I can’t keep watching this
A couple of questions related to syncing your TV app usage across devices have come across the transom. Six Colors subscriber Jason owns two Apple TVs of different vintages, both updated to the latest tvOS production release. He notes:
The older [HD] 4th generation device always seems to lose the ability to update the TV app for the Continue Watching list. I’ll watch something on TV+, and it won’t update the list; same for Max, Hulu, Paramount+, etc. Manually marking episodes as ‘watched’ on that device won’t reliably push that status across other devices (the 4k Apple TV, iPad, iPhone).
Six Colors reader Mark had a related question:
I use the TV app on two different Macs. My play counts and other info does not transfer between Macs. It seems that only my iMac gets info from Apple TV, not the MacBook Pro. Is there a way that I may copy that info (play counts, ratings, etc.) from iMac to the MacBook Pro?
It’s a minor inconvenience but one that itches like a mosquito bite. The whole point of sync is that we don’t have to track these little nubs of friction—we defer to the device ecosystem to make it work. Is there anything we can do to fix this?
Viewing history should just sync
The only exposed part of the interface for managing how the TV app tracks what you’ve watched and other related data comes from settings for the app on different platforms:
- In tvOS, iOS, and iPadOS: Go to Settings > Apps > TV and make sure Use Play History is enabled.
- In the TV app for macOS: Go to TV > Settings > Play History. Use Viewing History should be checked.
As long as all of the respective devices you want to sync are logged into the same Apple Account to use for iCloud syncing, metadata should sync freely among your devices.
As is usual with Apple’s black-box approach to settings and features, you could try toggling the states above: disable, enable. Wait a bit. Does that help?
If not, the only obvious way to affect this is by clearing the play history, which is not desirable as you lose all that information. To clear that history:
- In tvOS: Go to Settings > Apps > TV and choose Clear Play History.
- In the TV app for iOS, and iPadOS: Tap your avatar or initials in the upper-right corner of the app, then tap Clear Play History.
- In the TV app for macOS: Go to TV > Settings > Advanced and click Clear Play History.
For now, that’s the end of the line. People have posted complaints on Apple and related forums about how play history broke for them with the fall 2024 releases and hasn’t started working again. They can sometimes resume syncing temporarily by pursuing either the toggle or clear strategy above, but it doesn’t stick.
It sounds like our only hope is to wait for it to be fixed in tvOS 19—or, as is being reported, tvOS 26.
For more Apple TV insight
If you’re looking for advice in setting up or using an Apple TV, particularly a 4K (1st generation or later), take a look at Take Control of Apple TV, Fifth Edition. I recently took over revising this book from original author Josh Centers, and we just released a version fully up to date with features through tvOS 18.5.
[Got a question for the column? You can email glenn@sixcolors.com or use /glenn in our subscriber-only Discord community.]
[Glenn Fleishman is a printing and comics historian, Jeopardy champion, and serial Kickstarterer. His latest books are Six Centuries of Type & Printing (Aperiodical LLC) and How Comics Are Made (Andrews McMeel Publishing).]
If you appreciate articles like this one, support us by becoming a Six Colors subscriber. Subscribers get access to an exclusive podcast, members-only stories, and a special community.