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Apple broke PlexConnect Apple TV hack with this morning’s update

UPDATE: Workaround now available to restore access

Thanks to an easy DNS hack called PlexConnect, non-jailbroken Apple TV users have been able to unofficially run the popular media server Plex on the second and third gen Apple TV since we first told you about it back in June. The hack, which required users to run an app on their Mac or PC that masquerades as the Trailers app, appears to be blocked in the latest Apple TV update pushed out this morning.

Earlier today Apple rolled out an update to the Apple TV that introduced new apps for Vevo, The Weather Channel, Smithsonian, Disney Channel, and Disney XD. The update didn’t require users to initiate a firmware update, so many users are reporting waking up to the PlexConnect app no longer working through the Trailers hack. A growing number of users on the Plex forums confirmed that PlexConnect is unable to connect following this morning’s update.

It’s unclear if Apple is intentionally blocking the popular Plex hack or whether its possibly a result of tweaks to the Trailers app delivered with the update. Plex isn’t the only app that takes advantage of the hack. We reported earlier this year that a Russian subscription TV service was using a similar method.

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Comments

  1. Zrinka Marjanović - 11 years ago

    I really dont see why is apple doing such a closed and barring enviroment for the device which could bring thousands into the fold….

  2. Laughing_Boy48 - 11 years ago

    I knew it would happen. That PLEX install was a kludged mess, anyway. AppleTV should be kind enough to offer a fully supported PLEX channel. I’m not sure how it would hurt Apple very much to support it. Not having a PLEX channel is the main reason I won’t buy an AppleTV. Even FireCore can’t break ATV3, so I’ve given up. I can easily afford both a Roku3 and ATV3, but it’s really annoying to have to keep adding hardware boxes just to get all the channels available. I don’t have a need for Airplay yet but I’ll be ready to get an iPad soon.

    • Gavin Creber - 10 years ago

      FireCore have never jailbroken any device since….. EVER they put out Jailbreaks written by others & charge a subscription for ATV Flash which just installs .pkg’s available for free from nitoTV (ATV’s cydia). I now understand the username, you get laughed at for writing post about thing you clearly don’t understand. We all knew it would happen thats what always happens people find exploits & Apple close them, It’s not they don’t want you to use Plex per se, it’s that the same exploit could potentially be used maliciously, or a Russian TV service could start offering a paid TV service where Apple have no control over the content, parental controls etc etc.

  3. elmerfreak - 11 years ago

    It’s alive!…again
    http://langui.sh/2013/08/27/appletv-ssl-plexconnect/

  4. “a kludged mess”?? Hardly. PlexConnect was actually a brilliant work around, that was incredibly easy to install, and was truly one of the best UI’s for my Plex library I’d ever seen. I have Plex running on my NAS, and have clients on my PC, Mac, Android tablet and phone, and even my Smart TV… but the PlexConnect client on my AppleTV was the one I actually preferred using.

    Worked flawlessly. And for a brief second, made me NOT regret buying into the ATV in the first place. I was even on the verge of converting some friends when they saw how seamlessly everything worked. Now… I’m back to regrets, and my friends are all telling me “I told you so”. I’m going out tomorrow and buying a Roku. And I’ll probably never look at the Apple TV again. Too bad, Apple. I really don’t think your closed-mindedness is helping you.

  5. woozy (@cdewoozy) - 11 years ago

    Apparently there’s a fix: http://langui.sh/2013/08/27/appletv-ssl-plexconnect/
    If only I could find a micro-usb cable :<

  6. Fra FazioxTx - 10 years ago

    stupid apple. That is why I have a google tv.

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.