All Apple TV clients listed as “Apple TV” instead of custom name in tvOS 16

I just updated several of my Apple TV’s to tvOS 16 RC and noticed immediately after that they are shown as “Apple TV” from the Channels clients page instead of their respective custom names (Bedroom Apple TV, etc). This makes it impossible to differentiate between each device and Siri Shortcuts actions are essentially useless as they can no longer be directed to a specific Apple TV and therefore now fail to run. I’m assuming it’s due to changes in tvOS 16 and wanted to make the dev(s) aware of this. I’m hoping a fix will come soon…

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Per What's new in UIKit - WWDC22 - Videos - Apple Developer, UIDevice.name will now only return the device (ie, "Apple TV") rather than a user's custom device name...

Another app I use has already switched to requiring users to input a custom name inside the app itself on each device. Cumbersome, but it does work...

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So how would you implement this strategy using Shortcuts for Channels, or does the dev need to make changes? Thank you… :grinning:

Unfortunately, the devs are going to have to change things around on the backend... I was just providing the link & info for context. And technically, iOS/tvOS 16 is still in beta until... err, well, tomorrow... so... :sweat_smile:

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Thanks so much for the info.:+1:

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Thanks for pointing this out. We’re evaluating ways to handle this.

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I have asked this before, but is there any chance you could allow us to rename any and all clients in the client list (android or apple)?

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With the latest pre-release, you can now create an alias for the client. This is only the first step we're taking to mitigate this iOS/tvOS 16 issue. So if your clients all start reporting the same name, you can at least rename them here.

It's also a feature I think we've all wanted for a while anyways.

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I'm super impressed with how quick you implemented that! Good to know we at least have renaming ability while you sort out everything else. Thanks!

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I think the Apple TV client isn't handling the name changes.

Renamed client
image

Status shows old name
image

Client shows Apple TV still in Support.

Sent debug from client and from server
a4efea3a-58c0-48bb-a9aa-89fe7115b076

It also seems to have reset the local customizations on the client. All of the sidebar navigation icons are back, I had some of them hidden.

Ahh good catch, it's not utilizing the alias there. We'll get it fixed up.

And just to be clear, this does not rename the actual Apple TV or inside its client. It's just an alias used in Channels DVR Server.

For example, people have multiple homes, so they have two "Family Room"s showing up. This allows them to add a namespace in the web admin, without having to do it on the actual device.

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This is resolved in the latest pre-release:

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Server side looks great!

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@maddox @tmm1
I think I found a huge bug. I went into rename a client just to test (I am not on tvos16). I was watching my ipad at the time and I renamed my bedroom ATV. As soon as I clicked save, my channels client dumped me out to the main DVR screen (on my ipad). Now on any device connected to my server, android, ios, tvos, I get recording not found (-13) no matter what I try and play. Every device I have is down now :frowning: I submitted diags

OK so that is either the fastest fix in history or you were already working on a fix. I just applied 2022.09.12.2045 and now it works fine.

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lol, we had already covered it. I was just about to mention to update :smile:

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I've updated to tvOS 16 on both AppleTVs, as well as iOS 16 on my iPhone. I then updated to the latest pre-release of Channels DVR, and the latest TestFlight of Channels client on all three devices. I then followed the video example above, renaming the clients to "TV in Living Room," "TV in Bedroom," and "Channels on iPhone."

However when I use the Channels client app to play a show, the popup still offers "AppleTV," "AppleTV (2)," and "iPhone." Also when I go to Settings → Support → Device Display Name, on each client, I see these are still the names being listed, not the renamed titles that I'd entered in the webUI. So the changes aren't being recognized. I restarted the devices and tried again, no change. What else should I be trying?

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Yes, tvOS 16 will not provide the actual name without an entitlement. We've applied for it (for 4 apps) and can't do anything until we hear back from them. If for some reason we get rejected, we'll have to implement a naming system inside the actual app. We do not want to do this as most people won't know to even do it. So we're hoping Apple moves fast on these entitlements.

All the server change did was give you a way to rename it in the web admin so you can at least identify them for now.

Ah, OK, that makes sense! Happy to be patient. Thanks for the explanation.

Hang tight...

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