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AppleTV gets really hot!

S

supercooled

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 6, 2007
737
1
I'm not sure if this is an isolated case but my AppleTV gets really hot. I left it plugged in for no more than 1 hour just playing with the menu and transferring some files over from my computer then I noticed how hot it was to the touch. I would say it's very warm. Is this the normal temperature of these things; and if so, do people unplug them when not in use? I have it in the same entertainment cabinet as my Xbox360 so I'm trying to keep the heat as low as humanly possible.

Thanks
 
Mine runs very hot too. I've tended to place it on objects that dissipate the heat - the large metal plate on the top of CD player, glass shelf etc.

AppleMatt
 
as the others stated it is supposed to get hot, the case is designed to dissipate heat so it is silent with no fan, is there a reason to ever touch one?
 
I'm more concerned for my Xbox than anything else. It's pretty cramped as it is so I thought the perfect placement was to have it sit on top of the Xbox; in hindsight that's no longer a wise decision.

Anyway, good to know and thanks.
 
Here's a tip I recommend everyone do to keep their Apple TV well ventilated.

Put a couple of small blocks underneath the apple TV so that the majority of the base isn't touching the surface below. This will allow more air to move beneath the device.

My Apple TV sits above my DirectTV HD Receiver. I used some spare bicycle tire-irons for blocks to lift the unit off the surface of the receiver. So there's about a 1 inch gap between the Apple TV and the receiver.

It gets warm to the touch, but never hot.
 
Make sure that the unit is well ventilated and away from any other heat producers.

Putting it too close to a tv/vcr/dvd is not a good idea as it will just create a heat convection belt.

Remember that the unit has a HDD -- a spinning disk -- which will always heat up.
 
Jeff Hall said:
Put a couple of small blocks underneath the apple TV so that the majority of the base isn't touching the surface below. This will allow more air to move beneath the device.
Click to expand...
I used two corks, cut in half - which had the advantage of requiring me to drink two bottles of wine first. :D
 
I have mine sequestered in the basement, feeding the heating ductwork for the house. An added side benefit is that my heating bill dropped in half.

I will be in trouble in the summer, though. :rolleyes:
 
When I first got mine I had it in a cabinet, sitting on my DVD player, with only a little room around it for air circulation. It wasn't long before I noticed warm air coming out of the cabinet, and the :apple:TV itself was roasting. I moved it to the top of the cabinet, where airflow above and on the sides is essentially unrestricted, and it made a fair difference. The thing still gets pretty hot though.
 
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