Apps tvOS 17 and FaceTime: No user in list, QR code doesn’t work.

[McKodiak]

I’ve tried removing my user account as primary user and adding it again to no avail. I haven’t tried adding another user as primary though. I’ll do that next.

Are any of you guys, by any chance, also having problems using the new SharePlay function where other users can collaborate on adding songs to the music app while using Carplay?

My family members get the notification to connect to collaborate but when they do, and I approve their request, nothing happens and a timeout error eventually shows. The same thing happens if they scan the QR code on the Carplay screen to try to connect.

I figure these issues might be related, especially if the theory that having changed the Apple ID email address recently has any credence.

I also was unsuccessful. I too haven't had the opportunity to add someone as else as the default user prior to putting myself back the default user.

 

[Sperious]

IT WORKS!!! I had my wife as an additional user but hadn’t used it for years. Signed in as her and switched back, can now initiate a call from TV FaceTime app. Works ok both accounts!

This doesn’t work for me unfortunately. Added my son and he immediately shows up in the FaceTime app, even when my account is logged in but I still don’t.

 

[AJsAWiz]

So I’ve installed tvOS 17 on my second gen Apple TV 4K and I also have iOS 17 on my iPhone 14 pro, both devices are updated to the latest version. When I tried opening the FaceTime app on the Apple TV, it showed a screen that said “Users” but under it, it just said “other”. So I selected that and a QR code showed up which I scanned but on my phone but it just said “connecting to Apple TV” then stopped and nothing happened.

I’ve tried numerous times and looked through all settings on both devices and can’t find anything. And yes, continuity camera is enabled on my phone.

I’ve attached a pic of the screen so you can see what it shows. Anyone else have this problem and/or know how to fix it?

Same problem, called Apple, was told that was an issue with others as well. The rep said that Apple is working on an update to address this problem.

 

[AJsAWiz]

This seems like a buggy mess to me.

1) I’m the only user on the Apple TV but I don’t show up in the FaceTime app and the QR code doesn’t work. I tried removing my account on the Apple TV and adding it again to no avail.

2) If I start a FaceTime call on my phone I can use handoff to the Apple TV and everything works. However, if I hang up on the phone instead of on the TV I get a camera symbol in the top right corner of the TV that never goes away, not even when watching videos.

3) After making this initial call using the iPhone and handoff I am suddenly connected in the Apple TV FaceTime app, but if I initiate a FaceTime call there the recipient can’t answer and her phone says that an unknown caller is trying to connect.

This is the worst Apple experience I’ve ever had.

I haven't tried hand off yet. I will but doubt if it will work for me. Already called Apple about this flaw.

 

[Rokkit]

Deleting myself as user and re-adding didn't change anything for me...

 

[AJsAWiz]

Deleting myself as user and re-adding didn't change anything for me...

Facetime on Apple TV just doesn't work and I think Apple knows this. I have called them and my understanding is that this is a known issue for many.

 

[Sperious]

I just updated my phone to 17.0.3 and now FaceTime on my Apple TV works. My profile immediately shows up in the app.

edit: I might have been a little too optimistic. When I click my name nothing happens. There’s supposed to be a notification on my phone but no…

edit #2: It works perfectly on my iPad though, which is on 17.0.2. Weird.

edit #3: If I turn my iPad off I disappear from the list of users on the Apple TV. So… the iPad being updated to 17.0.2 solved the issue. The iPhone being updated to 17.0.3 still has the issue.

I deliberately missed the 17.0.2 on my phone because when it installed on my iPad it got stuck in a boot loop and I had to restore it using iTunes on my computer.

While I did that I also chose to set the iPad up as new instead of using an iCloud backup, to get a fresh start.

To avoid the minimal chance of the boot loop thing happening on my phone I deliberately passed on 17.0.2 and waited for 17.0.3.

Now I’m thinking, maybe restoring the phone completely and setting it up as new again would solve whatever underlying issue is causing this in the first place. But setting up the phone as new again is cumbersome to say the least. I don’t know.

Final edit: I performed a restore on my iPhone using iTunes and then set it up as new, not restoring from iCloud backup. Now it works with FaceTime on AppleTV.

While this may not be an option worth taking just for getting this to work, it might be good to know that the option is still there if Apple takes forever to solve this issue with a software fix.

 

[Arkanok]

I just updated my phone to 17.0.3 and now FaceTime on my Apple TV works. My profile immediately shows up in the app.

edit: I might have been a little too optimistic. When I click my name nothing happens. There’s supposed to be a notification on my phone but no…

edit #2: It works perfectly on my iPad though, which is on 17.0.2. Weird.

edit #3: If I turn my iPad off I disappear from the list of users on the Apple TV. So… the iPad being updated to 17.0.2 solved the issue. The iPhone being updated to 17.0.3 still has the issue.

I deliberately missed the 17.0.2 on my phone because when it installed on my iPad it got stuck in a boot loop and I had to restore it using iTunes on my computer.

While I did that I also chose to set the iPad up as new instead of using an iCloud backup, to get a fresh start.

To avoid the minimal chance of the boot loop thing happening on my phone I deliberately passed on 17.0.2 and waited for 17.0.3.

Now I’m thinking, maybe restoring the phone completely and setting it up as new again would solve whatever underlying issue is causing this in the first place. But setting up the phone as new again is cumbersome to say the least. I don’t know.

Final edit: I performed a restore on my iPhone using iTunes and then set it up as new, not restoring from iCloud backup. Now it works with FaceTime on AppleTV.

While this may not be an option worth taking just for getting this to work, it might be good to know that the option is still there if Apple takes forever to solve this issue with a software fix.

So you started all from scratch? I'd be willing to do that if it wasn't such a pain to re-download all apps and re-do all my settings. Glad you got it working though.

 

[Sperious]

So you started all from scratch? I'd be willing to do that if it wasn't such a pain to re-download all apps and re-do all my settings. Glad you got it working though.

Yes, I did.

Normally I would never have done that because of the reason you mentioned, but since I was forced to do it on my iPad because of unrelated issues, I kind of got encouraged and wanted to try if it would work on the iPhone as well and it did.

I haven’t done a full restore like that on my iPhone since my iPhone 6 or something and now that it’s all done and everything is set up again it is kind of nice having a freshly installed operating system.

 

[Rokkit]

I did the full restore, added my son's account... still nothing

 

[Arkanok]

I did the full restore, added my son's account... still nothing

Hmm. So it works for some but not for all? Yeah I think I'm gonna just wait to see if Apple ever fixes it on their own.

 

[Sperious]

I did the full restore, added my son's account... still nothing

What do you mean, you added your son’s account? Did you restore your own phone exactly like I described it in a previous post? If so, your son’s account should have nothing to do with getting this to work.

 

[geko567]

I've been following this thread for a while. Thanks to everyone who has been troubleshooting.

I just installed the latest tvOS beta (21K5064b) last night and the issues appears to be resolved! Hopefully subsequent updates do not break it 🤞

Side note: I could not bring myself to perform a clean install 😓 You're much braver than me 😅

tvOS 17.1 Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation

Update your apps to use new features, and test your apps against API changes.

developer.apple.com

 

[McKodiak]

I've been following this thread for a while. Thanks to everyone who has been troubleshooting.

I just installed the latest tvOS beta (21K5064b) last night and the issues appears to be resolved! Hopefully subsequent updates do not break it 🤞

Side note: I could not bring myself to perform a clean install 😓 You're much braver than me 😅

tvOS 17.1 Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation

Update your apps to use new features, and test your apps against API changes.

developer.apple.com

I installed the latest and am still experiencing this issue. Both Apple TV and iPhone are on latest public betas.

 

[Rokkit]

What do you mean, you added your son’s account? Did you restore your own phone exactly like I described it in a previous post? If so, your son’s account should have nothing to do with getting this to work.

I tried doing the restore on the computer and didn’t get any results there. The restore that did work was my new iPhone 15 showed up and after transferring everything to that device, it started working.

 

[Jack Hennety]

Having lurked on here and kept my fingers crossed that 17.1 fixed this for me, sadly it hasn’t. Same problem as everyone else; and I have changed Apple ID within the last few months.
17.1 is on my iPhone 14 PM, iPad Pro and ATV. I can’t be bothered to go through a full reset. I want Apple to fix this.

 

[CodeWisdom]

Anyone heard anything on this from Apple? Is a tVOS update forthcoming? Saw iOS 17.1 got announced.

 

[kaioslider]

I too have been lurking here looking for answers. I'm having the exact same issue - not list as a user and scan code does nothing - I have the correct equipment. Unfortunately 17.1 did not fix this for me - exactly the same experience as previously. I'm also not going to jump through hoops trying to get this to work. Hopefully this will be addressed in a future update.

 

[Jack Hennety]

I had a support call with Apple this morning. I didn't expect them to solve it to be honest, I just wanted to register the fact that here was someone else with this problem. Made it clear that this thread seems to have identified a change of Apple ID as the cause, and that I wasn't willing to go with the nuclear option of a full phone reset.

They acknowledged that it's an issue they're aware of and are looking to fix. When? Who knows. The only thing suggested that I hadn't already done was to reset network settings (haven't tried - extremely doubtful it would have any effect and don't want to lose all my Wi-Fi passwords). So we wait.

 

[madeofmonsters]

I was able to solve this problem on my own system by upgrading both the TV OS and the phone OS. I had to select "beta upgrade" option to get the phone to version 17. I did the same on the TV.

I changed nothing else. Now my username shows up in the list and the TV walked me through the process of using my phone for the camera and mic. The FaceTime app worked the same as it normally does except on the TV.

 

[Jack Hennety]

Now working fine 17.2.