Typing a server address, a username and a password with the Apple TV remote is slow and easy to get wrong. With Cobi Player on your iPhone, iPad or Mac you don’t have to: it shows an 8‑digit code, you enter it on the TV, and the account is there.
Step by step
- On the iPhone, iPad or Mac, set up your account first (Xtream or M3U by link).
- Open Settings › Transfer Account, pick the account if you have several, and tap Create Code. An 8‑digit code appears.
- On the Apple TV, choose Get Account from iPhone — on the welcome screen, or in the settings — and enter the code with the remote.
The code stays valid for 10 minutes. You can close the screen on the iPhone and walk to the TV; Cancel ends the offer early.
The same code moves an account to another iPhone, iPad or Mac too: on the receiving one, open Settings › Get Account from Another Device.
How it travels
While the code is valid, the account is offered on two routes at once: directly between the two devices — this works even when they are not on the same Wi‑Fi, over the same device‑to‑device link AirDrop uses — and through your own iCloud. The Apple TV takes whichever arrives first. The code is the key: the account is encrypted with it, and it is stored nowhere.
If nothing arrives
- The first time, iOS asks whether Cobi Player may find devices on your local network. Allow it — or switch it on later under iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network (on the Mac: System Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network).
- Keep Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth on, and the two devices near each other.
- “That code is not correct.” or “The code has expired.”: create a new code on the iPhone.
- An M3U playlist added as a file can’t travel — add it by link on the iPhone first.
No iPhone at hand? Add the account on the Apple TV by hand, or try the app first with Watch Preview Without a Server.
Updated 23 October 2026