Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Initiates Replacement Program for 3rd Generation Apple TVs With Wi-Fi Connectivity Issues
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
My Apple TV has been working great lately, but sometimes the wifi doesn't work at all.
There are five wifi networks in my neighborhood and sometimes it will see no wifi networks.
Sometimes unplugging it will help. Sometimes I will restart it 3 to 5 times. Sometimes resetting will help, but this is time consuming keying in all my information over and over again with that little remote.
There are five wifi networks in my neighborhood and sometimes it will see no wifi networks.
Sometimes unplugging it will help. Sometimes I will restart it 3 to 5 times. Sometimes resetting will help, but this is time consuming keying in all my information over and over again with that little remote.
I was just shot down... Apple wanted me to pay $19 for 30 days of technical support before they would perform any troubleshooting. After being transferred to a senior advisor, I was told that I would have to take it in to the closest Apple Store which is about an hour drive each way. They said they could not do anything over the phone.
My Apple TV 3 a little over a year old, is part of the affected serial numbers, and has been experiencing the connectivity issues for the last several months.
My Apple TV 3 a little over a year old, is part of the affected serial numbers, and has been experiencing the connectivity issues for the last several months.
:With little tinfoil flags on each one.
That brings back memories.Actually, what I've been doing on the ATV is just unplugging the power and reconnecting it before using. It seems to behave after that - at least long enough to stream a movie from an iPhone.
Wow, I've been having this problem for a while and figured it was a software bug that would be fixed in the next update. I'm glad to hear this news since I checked and mine does indicate it is one of the defective units. I guess I'll have to bring it in later this week. I just hope the replacement program works in Canada.
----------
yep, I found I always had to turn on the attached projector, go into the general settings, and reboot the device to get it working again temporarily. Quite annoying just to play your music on airplay...
----------
Anyone know if we get the new units with the smaller A5 or do we get old refurbs/old stock?
----------
:With little tinfoil flags on each one.
Actually, what I've been doing on the ATV is just unplugging the power and reconnecting it before using. It seems to behave after that - at least long enough to stream a movie from an iPhone.
yep, I found I always had to turn on the attached projector, go into the general settings, and reboot the device to get it working again temporarily. Quite annoying just to play your music on airplay...
----------
Anyone know if we get the new units with the smaller A5 or do we get old refurbs/old stock?
Are they sure it's the 3rd and 4th characters and not 4th and 5th? Mine's DM1J107WDRHN, kinda wondering if they made a mistake.
Does anybody have letters in the 3rd character? Seems like they all have a number there and the Hs and Js start on the 4th.
This is my 2nd ATV3, the first one's wifi died within a month and got it replaced. This one's lasted a lot longer, have had it for many months now.
Does anybody have letters in the 3rd character? Seems like they all have a number there and the Hs and Js start on the 4th.
This is my 2nd ATV3, the first one's wifi died within a month and got it replaced. This one's lasted a lot longer, have had it for many months now.
Yeah, I think it should be the 4th and the 5th characters... I've got an "HV" model so I think I'm eligible for replacement too. I've been experiencing a few wifi connectivity issues, but then it somehow works again when you reset all settings. Kinda annoying but at least there's an interim fix to this problem if it crops up again.
Yes the order matters.
I'm beginning to think they meant 4th and 5th characters, not 3 and 4. Because mine is DY3HQHFXDRHN and HQ is on the list.
ATTENTION
I called Apple, and it IS the 4th and 5th alphanumeric characters. They made a mistake in their initial statement. I thought it was odd so many of us had the correct 4th and 5th ones, so I called and asked. He is sending me a prepaid box to send my Apple TV in for a replacement, so all of you with 4th and 5th ones should do the same
I called Apple, and it IS the 4th and 5th alphanumeric characters. They made a mistake in their initial statement. I thought it was odd so many of us had the correct 4th and 5th ones, so I called and asked. He is sending me a prepaid box to send my Apple TV in for a replacement, so all of you with 4th and 5th ones should do the same
I'm sure your thinking is correct (same goes for others with the same suspicion), and there is an error in the text.
In Apple's 12-digit serial number format (introduced in 2010), the first three characters appear to indicate the factory, and the 4th and 5th characters are clearly the date code.
The first character of the date code indicates the half year. It started with C in the first half of 2010 and has gone up alphabetically since then (skipping E and I), so H and J in that position indicate the first and second half of 2012.
The second character of the date code indicates the week within the half year, using numbers 1-9 then letters of the alphabet but skipping A, B, E, I, O, S and U, ending with X for 26, and Y if needed for 27 (in the second half of a year with 53 weeks).
That makes H9 through J9 date codes ranging from week 9 of 2012 to week 35 of 2012.
There has never been a digit in the 4th character of an Apple 12-character serial number, therefore it is impossible for "H9" to be in the 3rd and 4th characters, so they must mean the 4th and 5th characters (or the character positions are indexed from zero and something got lost in translation).
For comparison, Apple's older 11-character serial number format (used up to 2010) started with two characters for the factory code, then a single digit for the year and two digits for the week.
There was a fair degree of overlap between the serial number formats in 2010, with some new models continuing to use the 11-character format, while others introduced at the same time switched to the 12-character format. For example, my mid 2010 15" MacBook Pro has an 11-character serial number, while 17" MacBook Pros in the same family that I've seen have 12-character serial numbers.
I wonder how many of those claims on the Apple Support Forums are from users that are actually exaggerating and inflating the issue.
There are common reasons why someone might have a bad experience with any phone. In this case, WiFi connectivity issues could be caused by a bad router(doesn't work at home but when at Apple Store WiFi works fine), interference with other devices(WiFi drops on occasion) or even being subscribed to a bad ISP(Your ISP doesn't have a very reliable connection in your area).
There are common reasons why someone might have a bad experience with any phone. In this case, WiFi connectivity issues could be caused by a bad router(doesn't work at home but when at Apple Store WiFi works fine), interference with other devices(WiFi drops on occasion) or even being subscribed to a bad ISP(Your ISP doesn't have a very reliable connection in your area).
Had mine replaced last month. The genius said he hadn't heard of any other cases. Guess he was wrong.
Thanks, will call, though I wish they had e-mail support? I've had wi-fi problems from the start, and have only been able to use my Apple TV hardwired.
----------
Oh, and I bought mine via Amazon. As they are an authorized reseller, will they do the replacement?
Both my Apple TV3 have the recalled numbers I have only had trouble with one of them but will ask for both to be replaced. Good on Apple for having the recall.
same here, I could never connect to my 5.0Ghz WiFi network, and have been using ethernet. They are sending me a return box overnight
And they didn't even ask where I bought mine, only that it was under warranty, so I'm sure you'll be fine