Apple TV - Device Name - Unable to Adjust

Plex Players Streaming Devices
1

Server Version#: 4.90.1
Player Version#: 8.8 (3720)

I’m working on some web hooks for lighting changes. All going well but I want them based on the device playing and can’t get the Apple TV name to change (simply shows as “Apple TV”). Now when I play anything in the house it adjusts the Living Room lights.

I’ve tried:

  • Changing device name in ATV settings.
  • Changing device name from the Apple Home app.
  • Re-installing Plex app after name changes.
  • Searching high and low in Plex settings. Found nothing.

Any help is welcomed, thanks in advance!

Screen Shot 2022-09-08 at 7.19.46 AM
Screen Shot 2022-09-08 at 7.19.46 AM700×494 65.5 KB

1 Like
2

Anyone able to assist on this??

3

I don’t think you can adjust the client name – at least not in a way that Plex will recognize.
IIRC it used to pick up the name you set to the device in tvOS settings; not sure if/when it lost that capability.

4

It appears to be a tvOS 16 thing. Two Apple TVs on 15.6 are fine, two on 16 are not.

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5

I’ve never notice this only having one Apple TV myself but if this is working on 15.6 then assuming a bug on 16 and will make a bug report.

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6

Thank you! Just confirmed to be sure. 15.6 showing room, 16.0 just showing “Apple TV”

Screen Shot 2022-09-15 at 4.52.28 PM
Screen Shot 2022-09-15 at 4.52.28 PM1274×392 135 KB

2 Likes
7

This also applies to iOS. Apps now need a specific entitlement to get device names.

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uidevice/1620015-name

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/entitlements/com_apple_developer_device-information_user-assigned-device-name

4 Likes
8

I’ve just been pointed in this direction having experienced the same issue.

I guess it only becomes an issue if you have more than one apple tv. Is payload.Player.uuid different for each player, and does it stay the same over time? This could then be used to identify the player?

9

Do we know if any fix is in the works? I feel like Plex used to have the option to adjust the device name from the client side (way back when)

10

The Apple TV app has always used the name from the device, not a setting in the app as far as I am aware.

Right now we are going over Apples rules to see if they will grant us permission to read that data from the Apple TV. Like they don’t allow third parties to see the device name which is intended i think so like a device name could not be shared with an advertiser for example, but a server owner might be considered a third party who maybe would not be allowed to see a friends Apple TV is named living room on dashboard.

If we can’t do that we may have to make our own setting in the Apple TV app.

Unfortunately I do not have an ETA on either resolution

11

Any update on this? It makes the web hooks largely useless for certain scenarios (in my case, lighting and curtains when something starts playing on a certain device - we have three Apple TVs in different rooms, and they all just show up identically).

12

We are working on the approval from Apple.

1 Like
13

Just checking in to see where we’re at in this. Thanks!

14

Plex can you please let us know what, if anything, is happening in relation to the two solutions to the problem which you mention. I’m assuming there have been no changes to the Apple TV app. Are any planned?

15

I’m keen to here of a solution too

16

waiting on this as well

17

Me too.

18

Bumping this. Any news? Four months since any kind of news?

19

Bumping again. December we were waiting on approval?

20

Have you find a solution for this? I have the same problem