Every now and then, I still get emails asking me if there is an easy way to enable ssh on the Apple TV. Yes, we have tutorial for that but that one requires an uncivilized way of opening the Apple TV up, take out the hard drive, put it in an enclosure, etc. (you know the whole drill). That’s just old school and so cruel to your Apple TV. Besides that method actually voids the warranty on your Apple TV.

It is much easier to use the Patchstick method, which has been around for a while now. All you need is a USB stick and an Intel Mac. You have probably seen the Patchstick in action on the Jaman post a month back. However, Jaman’s version is specifically designed to get the Jaman player on to the Apple TV and nothing else.

Francesco Cerofolini has written a simple tutorial (in both Italian and English) of how you can get your Apple TV ssh-enabled. It is pretty much the same as what I have written for the Jaman post. The Patchstick file used in his tutorial also adds access to the Plugins directory from AwkwardTV. This makes it much easier to install new plugins from AwkwardTV.

To many of the frequent readers of the site, I know that this is nothing new. However, my intention was to simplify hacking for a lot of the newcomers out there.