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AppleTV and iTunes loses connection

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chalupa_batman

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2010
34
1
When I first start up iTunes, I can choose a movie or TV Show from the AppleTV to play, but after ~20 minutes it loses connection and returns to the AppleTV's home screen. From there I can still see my library on the AppleTV, but it just spins when I choose something.

Where it gets weird is is I can push the movie or TV show to the AppleTV without any issues. An entire movie can play without any issues.

It was working correctly up until I updated iTunes to 11. I'd prefer to not have to downgrade iTunes as 11 significantly sped up my library. Having to get up after every 22 minute TV show to start the next one completely defeats the purpose of me buying the thing.

I am running Windows 7 x64 with the latest version of iTunes and the latest software on ATV. Everything is wireless as Ethernet is not an option where the devices are located.
 
I

institute

macrumors regular
Oct 10, 2012
177
0
I find that setting a DHCP reservation in the router and the computer with iTunes helps make Home Sharing more stable. Also make sure you have updated to the most recent iTunes and ATV firmware which I find very stable (seems you have done this, good). Finally for your current problem reboot the router, the ATV and the computer, preferably after you set the DHCP reservations.
 
C

chalupa_batman

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2010
34
1
institute said:
I find that setting a DHCP reservation in the router and the computer with iTunes helps make Home Sharing more stable. Also make sure you have updated to the most recent iTunes and ATV firmware which I find very stable (seems you have done this, good). Finally for your current problem reboot the router, the ATV and the computer, preferably after you set the DHCP reservations.
Click to expand...

Both the computer and the ATV have DHCP reservations configured in the router.
 
ftaok

ftaok

macrumors 603
Jan 23, 2002
6,486
1,571
East Coast
I have similar issues with iTunes11 on a WinXP laptop. The PC will lose its connection, but Macs on the same network are fine.

A reboot of the aTV usually solves the issue for a few weeks.
 
C

chalupa_batman

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2010
34
1
Any other suggestions? I guess if I have to I can downgrade to 10.x so long as 11 didn't do anything to the config files that I would need to worry about.
 
R

RedCroissant

Suspended
Aug 13, 2011
2,268
96
matt011990 said:
When I first start up iTunes, I can choose a movie or TV Show from the AppleTV to play, but after ~20 minutes it loses connection and returns to the AppleTV's home screen. From there I can still see my library on the AppleTV, but it just spins when I choose something.

Where it gets weird is is I can push the movie or TV show to the AppleTV without any issues. An entire movie can play without any issues.

It was working correctly up until I updated iTunes to 11. I'd prefer to not have to downgrade iTunes as 11 significantly sped up my library. Having to get up after every 22 minute TV show to start the next one completely defeats the purpose of me buying the thing.

I am running Windows 7 x64 with the latest version of iTunes and the latest software on ATV. Everything is wireless as Ethernet is not an option where the devices are located.
Click to expand...

matt011990 said:
Both the computer and the ATV have DHCP reservations configured in the router.
Click to expand...

matt011990 said:
Tried that. Connection will last a tv show if I'm lucky.
Click to expand...

matt011990 said:
Any other suggestions? I guess if I have to I can downgrade to 10.x so long as 11 didn't do anything to the config files that I would need to worry about.
Click to expand...

Well I know you said that you are running Win7 64, but what type of computer is it and how much RAM do you have? What type of router do you have? How close is the router to your ATV? What frequency are you using?

I was running into this problem with my machine as well recently(PowerMacG5) and my new ATV3, and what I had to do was change the channel on my router. That temporarily fixed the problem but it turned out that I just needed more RAM because my older machine was not doing well enough with 2GB RAM running iTunes and Home Sharing . Once I did that, the problem was fixed.
 
C

chalupa_batman

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2010
34
1
RedCroissant said:
Well I know you said that you are running Win7 64, but what type of computer is it and how much RAM do you have?
Click to expand...
Custom build
AMD Phenom II x6 1055T
16GB RAM

RedCroissant said:
What type of router do you have? How close is the router to your ATV? What frequency are you using?
Click to expand...
Linksys E4200 running DD-WRT
Router is on first floor in living room.
Desktop and ATV are about 10 feet from each other
 
R

RedCroissant

Suspended
Aug 13, 2011
2,268
96
matt011990 said:
Custom build
AMD Phenom II x6 1055T
16GB RAM


Linksys E4200 running DD-WRT
Router is on first floor in living room.
Desktop and ATV are about 10 feet from each other
Click to expand...

Well I see that computer power isn't the issue, so I would try the following:

1. changing the channels for your router.
2. Then reset the network settings on your computer(remove your network from your preferences and then reconnect it.
3. Reset the wireless settings on the ATV and then set it up as though it were new again.

If that doesn't work, then I don't know what to tell you.

Is your set up on the second floor then directly above the living room? Or it the router in one corner of the house on the first floor while your computer set up is in the opposite corner on the second floor?

And do you temporarily lose your Internet when the ATV starts to act up?
 
C

chalupa_batman

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2010
34
1
RedCroissant said:
Well I see that computer power isn't the issue, so I would try the following:

1. changing the channels for your router.
2. Then reset the network settings on your computer(remove your network from your preferences and then reconnect it.
3. Reset the wireless settings on the ATV and then set it up as though it were new again.

If that doesn't work, then I don't know what to tell you.

Is your set up on the second floor then directly above the living room? Or it the router in one corner of the house on the first floor while your computer set up is in the opposite corner on the second floor?

And do you temporarily lose your Internet when the ATV starts to act up?
Click to expand...

Setup is on the second floor. The router is in the middle of the house on the first floor. The computer is not directly above it, but about 20-25 ft North. I do not lose any internet access anywhere when the Apple TV acts up, in fact the Apple TV still sees the computer as I can browse movies, tv shows, and music, but I cannot select them from the ATV to play. I just get the spinning wheel.
 
R

RedCroissant

Suspended
Aug 13, 2011
2,268
96
matt011990 said:
Setup is on the second floor. The router is in the middle of the house on the first floor. The computer is not directly above it, but about 20-25 ft North. I do not lose any internet access anywhere when the Apple TV acts up, in fact the Apple TV still sees the computer as I can browse movies, tv shows, and music, but I cannot select them from the ATV to play. I just get the spinning wheel.
Click to expand...

How long have you owned the ATV3? Could it be one of the models that was part of the replacement program?

Here's a story about ti and the serial numbers that would be applicable:

http://www.appletvhacks.net/2013/04/16/apple-replacement-program-apple-tv-3-wifi-connectivity-issues/
 
C

chalupa_batman

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2010
34
1
RedCroissant said:
How long have you owned the ATV3? Could it be one of the models that was part of the replacement program?

Here's a story about ti and the serial numbers that would be applicable:

http://www.appletvhacks.net/2013/04/16/apple-replacement-program-apple-tv-3-wifi-connectivity-issues/
Click to expand...

Haven't had a chance at all to change the router settings, but I did run a Wireshark scan last night. As far as I could tell there was no issues with the network. They were able to keep communicating even when I could not use the Apple TV to play the next TV show
 
R

RedCroissant

Suspended
Aug 13, 2011
2,268
96
matt011990 said:
Haven't had a chance at all to change the router settings, but I did run a Wireshark scan last night. As far as I could tell there was no issues with the network. They were able to keep communicating even when I could not use the Apple TV to play the next TV show
Click to expand...

They would be able to still communicate but there must be interference from somewhere that could be causing this problem. You might not have to do the other stuff that I suggested, but definitely change the channel on your router and see if that helps.
 
C

chalupa_batman

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2010
34
1
RedCroissant said:
They would be able to still communicate but there must be interference from somewhere that could be causing this problem. You might not have to do the other stuff that I suggested, but definitely change the channel on your router and see if that helps.
Click to expand...

Messed with the wifi settings for a while and nothing changed.

lexvo said:
There are a lot of discussions about this issue. For me, it seems like it is a problem with iTunes and/or the computer going to sleep and /or something else. Here is an example of a long thread about it:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2613875?start=0&tstart=0
(it starts about the ATV2, but it applies to the ATV3 as well)

You could try to set the sleep settings of your computer to a longer period.
Click to expand...

My computer is set to never sleep, so that is out of the question.
I will read through this weekend. Thanks!
 
Last edited:
C

chalupa_batman

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2010
34
1
So the network completely stopped working. I took it to Apple today and they replaced it (it was one of those that qualified for the exchange program). I'll give it a week or so before making any conclusions and post back.
 
StevenB14

StevenB14

macrumors regular
May 23, 2012
225
46
Scotland
institute said:
I find that setting a DHCP reservation in the router and the computer with iTunes helps make Home Sharing more stable. Also make sure you have updated to the most recent iTunes and ATV firmware which I find very stable (seems you have done this, good). Finally for your current problem reboot the router, the ATV and the computer, preferably after you set the DHCP reservations.
Click to expand...

This solved my problem with home sharing dropping out every so often.
 
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