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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Apple has notified its retail stores, authorized resellers, and AppleCare employees about WiFi issues being experienced by a small portion of its third generation Apple TVs, reports 9to5Mac. The units are having issues locating and joining WiFi networks and maintaining a connection.
Apple has determined that a very small number of Apple TV (3rd generation) products might experience one of these Wi-Fi related connectivity issues:

Cannot locate network

Unable to join network

Dropped or intermittent connection.
Apple technicians are authorized to replace affected products for two years from the original date of purchase at no charge to the customer after verifying that the devices are running software version 5.2.1 and that there are no third party interference issues.

The Apple TVs experiencing connectivity problems feature the following serial numbers:

atvserialnumbers-800x180.png
The third generation Apple TV, which features support for 1080p video, was first released in March of last year. It was later tweaked in late January to include a smaller A5 chip.

Update: According to several readers, Apple has acknowledged that it initially erred in referring to the character pairs appearing the third and fourth positions of the serial number. The listed pairs would actually occur in the fourth and fifth positions.

Article Link: Apple Initiates Replacement Program for 3rd Generation Apple TVs With Wi-Fi Connectivity Issues
 

lifeinhd

macrumors 65816
Mar 26, 2008
1,428
58
127.0.0.1
Oh wow, I've actually had mine replaced twice due to this. My third unit seems to be doing well, but this is great to know.

Also: what's the best news about this is seeing Apple actually acknowledge a problem. Too often they just remain silent or deny there's a problem, which is extremely frustrating :(
 

LimeiBook86

macrumors G3
May 4, 2002
8,001
45
Go Vegan
Glad to know they are admitting there may be an issue and are replacing units which have the issue. Mine seems to be okay. :)
 

64Mario64

macrumors regular
Mar 14, 2013
192
2
...How about getting rid the HDCP so I can actually use mine without running it through a Faroudja and manually selecting the input in order to, in the end, obtain a slightly messed-with image?
 

Aquaporin

macrumors 6502a
Jun 27, 2005
513
218
USA
Is there any chance this also affects the iPhone 4S? My 4S has terrible transfer speeds while connected to my home router. Two MBPs connect without issue.
 

GenesisST

macrumors 68000
Jan 23, 2006
1,802
1,055
Where I live
Although I don't have trouble connecting, I do notice that sometimes NetFlix will downgrade to crappy. blocky video... Even if speedtest.net shows a constant speed of 30 mbps...

Will check my serial number now...

EDIT: nope... had it been 4th and 5th alphanumerical it would have been yep... Feels like missing the last number of the lottery.... well, maybe not...
 
Last edited:

you people smh

macrumors regular
Oct 20, 2011
151
0
typical apple response

Oh wow, I've actually had mine replaced twice due to this. My third unit seems to be doing well, but this is great to know.

Also: what's the best news about this is seeing Apple actually acknowledge a problem. Too often they just remain silent or deny there's a problem, which is extremely frustrating :(

This is a welcome change from their old reliable "you placed it by your tv wrong"
 

D.T.

macrumors G4
Sep 15, 2011
11,050
12,460
Vilano Beach, FL
Although I don't have trouble connecting, I do notice that sometimes NetFlix will downgrade to crappy. blocky video... Even if speedtest.net shows a constant speed of 30 mbps...

Will check my serial number now...

Yeah, I just picked up two new ATV3s, and neither are having any issues yet, but I'm going to cross check my serials just to know I have an option _if_ they do start acting up...
 

Carlanga

macrumors 604
Nov 5, 2009
7,132
1,409
Mine didn't last 5 mins connected. I had already sent it for replacement about 2 months ago and my 'new' refurbished replacement unit has been working great so far.
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
Oh wow, I've actually had mine replaced twice due to this. My third unit seems to be doing well, but this is great to know.

Also: what's the best news about this is seeing Apple actually acknowledge a problem. Too often they just remain silent or deny there's a problem, which is extremely frustrating :(

To their staff. They haven't sent a public notice like the Seagate hard drive thing. And there is nothing yet about refunding out of warranty repairs etc
 

Rumple

macrumors member
Jul 21, 2011
92
0
Mine works but more often buggy, and can not connect to my itunes most of the time. That is a pain in the rear being the main reason I own an apple tv. Tons of netflix connection errors where i'm about ready to give up on using it at all. I have no idea if mine is bad it seemed ok before the last update.


I like to add mine has no problem connecting to my home network/extreme base station just connecting to my mac ( waking it up), and netflix servers.
 

applefanDrew

macrumors 65816
Jul 17, 2010
1,437
4
My serial is DY5H9DT2DRHN. Am I eligible? It says the 3rd and 4th but the H9 is the 4th and 5th alpanumeric letters.
 

mushroomtip

macrumors 6502
Oct 27, 2012
354
0
the timing couldn't be better . ill be within a mile of the Apple Store this Friday and will be replacing this Badboy .
 

Krazy Bill

macrumors 68030
Dec 21, 2011
2,985
3
Well, crap. I'm on the list. Apple just can't do Wi-Fi. Be it a signal loss on my MBP or the inability to sync with iTunes. :(

Yeah, I know... I'm probably holding it wrong.
 

mattroman246

macrumors 6502
Mar 19, 2009
488
4
Upstate NY
Mine ends in DRHN but does not have the other alphanumeric characters. Seriously the ********* airplay ever, songs just stop. Guess I'll bring it down to them and have it checked out for sure
 

T5BRICK

macrumors G3
Aug 3, 2006
8,313
2,387
Oregon
My serial is DY5H9DT2DRHN. Am I eligible? It says the 3rd and 4th but the H9 is the 4th and 5th alpanumeric letters.

I wouldn't think you are officially eligible, but if you're having problems it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Mine is covered in that group but I haven't ever had a problem with WiFi, save for the occasional Netflix bug. I'll try to remember to take it in next time I'm by the Apple store, but it isn't really a priority for me.
 
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