Archive:IOS FAQ

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

Getting started

How do I install XBMC for iOS? Install XBMC on Apple TV 2 (black)   (see requirements) Install XBMC on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch   (see requirements)

I need help jailbreaking See the ATV2 jailbreak FAQ. If you need additional help go to http://forum.firecore.com/ , http://forum.tomcool.org/ , or http://modmyi.com/forums/ . Do not ask for jailbreaking help on the forums or on the wiki.

What is SSH? SSH is a secure shell to access and install software on your ATV2. For ssh command line access you can use putty or Tunnelier on Windows, Terminal.app in Mac OS X, or any standard terminal/shell in Linux.

Is there an application with a GUI I can use to transfer files? Try using a SFTP client like Filezilla or Cyberduck. See this post for a quick-start guide on setting up Filezilla.

General FAQ (all devices)

Where can I get more help with XBMC on ATV2/iOS? iOS-specific end-users forum

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.

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 (playback/decode up to 1080p video), so only HD content in h.264 will be smooth. The iPad2 is the only exception to this and will play some other HD codecs due to its faster CPU.

How should I setup and access my media for XBMC? Most users will want to connect to their media being shared from a computer, HTPC, or NAS device on their local network. This is especially so for the ATV2 that only has 8 GB of internal memory. iPad and other iDevice users can store files locally, and the iPad specifically can also use the Apple Camera Kit to use USB drive and SD cards. Guides for these will be arriving shortly. Till then try searching the forums or Youtube. This YouTube tutorial for how to share with Mac OS X 10.6 and lower (if you are using OSX 10.7 "Lion" you will need to use AFP instead of SMB. AFP is a new feature to XBMC). This tutorial for SMB sharing from Windows 7. NFS sharing for all platforms. Most NAS devices will use SMB sharing. Note: Better how-to guides on network sharing will be coming to the wiki soon. Feel free to add any links here to good guides you find.

What add-ons/skins can I use? XBMC for iOS is a full version of XBMC and will be able to use all non-platform specific add-ons and should use all skins. More CPU demanding skins like AEON MQ 3 might not run smoothly, but most skins should be fine. Because XBMC is using pre-v11 (Eden) code, only add-ons and skins that have been tested and work will show up in the Add-on manager. If a specific add-on or skin you want to use doesn't show up then look for a newer in-development version on the forums: for Skins, for Add-ons. To manually install a skin/add-on/repo "by zip", see this guide.

I have several XBMC devices, how do I centralize my XBMC library? Check out the tutorials here and here

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

Apple TV 2 (black)

What are the Apple TV 2 specific requirements? A jailbroken Apple TV 2 with one of the following software versions: iOS 4.3 (Apple TV software 4.2) iOS 4.2.1 (Apple TV software 4.1.1) iOS 4.1 (Apple TV software 4.0). Newer versions may also work but aren't officially supported.

What remotes work? The ATV2 remote works with XBMC and can be customized How do I bring up the context menu? - Press and hold MENU How do I bring up the OSD during playback? - Press and hold SELECT Web interface, including add-on interfaces Standard 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. See this post for more info. Harmony Remotes have experimental support and you can teach the ATV2 to use most standard IR remotes via Settings > General > Remotes > Learn Remote. You can get additional functions by following these instructions. The Apple iOS Remote app for iTunes/ATV

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? The ATV2 can playback most videos saved as high as 1080p, but will only output a 720p signal to your TV. 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.

How do I 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: cd /var/db/timezone ; rm localtime ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/[Country or Region]/[Zone Name] localtime (e.g. "ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Canada/Eastern localtime")

How do I 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: [2] 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

Where can I find the version of iOS that I'm running? Apple TV main menu > Settings > General > About > click Select to toggle between Apple TV software version and iOS build version. Apple TV software is the application running on top of iOS similar to how FrontRow runs on MacOS. It's similar versions are easily confused with the iOS versions. More info on the Apple TV software versions is available here.

iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch

What iDevices are supported today? Any version of iOS 4 and up that is jailbreakable. iPad1, iPhone 3Gs and iPhone 3rd gen (not the 8GB model) and up are supported.

What remotes work? Direct touch screen input Web interface, including add-on interfaces Standard Android and iOS remote Apps The Apple iOS Remote app for iTunes/ATV

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.

What is a good touch screen skin for iPad? Touched, by Jezz X. It's pretty good on the smaller screen iPhone and iPod touch as well.

Basic troubleshooting

Where can I find the version of XBMC that I'm running? XBMC main menu > System > Lower submenu > System info. Note the build date.

Where are the Userdata folder and logs? See here for bug reporting details and here and here for instructions on reporting an issue to the forums. Userdata folder: /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/userdata/ Debug log: /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/xbmc.log Syslog: /var/log/syslog CrashReporter: /var/logs/CrashReporter/*.plist

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

How can i reset the AppleTV2 without unplugging? Hold "menu" and "down" buttons for 5 sec.

Why are there no navigational sounds in XBMC's menus? This is a known issue and will be fixed with the new audio engine (developed behind the scenes..).

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

I have enabled DTS or AC3 but don't have any sound? Kaiserlein came up with a solution for some of us. It's not the XBMC software on your ATV2, but it has to do with your receiver.

Some of my AC3 files stutter or have static noise AC3 Audio can stutter and pause video. Generating thumbnails may be the cause, go to XBMC > Settings > Video > File and deselect 'generate thumbnails'. Audio output could also be the culprit, go to Apple TV > Settings > Audio & Video > Audio Output and set it to "16 bit".

My videos are stuttering and buffering a lot when streaming from an SMB source Try using a different protocol, i.e. UPnP or FTP, and avoid using Wi-Fi if possible.

Why is the dpkg command hanging/freezing when I'm upgrading XBMC? It's a known issue with a workaround.

My ATV2 is still crashing! HELP! Do you have Firecore Media Player installed? Try removing it and testing again.