appleTV keeps asking for appleID, password and authentication code circularly

I must say this. It seems there are two possible workarounds. But apple needs to get its act together on this one.

1. Possibly append the pre-fetched two factor 6 digit code to your password. (did not work for me).

2. Log off iTunes in Settings of the Apple TV then log back on, opting to save your password. No prompt for two factor... go figure. Worked for me on my Gen 3 apple TV after I had not used it for a while.

I just got an Apple TV 4K and was running into the SAME issue. What worked for me was to sign off completely from ALL accounts. Delete ALL email accounts, after you check all the emails have been erased, make sure you login into iTunes and App Store FIRST before logging into any others. That worked GREAT For me!

Go online log into apple site account. Security. Turn off two step verification. As i did and worked fine after apple tv reset. Problem with this is you can’t use apple cash w/o it. I don’t use it so doesn't matter. Answering two questions is better than the useless attempts to add paswood to apple tv. Won’t use it till its software is more user friendly and clear about what needs to be done.

Brilliant insight. Boy these apple engineers are something. Make you chose between apple pay and two factor authentication, then time you out when you can't put you password in picking 1 character at a time in 30 seconds.

Yes this solved the problem. Unfortunately Apple TV doesnt indicate there is a time limit so i tried many times correctly (password + six digit code together) but of course took too long. If all you have to do is add the six digits then you can do it within ghe time allowed.

It’s buried in this thread but if you read my post here is the solution:

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!

Yes, and if you enter your password you won't have enough time to enter the 6 digit code, which is why the solution is to use your iPhone to generate the code AND THEN enter your password and the code at the same time. This solves the issue of not entering fast enough which is impossible using the non-keyboard Apple TV interface. This solution worked for me perfectly.

Ive tried all of these things and i cant get it to work im so frustrated im ready to abandon apple all together over this. I never would have gone with the two factor but in order to use this stupid home pod i had no choice in the matter and now my entire life is chaos because of this ridiculousness. 30 seconds isnt enough time to thumb around on an apple remote And using my phone as a remote just sticks me in this endless loop of password/ allow/ failed password/ repeat.

The solution above as described by Gundog600 DOES work, you just need to follow the instructions step by step. Type in your ID and your password on the remote as usual but DO NOT click enter because as you said, 30 seconds is not enough time. What you need to do now is use your iPhone or other device to generate the password. On your iPhone, go to settings and at the top of the screen you will see your name and "Apple ID, iCloud, iTunes & App Store". Click on that and then click on "Password & Security" then click at the bottom where it says "Get Verification Code". You will be immediately shown on the phone screen a 6 digit code. Now AFTER THE PASSWORD on your Apple TV type this number after your password. So if your password is "Michael" and the code is 123456 then you should already have "Michael" typed and just add the passcode so it reads "Michael123456" THEN click enter. It is easy to add the passcode within 30 seconds. You're done.

I see the solution in the replies below, but I’ve only just experienced this problem over 2 years after this original post. Would’ve thought there would’ve been a real software fix for this by now, very disappointing though not surprising. Just saying.

I did as you said and worked fine the first time. Purchased a movie, watched it, and when wanted to buy a new one, it won’t work any more 🙄

How do I go about turning off two factor authentification code? Can I turn it off just for the sake of buying a movie and then turning it back on?

Why does it have to be sooo complicated! And frustrating...

This has been driving me crazy for months. In the end, on my 2nd generation Apple TV, I found that the only way to resolve the issue was to sign out, then sign back in. This action prompted me for the second stage verification code. I hadn't been asked prior to signing out.

Little update here... the direction provided work great. Be aware that since this thread was started, Apple seems to have made it so that you can't turn off 2-factor authentication once it's been running for more than 30 days. This forced me to followCorsairVelo's step-by-step instructions, which worked.

Hi Everyone,

I've just had the same problem and my password is long and it would time out before entry. So this is how I got around it. Login with apple id and password. Apple TV will send a text stating someone or a device is trying to log into your account allow or disallow. Don't hit the allow button until you have entered your password, once done add the verification code to the end of your password. The 30-second timer starts when the allow button is pressed. Hope this helps.

This is absolutely awful. I have been trying to sign into an Apple TV 3rd gen for MONTHS using the method described ... and it never works.

I have no option to turn off 2 factor authentication ... and I'm stuck with a useless brick.