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 ATV2

Install XBMC on iPhone/iPad

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General FAQ

Where can I find more iOS-specific information about (or support for) XBMC?

iOS-specific end-users forum or the FAQ

I have XBMC installed, how do I update to the latest version?

Update XBMC on ATV2. (It's recommended to keep all packages current with "apt-get update && apt-get upgrade" or "apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade" if there are packages held back and you believe it's safe to install/update them.)

Update XBMC on iPhone/iPad

What platforms are supported today?

We support up to and including iOS 4.3 (build 8F305) in both the official XBMC build and nightly builds.

What XBMC version is the iOS release?

The current iOS version based on the 11.0 "Eden" version code. It was originally based on pre 10.0 "Dharma" code but since has been merged and updated.

Where are the UserData folder and the debug log?

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

Debug log can be found at /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/xbmc.log

UserData folder can be found at /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC

What remotes work?

The iPhone and iPad variants take direct screen input.

The ATV2 remote works with XBMC and can be customized. The Apple Remote app works but keyboard/gesture support isn't in the official releases yet. All iOS apps should work, e.g. Rowmote Pro (requires helper, see nitoTV), XBMC Control, etc. Visit the forum if you run into issues.

Bluetooth keyboards can be used after BTstack is installed using either nitoTV or the command line. [1]

Harmony Remotes have experimental support and you can teach the ATV2 to use most standard IR remotes via Settings > General > Remotes > Learn Remote.

The original XBOX remote does not work.

How do I get to the context menu?

Apple remote: Press and hold MENU will pop up the context menu on an item in a list.

Touchscreen: double tap the menu item.

How do I bring up slide out menus?

Apple remote: Press to the right on the remote with the appropriate list item selected.

Touchscreen: Hold the menu item to bring it up, then swipe right to access the sub content.

General Apple remote functions can be found here.

I've changed resolutions once, how do I change them back?

Only way to fix this at the moment is to delete guisettings.xml, found in your user datafolder (see above).

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

Unfortunately, most skins aren't designed with touch in mind. The only way to fix this problem, currently, is to delete or edit guisettings.xml, found in your userdata folder.

What formats and resolutions will iOS devices play?

The Apple TV 2, iPhone 4, iPad 1, and iPod Touch 4 will all play back all formats currently supported by XBMC. All devices are capable of decoding 1080p video, though video larger than 1920x800 will currently cause hiccups on occasion.

How do I add a video media source for an SMB (CIFS/Samba/Windows) share?

There are tutorials available on YouTube and Google. If you want more detail, you can read the following instructions.

• Enable file sharing on the computer with the share and then share that specific folder.
• Add the media source in XBMC.

Note: You must manually add a new network location, and specify the IP address where your share is located as Apple iOS devices are unable to resolve the host name of your remote machine

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

Apple TV 2 specific FAQ

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.

Where can I find the version of XBMC and iOS that I'm running?

For XBMC, XBMC main menu > System > right-click Apple TV remote > System info (it's at the bottom). For iOS, 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.

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. [2] 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

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.

Where are the logs on the ATV2?

Syslog: /var/log/syslog

CrashReporter: /var/logs/CrashReporter/*.plist

Debug log: /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/xbmc.log

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

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