Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I don't know who is to blame, Samsung (TV) or Apple, but this is happening all the time with my current setup. I have CEC enabled as well, because why not? It's super convenient and should work!

Somtimes when I shut off the TV, the Apple TV will go into stand-by as expected. After a couple of seconds the Apple TV LED will turn on again and stay that way for hours.

Actually I think it's a software problem with the Apple TV.
My apple TV 4 does this all the time, drives me nuts, Samsung TV and Apple TV combo seems like it's an issue. I'm debating on buying an extension cord and this:https://www.amazon.com/Uninex-Outle...1521119738&sr=8-3&keywords=on+off+wall+switch problem solved,
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
My apple TV 4 does this all the time, drives me nuts, Samsung TV and Apple TV combo seems like it's an issue. I'm debating on buying an extension cord and this:https://www.amazon.com/Uninex-Outle...1521119738&sr=8-3&keywords=on+off+wall+switch problem solved,

While the AppleTV is particularly sensitive to inrush current its not something you want to intentionally put electronics through if you dont need too. Current (amps) are momentarily multiples of times higher than the device is rated for.

If its sparks when you plug it in, keep it plugged in. :D
[doublepost=1521160347][/doublepost]I thought this was related to AirPlay and turning it off fixed it? Never tried turning it off because I use AirPlay a lot.

Personally I just ignore it anymore. The power use is negligible. I use the AppleTV's for home hubs and Air Play devices so they are always on anyway.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
i found a solution that works for me atleast. my atv uses wlan. i let airplay working only in the same local network (settings - airplay - only in the same network). i quess, for a some reason, maybe, other devices nearby was causing the problem. atv and tv turned on from time to time without any reason. now they wont.
 
Thank god it is not just me! I also have a Samsung tv (old not new model) and an Atv 4. My story was a worse one. Woke up by Atv in early hours of morning to Apple Music screen (which I never use or subscribe to) switched off tv and went back to sleep. In the morning had an email confirming my purchase of a subscription via Atv to Apple Music! Cancelled subscription and had to convince support I hadn’t subscribed to get money back. Everything was cancelled and then early hours 1st April Atv switches self on again at Apple Music screen. Quick check reveals subscription still remains cancelled. But very annoying about auto switch on to my CEC enabled Samsung tv. Has the take over of the machines and the internet of things begun?
 
I also have this issue Samsung 2015 TV and Apple TV 4. I'll try some of the suggestions from earlier posts and report back, although it doesn't appear anybody has concluded a universal resolution.

I also am using my Apple TV as a homekit hub, wondering if that has anything to do with it.
 
Oh wow, this happened to me last night. I thought I was having a bump in the night, and got the glock 43. True story. It actually happened twice last night.
 
I have a 2015 Vizio M-Series TV, and the Apple TV started turning it on randomly after the 11.3 update. Up until now, the HDMI-CEC had been working well with my TV and Sony receiver.
 
FWIW, mine stopped doing this when I put an HDMI switcher between it and the display.

(The display is a very old Dell monitor and it doesn't support HDMI CEC, so I don't think HDMI CEC was the problem in my case.)
 
Mine does this randomly. Might happen a couple times in one day, then not for a month or so. I have a Sony 900e tv. I don't care so much that the apple tv comes on, but not a fan of my tv coming on in the middle of the night. I download beta updates... it seems to happen more around update times, but I can't say for sure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: boltjames
Same issue here, Apple TV 4K and 2017 LG B7 OLED.

Strangely the same thing happens to my LG UP970 player as well, that also randomly turns on. Everything is hooked up to an Denon X1400H.
 
Mine does this randomly. Might happen a couple times in one day, then not for a month or so. I have a Sony 900e tv. I don't care so much that the apple tv comes on, but not a fan of my tv coming on in the middle of the night. I download beta updates... it seems to happen more around update times, but I can't say for sure.

I have the same TV and I just stopped using Apple TV. Hey, the Android TV UI is awful but it has all the relevant apps and at least it doesn’t wake my Sony up when it shouldn’t.
 
Just a follow-up to my post here, turning off background app refresh did not work, I still am seeing the TV turn on in the middle of the night 5 out of 7 days of the week for the past 8 weeks.

Yes, I have read the rest of the thread and have turned off automatic app updates, automatic iOS updates, I have no timers on, I have unpaired every Bluetooth device, and Airplay is even turned off. Something is waking up my Apple TV in the middle of the night and turning on my TV and I cannot figure out what.
[doublepost=1523723824][/doublepost]This kept happening no matter what we tried. I noticed that it seems to happen when our ISP was working/upgrading their systems. Also, we turned off all auto-updates...to no avail. Since we use our iPhones as remotes, I installed a WEMO Smart Plug to power the TV & ATV. We use the WEMO app on the phone to just turn off the power to both. No more 3 AM surprises!
 
With the newer 2017 Samsung TV's, this is the fix I found. With the Samsung remote, go to Settings Area > Source > Universal remote. Then delete Apple TV.
Thanks for posting this, It was impossible to turn off the Apple TV. Every time I put it to sleep it’d go off, turn off the tv then turn on again and turn the telly on again. This sorted it.
 
I have this issue too with a several years old LG TV + Apple TV 4K. I use the apple remote to "power on" the TV which will launch it on the latest channel I've been watching. This works fine, except that the TV switches itself off after a while. Was watching the World cup when the TV switched off mid-game and I noticed that the Apple TV led flickered briefly. TV will also switch on at any time of the day. Again, Apple TV led will be on when it happens.
 
I have this issue too with a several years old LG TV + Apple TV 4K. I use the apple remote to "power on" the TV which will launch it on the latest channel I've been watching. This works fine, except that the TV switches itself off after a while. Was watching the World cup when the TV switched off mid-game and I noticed that the Apple TV led flickered briefly. TV will also switch on at any time of the day. Again, Apple TV led will be on when it happens.

This situation has frustrated me to the point that I've stopped using Apple TV and have gotten used to the Android TV built-into my Sony 4K panel. And after a few weeks you don't miss Apple TV at all which is a shame.

I'm going to give it one last shot, I'm going to do a complete reset on the ATV and see if that clears up whatever the bug is that keeps turning my TV on when I don't want it to.
 
I don't know who is to blame, Samsung (TV) or Apple, but this is happening all the time with my current setup. I have CEC enabled as well, because why not? It's super convenient and should work!

Somtimes when I shut off the TV, the Apple TV will go into stand-by as expected. After a couple of seconds the Apple TV LED will turn on again and stay that way for hours.

Actually I think it's a software problem with the Apple TV.
I have the same set up (Apple TV 4, Samsung Q6F), and this has been a problem. Have you found a fix?
 
Old thread, but whenever the Apple TV turns on by itself, all I do is to unplug the power cable from the back of it, let it stay this way for about a minute, then plug it back up. Just unplug it, sit down and have a cup of coffee or something else, then come back a few minutes later and plug it back up. The problem is with the Apple TV, not the devices it controls.

It could also happen if you decide to use another remote, since some of the settings on the other remote interfere with the sleep mode of the Apple TV. In other words, you can put it to sleep with the Apple TV, but the other remote is still connected.
 
Last edited:
Since updating to the newest iOS two weeks ago the unexpected power-on’s stopped. Praise the lord.
 
Since updating to the newest iOS two weeks ago the unexpected power-on’s stopped. Praise the lord.

Maybe the new iOS will take care of the problem. Please let us know how that goes later. What has worked for me has been to disconnect the power cable for a few minutes, then plug it in after, and also to remove the last remote that I used to control the apple TV from the remotes listed on the Apple TV. For some reason some of the settings of the last non-Apple remote used conflict with the Apple TV, unless one switches from the other remote to the Apple TV remote, and then put it to sleep mode with the Apple TV remote.

These are some of the things that have worked for others:
https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/how-to/how-to-fix-apple-tv-turning-on-by-itself/
 
Someone recommended restarting the ATV (system > Restart) that did it for me.
I could turn it off after that and it stayed off.
 
I still have this issue til this day. If I turn on my TV (LG B7), it will automatically turn on the Apple TV 4k. I have never asked for this nor want it. It's obnoxious when I just want to run Netflix built in the TV or turn my PS4 on, as the Apple TV 4k always finds a way to turn itself on, AND also change my AVR to it's channel too.
 
FYI I turned off background app refresh and have not had an issue since. Either that did it or it was secretly fixed in a patch. Who knows.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.