Archive:IOS FAQ

Template:XBMC faq toc Inline XBMC for iOS specific Frequently Asked Questions and Answers. Don't forget to check out the iOS Specific Support forum.

General FAQ (all devices)

Install XBMC for iOS Link Install XBMC on Apple TV 2 (black)   (see requirements) Install XBMC on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch   (see requirements)

SSH, what is it? Link 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.

XBMC for iOS version Link The current XBMC for iOS version is based on the 11.0 "Eden" version code. This is the same code that all of the other platform nightly versions are using (changelog). These are in-development test builds that contain many new features, but are not yet completely stable. A stable version of XBMC for iOS will come with the final release of XBMC 11.0 "Eden" (roadmap).

Formats and resolutions iOS devices can play Link 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 iPad 2 and iPhone 4S are the only exceptions to this and will play some other HD codecs due to the faster CPU inside.

Accessing media Link You'll want to connect to media that's being shared from a computer, HTPC, or NAS device on your local network, especially with the ATV2 since it only has 8 GB of space. iPad and other iDevices 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, until then try searching the forums or Youtube. This tutorial describes how to share using SMB on Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and below. This is a tutorial for SMB sharing on Windows 7. If you're using Mac OS 10.7 (Lion), there are several filesharing options but you'll likely want to use AFP (unless you run into stability issues) because SMB won't work without installing Samba. WebDAV and FTP are the next best choices. NFS sharing is available for all platforms but it's more complex than the other options. Most NAS devices will use SMB sharing. Note: Better how-to guides on network sharing will be coming to the wiki someday. Feel free to add any links here to good guides you find.

Add-ons and skins Link 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.

Transfer files like add-ons, skins, and others over Link To manually install a skin/add-on/repo "by zip", see this guide. The guide will also give you the basic gist of how to transfer files over using SSH/SFTP.

Sync the XBMC library between multiple installs Link Check out the tutorials here and here

Backing up XBMC's settings Link The most common way is to copy this directory (via SFTP) 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)

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

Jailbreaking Link 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.

Remote controls for ATV2 Link The ATV2 remote works with XBMC and can be customized. See: Joystick.AppleRemote.xml for ATV2 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 Key repeat (such as holding down directional buttons to navigate) does not work right now on the Apple Remote. This is a known issue. The ATV2 can also learn remotes in its native settings. XBMC will respond to these learned remotes. See here for instructions. 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

Native Apple TV 2 software after the XBMC installation Link XBMC is installed onto the Apple TV internal 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.

Resolutions ATV2 can play and output Link 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

USB hard drives and devices Link 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.

Setting time zones on ATV2 Link 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")

Apple updates to ATV2 software will crash XBMC Link 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 by pasting them into the command prompt on the ATV2 and reboot after that: [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 echo "" >> /etc/hosts

What iOS version is on my ATV2? Link 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.

Directly booting into XBMC Link The ATV2 can be set up to directly boot into XBMC, bypassing the native ATV2 menu, but this will disable the ATV2 native menu completely. SSH into the ATV2 and: To enable direct booting: apt-get install org.tomcool.xbmc-booter To disable direct booting: apt-get remove org.tomcool.xbmc-booter

iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch

What iDevices are supported today? Link Any version of iOS 4.x that is jailbreakable. iPad1, iPhone 3Gs, iPod touch 3rd gen (not the 8GB model), and up are supported. iOS 5 support is experimental.

What remotes work? Link Direct touch screen input Web interface, including add-on interfaces Standard Android and iOS remote Apps

Touch screen controls Link Context menu: Two finger single tap the menu item. Go Back: Two finger swipe left. Zoom into/out of Image: Pinch. Slide out menus: Hold the menu item to bring it up, then swipe right to access the sub content.

Troubleshooting

Where can I get more help with XBMC for ATV2/iOS? Link XBMC for iOS specific help forum or the #xbmc-ios IRC chat channel on irc.freenode.org

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

Where are the Userdata folder and logs? Link See How-to:Submit a proper bug report for bug reporting details, here for instructions on reporting an issue to the forums, and How-to:find and post XBMC.log for iOS for how to extract the debug and other logs. 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? Link 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? Link Hold "menu" and "down" buttons for 5 sec.

Why are there no navigational sounds in XBMC's menus? Link 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! Link Delete /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/userdata/guisettings.xml

I have enabled DTS or AC3 but don't have any sound? Link It's probably not the XBMC software on your ATV2, but has to do with your receiver. Try this solution.

Some of my AC3 files stutter or have static noise Link 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".

How can I stop my videos from constantly buffering? Link Try using a different protocol (especially if you are using SMB), i.e. UPnP or FTP, and avoid using Wi-Fi if possible.

Why is the dpkg command hanging/freezing when I'm upgrading XBMC? Link This issue should be resolved in the latest nightlies. Stopping the hung command with CTRL+C should fix the problem. If not, there is a workaround.

My ATV2 is crashing, am I out of space/memory or running the wrong version, how can I fix it? Link Check your logs for clues. Do you have Firecore Media Player installed? Try removing it and testing again. Have you verified proper ownership of your settings? Is a software update crashing XBMC? Try blocking them. Are you using a feature rich skin? Check to see if you're running out of memory. Have you run out of space on your ATV2? Check with "df -k". If any /dev/disk* filesystems are at 100%, use "du -h /" to see what's taking up space. Does your xbmc.log have any SQL errors? Remove your databases and reboot: "rm -f /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC/userdata/Database/*db". Are you running the latest nightly? It'll have the most recent bug fixes.