tvOS 17 switching profiles experience different to previous tvOS

[surfnode]

Unsure if this has been discussed already, however here goes.

I have movies in three iTunes Store regions accessible via the Movies app (which I assume Apple will soon be deprecating and only surfacing movies up through the TV app?).

Prior to tvOS 17 I was simply able to switch to a different profile and the movies selection would change on the Movies app due to the region of that account.

The new experience it seems is that you now have to sign out of the 'current' account that is used to access the apps, movies, tv etc in my region and then sign into another account to view it's content from another region.

Could anyone clarify whether this is intentional and a changed feature or whether I am doing something incorrect / not following the right process as it seems each user account/profile can only be used on one geographical location/region at a time, rather than one for the UK, another for the US and another for CA.

Thanks!

 

[-Gonzo-]

Just installed tvOS 17 and no issues here, you are selecting the profile menu of the control centre?

 

[davenunes]

I also have the exact same problem. Were you able to clarify if there is any solution for this?

 

[Audit13]

I have 4 accounts on my AppleTV 4k 1st Gen with tvOS 17.2 and use the remote to switch between accounts/profiles. I do not need to sign out and in to access a different profile.

 

[-Gonzo-]

You’re also able to switch profiles within the atv app using the side bar.
Neither way has prompted me to login again to my US or UK accounts when switching between the two.

 

[davenunes]

The issue here is that I have a PT and a US account. The default user is from the PT account and now when I change from the PT to the US account related profile, the store remains the PT one and I can't access my US account library.

 

[-Gonzo-]

The issue here is that I have a PT and a US account. The default user is from the PT account and now when I change from the PT to the US account related profile, the store remains the PT one and I can't access my US account library.

Force close the app down then do a restart of the Apple TV.

 

[davenunes]

I tried that but still not working. Maybe I will need to do a reset and start from scratch

 

[gertgerman]

I just signed up here as I am having the exact same issue. I am based in Germany and my main iTunes account is a DE account. I also have US and TUR accounts that I switch to for movies etc.

Since tvOS 17 I am having the same issue. When I switch from one account to the other, the store remains on the country from the previous account. I don’t need to sign out and back into the account completely. I found out that inputting the password for the relevant account anywhere will cause it to switch so now when I change from DE to US I go to the user profile in settings and choose the option subscriptions to show any active subscriptions which prompts me to enter the password. Once it shows me that I have no subscriptions, I can access my US library as normal.

I have also tried completely resetting the Apple TV and setting up as now but the issue remains. Very annoying as I know no one else who has this issue and have no idea what could be causing it.

 

[mic64]

Same as gertgerman, I just signed up to reply here because I am having the same issue. Before tvOS 17.2, I usually view movies in iTunes Movies app. After switching Apple TV profiles linked with different regions, the iTunes Movies app always showed the corresponding iTunes store content (e.g. US profile shows US iTunes store, UK profile shows UK iTunes store, etc.), and showed all the purchased items in each region in library correctly.

After 17.2, since we're forced to use the new integrated Apple TV app, I found that switching profiles doesn't always change the Apple TV store to the region that the active profile belongs to, and this also causes some items in the library of your active profile/account not showing up correctly. For example, I have two profiles on Apple TV, one linked to US iTunes and the other one to UK. If I bought a movie in UK store that doesn't share ID in the US store (this matters), after switching from the US profile to the UK one, sometimes Apple TV app still shows US store content, and therefore the movie that I bought in the UK store would not appear, even though the active TV profile is linked to a UK iTunes account.

Not sure if this issue existed in the Apple TV app pre-17.2, but this definitely feels like a bug that Apple needs to fix. The whole idea of getting rid of iTunes is really dumb IMO because having both the hardware and the app named as Apple TV causes so much confusion and does not necessarily simplify things, especially on the media purchase side. As you can see, I had to really carefully chose my words in the paragraph above to explain the issue.

 

[gertgerman]

Not sure if this issue existed in the Apple TV app pre-17.2, but this definitely feels like a bug that Apple needs to fix. The whole idea of getting rid of iTunes is really dumb IMO because having both the hardware and the app named as Apple TV causes so much confusion and does not necessarily simplify things, especially on the media purchase side. As you can see, I had to really carefully chose my words in the paragraph above to explain the issue.

The issue was definitely around before tvOS 17.2. I’ve had the issue since 4th August this year when I updated to tvOS 17 beta 2. I’ve done all subsequent beta updates since and the issue has remained. Even when updating to a non beta version, I still have the issue.

 

[gertgerman]

What’s strange is, it doesn’t seem to affect all profiles all of the time. I have been using my US profile the past few days and today my girlfriend switched to her profile which is German and it was stuck on the US store. She doesn’t have any purchases but the continue watching row shows her shows as linked to the US providers instead of the German providers. However, when I switched from her profile to my German profile, it switched correctly. The store was the German store and all my purchased content was correct as were the linked apps. Switching back to her profile is still showing hers as a US one. Makes no sense at all.

 

[davenunes]

It is currently a mess. I am having this issue for a couple months, waiting to see if the next update will fix this.

 

[melapple]

I have iTunes stores accounts from multiple countries and yesterday was having this same exact issue with the French store. I’m still in tvOS 17.1 by the way. To fix the store not updating to the user profile/country I removed that user from the Apple TV and added that back in.

 

[gertgerman]

I have iTunes stores accounts from multiple countries and yesterday was having this same exact issue with the French store. I’m still in tvOS 17.1 by the way. To fix the store not updating to the user profile/country I removed that user from the Apple TV and added that back in.

That will work for a day or so but you’ll probably find the issue will come back. I’ve done the same myself multiple times and even completely reset the Apple TV but the issue persists.

 

[davenunes]

That will work for a day or so but you’ll probably find the issue will come back. I’ve done the same myself multiple times and even completely reset the Apple TV but the issue persists.

I also tried this, but the issue persists as well.

 

[melapple]

Switching to the French store is still working for me

 

[gertgerman]

Has anyone reported this issue to Apple? Seems to not be a common problem and I can’t find anything about it on the Apple support forums. I’m wondering if we’re all waiting for a fix for a problem they’re not aware of

 

[davenunes]

I have reported this but no feedback...

 

[gertgerman]

I have reported this but no feedback...

Is that on the forums? Maybe if we added to the post to give it a bit more urgency it would help bump it up

 

[davenunes]

I used the feedback form - https://www.apple.com/feedback/apple-tv/

 

[gertgerman]

I hope I'm not jumping the gun here but I think I have found the issue and have resolved it. I have been able to switch profiles multiple times between DE, US, UK, CH, EIR and TR with no issues at all over the past 24 hours and have had the apple tv switched off in between tests which I have not managed to do since tvOS 17 beta launched. I updated to tvOS 17.5 but the issue remained so it isn't a case of 17.5 fixed the issue.

I had a suspicion that testflight was causing the issue as I noticed under settings-users at the very bottom I had a sandbox account and the user in there kept changing. I could log out of the sandbox account and back in as much as I wanted, it kept switching accounts randomly. I don't know if all steps are necessary but I'll outline everything I did whihc seems to have resulted in it working again.

I first deleted the testflight app and all of the test apps I had on my apple tv from the testflight app.

I then replaced the apps I had from testflight with the official versions from the app store.

I then factory reset both of my apple tvs and removed them from icloud in all the accounts they were associated to.

I then set up my first apple tv manually and not using my iphone. Although I had removed the devices from all of my accounts it did still re-install all of the apps exactly as I previously had them. The testflight app wasn't installed as I had removed it prior to resetting the apple tv which meant I also had no sandbox account showing under users.

I then added all of my other accounts to my apple tv manually instead of using an iphone or ipad.

Done!

I am still of the opinion testflight was causing the issue so if anyone here has the issue but doesn't have testflight installed or have a sandbox account on their apple tv, then I am obviously wrong
As said, I am not sure if all of the above steps are necessary but it is the method I have used and so far it is working. Still early days but I have not been able to switch accounts so often for so long since tvOS 17 beta so so far so good.

 

[davenunes]

I hope I'm not jumping the gun here but I think I have found the issue and have resolved it. I have been able to switch profiles multiple times between DE, US, UK, CH, EIR and TR with no issues at all over the past 24 hours and have had the apple tv switched off in between tests which I have not managed to do since tvOS 17 beta launched. I updated to tvOS 17.5 but the issue remained so it isn't a case of 17.5 fixed the issue.

I had a suspicion that testflight was causing the issue as I noticed under settings-users at the very bottom I had a sandbox account and the user in there kept changing. I could log out of the sandbox account and back in as much as I wanted, it kept switching accounts randomly. I don't know if all steps are necessary but I'll outline everything I did whihc seems to have resulted in it working again.

I first deleted the testflight app and all of the test apps I had on my apple tv from the testflight app.

I then replaced the apps I had from testflight with the official versions from the app store.

I then factory reset both of my apple tvs and removed them from icloud in all the accounts they were associated to.

I then set up my first apple tv manually and not using my iphone. Although I had removed the devices from all of my accounts it did still re-install all of the apps exactly as I previously had them. The testflight app wasn't installed as I had removed it prior to resetting the apple tv which meant I also had no sandbox account showing under users.

I then added all of my other accounts to my apple tv manually instead of using an iphone or ipad.

Done!

I am still of the opinion testflight was causing the issue so if anyone here has the issue but doesn't have testflight installed or have a sandbox account on their apple tv, then I am obviously wrong
As said, I am not sure if all of the above steps are necessary but it is the method I have used and so far it is working. Still early days but I have not been able to switch accounts so often for so long since tvOS 17 beta so so far so good.

Those are good news. I don't have testflight installed or have a sandbox account on my Apple TV, so not sure if it will work for me, but maybe setting up the Apple TV from scratch manually would fix the issue as well. Tempted to test but anxious about the time it will take 😅

 

[gertgerman]

Those are good news. I don't have testflight installed or have a sandbox account on my Apple TV, so not sure if it will work for me, but maybe setting up the Apple TV from scratch manually would fix the issue as well. Tempted to test but anxious about the time it will take 😅

Damn! I was hoping it was down to TestFlight. Worried now that I’ve just been lucky the past day.

I guess it could be a case of it was fixed in 17.5 after all but needed to be set up again new for the issue to be resolved.

It was time consuming that’s for sure but so far I’m glad I took the time. I can report back in a few days as to whether the issue is back or not.

 

[gertgerman]

Those are good news. I don't have testflight installed or have a sandbox account on my Apple TV, so not sure if it will work for me, but maybe setting up the Apple TV from scratch manually would fix the issue as well. Tempted to test but anxious about the time it will take 😅

I’m on day four now of no issues and have been switching accounts regularly. I’d have to say I’m confident this issue is now fixed.

As you don’t have TestFlight I’d have to assume that didn’t have anything to do with it after all and Apple must have resolved this problem in an update without mentioning it in the releases notes and the fix didn’t kick in until a factory reset was done. It takes a bit of time but I’d recommend resetting yours and seeing how it goes as I haven’t had the problem since the factory reset.