Apple TV freezing

[Justinwhitlock528]

I recently upgraded from a 1080p tv to a 4k HDR tv and ever since I have changed the resolution to 4k HDR on the Apple TV it freezes often. When I am trying to navigate the Home Screen it freezes. When I am in any app it freezes. What could be the issue? I have a Apple TV 4K 1st gen. I have done restarts through settings and it prevents it from freezing for a little bit and then starts freezing again a few days later. Thanks for the help

 

[Bigwaff]

Heat? Where ATV located? Incompatible/bad HDMI cable?

 

[waw74]

I have my aTV sitting between the wall mount and the back of my TV. With the aTV in certain places, the remote gets really laggy. sliding the aTV a few inches one way or the other sorts it out

does it hang using the phone remote? or if using the television remote and controlling the aTV over HDMI-CEC
(if you're controlling the TV via HDMI, then your should be able to use the basic direction buttons, enter and back on the the TV remote to control the aTV)

 

[Justinwhitlock528]

Heat? Where ATV located? Incompatible/bad HDMI cable?

It is kept in a room that is kept between 65 and 68 in the winter and 78-80 in the summer. It is located in the same spot it has been before we got the new tv, below it. I did a HDMI test using the Apple TV and it said it was a compatible high speed one. Tried a different cable and it still froze. I even plugged it into a different port on the tv and it still froze.

 

[Justinwhitlock528]

I have my aTV sitting between the wall mount and the back of my TV. With the aTV in certain places, the remote gets really laggy. sliding the aTV a few inches one way or the other sorts it out

does it hang using the phone remote? or if using the television remote and controlling the aTV over HDMI-CEC
(if you're controlling the TV via HDMI, then your should be able to use the basic direction buttons, enter and back on the the TV remote to control the aTV)

We can control the Apple TV using the TV remote using HDMI CEC but do not enjoy it because the remote is bigger than the Apple TV remote and it has a little bit of input lag. I have not tried with the remote in control center. Might try that and see if it does the same thing. Thanks.

 

[Juicy Box]

When I am trying to navigate the Home Screen it freezes. When I am in any app it freezes.

When you say "freezes", do you think it is the OS that is freezing or a momentary lag from the remote input?

Does the "freeze" happen when you are using the TV remote as well? Could be a few things that I can think of.

If you are like me and bought your ATV4K1 in 2017, it is been running for a long while and the fan may need cleaning. This may explain why you just started experiencing the issue only after switching to a 4K TV, you started pushing the HW harder, causing more heat, but the dirty fan may not be able to keep up. Maybe do a gentle cleaning of the fan via the vents?

Another issue could be the Match Dynamic Range settings, if this is the case, then it is working as intended. If you have your ATV settings to match the format playing, and for example, the ATV is constantly switching from HDR to non-HDR content, there is a slight delay when switching:

Turn on Match Dynamic Range or Match Frame Rate on your Apple TV - Apple Support

Learn how to turn on frame rate and dynamic range matching.

support.apple.com

If the "Freeze" doesn't happen with the TV remote over CEC, then I would suspect it is a connection issue with the Siri Remote. Consider re-pairing the remote, or move the ATV4K1 to a different location, line of sight is ideal (although, not required).

I remember a long while ago, I bought a new TV and with it a mounted the ATV4 behind the TV, and then started having intermittent, bad input lag on the remote. I think the TV mount was blocking or interfering with the RF.

 

[Justinwhitlock528]

When you say "freezes", do you think it is the OS that is freezing or a momentary lag from the remote input?

Does the "freeze" happen when you are using the TV remote as well? Could be a few things that I can think of.

If you are like me and bought your ATV4K1 in 2017, it is been running for a long while and the fan may need cleaning. This may explain why you just started experiencing the issue only after switching to a 4K TV, you started pushing the HW harder, causing more heat, but the dirty fan may not be able to keep up. Maybe do a gentle cleaning of the fan via the vents?

Another issue could be the Match Dynamic Range settings, if this is the case, then it is working as intended. If you have your ATV settings to match the format playing, and for example, the ATV is constantly switching from HDR to non-HDR content, there is a slight delay when switching:

Turn on Match Dynamic Range or Match Frame Rate on your Apple TV - Apple Support

Learn how to turn on frame rate and dynamic range matching.

support.apple.com

If the "Freeze" doesn't happen with the TV remote over CEC, then I would suspect it is a connection issue with the Siri Remote. Consider re-pairing the remote, or move the ATV4K1 to a different location, line of sight is ideal (although, not required).

I remember a long while ago, I bought a new TV and with it a mounted the ATV4 behind the TV, and then started having intermittent, bad input lag on the remote. I think the TV mount was blocking or interfering with the RF.

I had match dynamic range turned on but it was annoying when I was using YouTube TV and changing the Chanel so I turned it off. I did not know the Apple TV had a fan so I will see if I can clean the vents. The OS freezes because I can see on the Apple TV when I press menu the light flashes signaling a button press but it takes a while for it to go to the menu when I press the button. It does not lag when I use the volume control to control the volume on the TV. I might move the Apple TV because the IR sensor moved from the right to the middle and I have the Apple TV right underneath the sensor. Thanks for the help.

 

[-Gonzo-]

I had match dynamic range turned on but it was annoying when I was using YouTube TV and changing the Chanel so I turned it off. I did not know the Apple TV had a fan so I will see if I can clean the vents. The OS freezes because I can see on the Apple TV when I press menu the light flashes signaling a button press but it takes a while for it to go to the menu when I press the button. It does not lag when I use the volume control to control the volume on the TV. I might move the Apple TV because the IR sensor moved from the right to the middle and I have the Apple TV right underneath the sensor. Thanks for the help.

From what you’re describing sounds like Bluetooth interference with the remote as I’m guessing you’re set to 4KHDR or 4KDV.
Try setting to 4KSDR with Chroma set to 4:2:0 and see if the same occurs.
If so then it’ll likely mean it’s the HDMI cable not being sufficiently shielded for the bandwidth being used under the current setting.