Independent reference · not affiliated with any streaming service or TV maker · no assistance offered
TV Activation Reference
A field guide to the codes on a TV screen

The code on the screen, and where it really goes

When a streaming app on a television prints a short code and a short address, it is asking for a sign-in it has no keyboard to take. This guide describes that mechanism, records what each service’s address opens and asks for, and shows how to read an address so that the right company — and only that company — receives the code.

Revised 28 September 2026Ten service plates · four guide pages

What the screen prints

Each plate below is a schematic of a service’s screen: the printed address as the service prints it, and the shape of the code. Wording and layout differ from one television to another; the address and the shape do not.

What a Roku screen prints: roku.com/link and a short link codeOn a phone or computer, openroku.com/linkand enter the code shown hereor scanSample screen — not a real code
Plate 1 · A Roku screen prints the address roku.com/link beside a short block of letters and digits, and on current models a square code to scan. Roku does not publish the code’s length, so the slots here are schematic. Read the Roku entry.
What the YouTube app on a TV prints: yt.be/activate and a code in two groups of fourOn a phone or computer, openyt.be/activateand enter the code shown hereWDJBMJHTor scanSample screen — not a real code
Plate 2 · The YouTube TV-app screen prints yt.be/activate with a square code beside it. Google’s own documentation shows the code as two groups of four letters (its example is GQVQ-JKEC); the sample here uses the letters from the internet standard’s example instead. Read the YouTube entry.
What the Prime Video app prints on a non-Amazon TV: amazon.com/mytv and a short codeOn a phone or computer, openamazon.com/mytvand enter the code shown hereSample screen — not a real code
Plate 3 · On a Roku, a smart TV or a console, the Prime Video app prints amazon.com/mytv (in some countries primevideo.com/mytv) and a short registration code. Amazon does not publish the code’s length; the slots are schematic. Read the Prime Video and Fire TV entry.
What a Netflix TV screen prints: netflix.com/tv2, a square code and an eight-character codeOn a phone or computer, opennetflix.com/tv2and enter the code shown hereor scanSample screen — not a real code
Plate 4 · A Netflix TV screen offers a square code to scan and, beneath it, the address netflix.com/tv2 with an eight-character code in two groups of four. The page the address opens has eight matching slots. Read the Netflix entry.
What the Apple TV app prints on another maker’s TV: link.apple.com, a square code and a codeOn a phone or computer, openlink.apple.comand enter the code shown hereor scanSample screen — not a real code
Plate 5 · The Apple TV app on a non-Apple television offers a square code to scan and the address link.apple.com with a code beneath it. Apple’s page does not state the code’s length; two groups of four are drawn as a schematic. Read the Apple TV app entry.
What a Disney+ TV screen prints: DisneyPlus.com/begin and an eight-digit codeOn a phone or computer, openDisneyPlus.com/beginand enter the code shown here12345678Sample screen — not a real code
Plate 6 · The Disney+ app on a TV prints DisneyPlus.com/begin and an eight-digit code — a shape Disney+ states outright on its own pages. The digits shown are a sample. Read the Disney+ entry.
What a Hulu TV screen prints: hulu.com/activate and an activation codeOn a phone or computer, openhulu.com/activateand enter the code shown hereSample screen — not a real code
Plate 7 · The Hulu app on a TV prints hulu.com/activate and a short activation code once Activate on a computer is chosen. Hulu’s page does not state the code’s length; the slots are schematic. Read the Hulu entry.
What an HBO Max TV screen prints: HBOMax.com/signin, a square code and a six-digit codeOn a phone or computer, openHBOMax.com/signinand enter the code shown here123456or scanSample screen — not a real code
Plate 8 · The HBO Max app on a TV offers a square code to scan and prints HBOMax.com/signin with a six-digit code. The six-digit shape is stated on HBO Max’s own page; the digits shown are a sample. Read the HBO Max entry.
What a Peacock TV screen prints: peacocktv.com/tv and a codeOn a phone or computer, openpeacocktv.com/tvand enter the code shown hereSample screen — not a real code
Plate 9 · Once Sign In is chosen, the Peacock app on a TV prints a code and the address peacocktv.com/tv. Peacock’s page does not state the code’s length; the slots are schematic. Read the Peacock entry.
What a Paramount+ screen prints on a Roku: paramountplus.com/roku and a codeOn a phone or computer, openparamountplus.com/rokuand enter the code shown hereSample screen — not a real code
Plate 10 · On a Roku, the Paramount+ app prints paramountplus.com/roku; on a Fire TV it prints /firetv, on an Apple TV /appletv, and so on. Paramount+ does not state the code’s length; the slots are schematic. Read the Paramount+ entry.

The plates

The guide

  1. How TV sign-in codes work

    The mechanism behind every plate: two codes, one shown and one hidden; a short address typed by hand; a TV that asks every few seconds whether it may proceed; the square code that carries the code with it; and what the standard says about impostors.

  2. What a genuine code page asks for

    Sign-in first, code second, sometimes a consent screen — and the longer list of what no genuine page requests: a fee, a card beside the code, remote access, a telephone number, software, or someone else’s code.

  3. Reading the address on the screen

    The owner’s name sits just before the dot. Why a typed roku.com/link lands on my.roku.com, and yt.be/activate on a Google Accounts page, and the six shapes a look-alike takes, drawn with reserved example names.

  4. Where the code appears, by device

    A platform’s own link code and each app’s code are different accounts at different addresses. Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, smart TVs, consoles and provider boxes, sorted by who is asking.

In one picture

Every service in this guide uses the same exchange. The TV asks its service for two codes and prints one of them with an address. A phone or computer opens that address, signs in, and hands over the code. The TV, which has been asking the service every few seconds, is told it may proceed.

The exchange between a TV, the service and a phone during a code sign-inThe TVThe serviceA phone1 asks for a code pair2 user code + short address(device code stays hidden)the screen printsWDJB-MJHT3 address typed, sign-in,code entered4 every few seconds:done yet?5 signed in —the screen changesThe phone never talks to the TV; only the service sees both codes.
Five messages. The phone and the TV never talk to each other; only the service sees both codes. The guide page on how codes work explains each step.

About this guide

TV Activation Reference is an independent reference publication produced by Swati Kumari. It describes how code sign-ins on televisions work and what each service’s own pages say; it is not connected to any of the services or device makers it describes, and it offers no sign-in, no code entry and no assistance of any kind. Every address recorded here was opened and read on the date shown at the top of the page; the sources are listed at the foot of each entry. The pages About and How this guide is funded say who writes it and why.