How To Turn On Apple TV Autoplay?

As an Apple TV owner, I know how frustrating it can be when you want to watch the next episode of your favorite show, but don’t know how to turn on autoplay. After doing some research and testing, I’m here to share how I solved the problem and some other solutions I discovered. In this blog post, I’m going to explain how to turn on Apple TV autoplay so that you can keep the entertainment going.

Autoplay is turned off by default on Apple TV whether you’re using this on a Macbook, Roku, or another device. Apple has no direct autoplay feature, but there are workarounds. You can add your favorite shows to a playlist that will automatically play, use the Up Next feature, or some users have had luck starting an episode then backing out to the Watch Next tab where shows will automatically autoplay.

Quick Tips on Apple TV Autoplay
Autoplay is disabled by default on Apple TV.
Workarounds for autoplay include creating a playlist, using the Up Next feature, and the Watch Next feature.
To stop autoplay on Apple TV, simply exit the Up Next feature or exit your playlist.
Autoplay is disabled by default on all devices that can run the Apple TV app.
Make sure to have your favorite episodes loaded into a playlist for using the Up Next feature to get autoplay to work on Apple TV.
Update and restart your Apple TV device to ensure that autoplay functions properly.

Table of Contents

How To Turn On Apple TV Autoplay?

There are a few ways to enable autoplay on Apple TV. Here are the three easiest.

Create a Playlist

The easiest way to enable autoplay is to use a playlist with all of the episodes that you want to continuously play.

You can add entire seasons, or even multiple seasons, to a playlist and they will automatically play new episodes until you manually stop watching.

Use the Up Next Feature

The Up Next feature is the suggested content that Apple TV thinks you will enjoy.

To get a season of a TV show into your Up Next feed, all you need to do is start watching it in your library and the next episode will automatically populate in Up Next. Watch episodes of up next to have the next episode automatically play.

Use the Watch Next Feature

Some users have reported that they can successfully get Apple TV to autoplay by backing out of an episode of their library and then finding the same TV episode in their Watch Next tab.

This has had mixed results for users and might depend on the device that you were using to watch Apple TV.

How do I stop Apple TV from automatically playing?

Apple TV leaves autoplay disabled by default. If you’re just watching episodes, they will not automatically play the next episode. In order to disable autoplay on Apple TV, all you need to do is exit the up next feature or exit your playlist.

Back Out of Your Playlists

Some users accidentally get stuck in autoplay when they watch their favorite shows on a playlist. Apple TV has an autoplay function for custom user playlists.

In order to stop this function, all you need to do is watch episodes from your library instead of from your playlist.

Why is Apple TV autoplay not working?

Apple TV autoplay is disabled by default on all devices that can run the Apple TV app. You need to create a playlist, use the Up Next feature, or manually change episodes on Apple TV. Apple has not announced an easier autoplay function for their devices.

Check Your Settings

The first thing you should do is to check your settings. Autoplay is not a feature that Apple TV has readily available.

Make sure that you have your favorite episodes loaded into a playlist for using the Up Next feature in order to get autoplay to work on Apple TV.

Update and Restart Your Apple TV Device

Some users have reported that they needed to update and restart their Apple TV device before Up Next and the playlist feature will automatically play new episodes.

There is a small chance that an Apple TV bug is preventing playlists from automatically playing your next episode. Updating your device should correct these problems.