Frequently Asked Questions
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Before posting new issues on GitHub or asking the team or community, please look for your question here or search the 💢Troubleshooting sub-sections within each of the wikis.
🛑 STOP! Before you continue…
Where did you install the app from?
Official GitHub: 👍 __
Elsewhere: 👎 read below…
🚫 3rd-party builds are NOT supported nor approved. They are… not current, probably buggy and generally unsafe (unapproved modifications, malware, adware and may require backdoor profiles), and when Apple revokes their misused profiles, you will probably lose your games and saves:
Delete the 3rd-party app and any profiles they may have installed.
Boycott them (stop using, sharing, or supporting their sites).
Re-install from the official source only:
—or we cannot help you.
No.
No.
Due to copyright law, we cannot share ROMs or where to obtain them. You are legally allowed to make personal backup copies of your own purchased games for personal use as ROMs. Anything outside of this, you are on your own.
DO NOT ask us or the community where to obtain ROMs or BIOS files.
Currently, there is not a safe method for you install the app to your device(s) from the internet via web-signing—any 3rd party sites hosting the app are not approved nor endorsed by the Provenance team. Do not use them.
This is usually due to one of the following reasons…
You are using a free Apple developer account, which requires you to re-sign every 7 days. You can…
You were using an unsupported 3rd party build of the app and Apple revoked the provisioning profile as it violates their terms of use. You should…
Delete the 3rd-party app and any profiles they may have installed.
Boycott them (stop using, sharing, or supporting their sites).
Could be any number of the following reasons:
You could have a bad ROM. Replace it.
Provenance supports the system-wide Dark mode of tvOS. To enable it go to tvOS Settings → General → Appearance → Dark ✓
All cores should run full speed on any generation Apple TV, or iPhone 7 or newer.
Turn off Smoothing and CRT effects in the application settings.
Devices as old as iPad 2 should run up to 16 bit generation systems at full speed. A complete performance comparison has not been done but this is a general guideline based on user reports and developer testing.
Use a hardwired ethernet instead of WiFi for imporoved Bluetooth performance.
Use your TV's low latency or "game mode".
Turn off Dolby Vision.
Disconnect / unpair any unused bluetooth devices.
Remove any solid metal or thick walls from around Apple TV device to improve Bluetooth signal. Try to store not too close to anything using WiFi.
Beta-testing: Testers¹ are welcome, but only when following these rules:
Only report against the very latest develop build²
Be very conscious of the active conversations in the #bugs channel on Discord. ¹ There is a major difference in just 'using' the beta and actually participating in beta-testing. ² You can install the beta alongside of stable release if you use an alternate Bundle ID.
Web: We are looking for a web dev (preferably a dev/designer hybrid) that can help us upgrade and maintain our .com (WordPress).
Content: We are looking for advocates who are interested in recording content for YouTube with the app in action.
Refer to .
Make sure you follow each and every step when . Do not skip anything or make any assumptions. If stuck, refer to Troubleshooting. If still stuck…ask for on our Discord.
A full list of currently supported systems can be found on the wiki.
Yes. Controllers using Apple's standardized MFi format are 100% supported. Provenance also supports some non-standard iCade-type controllers (8bitdo, etc) and Valve's Steam Controller. As of iOS/iPadOS 13, Xbox One and Playstation 4 controllers are also now supported. See .
A full list of mapped controls for MFi gamepad profiles per system can be found in . (iCade controller map coming later, if still supported by Apple).
An ongoing list of supported and recommended controllers and reviews can be found in .
You don't need a Mac if you are a release, which is cross-platform.
If , you don't technically need a Mac, just macOS. Using a custom built Hackintosh or virtual machine () with macOS would suffice. If these are not an option, sideload the current release or wait for the next release (beta is build only).
Beta prereleases can be found , however may not host the very latest dev build which you can always get by
As a small team, we prefer to not make promises we will break with release dates. You are welcome to check development status via our and (though they are subject to change) and join the community on our server.
using the same Apple ID used previously.
over the app using the same Bundle IDs used previously.
to a paid Apple developer account and use the app indefinitely.
Re-install from the official source only:
If using beta this could be a bug… check the open , specifically labelled:
You might be attempting to load a ROM for an unsupported system. Check .
Your ROMs might not be using a supported extension or file format (such as .bin for Atari or Sega systems). Refer to .
If multi-file ROM (ie. .cue + .bin), check if the filenames match the .cue file contents. Refer to Formatting ROMs: .
Multi-disc Games require an .m3u file in order to swap discs, specific filename formatting. Refer to Formatting ROMs: .
Your BIOS files might be wrong, even if named correctly. Check md5 hashes of your BIOS files as compared to what is listed in to be certain.
Unfortunately, not all emulator cores feature 100% compatibility with all ROMs. If the system has more than one core option [which is shown at launch (ie. NES: FCEUX vs mednafen), unless you've specified a preferred core for that particular ROM or system], try the alternate core for that game specifically. Some emulation core teams have compiled and maintain compatibility lists (such as Yabause (Sega Saturn)), which can be found linked in our wiki.
File format and/or filename requirements are specified in .
Refer to Formatting ROMs: .
You might have built the debug version by mistake (app will be named Prov Debug on Home Screen and the version displayed in Settings will be DEBUG)… If so, using Provenance-Release (iOS) or ProvenanceTV-Release (tvOS) in Xcode.
On older devices, to speed up N64, change #define FORCE_RICE_VIDEO 0 to #define FORCE_RICE_VIDEO 1 in
Development: We are always looking for new devs. The best way to get started is to browse the open and submit code as a to our GitHub with a fix. See our page for further information.
Read
Pay attention to #git-updates activity on Discord or the on GitHub.
Check the and on our GitHub, before reporting bugs.
Moderators: We are looking for moderators for our Discord to help maintain and moderate the community. If interested, start by joining our and helping other users to boost your rank in the levels system that awards experience for user participation.
Helpers: You are welcome to offer assistance to new users in the channel on our Discord.
🗯 If you cannot find the answers you're looking for…you may ask for on our Discord.