we've all tried many times before now. There was an update, so I installed it.

3 - Once the installation was complete, I turned off my TV and fire TV device and then unplugged the fire TV device for about a minute.

4 - I turned it back on and checked for updates once more just to be sure there were no remaining updates (this has happened to me before, but this time I was all good).

5 - I went to the app store and re-downloaded the app. It took longer than usual, but I was patient and after 2-3 minutes, it was done.

6 - Once the app was installed, I opened it. It looked like it was going to make me log in again without a QR code, but I clicked on the "log in" button AND ALL THE ANGELS SANG AS A QR CODE POPPED UP ON MY SCREEN.

7 - I wept quietly as I used the QR code to successfully log in. The app reloaded and I WAS IN.


I hope that you all have the same experience. As Ted Lasso says, "Believe."

24 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 2, 2023 10:09 AM in response to jcochran12

OK YOU GUYS I THINK IT MIGHT BE FIXED (I'm the original poster). I did NOT do yet another factory reset because I didn't want to sign into everything all over again, but after someone else suggested that this is an easy fix and simply required a little factory reset, I wondered if maybe there was a new update available. So I checked and I did see that there was a new update available today. So here's what I did (AND I AM IN! IT WORKED! I hope this was not just a fluke and that you guys can all get in, too):


1 - I checked the Apple TV app first. Still no QR code. So I deleted the app.

2 - Next, I went into my fire TV Settings and did the "check for updates" thing that we've all tried many times before now. There was an update, so I installed it.

3 - Once the installation was complete, I turned off my TV and fire TV device and then unplugged the fire TV device for about a minute.

4 - I turned it back on and checked for updates once more just to be sure there were no remaining updates (this has happened to me before, but this time I was all good).

5 - I went to the app store and re-downloaded the app. It took longer than usual, but I was patient and after 2-3 minutes, it was done.

6 - Once the app was installed, I opened it. It looked like it was going to make me log in again without a QR code, but I clicked on the "log in" button AND ALL THE ANGELS SANG AS A QR CODE POPPED UP ON MY SCREEN.

7 - I wept quietly as I used the QR code to successfully log in. The app reloaded and I WAS IN.


I hope that you all have the same experience. As Ted Lasso says, "Believe."

Jan 26, 2023 4:02 AM in response to juliefromrochester

I’m having same problem and after a little bit of digging appears to have been an issue for quite a while. The only way to sign in is the qr code. I’ve read a few cases were people have been able to get the qr code up through resets and updates. This would point the finger at Amazon’s firmware as the most recent update gives no qr code. Unfortunately need to wait on Amazon to fix with a further update.

Jan 28, 2023 8:59 AM in response to juliefromrochester

That is exactly what is happening to me. Exactly. I have been on the phone for HOURS with Amazon and Apple. They point the finger at each other. Meanwhile I can't watch AppleTV on my Firestick. This happened when I bought the new latest Firestick. It worked great on my old stick. All the other apps work fine. Apple is the only one that doesn't work. I'm so frustrated.

Jan 29, 2023 7:42 AM in response to juliefromrochester

Wow. I thought i was losing my mind. I have this same issue. My older firestick has the QR code option to sign in.. but the new 4K firestick is the one not letting me sign in to apple plus. Its infuriating. I thought maybe i had too many devices ising apple plus. Tried removing anything I could.. no dice. I assume there is no fix and there is no point to calling anyone.

Feb 13, 2023 7:51 AM in response to ddifuria

i hope that they fix this issue soon. It sucks paying for something and not being able to use it. Same as some other people, one fire stick works and the other doesn’t. No QR code. Apple support was no help. Had me put fire stick on the other tv to see if it worked and also restarted the modem. Nothing. All the other stuff too: updates, uninstall, reset to factory. Nothing works

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Is there a way to sign in to Apple TV on Fire Stick if the QR Code doesn’t come up?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.