Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Does A4K 2021 support Protected Management Frames?

U

UREntranceExitNodes4Mine

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 27, 2021
29
3
There are some bad actors around my area and they like to send de-authorization frames to mess with people's WiFi gadgets. This mostly affects WiFi devices which do not support 802.11w Protected Management Frames (PMF). I only allow WLAN clients that fully support PMF and can connect to AP's with non-optional required PMF support. Fire TV, Chromecast with Google TV, and Roku do not support PMF. On top of that, Chromecast with Google TV and Roku do not have options to assign static IP for routers without Static Lease DHCP support. Only Fire TV allows you to input a static IP on the device itself.

I have 4 major questions I need answered:
1. Does Apple TV 4K 2021 support PMF and can it connect to AP's that require PMF support?
2. Does Apple 4K 2021 allow users to input static IP on the device itself?
3. Can Apple TV 4K 2021 fully functional on network with VLAN/Layer-2 isolation? My router rules do not allow P2P, only allow outbound TCP port 80, TCP port 443, and NTP port 123 while making Pi-hole resolve DNS requests via DNS-over-HTTPS TCP port 443.
4. What technology does Apple TV 4K use for its Siri remote? Is it some kind of Ad-Hoc P2P WiFi protocol like Apple Wireless Direct Link and/or WiFi Direct or is it simple Bluetooth?
 
priitv8 said:
Too complicated questions for average Apple users, I am afraid.
Click to expand...
So Apple users are too stupid for this? There are a lot of smart people on this forum. Many, if not most, are fluent in all platforms. I don’t see any of them chiming in either. Something about the OPs question just seems “off” to me. If he has the technical knowledge to be aware of these issues it seems he should be able to look up the answers himself. It may be that Apple considers some of the info proprietary but I think it has more to do with consumers wanting a product that “just works” as opposed to being able to assign a static IP (which I’m pretty sure you can’t on an ATV).
 

Wi-Fi roaming support in Apple devices

Supported Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers with Apple silicon) and Cisco networks recognize each other, allowing the devices and network to use the latest Wi-Fi technologies to optimize the experience.
support.apple.com
tvOS doesn't appear to be listed for PMF support so it is possible it isn't supported.
The remote uses bluetooth.
 
Longkeg said:
So Apple users are too stupid for this? There are a lot of smart people on this forum. Many, if not most, are fluent in all platforms. I don’t see any of them chiming in either. Something about the OPs question just seems “off” to me. If he has the technical knowledge to be aware of these issues it seems he should be able to look up the answers himself. It may be that Apple considers some of the info proprietary but I think it has more to do with consumers wanting a product that “just works” as opposed to being able to assign a static IP (which I’m pretty sure you can’t on an ATV).
Click to expand...

My research and some screenshots indicate that Apple 4K 2021 does allow assignment of static IP's via the device itself, but I need to be sure before I buy the device. There is little information about PMF. Apple is not specific about it.

I live in an area where lack of PMF is heavily exploited to disconnect WiFi devices snoop. Since Apple does not allow VPN software to be installed onto the device itself, having PMF support is quite important to me.
 
UREntranceExitNodes4Mine said:
My research and some screenshots indicate that Apple 4K 2021 does allow assignment of static IP's via the device itself, but I need to be sure before I buy the device. There is little information about PMF. Apple is not specific about it.

I live in an area where lack of PMF is heavily exploited to disconnect WiFi devices snoop. Since Apple does not allow VPN software to be installed onto the device itself, having PMF support is quite important to me.
Click to expand...
iOS and iPadOS support PMF, Apple isn't clear if tvOS does though.
 
I can confirm that the Apple TV supports WPA3, which I believe requires PMF.

From my eero:

56493c38eb1c4ced71dcfb438d05aec7.jpg

0454cd6e292532c3f12cd3d7f812660b.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: diamond.g
And as far as manually configuring your network settings on the Apple TV (ex. configuring a static IP). That is possible as well.

You can even apply custom profiles if you want to do things like use encrypted DNS (DoH or DoT).
 
priitv8 said:
Wouldn't wired ethernet obviate many of those questions?
I have only ever run mine wired.
Click to expand...

For only the OPs first question it would, but since they are asking my guess is that it isn’t an option.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back