Apple TV down: Nearly 15,000 users face outage in the US and Canada amid Pluribus release
Apple TV experienced an outage impacting 15,000 users in the US and Canada on November 7, shortly after the premiere of Pluribus. The issues began around 10:30 p.m. ET, with Apple confirming they were investigating the disruption.
Apple Inc.’s streaming platform, Apple TV, went down for around 15,000 users on Friday (7 November), minutes after the premiere of Pluribus, a drama from the creator of Breaking Bad. The outage affected viewers across the United States and Canada, starting around 10:30 PM ET, when users reported crashes and failed playback. Apple later confirmed the disruption, saying it was investigating the issue.
Here's what happened
Complaints quickly surged on Downdetector, highlighting the scale of the outage. Apple also reported temporary issues with Apple Music and Apple Arcade, indicating a wider service disruption. According to the Downdetector, 64% users faced issues with the server connection, 34% with the app, and 2% with downloads in the US. The live outage tracking map highlighted Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, and other areas as affected.
Bad timing for a key release
Mark Gurman, an expert on Apple from Bloomberg, also tweeted on his official X account on Friday, “Apple TV goes down on premier night of new show Pluribus. Many users reporting the issue. Haven’t seen the service go down like this before,” sharing the screenshot of the platform not working.
The downtime coincided with the launch of a heavily promoted series expected to boost Apple TV subscriptions. Pluribus was set to compete with other streaming giants such as Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video.
Apple’s services division — including Apple TV+, Music, and iCloud- is now a major revenue driver, posting $28.8 billion in the September quarter, a company record. Some users reported partial restoration of Apple TV+, though intermittent issues persisted. Apple said it continued monitoring systems to restore full service.
Frustrated Apple TV users took to X to voice their complaints about the outage.
One user, @TimSerewicz, wrote, “@AppleTV y'all been down 10 minutes. App works, every show fails and troubleshooting doesn't show anything else. All other channels work. YOUR site says you're up. Your tools are fooling you! Apple TV is down and they don't even know it.”
Another X user shared their frustration while watching a different show:
“On the last episode of slow horse and apple tv is down.”
Meanwhile, @vishrutkmr, also an X user, tweeted, “I should be working rn but Apple TV is down and I can’t watch Pluribus.”
- The outage coincided with the premiere of a major new series, highlighting potential challenges during peak usage times.
- Apple's services division is critical to its revenue, emphasizing the importance of reliable streaming.
- User reports on platforms like Downdetector showcase the real-time impact of service disruptions on customer experience.