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.
