iOS 17 makes it easier than ever to fix a bricked Apple TV

If you’ve ever had an Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD get itself into a bit of a pickle, you’re probably all too familiar with how much of a mess that can be. But with iOS 17, that’s no longer the case.

While restoring an Apple TV would require either plugging it into a Mac in the case of the HD version or involving Apple for the 4K model, that’s no longer going to be the case.

While it might not be a headline iOS 17 feature, being able to restore a broken Apple TV without quite so much fuss is going to be a big deal if and when people come to need it.

iPhone-based recovery

The new iPhone-based recovery feature was first reported by MacRumors and will simply require that people unlock their iPhone and place it near the Apple TV to begin the recovery process. They’ll be prompted to do so by a new on-screen message that will display an Apple TV and an iPhone.

This will of course also require that Apple TV users have the tvOS 17 update installed, something that we suggest everyone does as soon as possible for this one feature alone. But other additions like support for FaceTime also make this a must-have update for Apple TV owners everywhere.

You won’t need to have splashed out on Apple’s best iPhones to do any of this, thankfully. The latest and greatest iOS update is compatible with the iPhone XS and newer which means there’s a very good chance that anyone with an Apple TV will also have a device capable of running iOS 17.

The Apple TV and iPhone aren’t the only devices with new software, either. Mac owners have macOS Sonoma while Apple Watch owners have watchOS 10. Those using an iPad can also download iPadOS 17, too.