appleTV keeps asking for appleID, password and authentication code circularly

It seems a common problem and with this type of device and I for one cannot understand it. Its supposed to be a TV not mobile device one of the least mobile devices in the Apple Range!

I have heard about these self-generated passwords and I have tried it several times but always get it rejected!

I reset the whole TV and removed streaming from security. Now I only get asked once or twice. Never like before when my elderly Mum could happily watch my TV and selection of comedy(!) all evening, poor Mum she really cannot handle Password requests and two factor authentication well yes Apple this is really a great shame some customers really cannot handle this. She was a fan not having to stand up and insert DVD's like before, but not any more !

Responding to this hoping it helps at least one person. What a nightmare, Apple!!!! For no reason the AppleTV I've used for years stopped accepting my login info. Literally two months of frustration with this BS. Finally I saw someone mention the issue could be a 30 second time limit on the verification code that gets sent to you that you need to add after your password. I went to iCloud and turned off the 6 digit verification code and chose security questions instead. When I went back to the AppleTV I was in on the first try. If the root of the problem was a 30 second time limit on entering the verification code then shame on Apple for being so STUPID!!

1. if you put 2 step verification on your ios device then you have 2 weeks to phone Apple or chat and get them to deactivate it.
2. the other way is supposed to be to wait for the 6 digit code to come on your ios device and put that in as the password
3. i refer to this thread;

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7533430

that didnt work for me, i had to ask apple to deactivate 2 step verification, because in id.apple.com, (apple id settings), there is no 'deactivate' button for the 2 step verification, and this messes up apple tv 3 and 2.

If you do try the 6 digit code As password i would recommend using the ios apple tv remote app so you can type the password in fast, as it times out very fast and that is why it was not working for me, as i had a long password.

The second generation AppleTV was designed long before iCloud supported Two Factor Authentication.

This method of supporting it arguably involved the least amount of work and allowed existing devices to keep working.

Newer AppleTV devices support 2FA directly.

Ok this is how I managed to solve this.

1) In your apple TV , try to go back to the Settings Menu. Sometimes you need to press menu several times but eventually you will be able to go to the Settings menu.

2) Go to the iCloud menu, press Sign Out

3) Sign in to your iCloud account

4) It will ask for your normal icloud password, input password.

5) It will ask you to authorize the login from your other device, click ok or authorise. It will give you the 6 digit number.

5) Then on the apple tv it go to a different page where it will ask for you to input the 6 digit code. (this is the step that’s missing for most of us that causes us to keep on looping to the icloud password)

6) Input the 6 digit (within 30s), and then you’re good to go!

6) After

I tried this on a second gen Apple TV, but no dice. Just went in an endless loop of entering the username, password and then verification code. Apple TV has basically been utterly useless because I can't buy or rent anything anymore.

Solved it on 2nd gen. my password is 14 characters long and by the time I was getting to enter The code I think it had timed out. I entered my password, got the message to enter with the six digit code and the pop up on my phone - ignored the pop up, entered my password in full then went to my phone to generate the code and entered immediately.

i Think the 6 digit code expires after 30'sexonds.

hope that helps!

Solved it on 2nd gen. my password is 14 characters long and by the time I was getting to enter The code I think it had timed out. I entered my password, got the message to enter with the six digit code and the pop up on my phone - ignored the pop up, entered my password in full then went to my phone to generate the code and entered immediately.

i Think the 6 digit code expires after 30'sexonds.

Boom, your in! 😀

Thank you, I also got this to work on a 2nd Generation Apple TV. But it was quite a dance of timing.

On an iPhone go to Settings->iCloud->Password and Security and scroll down to Get Verification Code.

But don't press that yet because they expire after 30 seconds(?) and given the time it takes to enter a reasonable password on an Apple TV you will want to wait until it is needed.

Enter your password on ATV2 and then click on Verification Code and append the 6 digit number.

If you're getting the verification code from another source you will a) have to be in the same room, b) have a partner shout it to you.

Unfortunately, when you enter a password with an expired Verification Code it's just a bad password.

/Jeff

First, you need to sign out of iCloud on your Apple TV. Then go sign back in using your password. It will fail, but your phone or other pre-authorized box will say someone tried to login, verify, and give you the code. Let's say your password is "Password1", and the security code is "123 456". You need to login into iCloud on the Apple TV with the code "Password1123456". Hope this helps!

When you sign in again, use your password then add the code that was given to you beforehand onto your password before you press submit. It won't prompt you to enter the verification code again if done correctly.

This is a fake password below, please use your own password and code. I'm just trying to show you what you're supposed to do.

Password: Password1
Code:123 456

When it loops back around after a failed attempt, put it in this order together with no spaces when it asks for your password: Password1123456

First off make your life easier:

1. Download the "remote" app for your iphone https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/apple-tv-remote/id1096834193?mt=8. Then you can start entering your password using a proper keyboard. It's a disaster via the apple remote. The remote app lets you navigate and enter text using your phone

2. Write your password down so you can easily copy and paste it into the box (then obv delete it afterwards)

Now how to get it working:

1. Go to Apple ID settings on the web (https://appleid.apple.com/account/manage and switch off 2-factor auth (it's an option in the security settings)

2. Go to your apple tv and sign into your itunes account (using your iphone app to make it easy)

3. (because you want to be secure) go back to apple and switch 2 factor auth back on again. MAKE SURE YOU ADD A PHONE NUMBER FOR CONFIRMING AUTH CODES

4. Now that you're logged into your TV try to buy something (cheap)

5. It'll ask you for an auth code and whether you want it texted to you or via a device. CHOOSE THE TEXT OPTION. If you get it sent to your device it's 6 digits long and doesn't work. The text option is 4 digits long and does work

6. Input the code that gets sent to you and you *should* be in.

After many round loops this worked for me. The key was getting the 4 digit text token rather than the 6 digit device token. If you want to make life super easy just leave the 2-factor authentication switched off but given that Apple has your life you're MUCH better off keeping it on.

TURN OFF 2 Factor Authentication... only way to do this without losing your mind!

Bottom of this page to turn it OFF -- hint... you can't do this on your phone, have to login to your Apple ID

Two-factor authentication for Apple ID - Apple Support

Hi bluaginn. You do not have to disable 2-factor authentication to login on Apple TV 2 or 3. The solution is already repeated several times in this thread, for example link: Re: appleTV keeps asking for appleID, password and authentication code circularly. Of course, you're welcome to turn it off if that's more convenient.

Hi Sunleytech. Have you tried the technique of requesting the code from your phone, instead of waiting for it to appear automatically, as described in this link: Re: appleTV keeps asking for appleID, password and authentication code circularly. This is described several times in this thread, and seems to work for most people.