Surge for tvOS Usage Guide

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Surge for tvOS finally opened its beta. I upgraded my Apple TV and documented the steps here.

Notes

tvOS 17 introduced third-party VPN support, enabling Surge to build a tvOS client. Minimum system: tvOS 17.
The tvOS VPN only proxies the Apple TV itself—it doesn’t act as a router.

Upgrade Apple TV to tvOS 17 beta
- On iPhone, open Apple’s Developer app → Account → sign in (no paid developer membership required).
- On Apple TV, sign in with the same Apple ID. Go to Settings → System → Software Updates and enable beta updates. If the toggle isn’t visible, reboot.
- Install the beta.
Join the Surge TestFlight beta (iOS)
- Visit https://nssurge.com/account → click Apply TestFlight.
- Follow the invite link on iPhone, install TestFlight, and update Surge to the beta.
- In TestFlight on tvOS, install Surge.
Deploy a profile to tvOS
- Launch Surge on Apple TV.
- On iOS: Surge → More → Extra → Surge tvOS, pick the Apple TV and the profile, then tap Deploy.
- Back on tvOS, open Surge and tap Activate.

Please configure using Surge iOS under the same iCloud account first, and then try again after waiting for a few minutes.

Deploy the profile from iOS (Step 3) and try again.

Surge only handles device-level proxying. For whole-network routing, use a router/gateway solution.

Remove the TV from Surge iOS (home screen → Surge Ponte), then redeploy.

Surge for tvOS currently doesn’t count against your iOS license quota—free to use during beta.

After this setup, Apple TV can proxy traffic cleanly. Router-based solutions still work, but Surge makes per-device control effortless.

Last updated on Jul 30, 2023