Airplay Confusion? (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

Here’s the situation. Last night will streaming a movie from Disney+ via our ATV 4K, an Airplay message from Randy’s iPhone popped up saying to enter the confirmation number into a device. It went away and came back with another number. This happed another two time or so then stopped. The ATV is Ethernet wired into an eero network. The password is 10 characters of gibberish, couldn’t just be guessed.

I called Apple this morning and the tech said Randy’s iphone had to have been into my wifi network because Airplay requires it. I called eero and the tech said the phone just had to be in the vicinity but not logged in. Can this be true? We’ve got some knowledgeable people here, set me straight.

BTW, my next door neighbor is Randy and while I don’t know him all that well, it’s hard to believe he’d hack into my wifi.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It sure sounds like your neighbor was accessing your network. If you know him, I would politely ask Randy to check his phone to see which network he is attached to. At the very least, it will let him know you noticed his presence on your network.

I would also change my network password, as well as account passwords. I am not familiar with eero networks, but you should also be able to block his specific device by its MAC address. Cannot be too careful under the circumstances.

 

[Johnny Angell]

It sure sounds like your neighbor was accessing your network. If you know him, I would politely ask Randy to check his phone to see which network he is attached to. At the very least, it will let him know you noticed his presence on your network.

I would also change my network password, as well as account passwords. I am not familiar with eero networks, but you should also be able to block his specific device by its MAC address. Cannot be too careful under the circumstances.

Changing my network password will require changing the password on a whole bunch of devices. Holy crap! I won’t know his MAC address unless he does it again.

What puzzles me is I don’t think either the wife or Randy are the type to do it or have the technical know how. My pass was literally generated by a password generator and it total gibberish and could not be guessed.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Johnny - It sounds like Randy’s iPhone is hitting your Apple TV using peer-to-peer Airplay via Bluetooth. You can verify this by going into your eero app and looking at devices actively connected to your wifi as well as scrolling to the bottom of the screen to see recently connected devices. If his phone isn’t showing up there, he’s not on your wifi.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Here’s a link to Apple’s explanation of it.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Bluetooth has a limited distance range - - probably no more than 35 feet or so. How far away is your neighbor?

 

[Thomas Newton]

Here’s the situation. Last night will streaming a movie from Disney+ via our ATV 4K, an Airplay message from Randy’s iPhone popped up saying to enter the confirmation number into a device. It went away and came back with another number. This happed another two time or so then stopped. The ATV is Ethernet wired into an eero network. The password is 10 characters of gibberish, couldn’t just be guessed.

I called Apple this morning and the tech said Randy’s iphone had to have been into my wifi network because Airplay requires it. I called eero and the tech said the phone just had to be in the vicinity but not logged in. Can this be true? We’ve got some knowledgeable people here, set me straight.

BTW, my next door neighbor is Randy and while I don’t know him all that well, it’s hard to believe he’d hack into my wifi.

What does your WiFi access point / router support in the way of guest networking? Is it possible that you have guest access enabled, and misconfigured?

 

[Johnny Angell]

Bluetooth has a limited distance range - - probably no more than 35 feet or so. How far away is your neighbor?

I’ve seen it go further and I think the peer to peer via Bluetooth is the most likely explanation.

What does your WiFi access point / router support in the way of guest networking? Is it possible that you have guest access enabled, and misconfigured?

No guest account.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I’ve seen it go further and I think the peer to peer via Bluetooth is the most likely explanation.

If you do not use Bluetooth on the Apple TV yourself, you can probably disable it to prevent this from happening. Heck, I didn't even know BT was an option on the device.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

If you do not use Bluetooth on the Apple TV yourself, you can probably disable it to prevent this from happening. Heck, I didn't even know BT was an option on the device.

But won't that mean disabling the included Siri remote too?

I don't usually use mine, but I'm finding there are some specific instances/uses my Harmony 665 remote don't/can't seem to match, so I keep mine at hand just for those instances...

_Man_

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

From the Apple link @Clinton McClure provided, probably wanna change this AirPlay setting on your ATV4K to the 2nd option, if that's not what you already have... unless you really want the peer-to-peer BT capability:

Apple TV also contains a setting that allows you to choose — or manage with a mobile device management (MDM) payload — how users connect:

• Everyone can use AirPlay: Users connect only over peer-to-peer to Apple TV.
• Anyone on the same network can use AirPlay: Users on the same Wi-Fi network can AirPlay to Apple TV.
• Off: AirPlay is disabled, and users won’t be able to AirPlay toApple TV.

_Man_

 

[Scott Merryfield]

But won't that mean disabling the included Siri remote too?

I don't usually use mine, but I'm finding there are some specific instances/uses my Harmony 665 remote don't/can't seem to match, so I keep mine at hand just for those instances...

_Man_

Don't know, I do not use the Siri remote -- only my Harmony 665. The Apple remote is stored away with all my other OEM remotes.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Don't know, I do not use the Siri remote -- only my Harmony 665. The Apple remote is stored away with all my other OEM remotes.

That's also what I usually do w/ OEM remotes, but have kept this one at hand (and used for brief moments on occasion)...

_Man_

 

[Ted Todorov]

If you do not use Bluetooth on the Apple TV yourself, you can probably disable it to prevent this from happening. Heck, I didn't even know BT was an option on the device.

This same thing is bound to happen sooner or later in our apartment - our neighbors are closer than 35ft, and some of them even have AppleTVs - I see theirs in my screen mirroring choices. But I can't turn of BT because I use it for my Bose headphones for the AppleTV

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

This same thing is bound to happen sooner or later in our apartment - our neighbors are closer than 35ft, and some of them even have AppleTVs - I see theirs in my screen mirroring choices. But I can't turn of BT because I use it for my Bose headphones for the AppleTV

Seems you should be able to disable just the BT Airplay, not all BT capability, if you want:

Airplay Confusion?

Here’s the situation. Last night will streaming a movie from Disney+ via our ATV 4K, an Airplay message from Randy’s iPhone popped up saying to enter the confirmation number into a device. It went away and came back with another number. This happed another two time or so then stopped. The...

www.hometheaterforum.com

_Man_