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In addition to the new iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, Apple also announced tvOS 17 during its WWDC23 keynote. The new version of tvOS brings some exciting new features to Apple TV, including a new Control Center, a FaceTime app that uses Continuity Camera support to connect to your iPhone or iPad, and more. All these enhancements are coming to your Apple TV later this year, but you can download the tvOS developer beta that's available through the Apple Developer Program to experience them now.

List of Apple TV devices compatible with tvOS 17

  • Apple TV HD (also known as Apple TV 4th generation)
  • Apple TV 4K (both models)

How to install tvOS 17

Here's the tricky part of installing beta software on an Apple TV: it doesn't have a web browser. That means that there's no way to get the configuration profile on your device without connecting it to a Mac. Note that if you wait for the public beta, you can just turn on beta releases through Settings.

Using the configuration profile

  1. Go to Apple Developer -> Develop -> Downloads and click the 'Install Profile' next to tvOS 17.
    An image showing the screenshot of tvOS 17 beta profile download listing.
  2. Make sure you have Xcode installed; you can get it for free from the Mac App Store, or you can get the new beta from Apple Developer. You also need Apple Configurator.
    A screenshot showing the Xcode download page on App Store.
  3. Make sure that your Apple TV is on, and connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Mac.
  4. In Xcode, go to Windows -> Devices and Simulators -> Devices.
    Xcode devices page, empty
  5. On the Apple TV, go into Settings -> Remotes and Devices -> Remote App and Devices, which will start the process of the Apple TV searching for devices to pair with.
  6. Back in Xcode, you'll see a Discovered section where you can select your Apple TV.
    Xcode devices page with Apple TV
  7. You're going to see a verification code, which you'll need to enter.
    Xcode devices page with Apple TV
  8. Open Apple Configurator and follow the instructions to set up the Apple TV, if it's not already done.
    Apple TV in Apple Configurator
  9. Click Add -> Profiles, and then add the configuration profile.
    Apple TV in Apple Configurator
  10. Check for updates on your Apple TV as you normally would.

Using the Restore Image

Just like with iOS 17, you can flash an image to your Apple TV. Strangely, Apple only makes this available for the Apple TV (4th generation). This is probably because the Apple TV 4K doesn't actually have a USB port on it.

  1. Go to Apple Developer -> Develop -> Downloads and download the Restore Image for the Apple TV HD.
  2. Connect your Apple TV to a Mac using a USB Type-C cable.
  3. In Finder, select your Apple TV.
  4. While holding Option, click 'Restore Apple TV.' Unlike with iOS, there's no option to check for updates, so this will do a factory reset.
  5. Navigate to the image that you downloaded and open it.

Apple tvOS 17 Developer Beta: Final thoughts

That's how you can download and install the first developer beta build of tvOS 17 on your Apple TV devices. The steps, as you can see, are fairly straightforward, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting the beta build up and running on your Apple TV device. A public beta build also be available to download soon, so you might want to wait for that one if you find all these steps a bit overwhelming.

The public beta builds are known to be more stable, and they're a better representation of the release candidate before it's released to the public. You can head over to beta.apple.com and sign up to be among the first ones to test the public beta software that's also relatively easier to install on your Apple TV devices.