AppleInsider discoverd a growing thread at the Apple Support Communities website where users report issues after updating their Apple TVs (2nd and 3rd generation) to the latest Apple TV 5.1 software. It looks like many Apple TVs are getting bricked after running the update:

After running the software update option on the Apple TV, a number of users indicated that the hardware simply displayed a blinking light, while nothing but a black screen is shown on their HDTV. Others found that their Apple TV could no longer connect to their network after updating, rendering the streaming-centric device useless.

According to AppleInsider, manually downgrading the Apple TV software to version 5.0.2 has been discovered to work as a possible fix:

The process requires installing an IPSW restore file from Apple, plugging the Apple TV into a Mac or PC with a micro USB cable, and force restoring the software through iTunes.

Remember that if you’ve previously saved your Apple TV’s firmware signatures (SHSH blobs) using TinyUmbrella or aTV Flash (black), you can downgrade Apple TV 2 software using Seas0nPass.

Here are the IPSW restore files:

Apple TV 2:
http://appldnld.apple.com/AppleTV/041-4362.20120605.t8i4U/AppleTV2,1_5.0.2_9B830 _Restore.ipsw

Apple TV 3:
http://appldnld.apple.com/AppleTV/041-4361.20120605.grjot/AppleTV3,1_5.0.2_9B830 _Restore.ipsw

Apple TV software update 5.1 has been released on September 24, 2012. The biggest changes included support for Shared Photo Streams, the ability to switch between iTunes accounts and to send audio content from Apple TV to AirPlay-enabled speakers and devices

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Apple TV hacker and developer nitoTV has recently shared some thoughts on the Apple TV 2 5.0 (iOS 5.1) and Apple TV 3 jailbreak. According to him, without an A5 bootrom exploit being found, an Apple TV 3 jailbreak “will be an uphill battle.” That’s mainly because the “attack surface” on Apple TV is much smaller:

There is no built in default web browser, there are less services running, with no web browser and less services running there are fewer places to smoke/fuzz out a vulnerability. For instance, even if the AppleTV 3 was out before the iPad 2 and 4S were jailbroken with absinthe, it would not have been applicable, no mobilebackup to exploit for part of the injection vector.

However, nitoTV is not saying the Apple TV 3 jailbreak is hopeless, it may just take a (long) while until the jailbreak is out.

Apple TV 2 5.1 jailbreak

nitoTV has also shared some news on the status of the jailbreak for Apple TV 2 running the latest software version: as of right now the jailbreak for 5.1 on the Apple TV is limited to a tethered jailbreak (not public yet), nitoTV works about 95%, XBMC is broken and “there is still work to be done, there are some bugs to sort out.” But, as the hacker admits, the tethered jailbreak is only part of the problem:

Right now we are still busily sorting out legacy and compatibility issues to make sure all roads still go through beigelist when loading third party appliances. I’m not certain how long it will take to merge the differences between beigelist and espresso, hopefully, not much longer.

Well, as they say, everything comes to him who waits… and, as far as we are aware, the waiting may be over soon!

Remember that if you have updated to 5.0 but you have the SHSH blobs saved for 4.4.4, you can easily downgrade to older firmware using FireCore’s Seas0nPass.

[image: nitoTV]

You may also want to read:
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Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Downgrading to older version of Apple TV 2 firmware just got easier, thanks to a new version of Seas0nPass. Recently released by FireCore, Seas0nPass 0.8.2 uses previously saved firmware signatures (SHSH blobs) to jailbreak and restore an Apple TV version that Apple may no longer be signing.

Backing up signatures using TinyUmbrella has been possible for quite a while. Last week, FireCore added this feature to aTV Flash (black): version 1.3 automatically backups Apple TV firmware signatures to the cloud. New Seas0nPass works with local signatures as well as those saved online.

Here is how to downgrade to older version of Apple TV 2 firmware using Seas0nPass:

Note: you can downgrade the firmware only if you’ve previously saved your Apple TV’s firmware signatures using TinyUmbrella or aTV Flash (black).

1. Connect AppleTV via USB
2. Launch Seas0nPass
3. Right-click the ‘Create IPSW’ button and select your desired version.
4. Seas0nPass will handle fetching saved signatures and restoring the firmware automatically.

If you’re receiving a ‘not eligible’ message, this means Apple is no longer signing that particular version, and Seas0nPass was unable to locate any saved signatures for that device/firmware combination.

Seas0nPass (both Mac and Windows) is available as a free download from Seas0nPass.com.

You may also want to read:
aTV Flash (black) 1.3 for Apple TV 2 released
How to install aTV Flash (black) on Apple TV 2
AirPlay Mirror your Mac’s screen to Apple TV with AirParrot

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Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

FireCore has released a new version of aTV Flash (black) for Apple TV 2. Version 1.3 comes with firmware backup option, new translations, playback enhancements and some other improvements and fixes.

aTV Flash 1.3 automatically backups Apple TV firmware signatures (SHSH) to the cloud. Backing up firmware signatures allows older Apple TV firmware versions to be reinstalled in the future. According to FireCore, this feature will integrate seamlessly with the upcoming version of Seas0nPass, allowing for one-click restores to the firmware of your choosing.

Here is the complete list of changes in 1.3:

• Added automated firmware signature backups
• Added Danish, Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish translations
• Added support for advanced (learned) remote commands
• Added support for multiple external subtitles (movie.en.srt, movie.de.srt, etc…)
• Added support for folder based organization/playback
• Added support for embedded DVD chapters
• Added chapters section heading to Playback Menu
• Added global zoom setting
• Improved playback performance for movies with invalid timestamps
• Improved appearance of VobSub subtitles
• Improved metadata fetching for localized file names
• Improved audio track filtering
• Improved playback bar to match native player
• Improved metadata and bulk folder fetching stability
• Improved Media > Settings menu layout
• Resolved issues with folder name changing on metadata fetching
• Resolved issues with buffering
• Resolved rare DVD related crash
• Resolved floating AFP issue that was causing connection issues
• Resolved floating buffer overflow in software decoder
• Minor changes to Grid View appearance
• Minor UI improvements
• Other miscellaneous bug fixes

If you’re already running a version of aTV Flash (black) the new 1.2 version can be installed through the Maintenance –> Manage Extras menu. Links for the new version can also be found in your FireCore account under the Downloads tab.

If you’re not yet using aTV Flash (black) you can get started here.

You may also want to read:
How to install aTV Flash (black) 1.0 on Apple TV 2
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Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Apple TV 2 software has been updated to version 4.2 (iOS 4.3), which brings new capabilities to those tiny black boxes that are still not jailbroken or are ready to lose the jailbreak. MLB.TV and NBA Game Time are now available as streaming content options, AirPlay has been updated to support video from iOS apps and websites and the support for Dolby Digital 5.1 on Netflix has been added (the full list of new features is below).

As you already know, if you don’t want to lose your jailbreak (and all the apps/plugins/add-ons you’ve already installed) you can’t update. But if you have SHSH blobs saved you can update to 4.2, check out the new features and then decide whether you stay with these ones or you prefer to go back to your old jailbreakable 4.1.1 (iOS 4.2.1) to enjoy some other great features it offers (XBMC, Hulu, aTV Flash and many more).

AppleInsider reports that users are reporting flickering issues with latest Apple TV software update. Check out the AppleInsider post and the growing thread in Apple’s Discussions forums for the latest.

To disable auto-apdates:
-          with nitoTV installed: nitoTV -> Settings -> AppleTV Updates – click “OK” to disable
-          with aTV Flash installed: Maintenance -> Settings menu

Full list of Apple TV Software Update 4.2 features:

• NBA Game Time: live and on-demand games with an NBA League Pass Broadband subscription. Available are both live and on-demand games. NBA League Pass costs $100 for one-year unlimited streaming or $65 if you pick 7 teams to watch (check all the available options here). Non-subscribers can access real-time NBA scores and in-game stats, plus see the full-season schedule, standings, stats, and video highlights.

• MLB.TV: live and on-demand Major League Baseball games in HD with an MLB.TV subscription ($100 a year for standard and $120 for the premium offering; details here).

• AirPlay for apps and websites: wirelessly stream video from iOS apps and websites that are enabled for AirPlay, on an iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch running iOS 4.3.

• Netflix Dolby Digital 5.1: support for Dolby Digital 5.1 surround  sound on Netflix streaming (Not available with all titles.)

• New slideshow themes: new Scrapbook, Photo Mobile, and Holiday Mobile slideshow themes.

• Improved on-screen keyboard.

• AirPlay photo slideshow themes: All Apple TV photo slideshow themes are now available when using AirPlay to wirelessly send a photo slideshow from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to Apple TV.

• HDMI color mode: atv software update 4.2 includes a setting for changing the color mode output over HDMI.

• Connectivity and performance fixes.

You may also want to read:
How to Watch Hulu on Apple TV 2
How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 with greenpois0n rc6
How to install XBMC on Apple TV 2

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!