The PBS App requires no fee to download or activate. Your PBS app will provide you with a short alphanumeric code which you can then enter at our site https://www.pbs.org/activate to activate.

We strongly recommend entering this website directly into your browser's URL bar to navigate to the site directly, or clicking the link above or here. 

Attempting to perform a web search for these key terms or sites may return websites unaffiliated with PBS which advertise assistance with activating your device for a fee. You may also encounter these sites if you use a third-party QR scanning app instead of your phone's native camera app to scan the QR code for the PBS App (scanning the QR code is not required to activate the PBS App, and you can type pbs.org/activate manually into your web browser).

Warning signs that you are speaking with someone unaffiliated with PBS:
  • You receive a message or speak to someone saying you need to pay a fee to activate the PBS App
  • You are asked or advised to download an app onto your device to activate the PBS App. Only the PBS App is required to watch PBS videos.
  • The person you speak with does not actually identify as working with PBS, but rather a generic company name like "TV App Activation Company"

PBS has no affiliation with these websites or companies. The official PBS Device Activation website will not ask you to enter any billing information or advertise a fee to activate the PBS channel.

In addition, PBS Help Desk agents will never ask for:
  • Your personal password for your email or other login accounts you may own
  • Your billing information
  • A fee to activate the PBS App or create a PBS account
If you have visited one of these websites and provided them with your billing information, we recommend you contact your bank and credit card company to report the issue. We also recommend changing any personal passwords you may have provided.

We are currently working with our legal team and contacts at Google to have malicious sites taken down from search result pages.

If you have any questions on the above information, you can submit a ticket below.