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Apple Releases tvOS 12.2.1 for Fourth and Fifth-Generation Apple TV

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Apple today released tvOS 12.2.1, the sixth update to the tvOS 12 operating system designed for fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. tvOS 12.2.1 comes a little over two weeks after the release of tvOS 12.2.

tvOS 12.2.1 is a free update that can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌ by going to System --> Software Update. ‌Apple TV‌ owners who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to tvOS 12.2.1 automatically.

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It's not clear what's been fixed in tvOS 12.2.1, but given that it's a minor 12.x.x update, it likely addresses bugs and other issues that were found in tvOS 12.2.

Apple does not provide release notes for tvOS updates, making it difficult to determine what might be new or improved in the operating system.

The prior update, tvOS 12.2, introduced new AirPlay 2 features, allowing users to ask Siri to play specific media on an ‌Apple TV‌ or third-party TV (support coming soon) from an iOS device.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: Apple TV and Home Theater

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Top Rated Comments

J
jimac
94 months ago
I've got hundreds of apps on my Apple TV and lately its download speed has sometimes slowed to a crawl, but never as bad as this morning. Using Spectrum Cable today my iPad Pro downloaded at its usual 350 Mbps while the Apple TV at times was less than 1 Mbps! When it finally got up to around 10 Mbps I checked to see if there was a tvOS update, and happily there was. I downloaded and installed tvOS 12.2.1 and now my Apple TV is back to normal, almost as fast as my iPad Pro running iOS 12.2!

For me, this is a HUGE update. I've always been using my Apple TV far more than my Cable box since the day it came out back in 2007. It's nice that it is running perfectly again! By the way, here's how I've set mine up over the past dozen years:



Attachment Image
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avanpelt Avatar
avanpelt
94 months ago
I've got hundreds of apps on my Apple TV and lately its download speed has sometimes slowed to a crawl, but never as bad as this morning. By the way, here's how I've set mine up over the past dozen years:

I thought you were kidding when you said at the start that you had hundreds of apps installed. I would venture a guess that you have more apps installed on your Apple TV than 99% of Apple TV owners. Wow.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
errol Avatar
errol
94 months ago
passthrough audio where art thou?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
L
Lancetx
94 months ago
Here's the link to Apple's release notes for tvOS. Nothing listed quite yet for the update today though.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207936
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sedulous Avatar
Sedulous
94 months ago
I actually spoke with Apple today regarding a minor issue where episodes are not incrementing after playback. They said it was a known issue... maybe this update (12.2.1) fixes that? Testing now.

Edit: Yes, 12.2.1 seems to have fixed issue. At least that is one thing they fixed.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
E
ersan191
94 months ago

Dear god why
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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