Called “One Home Screen” and supported on tvOS 11 and later, you can keep any installed tvOS apps and main screen appearance synchronized across every Apple TV you own.
If you have multiple Apple TVs in your household, you can set them to share exactly the same Home screen layout and use the same set of installed apps, here’s how.
How to use One Home Screen on tvOS
1) Open the Settings app on one of your Apple TVs.
2) Navigate to the Users & Accounts > iCloud subsection.
3) Set the toggle One Home Screen to “On”.
And that’s all there’s to it!
Multiple users on Apple TV
If you have multiple users set up on your Apple TV, go to Users & Accounts, choose the Default User, and turn on One Home Screen in the iCloud section.
You should now have the same Home screen appearance and installed apps for each Apple TV in your household. I’m liking this feature a lot—it does unify my home media experience.
Now I can seamlessly switch, say, between an Apple TV in my bedroom and one in the living room knowing all of my apps and Home screen organization are perfectly synchronized between them and across as many Apple TVs as I happen to own.
Issues with One Home Screen?
As mentioned, One Home Screen requires you be signed in with the same Apple ID account in Settings → Account on every Apple TV you wish to keep in sync.
Suppose you’ve created a new folder on an Apple TV in your living room or moved a YouTube icon to the top of the Home screen. tvOS sends your actions to iCloud which in turn sends the changes to an Apple TV in your bedroom and to all of your other boxes.
If one of your Apple TVs has fallen out of sync, you may want to double-check that it’s using the proper Apple ID account in Settings → Account like your other Apple TVs. Also, be sure the device has network connectivity and that iCloud services are not offline.
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Source: Joseph Keller/iMore
Apple TV connects most of your content in iCloud – movies, TV shows, app purchases, podcasts, music, etc. – but until fairly recently, you had to download and install apps one-by-one if you had to restore your Apple TV. With One Home Screen, you can simply sign into iCloud and everything on one Home Screen will automatically sync to all Apple TV devices.
Here’s how to enable it.
How to enable One Home Screen on Apple TV
One Home Screen is found in the accounts section of your Settings on Apple TV.
- Launch Settings on Apple TV.
Click on Users and Accounts.
Source: iMore
Click on One Home Screen to turn it on.
Source: iMore
How to disable One Home Screen on Apple TV
If you don’t want to sync the apps and games on your Home screen across all of your Apple TV devices, you can disable the feature.
- Launch Settings on Apple TV.
Click on Users and Accounts.
Source: iMore
Click on One Home Screen to turn it off.
Source: iMore
Any questions?
Do you have any questions about how to use One Home Screen on Apple TV? Put them in the comments and we’ll help you out.
However, this won’t help if you want to play Apple TV content on multiple screens at once.
Use an HDMI Splitter to Connect One Apple TV to Multiple TVs
It’s common for businesses to have two or more TV screens they want to use at the same time. For example, a bar or a shop could have multiple TVs on display that need to play the exact same Apple TV content simultaneously.
To do this, you need to use an HDMI splitter.
An HDMI splitter takes the signal from your Apple TV streaming box and splits it into multiple identical HDMI outputs that you can send to different TVs.
Don’t get it confused with an HDMI switch, which takes multiple HDMI inputs and sends them to a single TV. An HDMI switch is useful if you need to connect multiple HDMI devices to the same TV, such as an Apple TV, a games console, and a Blu-Ray player.
When buying an HDMI splitter, make sure it has the right number of outputs to match the number of TVs you want to send the signal to.
But there are several other considerations you also need to make before getting an HDMI splitter.
The Downsides to Using an HDMI Splitter
When you use an HDMI splitter to connect an Apple TV to multiple TV screens, every TV shows the same content at the same time. It’s not possible to watch two different things at once, for that, you need to buy a second Apple TV.
But even if you’re happy to play the same content on each TV, using an HDMI splitter with an Apple TV can still lead to other problems.
First of all, you need to make sure you won’t come into any HDCP issues.
Expect Some HDCP Compatibility Problems
You Need to Amplify a Split HDMI Signal
When looking for an HDMI splitter, you also need to make sure you find a powered solution.
After splitting the HDMI signal into multiple outputs (one for each TV screen) the signal is much weaker, making it more likely to drop out before reaching the TV.
A powered HDMI splitter bypasses this problem by amplifying the signal again after splitting it.
Long HDMI Cables Are Ineffective
You might be hoping to use an HDMI splitter to connect your Apple TV to multiple TV screens throughout your house. To do this, you’ll need to run long HDMI cables from the splitter to each of your TVs.
However, HDMI cables typically max out at around 10 meters, after which the signal becomes too weak and starts to drop out before reaching the TV. Due to the nature of digital signals, when the signal gets weak it stops working altogether, rather than going fuzzy like old analog TV signals used to do.
It’s unlikely that 10 meters is long enough to thread the HDMI cables to all the different rooms you want it to reach. You might be able to fix this by chaining your signal through more amplifiers, but it starts to get incredibly expensive when you do so.
Don’t Forget About the Remote
In addition to all the other problems we’ve mentioned, even if you do manage to connect your Apple TV to multiple TVs in different rooms, the Apple TV Siri Remote probably won’t have enough range to be useful in any other room.
If your Apple TV is downstairs in the living room and you want to watch it upstairs in your bedroom, it’s unlikely the Siri Remote can reach that far. So you’d need to get up and go downstairs to control the Apple TV anyway.
That said, there are a couple of solutions to this.
First of all, you can use an iPhone as an Apple TV remote, which should work over long distances by connecting to your Wi-Fi network.
Secondly, you can invest in high-powered IR extenders, like those from Powermid, which boost the signal from your remote to the Apple TV.
Consider Buying Multiple Apple TVs for Multiple TVs
The simplest way to play Apple TV content on multiple TVs is to buy an Apple TV streaming box for each TV. You can’t sync playback across each of the TVs using this method. But you can choose to play multiple things at the same time.
You can also use Apple TV’s One Home Screen feature to sync your apps and Home screen layout across each TV automatically.
It may not seem so initially, but buying multiple Apple TVs can actually be the cheapest solution as well.
Just add up the costs of getting a high-quality HDMI splitter and amplifier and piping long HDMI cables through the walls of your house to find out for yourself. Before long, $200 on a new Apple TV 4K seems pretty reasonable.
If you do buy more, here’s how to set up a new Apple TV.
He spent two years supervising repairs as a Genius Admin for Apple Retail and uses that knowledge to keep our troubleshooting guides up to date.
Long before that, Dan turned to Apple products from a musical background. Having owned iPods for years, he bought a MacBook to learn sound recording and production. It was using those skills that he gained a first-class Bachelor of Science in Sound Technology.
You can change the order of apps on the Home Screen and place your favorite apps in the top row.
On the Home Screen, you can also delete apps from the App Store that you no longer use and change the appearance of backgrounds and menus between light and dark.
Rearrange apps
Navigate to an app, then press and hold the clickpad center (second-generation Siri Remote ) or touch surface (first-generation Siri Remote ) until the app starts to jiggle.
Drag the app to a new location on the Home Screen.
Tip: Move your favorite apps to the top row of the Home Screen; when you highlight a top-row app, content shortcuts appear at the top of the screen.
To save the new arrangement, press the clickpad center (second-generation Siri Remote ) or touch surface (first-generation Siri Remote ).
Create a folder for apps
You can organize related apps into folders. For instance, you can store all of your music apps in a Music folder.
Navigate to an app, then press and hold the clickpad center (second-generation Siri Remote ) or touch surface (first-generation Siri Remote ) until the app starts to jiggle.
Drag the app over another app until a folder appears, then release the clickpad or touch surface.
To save the new arrangement, press the clickpad center or touch surface.
To change the name of the new folder, make sure the folder is highlighted, then swipe up and use the onscreen keyboard or dictation to enter a custom name.
To close the keyboard, do any of the following:
Siri Remote (2nd generation): Press the Back button alt=”Back button” width=”19″ height=”30″ />once to the close the onscreen keyboard, then press the Back button alt=”Back button” width=”19″ height=”30″ />again to return to the Home Screen.
Siri Remote (1st generation): Press the alt=”Menu button” width=”78″ height=”30″ />button once to the close the onscreen keyboard, then press the alt=”Menu button” width=”78″ height=”30″ />button again to return to the Home Screen.
Delete a folder
Navigate to an app in a folder, then press and hold the clickpad center (second-generation Siri Remote ) or touch surface (first-generation Siri Remote ) until the app starts to jiggle.
Drag the app back to a row on the Home Screen, then release the clickpad or touch surface.
Repeat the above steps for each app in the folder.
The folder is deleted when you remove the last app from it.
To save the new arrangement, press the clickpad center or touch surface.
To return to the Home Screen, press the Back button (second-generation Siri Remote ) or button (first-generation Siri Remote ).
Move an app into a folder
Navigate to an app, then press and hold the clickpad center (second-generation Siri Remote ) or touch surface (first-generation Siri Remote ) until the app starts to jiggle.
Drag the app over a folder, then release the clickpad or touch surface.
To save the new arrangement, press the clickpad center or touch surface.
To return to the Home Screen, press the Back button (second-generation Siri Remote ) or button (first-generation Siri Remote ).
Delete an app
Select the app you want to delete, then press and hold the clickpad center (second-generation Siri Remote ) or touch surface (first-generation Siri Remote ) until the app starts to jiggle.
Press the Play/Pause button for more options, then choose Delete.
Deleting an app also deletes its data. You can download any app again that you’ve purchased on the App Store, free of charge, but the data may not be restored.
Change the appearance of Apple TV
Open Settings on Apple TV .
Go to General > Appearance, then select Light, Dark, or Automatic.
When set to Automatic, the appearance shifts from Light during daytime hours to Dark during nighttime hours.
Keep apps and the Home Screen up to date across multiple Apple TV s
If you have more than one Apple TV associated with the same Apple ID, you can keep the same appearance and apps for each device. This makes it seamless to switch between an Apple TV in the bedroom and one in the living room, for example.
Open Settings on Apple TV .
Have multiple Apple TVs in the house and are super frustrated with the lack of back up options with tvOS? You’re not alone. In fact, Apple has made a small workaround that will make adding or switching to another Apple TV fairly easy. Follow along to learn how to enable Home Screen Sync on Apple TV.
How to enable Home Screen Sync on Apple TV
- Open the Settings app and then head to General > Accounts > iCloud.
- Near the bottom there’s an option for Home Screen Sync, go ahead and turn that on.
Now, when you delete or add an app to one Apple TV home screen, it will automatically sync the change to the next.
Unfortunately, unlike a traditional back up of a device, Home Screen Sync is strictly used for the home screen layout, meaning app login information and settings do not sync between multiple Apple TVs. Hopefully that’ll come in an update sooner, rather than later.
For more help getting the most out of your Apple devices, check out our how to guide as well as the following articles:
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I like to see the Home screen of my device look completely organized. A neat appearance not just appeals to the eyes but also makes navigation a bit easier. There are several ways you can customize the Home screen of your Apple TV to ensure it looks completely streamlined. Does your digital media player’s screen appear to be in a mess? No problem. With just a bit of work, you can make it look in Apple pie order. Let’s find out how it works!
How to Customize Apple TV Home Screen
How to Rearrange Apps On Apple TV
One of the simplest ways you can make the home screen of your Apple TV look neat is by rearranging the apps.
Step #1. Use the Touch surface on the Siri Remote to highlight an app.
Step #2. Now, press and hold until the app starts to jiggle.
Step #3. Next, you need to swipe to move the app to a new location.
Step #4. Next up, press the Touch surface again to finish.
Note: tvOS also lets you move some of your favorite apps to the top row of the Home screen. When you highlight apps, you may see additional options and shortcuts.
How to Create a Folder for Apps on Apple TV
Why not create folders and put similar apps inside? It will let you instantly access apps of the same kind and also play a significant role in making the screen look in right sync.
Step #1. Use the touch surface on the Siri Remote to highlight the app.
Step #2. Now, press and hold until the app starts to jiggle.
Step #3. Next, you have to drag the app over another app until a folder appears and then release.
Step #4. Next up, press the Touch surface again get out of jiggle mode.
Note: tvOS will automatically choose a name for the folder as per the contents when you first create a folder. But you can edit the folder name. To do so, open the folder and swipe up to the name. Then, use the onscreen keyboard or dictation to rename the Folder.
How to Move An App Into a Folder on Apple TV
After you have created a folder, moving apps inside it is pretty simple thanks to Siri Remote.
Step #1. Use the Touch surface on the Siri Remote to select an app.
Step #2. Now, press and hold until the app starts to jiggle.
Step #3. Next, you need to drag the app to a folder and release.
Step #4. In the end, press the touch surface again to finish.
No longer want some unnecessary apps to clutter the Home screen? Well, you can easily get rid of them. Keep reading…
How to Delete an App from Apple TV
Do note that deleting will remove all the associated app data. Though you can download the purchased app (free ones as well) again free of charge, the data may not be restored.
Step #1. Use the Touch surface to highlight the app you want to delete.
Step #2. Now, press and hold until the app starts to jiggle.
Step #3. Press the Play/Pause button for more options.
Step #4. Next, click on Delete.
How to Hide Apps on Apple TV
There are some apps which you don’t use much. But you don’t want to delete them. All you want is keep them under the wraps.
To do so, highlight the app and then hold down the Touch surface on the Siri remote until the app starts to jiggle. Next, press the Play/Pause button and select Hide.
If you ever want to see the app on the Home screen again, open App Store on your Apple TV 4K and Apple TV (4th generation). Then, head over to the Purchased section and download the app again.
Note: On Apple TV (2nd or 3rd generation), you will be able to unhide apps from Settings → Main Menu.
How to Change The Appearance Of Apple TV
Depending on your need, you can choose to change the appearance of your TV. If you want to make viewing a bit easier to the eyes, go for the dark color. And if you wish to tone down the brightness, choose the light option.
Step #1. Open Settings app on your Apple TV.
Step #2. Now, click on General.
Step #3. Next, click on Appearance.
Step #4. Next up, you can choose from Light, Dark, or Automatic.
If you select Automatic, the appearance of the screen will automatically shift from Light during daytime hours to Dark during nighttime hours.
How to Keep Apps and the Home Screen up to Date Across Multiple Apple TVs
In case you have more than one Apple TVs linked with the same iCloud account, you can keep the same appearance and apps for each device. It will let you switch between TVs seamlessly.
Step #1. Open Settings app on your Apple TV.
Step #2. Now, click on Accounts → iCloud.
Step #3. Next, turn on One Home Screen.
To find out more about how this feature works, jump over to this post.
Over to you
Hopefully, the screen of your set-top box no longer wears a disorganized look. Do you know any other ways of personalizing the Home screen of the digital media player? Let us know them in the comments below.
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Apple’s iMessage lets you integrate stickers and apps with your messages or send those messages with flair. You can also sync iMessage between different Apple devices — but only once you’ve set it up properly. If messages are showing up on your iPhone, but not your iPad or Mac, you’re not alone, and we can help.
If you’re struggling with sending and receiving iMessages on all the things, then follow along.
Using the same Apple ID and use just your phone number to send and receive messages is the best way to ensure all of your iMessage conversations are sent to all of your Apple devices. If you need to use an email address as well as your number, just double check that the same email address is selected on all of your Apple devices.
It starts with the iPhone
Let’s start with making sure everything is set up properly on your iPhone, before we move on to an iPad or Mac.
- Open Settings >Messages >Send & Receive on your iPhone.
- At the top of the page is the Apple ID used on your iPhone for iMessage – make note of it. Below will be your phone number along with any email addresses you have associated with your Apple ID.
- I suggest picking just your phone number as what you will use to send and receive messages. Doing so will prevent a lot of confusion and avoid messages inadvertently syncing to one device.
- If you opt to select an email address as well, a new option will appear at the bottom of the screen. Select your phone number or an email address as what you want to Start new conversations from.
Now that you have iMessage set up on the iPhone, you need to verify the same information is used on your remaining Apple devices.
On an iPad
- Open Settings >Messages >Send & Receive and check to make sure the same Apple ID you used on your iPhone is being used on your iPad.
- If that’s the case, then select select your phone number and any email addresses you added on your iPhone.
- It’s very important that you select the same item for the Start new conversations from option at the bottom of the screen as you did on your iPhone.
If the Apple ID doesn’t match, you can tap on it and follow the prompts to sign out, then sign in with the same Apple ID you used on your iPhone.
On a Mac
- Open Messages then go to Preferences >Accounts and check that the Apple ID used to sign into iMessage is the same as your iPhone and iPad.
- Check the boxes next to the phone number and email address(es) you want to use.
- Again, it’s very important to select the same item for the Start new conversations from option at the bottom of the screen as you did on your iPhone.
Editors’ note: This post was originally published in 2012; it has since been updated to reflect new features.
Pokud máte v domácnosti více než jeden Apple TV, pravděpodobně víte, jak je to nepříjemné, když musíte nainstalovat Apple TV aplikacemi na každém zařízení. Nicméně, s vydáním tvOS 11, to už není pravda.
SOUVISEJÍCÍ: Jak aktualizovat svůj Apple TV na tvOS 11
Díky iCloud, všechny Apple TV, které jsou přihlášené do Apple ID synchronizovat se navzájem. Takže pokud si stáhnete aplikaci na jednom Apple TV, stáhne stejnou aplikaci na všech vašich ostatních televizorech Apple.
Mějte na paměti, že to funguje pouze pro Apple TV 4 a novější Apple TV 4K-třetí generace Apple TV a starší jsou vyňaty. V každém případě, pokud je to něco, co vás zajímá, postupujte takto:
Začněte otevřením aplikace “Nastavení” z domovské obrazovky vašeho Apple TV
Klikněte na “Accounts “
Klepnutím na tlačítko” One Home Screen “povolíte funkci
To je ono! Jakmile aktivujete jednu domovskou obrazovku, všechny aplikace, které stáhnete na jednom Apple TV, budou také staženy na všech vašich ostatních televizorech Apple. Vaše současné aplikace budou také synchronizovány s vašimi dalšími Apple TV boxy.
Amazon Echo může dělat spoustu úhledných věcí, ale jeho vestavěné funkce jsou jen špičkou ledovce. S “Alexa dovednostmi” třetích stran můžete přidávat další funkce Echo, jako je přidání událostí do kalendáře Google a dokonce i objednání pizzy. SOUVISEJÍCÍ: Jak ovládat ozvěnu Amazon odkudkoli pomocí telefonu Existují tisíce Alexa dovedností třetích stran, které můžete povolit pro vaše ozvěnu Amazon, a toto číslo stále stoupá.
Takže jste náhodou vyrobili vertikální video. Obtěžující, zvláště když je sama o sobě zjevně horizontální. Co je to dobrý videographer? SOUVISEJÍCÍ: Jak otáčet videa na iPhone Video můžete otáčet přímo z vašeho iPhone, ale pokud jste ji již přenesli do počítače Mac, QuickTime může pracovat s bleskem.
While tvOS 11 didn’t see stage time at the WWDC keynote on Monday, there are two new features that you can try now in the tvOS 11 developer beta: Home Screen Sync and automatic appearance switching. Home Screen Sync is especially welcome for homes with multiple Apple TVs, and appearance switching handles dark and light mode based on time of day. Here’s how it works:
When you set up or update an Apple TV with tvOS 11, Home Screen Sync is a new option that can be enabled after connecting your iCloud account. You can toggle Home Screen Sync on and off anytime in the Settings app under General → Accounts → iCloud → Home Screen Sync.
Here’s how Apple describes the new feature in tvOS 11: “Keep your apps and Home screens up to date across any Apple TV that uses this iCloud account.”
Home Screen Sync will require tvOS 11 on each Apple TV to work so you’ll need to install the developer beta to see it in action for now, but a public beta of tvOS 11 is coming soon which is a first for the Apple TV.
With Home Screen Sync enabled, you can rearrange your apps from any Apple TV running tvOS 11 and see the changes reflected on all other Apple TVs with the same iCloud account.
Home Screen Sync also automatically installs apps across Apple TVs with the feature enabled.
For example, I enabled the feature on my kitchen Apple TV without any third-party apps installed which automatically installed Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube and positioned them in the same place on my Home screen as my bedroom Apple TV. You could already use Automatic Downloads to prompt new app installs, but this new feature applies to all app installs and arrangements.
Automatic appearance switching is the other new user-facing feature in tvOS 11. Apple TV gained a new dark mode in tvOS 10, but you had to switch between the light and dark appearance manually. tvOS 11 gains a new automatic option that changes between light and dark mode based on time of day.
You can enable this by going to Settings → Appearance → Automatic. Light mode is enabled at sunrise and dark mode is enabled at sunset so you’ll need to enable location time zone for the feature to work. Then automatic appearance switching will toggle Apple TV between light and dark mode based on local sunrise and sunset times as they change throughout the year.
tvOS 11 will also include AirPlay 2 in the future which will support multi-room AirPlay from iOS and the upcoming Apple HomePod smart speaker, and Apple TV-connected speakers will appear as a HomeKit target in Apple’s Home app.
tvOS 11 also allows developers to increase On-Demand Resource bundles from up to 200MB to up to 4GB, right-to-left language support is added, and new background capabilities are available for developers to change how their apps work.
