Apple TV - Purchase Authentication Doesn’t Work

[ascender]

I’ve been trying to buy something on my Apple TV and I get directed to the “Two Ways to Authenticate“ page which basically asks you visit an authentication URL on your computer/tablet/phone in order to authenticate your card. No idea why you can’t just do this on the Apple TV, especially as my card hasn’t changed.

I visit the URL, sign-in as requested and it says it’s been successful. I can now close my Window and return to the Apple TV. Except nothing changes on the Apple TV. It’s still on the screen with the URL and QR code so all I can do is go Back and retry the purchase again. Which takes me back to this screen… which takes me to the same URL… which says authorisation has been successful… and… well, you get the idea.

Any idea how to get out of this loop so I can just give Apple some money for a TV show? I really don’t understand why they dick around with things which have worked for years for no apparent good reason.

 

[ascender]

I think this is caused by multiple Apple IDs on a family account - so it wants to authenticate in a “clever“ way by another device signed in to the same account, but when you try to do it ”manually” - i.e. by signing in with a secondary account, it has no idea what to do.

 

[ascender]

Now i remember why contacting Apple Support can be so frustrating.

”What generation of Apple TV do you have?”

Me, a nerd, who works in technology… “Literally no idea. I bought it in the last few months if that helps.”

 

[ascender]

I’ve attached the screenshots to the chat.

”So, you need help setting up your Apple TV?”

Nope… that’s not what the screenshots are showing…

 

[Audit13]

The account being used for the purchase is part of an Apple Family sharing group?

Is the account being authenticated the Apple Family Manager?

 

[ascender]

Yes, its the one which has always been the main account for buying stuff and is part of the Apple Family sharing group.

Nope, it's just being done through Apple TV when trying to buy something. There's no prompts anywhere else in the Apple ecosystem to authenticate the account or the card in any way.

 

[Audit13]

Yes, its the one which has always been the main account for buying stuff and is part of the Apple Family sharing group.

Nope, it's just being done through Apple TV when trying to buy something. There's no prompts anywhere else in the Apple ecosystem to authenticate the account or the card in any way.

Buying on another device prompt for authentication?

By main account, do you mean the account is the Family Organizer?

 

[ascender]

Buying on another device prompt for authentication?

By main account, do you mean the account is the Family Organizer?

Yes, it's the Family Organiser.

It's the new method of authenticating a card being used on an ATV for the first time. I've not seen it on any other Apple device to date.

Have tried Apple support again and they thought the card was being declined by the bank - it's not. So its the usual thing of having to get them to put you through to the next level of support who aren't just following a script.

 

[Watchur]

Yes, it's the Family Organiser.

It's the new method of authenticating a card being used on an ATV for the first time. I've not seen it on any other Apple device to date.

Have tried Apple support again and they thought the card was being declined by the bank - it's not. So it’s the usual thing of having to get them to put you through to the next level of support who aren't just following a script.

I have exactly the same issue! I’ve tried everything to get passed this stage with no luck.

Did you ever find a solution?

 

[Audit13]

I've always used my MacBook or iPad to make a purchase rather than using my Apple TV. Maybe this is a way around the issue?

 

[ascender]

I have exactly the same issue! I’ve tried everything to get passed this stage with no luck.

Did you ever find a solution?

I went on to a device where this account was the primary iCloud account and bought a cheap movie on there. It asked for verification which seemed to clear the issue. Really not helpful - I don't know what they've done to make this so difficult.

I did try talking to Apple support to try and resolve this but they were utterly clueless.

 

[Watchur]

I went on to a device where this account was the primary iCloud account and bought a cheap movie on there. It asked for verification which seemed to clear the issue. Really not helpful - I don't know what they've done to make this so difficult.

I did try talking to Apple support to try and resolve this but they were utterly clueless.

Thanks for peoples ideas.

I still had my old 4K Apple TV box and had the same issue on that too.

All the symptoms were exactly as Ascender had stated, including the “authentication success” messages and the Apple TV still stuck on its “two ways to authenticate” screen.

I had tried many things like signing out on the Apple TV and resetting everything from scratch with no luck.

However…..

I have managed to fix the issue for my case. I added a new payment method to my apple account using my iPhone, then deleted the original. It hung saying “removing payment method” so after a few minutes I just killed off the settings app. I checked payment settings again and only the new card was showing. I then went to my Apple TV and tried an app purchase and it worked fine without asking for any extra authentication step beyond the confirm on my iPhone. Hurray!

So my conclusion is somehow the old payment method had got itself in to a bad state. I noticed that on my iPhone if I did a purchase it would show that “verifying payment method” for a couple of seconds before the buy went through which was not normal either.

I’m pretty sure if I re-added my original payment card back again that would have started working again too though I didn’t try as new card just as fine to use.

 

[ascender]

This popped up again at random on an Apple TV, but they seem to have fixed the issue - when you follow the link, it now gives you the opportunity to sign-in with a different iCloud account.