Apple TV has run into a fresh headache as users report purchased or rented movies playing with no sound.
The bug – first reported to 9to5Mac at the beginning of July – affects the Apple TV app across multiple platforms including smart TVs, tvOS, and third-party streaming sticks.
Affected customers complain of purchased content being muted with no way to turn on sound, a problem speculated to be the result of glitchy digital rights management (DRM) software refusing to decode soundtracks even though the content was legitimately purchased or rented.
Customers have also had difficulty resolving the issue with Apple customer support, sometimes just receiving refunds instead of fresh working copies of the affected titles, and other times not getting anything back at all.
The bug is another problem for Apple, whose Apple TV+ subscription service has struggled to compete with rivals such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, taking only three per cent of the US market in the June quarter.
