Anyone have Starlink that can help me figure out why my Apple TV won’t connect to it?

[ssledoux]

I finally have decent internet Via Starlink, and just got an Apple TV to use with it. I’m having an issue getting it to connect to the wi-if.

I did buy the Ethernet version - should it connect if I do it via Ethernet? I haven’t bought a cable, and don’t want to if it’s gonna be a waste of time. I have zero issue connecting to my Viasat router, so this has my mind kinda blown.

Well, nevermind on the ethernet - there isn’t an Ethernet port on the router. So if I can’t get this to work with the Wi-Fi, I guess it’s back to Apple and I’ll just have to give up completely on ever having Apple TV.

 

[JBaby]

I’ve had Starlink for almost 2 months and my TVs connected just fine. I had it connected to the Starlink router via wifi and then I got an eero mesh router and now my TVs are connected via Ethernet. I recommend getting a different router because the Starlink router doesn’t have great range. You’ll need the Ethernet adapter for that.

Have you restarted everything?

 

[ssledoux]

Well my Apple TV is sitting right next to the router, so I don’t think the range is an issue. It picks it up as an option, I put my password in, and it tells me it can’t connect.

I did restart the Apple TV, but the Starlink is still doing some stuff. My other devices are connected to it though, so I don’t see why my ATV wouldn’t.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

See this seemingly definitive post on Apple forums. You may need what #2 describes... which basically uses the Starlink box as a modem and shifts your wifi connection to a separate, dedicated router... which, by choosing a router with ethernet jacks, would allow you to direct connect by ethernet so your AppleTV doesn't need to use any wifi bandwidth (recommended if possible).

And congratulations. Half the battle is already won. So you just need to work through the options to get it working with everything. Better than no broadband in- as you call it- the "boonies."

 

[ssledoux]

See this seemingly definitive post on Apple forums. You may need what #2 describes... which basically uses the Starlink box as a modem and shifts your wifi connection to a separate, dedicated router... which, by choosing a router with ethernet jacks, would allow you to direct connect by ethernet so your AppleTV doesn't need to use any wifi bandwidth (recommended if possible).

And congratulations. Half the battle is already won. So you just need to work through the options to get it working with everything. Better than no broadband in- as you call it- the "boonies."

I read that last night before I posted, but it makes no sense, as my router from Viasat has a login and password as well.

Plus I have no clue how to do any of the things you said - lol. IDK what it means to make my router a modem. I’m telling you I’m clueless. This is the first time ever I’ve been able to do any of this.

I think I’m gonna reset the Apple TV, and see if it picks up the info for the Starlink from my phone.

 

[Matz]

Fwiw I have Starlink and AppleTV, and they work fine together. I found no need to do anything fancy with either one. I went to AppleTV and set up Starlink as my ISP, just as I have done with the Verizon mifi hotspot that I used to use as my primary, and which is now relegated to a backup for when Starlink goes down for some reason.

You mentioned that you already restarted the AppleTV. Have you done a reset on Starlink?

 

[ssledoux]

I had not reset Starlink yet, but I was gonna reset the ATV and see if it picked up the new info from my phone. When I went in to do it, it was connected to the Starlink, and worked fine. IDK what happened, but we had just set Starlink up yesterday. Maybe it just needed to finish doing its thing before ATV would pick it up (even though everything else was working with it).

 

[JBaby]

See this seemingly definitive post on Apple forums. You may need what #2 describes... which basically uses the Starlink box as a modem and shifts your wifi connection to a separate, dedicated router... which, by choosing a router with ethernet jacks, would allow you to direct connect by ethernet so your AppleTV doesn't need to use any wifi bandwidth (recommended if possible).

And congratulations. Half the battle is already won. So you just need to work through the options to get it working with everything. Better than no broadband in- as you call it- the "boonies."

That’s not accurate anymore. That issue was resolved several updates ago. You can totally log into tv with the Starlink SSID and password you create. Something else is going on with OP. With that said most wifi problems with Starlink are usually solved by turning off Starlink’s router and using a 3rd party router because there’s a lot of things you can’t do with Starlink’s router because there’s no settings for more advanced options. Also, it’s just not a great router IMO.

I read that last night before I posted, but it makes no sense, as my router from Viasat has a login and password as well.

Plus I have no clue how to do any of the things you said - lol. IDK what it means to make my router a modem. I’m telling you I’m clueless. This is the first time ever I’ve been able to do any of this.

I think I’m gonna reset the Apple TV, and see if it picks up the info for the Starlink from my phone.

Welcome to being a Starlink customer. All problems you must solve on your own. Luckily people have come before you so they’ve mostly solved most of problems you may encounter. You need to bypass Starlink’s router. You need to research to find what router would be best for you. I recommend getting a mesh router. If you have very limited experience I recommend eero. Here’s an article that will help you. Just like the author I don’t recommend the Starlink Mesh node, but this article will give you recommendations on routers and it will tell you how to bypass Starlink’s router.

If you haven’t restarted you should try that first. If that doesn’t work then reset tv. But this is likely not going to be the only problem you encounter. So consider the above. I tried just sticking with Starlink but I had to cave after a week. I bought an eero Pro 6E during Amazon’s back to school sale. For my simple needs it does everything I need it to do. Setup was super fast and easy. If in the future I outgrow it I’ll get choose a different brand, but for now I wanted to keep things super simple since I can’t call my ISP to come to my house to fix issues like I could with my old provider.

Fwiw I have Starlink and AppleTV, and they work fine together. I found no need to do anything fancy with either one. I went to AppleTV and set up Starlink as my ISP, just as I have done with the Verizon mifi hotspot that I used to use as my primary, and which is now relegated to a backup for when Starlink goes down for some reason.

You mentioned that you already restarted the AppleTV. Have you done a reset on Starlink?

I didn’t have to do anything special either. It all just worked. I had other issues with Starlink’s router but getting devices connected wasn’t one of them.

I had not reset Starlink yet, but I was gonna reset the ATV and see if it picked up the new info from my phone. When I went in to do it, it was connected to the Starlink, and worked fine. IDK what happened, but we had just set Starlink up yesterday. Maybe it just needed to finish doing its thing before ATV would pick it up (even though everything else was working with it).

Well I was writing out my replies to when you posted this but since had already had it written you’re getting all anyway. I’m glad this has all worked out for you!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

That’s not accurate anymore. That issue was resolved several updates ago. You can totally log into tv with the Starlink SSID and password you create. Something else is going on with OP. With that said most wifi problems with Starlink are usually solved by turning off Starlink’s router and using a 3rd party router because there’s a lot of things you can’t do with Starlink’s router because there’s no settings for more advanced options. Also, it’s just not a great router IMO.

And yes, that (separate router) is what I suggest. OP is self described in the "boonies" with little alternative options for sufficiently fast broadband. She has purchased a new AppleTV with ethernet and I suggest she get it connected via ethernet so that the streaming video part of the pie at her place is not consuming wifi bandwidth. Since she can't direct connect ethernet to Starlink (as router), her own router (with some ethernet jacks) resolves that issue. All Starlink "lockdown" issues (or non-issues) are also addressed by shifting much of that to a separate router.

I recall that OP has had much frustration with broadband there for what seems like a few years now. She's close to a resolution now. One more purchase seems likely to fully do the trick for her situation.

What else I see about Starlink user comments is that this is NOT an AppleTV thing. OP says her other stuff is connecting with no issue but only AppleTV is not. However, many posts by users talk about how the direct connect to Starlink comes and goes with other Apple tech and other tech in general. Perhaps that's now outdated information too but her own router may better address that issue- if it still applies- too.

 

[ssledoux]

That’s not accurate anymore. That issue was resolved several updates ago. You can totally log into tv with the Starlink SSID and password you create. Something else is going on with OP. With that said most wifi problems with Starlink are usually solved by turning off Starlink’s router and using a 3rd party router because there’s a lot of things you can’t do with Starlink’s router because there’s no settings for more advanced options. Also, it’s just not a great router IMO.



Welcome to being a Starlink customer. All problems you must solve on your own. Luckily people have come before you so they’ve mostly solved most of problems you may encounter. You need to bypass Starlink’s router. You need to research to find what router would be best for you. I recommend getting a mesh router. If you have very limited experience I recommend eero. Here’s an article that will help you. Just like the author I don’t recommend the Starlink Mesh node, but this article will give you recommendations on routers and it will tell you how to bypass Starlink’s router.

If you haven’t restarted you should try that first. If that doesn’t work then reset tv. But this is likely not going to be the only problem you encounter. So consider the above. I tried just sticking with Starlink but I had to cave after a week. I bought an eero Pro 6E during Amazon’s back to school sale. For my simple needs it does everything I need it to do. Setup was super fast and easy. If in the future I outgrow it I’ll get choose a different brand, but for now I wanted to keep things super simple since I can’t call my ISP to come to my house to fix issues like I could with my old provider.



I didn’t have to do anything special either. It all just worked. I had other issues with Starlink’s router but getting devices connected wasn’t one of them.



Well I was writing out my replies to when you posted this but since had already had it written you’re getting all anyway. I’m glad this has all worked out for you!

Yes thanks for all this information! So to change to a different router, I just plug in a new one in place of Starlink’s? Anything else I’ll need to do with any settings or anything? Just figured I’d ask so the info would be here in case I have to look back. LOL

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

This looks like great information on the "use your own router" topic... and there are many video tutorials on YouTube to visually show this. Instead of only buying a wifi router (ideally with some ethernet ports for your situation), you also buy a $25 piece of hardware from Starlink: the Ethernet adapter (basically a dongle).

Starlink to Ethernet dongle to Router (ethernet cable) to AppleTV
​

One more tip: if you have a number of other A/V things by your AppleTV that also have ethernet jacks (Receiver?, Other streamers? the TV? Satt TV box? Blu Ray player? Etc), you could add a cheap ethernet switch out of that Router to which you could connect AppleTV and other stuff with a number of ethernet cables. A 5-8 port ethernet switch- EXAMPLE- costs very little and would certainly be useful if you have more than only AppleTV in that area that can connect via ethernet.

I'm of the mind to connect as much as possible via ethernet to keep as much wifi bandwidth free of demand for things that simply can't connect that way. If the router only has 1 or maybe 3 spare ethernet ports but you can use 2 or 5+ ports, Router to Ethernet Switch to AppleTV and other stuff would be a good addition. If you:

• have no need for 8 ethernet ports, there are 5-port switches.
• could use MORE than 7 free ethernet ports, there are 16 or more port switches too.

Note that 1 port is allocated to the router connection, so an 8 port switch will have 7 free ports after connection and a 5 port switch is 4 free ports after connection. I generally buy the next tier up if I'm close to filling a switch. For example, if I have 4 things to connect, a 5-port switch would work for now... but I probably buy an 8-port switch for potential future additions. If I'm at maybe 6 or 7 things to connect now, I probably buy a 16-port switch for potential future additions. Having too many ports is no significant problem... but is FAR better than having too few.

Especially in your situation OP, I'd be trying to connect as much as I can via ethernet, even if I have to go to a bit of trouble getting the wires where they need to go.

 

[JBaby]

Yes thanks for all this information! So to change to a different router, I just plug in a new one in place of Starlink’s? Anything else I’ll need to do with any settings or anything? Just figured I’d ask so the info would be here in case I have to look back. LOL

Bypass mode is addressed in the article I linked in the “3rd party mesh system recommendations” section. It’s a step by step guide.

This looks like great information on the "use your own router" topic... and there are many video tutorials on YouTube to visually show this. Instead of only buying a wifi router (ideally with some ethernet ports for your situation), you also buy a $25 piece of hardware from Starlink: the Ethernet adapter (basically a dongle).

Starlink to Ethernet dongle to Router (ethernet cable) to AppleTV
​

One more tip: if you have a number of other A/V things by your AppleTV that also have ethernet jacks (Receiver?, Other streamers? the TV? Satt TV box? Blu Ray player? Etc), you could add a cheap ethernet switch out of that Router to which you could connect AppleTV and other stuff with a number of ethernet cables. A 5-8 port ethernet switch- EXAMPLE- costs very little and would certainly be useful if you have more than only AppleTV in that area that can connect via ethernet.

I'm of the mind to connect as much as possible via ethernet to keep as much wifi bandwidth free of demand for things that simply can't connect that way. If the router only has 1 or maybe 3 spare ethernet ports but you can use 2 or 5+ ports, Router to Ethernet Switch to AppleTV and other stuff would be a good addition. If you:

• have no need for 8 ethernet ports, there are 5-port switches.
• could use MORE than 7 free ethernet ports, there are 16 or more port switches too.

Note that 1 port is allocated to the router connection, so an 8 port switch will have 7 free ports after connection and a 5 port switch is 4 free ports after connection.

I totally agree. I have a 5-port switch. Both of my TVs are hardwired now. They were both fine on WiFi, but Ethernet is better.