Apple TV 4K Guide: Sideload Apps with no Jailbreak

If you own an Apple TV 4K, then you’re lucky to have such an amazing device. You not only use it for its actual purpose – as a TV, but you can also have a ton of apps from the tvOS App Store, along with its capability of rendering video content in 4K+ high dynamic range (HDR).

Some owners love to have more than what’s already available on the tvOS App Store, so they turn to jailbreaking their device.

We have made a guide on how to add more content on your Apple TV 4K, without jailbreaking it. This guide is also available for those who own an Apple TV 4.

Sideload Apps Without Jailbreaking your Apple TV 4K/Apple TV 4

1. Pair with Xcode your Apple TV 4k on your Mac. If you don’t have Xcode, you can get it from the Mac App Store.
2. Launch Xcode on your Mac.
3. Go to the main menu tab in Xcode (top right) and search for ‘Window’ -> ‘Devices and Simulators’. There you will find the UDID of the Apple TV.
4. You must go to developer.apple.com and register the device.
5. Log into the Apple Developer site: ‘Account’ -> ‘Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles’.
6. Clicking on ‘+’ will allow you to add your Apple TV. That’s where you add the UDID.
7. Inside Xcode, on your Mac, create a new tvOS project and add to Xcode your Apple ID.

Attention: If you use a free account for developers, you must sideload the app every seven days. If you pay for the developer account, you can get the app for 12 months.

8. You will see a ‘Team’ tab in Xcode that will let you choose a team name from your account (– as an Apple developer). Xcode will get a provisioning profile and a signing certificate.
9. Open: ‘iOS App Signer package’ and follow all the instructions you see. You must give the .DEB file of that app that you want to sideload on your TV. Make sure that Signing Certificate and Provisioning Profile look like Xcode. After that the .DEB file will be converted into a signed IPA file to let you sideload apps.

Attention: ‘iOS App Signer package’ must be downloaded, if you don’t have it.

10. Once finished with the signed IPA file, go to Xcode menu tab -> ‘Windows’ -> ‘Devices and Simulators’ -> ‘+’. Choose the IPA file that was given by the iOS App Signer.
11. Your Apple TV 4K is connected to Xcode. You will sideload apps through Xcode and check them out in its menu tab -> ‘Installed Apps’.

Now you can have more fun with your Apple TV 4k!