You can downgrade tvOS 17 beta to the publicly available tvOS 16 update on your Apple TV HD. Here's how you do it.

Updated to tvOS 17 beta and want to downgrade back to tvOS 16? You can do it quickly as long as you have the Apple TV HD

Before you get excited, it's worth mentioning here that this tutorial is only applicable to Apple TV HD owners. The reason for that is absolutely simple - that Apple TV model features a USB-C port at the back, allowing you to connect it straight to your PC or Mac.

Download the tvOS 16.5 IPSW file

How it works is absolutely straightforward, too. First and foremost, download the tvOS 16.5 IPSW file from this link and save it to your desktop. That's the easy part, and easier if you have a fast internet connection.

Here comes the slightly tricky part.

Connect the Apple TV HD using a USB-C cable to your computer

Unplug your Apple TV HD from your TV, connect a USB-C cable at the back, and plug the other end into your computer. If you have a fast USB-C to USB-C cable, the process will go a lot faster for you. Once plugged in, you'll have to deal with the software part.

Use Finder or iTunes to restore the firmware

Launch Finder or iTunes on your Mac or PC. Your Apple TV HD should show right up on the left-hand side. Once it does, click on the tiny Apple TV-like icon. You'll see a limited amount of options, but what you will see immediately is a 'Restore Apple TV' button. You're going to click on that button while holding down the left Option key if you're using a Mac or the left Shift key if you're using Windows. A pop-up window will open up.

Select the tvOS 16 firmware file you saved onto your PC or Mac and let it do its thing. The firmware file will be extracted and restored onto your Apple TV HD, and you will be informed when the installation is complete. At that time, just remove the USB-C cable and plug the Apple TV back into your TV. Simple as that.

Conclusion

Installing and using beta software is never recommended unless you have a ton of spare devices lying around on which you can test everything out. I always recommend installing beta software after two to three developer betas have become available. At that time, stability can be felt across the board, and you won't run into that many issues compared to the initial release.