tvOS 16 Issues? What’s New? Features, Bugs & Fixes!
Last updated on October 23rd, 2022 at 07:31 am
Posted in News by Mike on September 12, 2022Apple has released tvOS 16 build number 20J373 with a series of new features. New bugs might also come in bulk in this initial release. Check out all the enhancements as well as reported issues alongside available fixes!
tvOS 16 Update
- This major release is available, over-the-air, in Settings -> System -> Software Updates.
- Select Download and Install and be patient until tvOS 16.0 is deployed on your Apple TV.
tvOS 16 Features
According to the “What’s New” section that pops up on the Apple TV after the update, you should expect the following enhancements:
- 1. Profiles For Family Members – You can add a profile for each member of your Family Sharing group, to ensure personalized recommendations. Hold the TV button to start.
- 2. Multiple Keyboard Languages – Switch languages quickly when using the onscreen keyboard. You can add more languages in Settings -> General -> Languages.
- 3. Accessibility Updates – Onscreen descriptions are viewable more clearly with Hover Text. New VoiceOver voices available in Settings -> Accessibility.
- To be updated!
Fact: No other new features are mentioned in the Developer release notes.
tvOS 16 Issues
- 1. Apple TV remote app (iOS 16) not able to change TV volume, using iPhone Volume Buttons.
- 2. Shows from Apple TV library stop before finishing and jump to the next episode. Reported by Kye.
- 3. Apple TV remote not recognised by third-party apps. Reported by Jeremy.
- 4. Siri remote disconnecting after every turn Off. Reported by Vipin.
- 5. Update Apple ID Settings required after update. It’s a problem if you used a different Apple ID on your iPhone. Reported by SB.
- 6. High pitched sound when connecting third-party Bluetooth speakers or headphones to Apple TV. Reported by Rebecca.
- 7. TV won’t turn off automatically, when shutting down Apple TV. Reported by Ri.
- 8. Apple TV status light won’t turn off when device is shut down. Reported by Ri.
- 9. Dolby Atmos sound droup-outs on Netflix and other streaming apps. Reported by Reed.
- 10. HDMI Connection issues on Apple TV 4K running tvOS 16. Reported by Ryan.
Temporary Fix: restart Apple TV. - 11. Apple TV remote battery draining fast after tvOS 16 update. Reported by Vipin.
- 12. YouTube app black screen before a video is played and volume automatically increases, decreases or gets muted. Reported by Brandon.
- 13. Mute button not working on Apple TV remote although status light of the Apple TV flashes when pressed. Reported by SarahCat.
- 14. Switching Audio formats automatically isn’t working. If the audio is set to allow Atmos, any content that is not Atmos encoded results in a stuttering/interference audio effect. Reported by Linesh.
- To be updated! (Contribute in the comments!)
tvOS 16 Bug Fixes
tvOS 15 problems solved in this update are mentioned below:
- Dolby Atmos audio stuttering. (Status: ?)
- To be updated!
Fact: Security fixes aren’t available yet. Apple promises to update the security content soon.
Have you installed this update on your Apple TV? What’s your feedback? Do you have any questions or suggestions? Did you spot any changes or problems not mentioned here? Share them in the comments.
Related: Apple has also rolled out iOS 16 (20A362), watchOS 9 (20R361), iOS 15.7 (19H12), iPadOS 15.7 (19H12), macOS 12.6 (21G115) and HomePodOS 16.
i cannot switch out of HDR format with this new update, passing thru my Samsung soundbar. I would like to be able to adjust to SDR and Match content/frame rate as i previously was able to
Thanks for reporting Steve. Taking a look at it and will get back to you.
When watching a TV show in my Apple TV library, the show stops before 100% finished and jumps to another episode within a few seconds.
Have you tried restarting the Apple TV?
Two issues I’ve noticed using the iOS remote app and the Home app to control apple tv 4K (tvOS 16).
1. while the physical volume up and down buttons work while in the remote app, they no long appear in the home app.
2. the status bar in the home app doesn’t work with the Amazon TVOS app – similarly the icon of the movie/show you are watching no longer populate in the Home app. It works with HBO Max.
Thanks for reporting this tvOS 16 glitches.
remote not controlling selection on screen
Can you please be more specific?
Ve had the same issue where in apps the remote isn’t being picked up on left or right movements or clicks. Apps I’ve tried are
PeacefulWaterfallHD
Waterfall and stream hd
Thanks for reporting.
after the update my siri remote is disconnecting, every switch on time need pair again. then i restore my devise now i am not able to continue the restore section, because my siri remote note connected.
Does the remote have battery charge? Try to charge it before attempting again.
After updating, I’m getting ‘Update Apple ID Settings’ message and prompted to finish signing in with iPhone. I use different iCloud account on Apple TVs and iPhone and can therefore not complete signing in. Manually signing out and back in doesn’t work. So left with ‘Some account services will not be available until you sign in again’ and red dod next to ‘Update Apple ID Settings’.
I have the same problem. I do have an older iPhone that uses the iCloud account that we use for the Apple TV, but that also doesn’t work as the Apple TV displays a message stating the iPhone MUST be running iOS 16. So the latest and greatest TVOS can only work fully if you have an iPhone running iOS 16 and using for its MAIN iCloud account the same iCloud account used on the Apple TV.
This would simply be annoying if it meant entering the required data manually, but there is NO manual option. The update HAS to be done from an iPhone.
Words fail me that Apple can be so stupid over this.
Yes, this is annoying. Can you shoot a photo of your TV when it asks you to Update Apple ID Settings? You can send it to contact[at]iphonetricks.org.
Can’t get over with Apple’s stupidly sometimes how annoying it’s getting for me. I use my AirPods Pro to watch movies and it used to automatically switch between Apple TV and my iPhone when on iOS 15. Apple TV somehow got update to tvos 16 and now I have to reset my AirPods every time when I have to connect it to the Apple TV. It says to finish signing in with iPhone to sync iCloud data which includes the AirPods connection information. My iPhone 13 is on iOS 15 and I don’t to update to iOS 15 yet. Such a small thing for apple to fix yet so annoying of them not caring about these little things.
So you can’t logout from your current Apple ID on iPhone, log-in with the one used on the Apple TV, update the settings and then return the iPhone to the initial Apple ID?
Whenever I have a bluetooth speaker or headphones connected to the Apple TV, the sound turns high pitched after a while and does not go back to normal until I turn the speaker/headphones off and on again. But even then it’s only normal for a bit and then goes high pitched again. Restarting the Apple TV doesn’t help.
Have you tried to unpair speakers from Apple TV and reconnect them?
Does this happen right after the update? Did you experience it before tvOS 16 too?
I hadn’t tried unpairing them but I did now and that didn’t help either. I also forgot to mention that it only does this with speakers/headphones that aren’t made by Apple. When I connected my AirPods it works completely fine.
This only started happening after my Apple TV updated by itself to tvOS 16, never happened before that.
Thanks for the followup Rebecca. Not sure what else to suggest at this point. If you give me the names of the speaker/headphones I can submit a bug report to Apple and have them check this out.
I’m not really sure how to find the names of speakers and headphones but one speaker was like JBL Go, the other is Sony and says SRS-XB13 Wireless Speaker on the bottom and the headphones are JBL too
Thanks for the follow up.
Since the automatic update to tvOS 16.0, I have encountered a few problems.
– TV no longer turns off automatically, when turning off Apple TV.
– Volume control no longer works (as mentioned above)
– Status light unfortunately no longer turns off when the Apple TV is turned off (it did before).
Thanks for the feedback. That’s strange. I can’t replicate any of them. Have you tried restarting? Try to unplug it completely from the power source, wait a couple of seconds and plug it back in. Does it help?
Unfortunately this didn’t help. Not by disconnecting the plugs, and not by the restart option in the menu.
I am facing the exact same issue:(
EVery streaming app keeps buffering since the update..basically unusable..
That must be annoying. Have you tried restarting the device?
I am still having Dolby Atmos sound drop-outs after upgrading. Was hoping that would have been fixed in tvOS 16. Have watched a few shows on Netflix and average 2-3 sound drops lasting maybe 1-2 seconds during each hour-long show. Haven’t streamed any shows with Dolby Atmos on any other streaming services yet. Made sure to restart my Apple TV 4k after the upgrade. Swapped out the Apple TV with one in another room. Both have the audio dropouts.
Thanks for reporting. Too bad. I’m curious if the issue replicates with other streaming services.
Ever since I updated the software to TVOS 16 on my Apple TV 4K (2021 release), I have had HDMI Connection issues. I keep getting a message that the Apple TV is having trouble maintaining a connection to the HDMI cable. I’ve tried using 2 different cables (both are top of the line 4K Ultra Fast Cables) that I had never had issues with before updating to TVOS16. I’ve also tried restarting my Apple TV, rebooted my router, everything. When I do that, it’ll work for a day or two and then start doing it again. The picture is fuzzy, and some apps won’t even work (Like Disney Plus). I even disengaged the “match frame rate and dynamic range” option in the video settings, and I still run into the same issue. Has anyone else experienced this? Could this be something that Apple will address in a future update?
We’re taking a look at it Ryan and will created a front page article if the issue is confirmed by at least one more reader.
After TV OS 16 update, my siri remote battery drying very fast, before the update remote is charges inly few times only after my purchase,
Thanks for reporting this. We’re taking a look at it. Haven’t noticed yet. Have you tried to restart apple tv since update?
I already tried by restarting the device, this issue started only after TVOS 16 update any option to go back to OS 15.
Apple roping Apple TVs into iCloud without telling anyone. Now constantly demanding verification of AppleID. Best solution is just sign out.
Would you want apps on your AppleTV to have access to your iCloud data?
After the update my watched shows don’t update. The shows my kids watch stay on episode one in the recently watched and progress on the show’s page is not updated. YouTube app black screens before every video played, or commercial, and then sound will automatically go up and down or mute.
What app are you referring to, when you report watched shows that won’t update?
Have you tried a simple restart of your Apple TV? I can replicate the above mentioned YouTube issue.
The appletv remote isn’t longer a turning on my TV.
Restart your Apple TV please. Does it help?
After updating my new applte tv 4k, every show/movie in dolby atmos vision gives a pink and red colloration all over the screen so the content is unwatchable. Before this my entire apple tv had this problem untill i changed the format settings from dolby atmos to regular 4k. I can’t find a fix anywhere so I can’t watch disney+ dolby shows/movies and the same goes for netflix and apple tv itself. Even streaming from my phone gives this same problem on the apple tv.
1. Do you have enhanced HDMI turned ON in your TV settings? It has to be enabled for each port or system-wide.
2. Try to swap HDMI cables and see if you get the same pink screen. (TotalMount Cinema Grade AppleTV 4K compatible cable).
Everything should be fine because before the update to tvOs 16 dolby vision content worked perfectly fine?
Yes it should work, because you haven’t changed anything. However, if Apple changed some parameters or minimum requirements your current HDMI cable might not be good enough. It’s just a supposition. Yes, it might be a bug too… but to exclude hardware limitations, it would be OK if you can borrow another HDMI cable and see if the issue persists.
I bought a new hdmi cable that supports dolby vision, hdr, 4k, 8k, 10k, 120 hz and still the apple tv has this problem… it worked before the update, a new hdmi cable wasn’t the problem, I’m out of ideas/options. Should i ask apple for a replacement or something?:(
tvOS 16.1 should be out soon, by the end of the month. You can wait and see if it helps or install the public beta as shown here:
https://www.iphonetricks.org/tvos-16-1-beta-3-issues-features-bugs-fixed/
Immediately after upgrading to tvos16 my Apple TV lost connection to Siri remote, as soon as unit restarted. Pairing not working, it tells me to put remote closely, but never pair. Did factory reset – no help, remote fully charged, was able to pair it to another Apple TV . It older Apple TV 4 – 32 gb , my all other are 64gb with atmos support. Prone based remote works (feels little laggy, 64gb models do not experience lag)
Thanks for reporting Steve. That must be really annoying. It seems that you’ve tried most fixes that I would think of.
Can you use your iPhone as remote with the help of the Apple TV remote app?
Phone works, but it just workaround and not very convenient to use.
Unit affected is not 4k and has usb-c port. When I downgraded to iOS 13, I was able to,pair remote.
For some reasons beyond my comprehension, apple still signs verv11, 13 but not 14 or 15 of tvos
As soon I ran upgrade to 16, remote stopped working again with same symptoms, until I downgraded again. It clearly a bug in verity that affects early versions of Apple TV 4.
After the update to TVOS 16.0 and continuing in TVOS 16.1 public beta, the Apple TV Siri remote, second generation, no longer controls audio volume and the mute button does not mute audio, via CEC. I’ve restarted TV and Apple TV Gen 4 and even powered down both the TV and Apple TV, without any improvement. I have reported the bug to Apple Support, but I have had no response, thus far.
The Apple TV Gen 4 power/status light flashes when Siri remote buttons are pressed, but not commands appear to be transmitted to the TV from the Apple TV gen 4, via HDMI/CED, which has always been the case, through later releases of TVOS 15.x
I found a support topic that purports to be a procedure to configure the Siri remote to control TV audio volume directly via IR. That also has not effect. Can the Siri remote second generation even produce IR signal itself.
Yes, it uses IR technology as confirmed in this support document.
You seem to have covered everything. Not sure what else to suggest. Have you tried charging your remote, it might trigger a firmware update.
Keep us posted in case you have a breakthrough. Fingers crossed.
I also lost the ability to control volume / mute on my Sony TV after updating to tvOS 16.1. After trying a number of things, including manually learning the IR codes from the Sony remote, I did a reset on the Apple TV (Siri) remote and volume / mute functionality started working again.
Thanks for confirming. Glad it did.
Several apps do not seem to communicate properly with the TV App. E.g., shows on Showtime Anytime default to using Apple’s Showtime channel, which I do not have. Shows on FxNow, Freeform , and others, are not recognized as being on those apps. However, if I get details on one of these shows, the correct app is there as an option, but cannot be made the default app for playing the show. This has also happened on my iPhone with iOS 16, but my iPad (still on iPadOS 15) is fine and works as expected. I posted this on Apple,s Community, and at least one person says they have no problem, but another has the same issue. I even tried resetting and reinstalling tvOS, to no avail.
Can you please provide the link of the mentioned apple discussion thread?
Thread is https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254240380.
An addendum: just upgraded to iPadOS 16.1, tvOS 16.1, and iOS 16.1. None of it has made any difference. TV app still does not recognize certain apps as being valid. Very frustrating.
Thanks for the follow up. Hoped this would be addressed by now.
Some additional info—things are a little better. Some apps/networks are still not fully integrated, but thins have improved. This was with no further tvOS upgrades, so I assume there is a data base somewhere that may have been modified, but I really don’t know why this started or what may have happened to improve things.
Thanks for the follow up. Are you using auto-update for apps? Apps might have been updated with tvOS 16 support and that’s why you notice an improvement.
On the current version of TVOS 16.1, switching between dolby atmos and other formats is not happening automatically. If the audio is set to allow Atmos, any content that is not Atmos encoded results in a stuttering/interference audio effect. Please advise
Thanks for reporting. Did it switch automatically in tvOS 16.0? Have you tried to restart your Apple TV?
Whenever I exit an app I now always get taken to the AppleTV app and have to exit that – that is annoying and adds extra steps every time I leave the app and want to launch another. There seems to be no setting to change this new default behaviour
Thanks for reporting. That’s strange. Have you tried restarting the Apple TV? I can’t replicate this behavior.