Apple TV 4 periodically drops Ethernet when sleeping

[cinergi]

Hello,

I've noticed that when it's in Standby / Sleep mode, my Apple TV 4 periodically drops the Ethernet connection for a few seconds once per minute. I can see this in my Cisco switch logs - the switch port connected to the Apple TV goes down and back up again. When the Apple TV is on, the Ethernet connection is stable.

Since this only occurs in Sleep mode, functionality is not affected - everything works fine. I just find it strange. Has anyone else noticed this?

cinergi

 

[cinergi]

Update - it seems this problem has existed for quite some time and affects the Apple TV 3 as well:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...apple-tv-destroyed-my-apple-tv-setup.1790456/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/airplay-wakeup-not-working.1788098/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/airplay-not-showing-when-apple-tv-is-sleeping.1793530/

The above threads describe some of the symptoms of this problem without identifying the cause, but I think it's reasonable to assume that it's caused by the Ethernet dropping when the device is in Sleep mode. It's easy to miss unless you look at your switch port logs as I did recently, or happen to be looking at your port LEDs when the link goes down (which is what initially attracted my attention).

Disappointing... The only workaround seems to be to disable sleep and leave the Apple TV on all the time.

cinergi

 

[m7ammed]

maybe raise an issue with Apple through the feedback site? Why does it need to be switching on and off? Is it like a probing thing?

 

[cinergi]

maybe raise an issue with Apple through the feedback site? Why does it need to be switching on and off? Is it like a probing thing?

That's a very good question; I don't know why it does this, but it's filling my Cisco switch logs with port up / port down events (one per minute!) Furthermore, as noted in the threads I listed above, the Airplay does not work when the Apple TV is in standby.

I've already posted about this issue on Apple's site, but I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime I've disabled Sleep mode on the Apple TV and now just leave it on all the time. No more disconnection problems.

-cinergi

 

[satcomer]

That's a very good question; I don't know why it does this, but it's filling my Cisco switch logs with port up / port down events (one per minute!) Furthermore, as noted in the threads I listed above, the Airplay does not work when the Apple TV is in standby.

I've already posted about this issue on Apple's site, but I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime I've disabled Sleep mode on the Apple TV and now just leave it on all the time. No more disconnection problems.

-cinergi

All Apple devices do that since OS X.

 

[cinergi]

All Apple devices do that since OS X.

My iMac doesn't seem to do this. If I enable Wake on LAN, the Ethernet is active when the iMac is in sleep mode, and doesn't seem to periodically disconnect like the Apple TV. When Wake on LAN is off, the port goes down when the iMac is in sleep mode, which makes sense since it doesn't need to receive any "magic packets" to wake it up.

cinergi

 

[satcomer]

My iMac doesn't seem to do this. If I enable Wake on LAN, the Ethernet is active when the iMac is in sleep mode, and doesn't seem to periodically disconnect like the Apple TV. When Wake on LAN is off, the port goes down when the iMac is in sleep mode, which makes sense since it doesn't need to receive any "magic packets" to wake it up.

cinergi

That is becaus of the newer PowerMap introduced in Maverickson Macs. My iPad(the latest iOS version) get Push iCloud email all the time so I no clue why you seeing this behavior.