1st Gen Apple TV Owners Lose iTunes Store Access

First generation Apple TV owners can't connect to the iTunes Store any more, and it isn't clear if the issue is temporary, or if Apple is leaving those users behind. The problem started late last week, and so far there hasn't been any resolution.

First gen Apple TV owners lose iTunes Store accessFirst gen Apple TV owners lose iTunes Store access

A discussion about the issue first appeared on Apple's own forums last Thursday, and TMO readers contacted us about the problem over the weekend. The issue seems to affect all first generation Apple TV models, but send and third generation units are fine.

The device can still access the Internet, which means services like YouTube work, but any content from the iTunes Store is no longer available.

"Both of my 1st gen Apple TVs are having problems, the video and audio are pausing and jumping during playback. They both worked find a few days ago, but they simultaneously developed this same problem," a first gen Apple TV owner and TMO reader Wayne told us. "Funny thing is, when I disconnect them from the internet, they work just fine."

That seems to be a common theme among Apple TV owners on Apple's forums. "The Trailers option flickers off when selected but if I am quick enough I can access it. The trailers will stutter, pause and lag," said Apple forum member georgevargas. "No access to the iTunes Store at all for movies, tv shows, or podcast. Youtube works without a problem."

Some Apple TV owners are speculating that the issue is somehow related to the heartbleed bug in OpenSSL, which could be an indicator that Apple updated backend software and security certificates to help protect from potential hackers. Heartbleed is a code flaw that gives hackers the ability to request random memory fragments from Internet servers, which could ultimately give them the private security keys to decrypt secure communications between users and servers.

If Apple has changed backend software, then it'll most likely need to issue a software update for the first generation Apple TV that recognized the new security keys. Considering Apple stopped selling that model in 2010, there may not be much incentive for the company to issue a new software update now.