Apple TV rented & downloaded movies won't play on a flight

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Level 1

14 points

Apple TV rented & downloaded movies won't play on a flight

I rented a few movies off Apple TV to watch on my London-San Francisco flight, there and back. Alas, when I went to play them it would not let me do so once I was on the plane. Each movie would first ask:

"Do you want to start watching the movie? You will have 48 hours to watch this movie?"

And then when I hit play it would just say:

"This video can’t be played because you don’t have access to it or it's no longer available".

Leaving me with an 11 hour flight without my films! Such a bummer. And I did have access to them just fine because it would let me watch them when I got back home and was online again.

I guess a workaround might be to make sure you play the film for a few secs before you take off to make sure it's working but I don't know that for sure.

iPad Pro (3rd generation)

Posted on Oct 2, 2023 9:35 AM

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Answer 1

andyg74 Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 4, 2023 9:16 AM in response to destiny241

Thanks for your answer. Indeed, I do have the latest iOS (17.0.2) and I also made sure the films were downloaded before I got on the plane.

I double checked everything was ok before I made my return journey but to my horror, I got the same errors on that flight too.

In fact, I run into the same problem now I'm home if I turn on airplane mode. It's like it has to do a quick check with a server to make sure I have the rental.

A quick google of "rented movie on apple wont play when on the plane" brings up lots of threads about the issue so looks like it is a known problem.

Made a little video of the situation on the plane - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFPlqwMyz-k.

(Edited for brevity but the same problem happened for all three movies on the downloaded page. They worked fine once I had a wifi signal again)

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Answer 2

destiny241

Community Specialist

Oct 4, 2023 8:47 AM in response to andyg74

Hello andyg74,

If you have issues watching downloaded rentals in the Apple TV app, we would recommend taking these steps for a solution:

Ensure the device has the latest fixes: Update your iPhone or iPad
That the rental is downloaded to the device: Rent movies from the Apple TV app

Should you continue to have issues watching this content offline, then it would be best to contact Apple Support: Get Support They will need to take it from here.

Have a lovely day!

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Answer 3

karina184

Community Specialist

Oct 4, 2023 9:36 AM in response to andyg74

Hey andyg74,

Got it. Thanks so much for that additional information. At this point, we would recommend reaching out to Apple Support. They will have the necessary tools to investigate into this matter more with you: Apple Support.

Take care.

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Answer 4

andyg74 Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 4, 2023 10:45 AM in response to karina184

Ok, thanks for the link. I have filed it with Apple Support.

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Apple TV rented & downloaded movies won't play on a flight

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