New to Apple TV - Remote and Reboot Issues

[msugolf]

I just purchased an AppleTV yesterday and everything was working fine. Today I was watching a movie and the remote quit working. After going through some troubleshooting I restarted the Apple TV but it wouldn't start back up, it would just display the apple logo with blinking amber light.

After leaving it for well over an hour it finally displayed the diagnostics screen and I ran the diagnostics (everything fine) and clicked restart. I was back into my system and everything was working fine until the screensaver came on and the remote didn't work again. However, i was able to hold Menu and - to get it to restart again. Now i'm in the endless loop of the blinking amber light.

Can anyone shed some light on the situation? or does it typically take 60+ minutes to reboot the device? (that seems way too long).

 

[aviddk]

I haven't purchased one yet. Here are a couple of articles I found that might help.

Apple TV: Remote causes LED to flash amber

Apple TV: How to run diagnostics


These are from the ATV support site

 

[msugolf]

Thanks for the articles. However, I am unable to get to the diagnostics screen even when holding Menu and (-) for a long time.

 

[MikieMikie]

I assume you've tried the lobotomy approach? Unplugging and letting sit for 30 seconds? Then re-plugging?

 

[msugolf]

Yes, many times. It still sits on the screen with the Apple logo and the amber light is blinking.

I'd assume it should reboot in a couple minutes right? It doesn't. The one time it did work (as mentioned above) it took over an hour for it to start working. I've tried restarting my router, using other cables, etc....

 

[MikieMikie]

Yes, many times. It still sits on the screen with the Apple logo and the amber light is blinking.

Sounds like a bad update. As I posted in another thread, a lot of stuff has to go right for an update of this magnitude to work. I'm surprised so few machines are crippled.

I'd assume it should reboot in a couple minutes right? It doesn't. The one time it did work (as mentioned above) it took over an hour for it to start working. I've tried restarting my router, using other cables, etc....

It should reboot in 30 secs max. Do you see the spinning icon under the apple logo? (That the amber light is blinking means only that it isn't happy.) If the logo is there alone, the OS hasn't booted.

If you can't get it running, why not take it back to the store? Unless it was mail ordered...

If you ever get it back to some screen where you can restore to factory, and then try to upgrade again, that might be your only hope of fixing it without taking it in. There's no magic button presses you can do.

 

[sJv]

Your appleTV paired itself with some phantom remote. to unpair it and make it work with your remote, press menu and left arrow for 6 seconds.

-steve

 

[msugolf]

After an hour waiting for the diagnostic screen it finally showed up. I clicked restart and it booted up. (Yes).

Two minutes later and my remote stopped working. Yes, I have replaced the battery already in case that was the issue.

Any ideas?

*Thanks Steve. I have tried that (while it is on the screensaver now) and nothing happened.

 

[MikieMikie]

So it sounds like, when it allows you to reboot, the first thing you should try doing is repairing your remote.

Assuming that succeeds, head directly to factory restore, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.

Then, upgrade and cross fingers.

Or, similarly, return it. It could be a defective unit. That has been known to happen.

 

[msugolf]

It is running right now, however the remote doesn't seem to work. Perhaps I only need a new remote? I am able to sync it using iTunes so I know the device is working properly. It's odd that the remote would only work for 2 minutes and then stop.

 

[MikieMikie]

It is a standard Apple remote, that comes with every Mac. If you know anyone with a Mac, you can borrow theirs and see if that is the issue.

 

[msugolf]

Thanks. I will try to use someone elses tomorrow night.

In the mean time, can i use a Harmony remote? or do i need to unpair my current (not working) remote first, before pairing the new one?

 

[MikieMikie]

You do not need to unpair to pair your Harmony.

Harmony has a preset for the Apple TV.

 

[sJv]

It is running right now, however the remote doesn't seem to work. Perhaps I only need a new remote? I am able to sync it using iTunes so I know the device is working properly. It's odd that the remote would only work for 2 minutes and then stop.

So you tried the menu + << and it didnt' work?

That should have done the trick.

no other remote will work until the ATV is told to unpair itself.

No need to do a factory reset.

[edit] just saw your response. This is odd. You hit a button on the remote and the ATV flashes amber, right? This is a common problem and usually is fixed by the menu <<. It sounds like you have a different problem then. May need to call Apple support?

-steve

 

[msugolf]

Yes I have tried Menu + <<

Nothing happens when i touch the remote. No orange or anything. Just doesn't do anything. When this previously happened I was able to hit Menu and - and it restarted (or tried to). See above posts for the issues with the restart taking 1+ hours.

 

[msugolf]

Update: I have a new remote to test this evening. Right now my AppleTV is stuck on screensaver because my current remote does not work. Does anyone know if I can unpair the current remote from the screensaver menu? Or will i need to restart?

 

[MikieMikie]

It should not matter on which screen you are.

 

[slate1]

If un-pairing the remote doesn't solve your problem (frankly, it doesn't sound so much like a remote problem as it does a bad-update problem) I'd strongly suggest doing a hard-reset. That will take you back to 1.0 or 1.1 and then do the update again.

 

[msugolf]

I took the easy way out. I brought it back to Ultimate Electronics and they replaced it with a new one. It works awesome and I'm a happy new Apple TV owner. Thanks to everyone for their help thus far. I hope to add value to this board in the future as I learn more about the device.

 

[MikieMikie]

Good. I'm glad you took that route.

Enjoy the device -- it certainly changed the way we view our media.