In an email blast, Netflix gave a heads-up to subscribers, confirming it’s dropping support for pre-tvOS Apple TV models from 2012 and earlier.
“You’re receiving this email because you’ve used Apple TV 2nd generation and/or 3rd generation with Netflix in the past,” reads the email spotted on Reddit.
“Unfortunately, we’re sunsetting support for these devices on Jul 31, 2024.” The service will continue streaming on the fourth-generation Apple TV (2015) and all versions of the Apple TV 4K after the cut-off date.
Netflix is shutting down support for older Apple TVs
If you still have an old second- or third-generation Apple TV, you will no longer be able to stream Netflix, starting July 31, 2024. The streamer said it’s killing support for outdated hardware “to ensure you maintain the best possible Netflix experience.”
Apple launched the second-generation Apple TV in 2010 with the current black box design, 720p video output, an iPhone chip, and a variant of iOS (the original 2017 silver model resembled a Mac mini and ran an Intel chip).
The second-generation Apple TV was a short-lived model. The Cupertino company replaced it after two years with the third-generation Apple TV (discontinued in 2016), which upgraded video output resolution to 1080p, among other improvements.
Apple TV 4K arrives in 2017
Both were succeeded by the fourth-generation Apple TV, aka Apple TV HD (2015), which brought the tvOS operating system, the Siri Remote, and a dedicated App Store for third-party apps and games.
The Apple TV 4K arrived in 2017. The Apple TV 4K has since undergone three revisions and is the only model Apple offers, available in Wi-Fi ($129) and Wi-Fi+Ethernet ($149) versions.