Apple TV Guide
OrbVPN for Apple TV
Secure, private streaming on the biggest screen in your home. OrbVPN for tvOS is a native app built for the Siri Remote, with focus-based navigation, Smart Connect, and a kill switch that protects every app on the device.
One purchase, every Apple device
OrbVPN on Apple TV is part of the same universal App Store listing as the iPhone, iPad and Mac apps. If you already own OrbVPN on any Apple device, the Apple TV app is included at no extra cost — sign in with the same Apple Account and it appears in Purchased.
No separate purchase
There is no standalone Apple TV price. Your OrbVPN subscription and your App Store purchase both carry over, and your account's device allowance covers the Apple TV like any other device.
Built for the big screen
A native tvOS interface with large focus targets, clear typography and generous spacing, designed to be read comfortably from across the room.
Siri Remote navigation
Move through the whole app with the Siri Remote. Focus-based navigation makes server selection and settings quick without a keyboard.
Smart Connect
One click races protocols, transports and mimicry profiles and settles on whatever survives on your network right now — the same engine as the phone app.
Installation
Open the App Store on Apple TV
From the Apple TV home screen, open the App Store app. You need tvOS 17.0 or later; check Settings → General → Software Updates if you are unsure.
Search for OrbVPN
Use the Search tab and type or dictate 'OrbVPN'. Because tvOS shares your Apple Account, apps you already own show a download icon instead of a price.
Install and open
Select Get (or the download icon) to install, then open OrbVPN from the home screen.
Sign in
Enter your OrbVPN credentials. If typing on the remote is awkward, a prompt appears on a nearby iPhone or iPad so you can type there instead.
Allow the VPN configuration
tvOS asks permission to add a VPN configuration. Approve it — this is what lets OrbVPN protect traffic from every app on the device, not just the browser.
Faster sign-in
If your iPhone is nearby and signed in to the same Apple Account, tvOS offers to fill in text fields from the phone keyboard. That is much quicker than typing a password with the Siri Remote.
Connecting
Pick a server
Choose a location from the server list, or leave it on Auto and let Smart Connect decide.
Press Connect
The status card turns green when the tunnel is up and shows your new public IP address.
Verify
The app confirms that real traffic is flowing and that your public IP actually changed, rather than only reporting that the tunnel opened.
In heavily filtered regions
Leave the protocol on Auto (Smart Connect). It tries OrbMesh's mimicry profiles in turn and avoids transports that are dead on your network — for example UDP during an internet shutdown. Pinning a single protocol by hand is the most common reason a TV fails to connect where a phone succeeds.
What the Apple TV app does
Kill switch
If the tunnel drops, traffic is blocked rather than falling back to your normal connection. It applies system-wide, so every streaming app on the Apple TV is covered.
Protocol mimicry
Tunnels can be disguised as ordinary HTTPS and other common traffic, so deep packet inspection sees nothing unusual.
Full server list
The same locations as the phone and desktop apps, including bridge-mode entry servers where direct international links are blocked.
Post-quantum encryption
The same modern cryptography used across OrbVPN, so the Apple TV is not the weak link on your network.
Differences from the iPhone app
Apple TV is a fixed, mains-powered device that runs one app at a time on a shared screen, and tvOS reflects that. A few things behave differently:
- No cellular or battery logic. Options tied to mobile data and battery saving do not appear, because there is nothing for them to control.
- No per-app split tunnelling. tvOS does not expose the per-app networking controls that iOS and Android do, so OrbVPN protects the whole device or nothing.
- Sign-in is account-wide. Signing in on the Apple TV does not sign you out anywhere else; it consumes one device slot like any other install.
- Always-on by design. Because the device is mains-powered, leaving the VPN connected is the normal mode rather than something you toggle per session.
Want per-app control on the TV?
Use SmartDNS instead for apps that must see your real location, and keep the VPN on for everything else. SmartDNS is configured in network settings and does not need the OrbVPN app running.
Troubleshooting
App not in the App Store
The Apple TV App Store only shows apps that support tvOS 17.0 or later. Update the device under Settings → General → Software Updates, then search again.
Connects, but streaming still geo-blocks
Some services cache your previous location. Force-quit the streaming app by double-pressing the TV button and swiping up, then reopen it after the VPN is connected.
Connection drops on standby
tvOS suspends networking in deep sleep. Set Settings → General → Sleep After to a longer interval, or reconnect from the app after waking the device.
Cannot type the password
Sign in from the prompt that appears on a nearby iPhone or iPad, or paste the password using the Apple TV Remote app on your phone.
Related guides
iOS Guide
Set up OrbVPN on iPhone and iPad — the same App Store purchase as your Apple TV.
Android TV Guide
Running OrbVPN on Android TV or Google TV devices.
SmartDNS
Unblock region-locked services without routing every byte through the tunnel.
Protect the biggest screen in the house
OrbVPN for Apple TV is included with your existing App Store purchase. Install it, sign in, and every streaming app on the device is covered.