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Network and firewall requirements

Internet access, media delivery, and optional transfers between Apple TVs on your local network.

Updated September 22, 2026

Allow the cloud connection

The dashboard device and Apple TV do not need to share a local network for ordinary cloud delivery. A restricted firewall must allow both control traffic and media transfers; an online player can still have blocked downloads.

  • Dashboard: HTTPS access to app.bettersignage.io in the operator’s browser.
  • Player control: outbound HTTPS to api.bettersignage.io on TCP 443, with working DNS and valid TLS connections.
  • Media: allow the HTTPS media destination supplied by the service. Uploads and downloads may use signed Cloudflare R2 storage URLs rather than only the dashboard/API hostname.
  • Installation and updates: Apple TV also needs Apple’s App Store and software-update services.

Optional local peer delivery

Apple TVs on the same Better Signage account and local network can retrieve assigned media from an authorized peer. This uses encrypted local connections on TCP port 44438 and the tvOS Local Network permission.

Only enable the local access your network policy allows. Do not forward that port from the internet. Guest Wi-Fi isolation or separate VLANs can prevent peer delivery; ordinary cloud delivery does not require a publicly accessible player port.

When a managed network blocks playback

  1. Check whether the failure is pairing, dashboard access, or media download. Record its exact message.
  2. Ask your network administrator to review blocked outbound requests for the affected Apple TV or browser at that time.
  3. For media-host allowlisting, contact support with your deployment/network context. Do not post signed media URLs or tokens in a public forum.
  4. Use a stable network connection and leave enough bandwidth and time for the entire assigned playlist to download before a scheduled event.

Download time depends on media size and the connection. We do not publish a universal minimum Mbps figure or a complete fixed media-host allowlist.

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