Products · Product
Apple TV
Raised as a usability problem by 276 people on Hacker News over 18 years (2009–2026), in 208 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Remote is overly sensitive and tiny, easy to loseUnreviewed
20092026- Button presses for navigating the TV UI produce unpredictable outcomes and are slow to scroll2026-03-07
- Remote is beautiful to look at but awful to use2025-04-19
- Old thin touch-sensitive remote was hard to use and error-prone2025-03-18
Netflix content missing from search, forcing app-by-app searchingUnreviewed
20092026- Netflix shows missing from unified watch history, forcing slow manual searching across services2025-12-01
- Search shows rental prompts for shows already watched and omits Netflix results2025-10-31
- Users must hunt across iTunes, Netflix and Prime to find one show2021-12-05
Touch pad accidentally triggered, causing unwanted actionsUnreviewed
20092026- Remote stops working and must be reset with a multi-button hold-and-wait sequence2025-05-08
- Too sensitive; clicking accidentally triggers left/right movement commands2022-08-17
- Brushing the remote accidentally pauses, fast-forwards or changes channels, forcing a scramble to undo it2021-06-26
Can't tell which show is selected; highlighting too subtleUnreviewed
20092026- Impossible to tell which show card is currently selected2026-09-10
- Hard to tell which item is the active selection on screen2026-01-12
- Can't tell which show is selected because highlighting is too subtle2025-10-11
Voice search sends users to iTunes store instead of current appUnreviewed
20092026- Pressing the mic button by accident drops you out of your current app into search2022-09-28
- Siri launches instead of search when searching for an app by voice, and dictation needs an extra swipe-down step2022-06-21
- Voice commands only work in the search field, so users keep triggering the wrong behavior2021-04-26
Ads now appear on the home screenUnreviewed
20092026- Ads launch before shows and can't be turned off, forcing users to click through or wait2026-07-30
- Ads on the pause screen cover the content the viewer wanted to see2026-06-15
- Ads now appear on the home screen2025-03-03
Purchased shows drop from Up Next, requiring scrolling past episodesUnreviewed
20092026- Must scroll a single list of 178 episodes to find one2026-06-16
- Must scroll past subscription options to find the full series listing2026-02-18
- At episode end, must scroll horizontally through every episode to reach the next one2024-08-30
Remote touchpad hard to use, so it was turned offUnreviewed
20092026- Touchpad on the remote is hard to use, so the user turned it off2025-02-06
- Touch-based remote can't be used without looking at it and lights up the room2021-04-20
- No tap or click-based way to right or middle click on the remote2015-10-31
Separate wish list makes wanted movies hard to findUnreviewed
20092026- Can't search for local files in a large library on Apple TV2021-11-21
- Apple TV uses a separate wish list, making it hard to find wanted movies2012-12-31
- Searching for YouTube videos on Apple TV is barely tolerable due to input devices2011-01-23
Shows titles that require a different paid service to watchUnreviewed
20092026- Shows a show in progress that's actually on Netflix, prompting payment with no indication it's elsewhere2021-06-28
- Shows titles that turn out to require a different paid service to watch2020-10-19
- Included shows are mixed with paid third-party content, so users can't tell what's included2019-11-04
Cancelling free trial ends access immediately, with no warning before chargeUnreviewed
20092026- Cancelling requires the iPad, with no website option to cancel2024-02-20
- Cancelling a free trial immediately ends access and no warning email precedes the first charge2022-07-13
- Cancelling the free trial ends access immediately instead of letting it expire2020-09-15
Repeatedly asks to sign up despite active subscription, requiring workaroundsUnreviewed
20092026- Site repeatedly asks to sign up despite active subscription, requiring many workarounds to play a show2025-12-01
- Sign-up repeatedly errors out and blocks subscription purchase, forcing restarts2025-04-18
- Keeps pushing users to buy shows despite having a subscription2023-01-05
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Kids can't figure out the interface; weird unexpected behaviors after every action2026-10-25
- Father struggles to see and use the Apple TV interface2026-10-23
- Selected button is so subtly raised it is hard to see2026-10-22
- Can't tell which button is selected on multi-button screens2026-10-21
- Each app's settings default to on and must be turned off one by one2026-10-14
- Setup is deliberately laborious to push users into allowing telemetry2026-10-14
- Other streaming devices and built-in TV operating systems are very slow to interact with2026-10-14
- Switching users changes almost nothing; shared layout, screensaver and per-app logins are confusing2026-10-14
- Must pick a user again in each app, and apps start with the wrong account2026-10-13
- Siri fails to turn on subtitles that exist in Plex2026-10-13
- The interface is laggy, slow to respond to input2026-10-13
- Apple's own tvOS apps are poor quality and bugs go unaddressed for years2026-10-13
- Impossible to tell which show card is currently selected2026-09-10
- Ads launch before shows and can't be turned off, forcing users to click through or wait2026-07-30
- Must scroll a single list of 178 episodes to find one2026-06-16
- Accidental swipes skip ahead in video, forcing careful, deliberate input2026-06-15
- Gets unwanted notifications pushing a free streaming trial it didn't ask for2026-06-15
- Next-episode playback forces recaps and intros; skip lands before intro ends2026-06-15
- Ads on the pause screen cover the content the viewer wanted to see2026-06-15
- Home button opens the Apple TV app on one press, so people get lost and can't go home2026-04-14
- Locked out of Apple services because CVV on a reported-lost card could not be confirmed2026-03-27
- Users keep pressing wrong buttons, especially in the dark because buttons are unlit2026-03-21
- Button presses for navigating the TV UI produce unpredictable outcomes and are slow to scroll2026-03-07
- Must scroll all the way right before options appear; hard to reach more options2026-03-07
- Interface feels slow to render, and selecting visible items feels like discovery2026-03-07
- Asks which profile to use every time the TV is turned on2026-03-03
- Profile selection on a shared Apple TV shows the other user's photos instead of the person's own2026-03-03
- Videos sit endlessly waiting to start and never play2026-02-23
- Must scroll past subscription options to find the full series listing2026-02-18
- UI waits on network calls, causing lag and the TV constantly switching on and off2026-01-12
- Must subscribe through a specific channel to play content in the app2026-01-12
- Hard to tell which item is the active selection on screen2026-01-12
- Hard to tell which item is selected; touch remote accidentally changes selection2026-01-12
- Home button opens the Apple TV app instead of the home screen, requiring two presses2025-12-24
- Interface becomes laggy and unresponsive to interact with after update2025-12-22
- Streaming service and device share a name, making the device hard to find2025-12-17
- Netflix shows missing from unified watch history, forcing slow manual searching across services2025-12-01
- Site repeatedly asks to sign up despite active subscription, requiring many workarounds to play a show2025-12-01
- Search shows rental prompts for shows already watched and omits Netflix results2025-10-31
- Must manually pick PIN entry and navigate out of remote to approve parental controls2025-10-15
- Typed text desyncs from the phone and focus jumps to results mid-typing2025-10-15
- Single app combines purchases, keynotes, streaming and aggregation, making it hard to use2025-10-14
- Can't tell which show is selected because highlighting is too subtle2025-10-11
- Skipping gets stuck while DRM re-verifies, and the iPad app needs frequent restarts2025-10-05
- Impossible to conveniently read long text like terms of service on TV2025-08-25
- Focus-based remote navigation makes reading long text and finding clauses difficult2025-08-25
- Can't tell how to reach the unified view or which UI elements are selected2025-06-09
- Unwanted MLS and Apple TV+ entries permanently take up menu space and can't be turned off2025-05-12
- Remote stops working and must be reset with a multi-button hold-and-wait sequence2025-05-08
- Remote is beautiful to look at but awful to use2025-04-19