Archive:IOS FAQ

Template:XBMC faq toc Inline XBMC for iOS specific Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

How to install XBMC for iOS?

Install XBMC on Apple TV 2 (black)

Install XBMC on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch

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General FAQ

Where can I get more help with XBMC on ATV2/iOS?

iOS-specific end-users forum

What platforms are supported today?

Any version of iOS 4 and up that is jailbreakable. ATV2, iPad, iPhone 3Gs and iPhone 3rd gen (not the 8GB model) are supported.

What XBMC version is the iOS release?

The current iOS version based on the 11.0 "Eden" version code. This is the same code that all of the other platform nightly versions are using.

Where are the UserData folder logs?

See here for bug reporting details and here for instructions on reporting an issue to the forums.

• Debug log: /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/xbmc.log
• UserData folder: /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC
• Syslog: /var/log/syslog
• CrashReporter: /var/logs/CrashReporter/*.plist

What formats and resolutions will iOS devices play?

XBMC on iOS can playback all formats supported by XMBC. Only h.264 content is hardware accelerated, so only HD content in h.264 will be smooth. XBMC supports up to 1080 video.

How can I backup my XBMC settings?

The most common way is to copy or FTP this directory from the atv2 to another computer: /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/userdata. Some recommend backing up the entire Preferences/XBMC directory. [1] To restore, FTP the directory back to it's original location, then ssh to the atv2 and run the following command to reset ownership/permissions:

chown -R mobile:mobile /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/userdata

Touch screen iOS devices

What remotes work?

• Direct screen input.
• Web interface
• Android and iOS remote Apps

Touch screen controls

• Context menu: Two finger single tap the menu item.
• Slide out menus: Hold the menu item to bring it up, then swipe right to access the sub content.

I changed skins on the iPad or other touch device and now I can't navigate back to change them... help!

Delete /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/userdata/guisettings.xml




Apple TV 2 (black)

What remotes work?

• The ATV2 remote works with XBMC and can be customized.
  • General Apple remote functions can be found at Global Apple Remote
• Web interface
• Android and iOS remote Apps
• Rowmote Pro (requires helper, see nitoTV)
• Bluetooth keyboards can be used after BTstack is installed using either nitoTV or the command line. [2]
• Harmony Remotes have experimental support and you can teach the ATV2 to use most standard IR remotes via Settings > General > Remotes > Learn Remote.

What happens to original Apple TV 2 software after the XBMC installation?

XBMC is installed onto the Apple TV flashdrive, much like any iOS app, but you will still be able you use your Apple TV software as normal, XBMC will only be an extra option that you can launch from the Apple TV's original menu when you want to utilize the extra features and functions that are available in XBMC compared to the original Apple TV software. So XBMC will not replace the original Apple TV software, it instead complements the existing Apple TV software.

What resolutions is the ATV2 capable of outputting?

At present, though the ATV2 can decode 1080p video (using Apple's private VideoToolBox API for hardware-accelerated decoding), it is limited to 720p output. The 1080p video is decoded, then down-scaled in hardware to 720p. This is low on the priority list to "fix", as it may be a Frontrow limitation or a hardware limitation (ATV 2 has limited resources, i.e. 256MB RAM, etc). To see if you can really benefit with 1080p output, please consult this chart

Can I hook up my external harddrive or other USB device to the ATV2?

Unfortunately, the ATV2 can not operate as a USB host, so hooking an external drive or any other USB device to it will not work. Only media physically on the ATV2 and media hosted on the network will be available.

Updating iOS on ATV2

iOS can be upgraded/downgraded/restored (which deletes your XBMC settings) by plugging the atv2 into a computer (via microUSB cable only) running iTunes. To downgrade, Option-click (Shift-click in Windows) the Restore button in iTunes and selecting the ipsw firmware file (you need to use Tiny Umbrella and previously saved SHSH blobs if the ipsw file version is no longer being signed by Apple). iOS 4.3 now has hardware acceleration in addition to previous versions (available in XBMC nightly builds after 3/26/2011). Keep in mind any jailbreak hassles that go along with updating have nothing to do with XBMC.

HOW TO set the time zone on ATV2

iOS 4.3 offers the ability to set the Time Zone via the Apple TV gui, under Settings > General > Time Zone.

On previous iOS versions it has to be done via command line. [3]

cd /var/db/timezone ; rm localtime</code>

ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/[Country or Region]/[Zone Name] localtime (e.g. "ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Canada/Eastern localtime")

HOW TO stop the ATV from checking for updates and crashing XBMC

Install updatebegone via nitoTV or ssh (i.e. "apt-get install com.nito.updatebegone"). This has fixed the issue in many cases but if it doesn't, first make sure your packages are current ("apt-get update && apt-get upgrade" and reboot), and if the issue is still there, add these lines to your /etc/hosts file: [4]

echo "127.0.0.1 appldnld.apple.com" >> /etc/hosts

echo "127.0.0.1 mesu.apple.com" >> /etc/hosts

echo "127.0.0.1 appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net" >> /etc/hosts

Basic troubleshooting

Why are settings or sources not stored and updates are failing?

This can happen when the setting xml files are manipulated outside XBMC. Connect to your iPad/ATV2 as root using an ssh client and repair file permissions.

Run the following command on the iPad/ATV2:

chown -R mobile:mobile /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/userdata