I don’t know how to fix your problem but I am curious about it.
I assume you have an old iPhone tied to your iCloud account. What happens if you untie that phone and wait like a day (some iCloud stuff is weird and can take about 24 hours to update server side info)
Pretty sure you don’t need one. I’ll look into it later tonight and get back to you though
Edit: tried resetting my Apple TV with a throw away account not linked to other Apple devices. Worked fine
You don’t. I’ve set one up without a single other Apple device in the house.
In order to update my Apple TV, they tell me I have to have a newer phone.
Similar to: https://www.reddit.com/r/appletv/comments/ys4z35/apple_tv_is_now_unusable_without_an_iphone/
Now you can use it, but guess what is required for future app updates? Later OS updates. It’s a trap.
I don’t know how to fix your problem but I am curious about it.
I assume you have an old iPhone tied to your iCloud account. What happens if you untie that phone and wait like a day (some iCloud stuff is weird and can take about 24 hours to update server side info)