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ATV3 is driving me insane with random disconnects

I've got a 2 and a 3, and I find that I have to restart them darn near every time that I try to use them.

That is better, somewhat, than what I was experiencing earlier, which was long moments of caching, occasionally lasting for hours. (Yeah, I got so ticked at one long 'caching moment', I left it 'doing its thing', and kept checking back. It *finally* started playing again (Huh?), only to 'cache' again within a few minutes)

I'm getting to the point that I just automatically hit the sequence to restart them before I try to use them. 'Most' of the people I know are having some kind of issue, usually the 'caching' issue, but also a few having to 'restart' them. Usually by yanking the power cord...

The frustration level is rather high with the people I know. One threw the two he bought out after they started really (trying) to use them, and it was past the return period. I told him I'd have taken them and coughed up a little bit of cash too.

I have a Mac Pro running all the latest updates, and it and the :apple:TV's are on a gigabit network through a 'business grade' switch with no routers or other equipment between them.

It just seems like they just lose track of each other. Not that I'd want them to be all chatty, but damn, my printers work better than the :apple:TV boxes. at least I never seem to 'lose' them on the network.

Since I have so many movies ripped to the Pro, I'm kinda stuck using the :apple:TV's. When they work, it's good. When they don't, people here get pissy...

Funny, I was showing them to a friend once, and I restarted it. Then tried connecting to the Pro. Couldn't. Restarted again. Friend says, 'Yeah, I heard the suck.' and walked away to socialize while I tried to get the movie working. I asked him later why he wanted to see them, and he said that he just wanted to see if they worked better now, which he said apparently wasn't the case. I'm getting tired of defending them...

Is it really that damn hard to just make them WORK?

In the words of Steve Jobs: THEN WHY DON'T THEY DO IT!

Bluetooth is off, wifi is off, all information is current and provided via DHCP. They do work with DHCP, right? I'd think so. The Pro is, of course, static.

EDIT: One thing that I had thought of is that I seem to be guaranteed an :apple:TV restart whenever I restarted the Mac Pro. I haven't been able to sense a link between restarting iTunes though. But still, you would think that they would be able to sense each other, and connect to each other if they are on the network, wouldn't you.
 
Last edited:
Thanks, good thread.

Im in the muffle of a remodel, its making me reconsider my plan to use ATV's as a whole house music system.
 
Problem Solved!!

I think I have finally solved my Netflix disconnecting all the time during movies. It seems it was happening every 5 minutes. Never could make it 20 minutes into a movie without saying, "It's useless. Just forget it!"

But I have finally solved the w-fi problem!! I went to Microcenter and bought me a 50 foot Ethernet cable - and get this - I found one for only $14.95! Hooked it to my router and to my Apple TV in the other room - Problem solved! I now can watch Netflix movies with no problems at all!

😎😎😎😎😎😎
 
aced411 said:
Ok so I gave Yosemite another chance on my iTunes server. I updated this morning, updated to the latest patch and immediately followed the instructions from the Apple support article that says to rename the computer. I have not had any issues today and I've definitely woke it from sleep a few times accessing movies from Apple TV.

I will follow up if the situation changes over the next couple days.
Click to expand...

2 weeks later and no issues.
 
I use my ATV almost solely for Netflix and content purchased on the device from iTunes. I get the random discos all the time too. It is not a networking issue, this is purely in the OS.
 
caligurl said:
we've only had our appleTV a few months. it was flawless.... until a couple of weeks ago when we bought a fancy new router. on the new one we set up two different log ins for 5GH and 2.4GHz. I decided that my iMac, appleTV, iphone and ipad could log into the 5GHz since it's "better".

then i started having disconnect problems. i was getting pissed and decided that the damned fancy router was going back.... but then hubby recommended i put everything back to 2.4 (he had to do that with his Xbox, cuz he was having disconnect/can't find DNS/blah blah blah issues.)

i put the appleTv and iMac back to 2.4 and VOILA.... no disconnects.

not saying any of your problems are the same as mine... just wanted to throw it out there in case it works for any of you!
Click to expand...

I had a wired problem so went with WiFi to see if it was a router/access point problem. Signed into the 5.0 and got junk. Signed into the 2.4 and it was flawless.

koerk said:
I hoped the iTunes Update would change something but apparently it didn't...
Click to expand...

It seems that when they do an update of the unit the wired connection starts having problems. I reset everything now anytime I see a major change and that generally clears it. Part of me thinks its a memory issue and update management. The thing just dumps what it cant handle and it makes a mess of your connection settings. The unit needs more memory for sure.
 
I have occasional disconnects on Hulu and haven't been able to use home sharing for at least a month. I'm on a ethernet network, latest updates on all software. I've tried rebooting and resetting everything on the network and nothing seems to work.
 
Is anyone else losing connection watching AT3 shows on the History or A&E app? I was trying to watch something on H2 and it disconnected 4 times and still cannot get past the 2nd commercial break. This sucks! 😡
 
I've been experiencing a lot of these same issues especially with streaming content from iTunes to my apple Tv and with netflix. A couple of days ago I downloaded the latest ATV beta software and so far, the issues seem to be much better. load times are faster and all content streams like it should. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
 
hxlover904 said:
I've been experiencing a lot of these same issues especially with streaming content from iTunes to my apple Tv and with netflix. A couple of days ago I downloaded the latest ATV beta software and so far, the issues seem to be much better. load times are faster and all content streams like it should. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Click to expand...

How did you download ATV beta software? Are you a dev?
 
Snoopy4 said:
It seems that when they do an update of the unit the wired connection starts having problems. I reset everything now anytime I see a major change and that generally clears it. Part of me thinks its a memory issue and update management. The thing just dumps what it cant handle and it makes a mess of your connection settings. The unit needs more memory for sure.
Click to expand...

Just as an aside, I was having connection issues, and it turned out to be the jack on the back of the ATV. It was 'squidgy', and the network cable wasn't making connections intermittently. I swapped the cable, and the problem went away, mostly. I don't know if the plug was out of spec, or the jack. The issue did return a few times, but I countered it by not flexing the cable up, but having it route down out of the device.
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
Just as an aside, I was having connection issues, and it turned out to be the jack on the back of the ATV. It was 'squidgy', and the network cable wasn't making connections intermittently. I swapped the cable, and the problem went away, mostly. I don't know if the plug was out of spec, or the jack. The issue did return a few times, but I countered it by not flexing the cable up, but having it route down out of the device.
Click to expand...

Considering I've tried cable, wifi, and a combination of both, that's not the issue. It's something about the communication between iTunes on the computer, and the Apple TV grabbing content from it.

When I use Airplay from my phone or iPad, it works fine... but constantly I have to turn off home sharing and turn it back on for the Apple TV to see the content from my iMac.
 
shenan1982 said:
Considering I've tried cable, wifi, and a combination of both, that's not the issue. It's something about the communication between iTunes on the computer, and the Apple TV grabbing content from it.

When I use Airplay from my phone or iPad, it works fine... but constantly I have to turn off home sharing and turn it back on for the Apple TV to see the content from my iMac.
Click to expand...

I do find that I have to restart my ATV's often. It seems that every time I reboot my server, I have to restart the ATV units to get them working again. Not that it takes that long, but it is a pain in the bits...

I have been thinking of programming the MAC addresses into Wireshark and see if I can track their conversations over the network. All my static stuff is hardwired too, the only thing on wifi is the portable stuff. (Well, obviously with iPad/iPhone/iPod, but nothing streaming runs off the wifi)

I assume that the MAC address is on a screen in the ATV settings menu somewhere. It might be good just to capture all that and see what's going on, and then reboot the server, and see what happens when it can't find the server...

----------
gpspad said:
Thanks, good thread.

Im in the muffle of a remodel, its making me reconsider my plan to use ATV's as a whole house music system.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd recommend looking at other options, but don't go 'all in' on a solution that might make it hard to switch in the future.

Here, we installed equipment from Russound. It's older equipment, but we have the CAV 6.6, and their Sirius/XM tuner, with a Mac Mini hooked up as a source also (2 out of 6 sources). Haven't had anything to complain about. We installed speakers on our patio and made them a separate zone, so we don't have wireless issues, and the speakers we put in are awesome sounding. We even have 'party mode', and a rather deafening power rating on the amplifier.

It works, and without a lot of fudging, fighting, and lag issues. It seems whenever there is a party in the planning stages, everyone wants to have it here for some reason.
 
I have two ATV3 and the only issues I experience are having to login and verify the DXD channel. Other than that (knock on wood), I haven't had an issue...

Running AirPort Extreme with WiFi connect on both units.m noticed that the ATV is now down to $69.00...maybe a new unit coming soon?
 
Both my ATV3 are at the point of never have a pleasurable experience. No matter what I do, it's always something. All the hard work of backing up media for what? The most inconsistent frustrating as hell experience just getting it to hardwire connect to iTunes EVERY TIME?! I'm certainly for the 1st time considering moving to a more reliable media streamer that will play and recognize all the metatagging I've done for my files. Sux
 
I was looking for the same answer! Looks like it still works with plexconnect so will bite the bullet later today and give it a try...
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
I've got a 2 and a 3, and I find that I have to restart them darn near every time that I try to use them.

That is better, somewhat, than what I was experiencing earlier, which was long moments of caching, occasionally lasting for hours. (Yeah, I got so ticked at one long 'caching moment', I left it 'doing its thing', and kept checking back. It *finally* started playing again (Huh?), only to 'cache' again within a few minutes)

I'm getting to the point that I just automatically hit the sequence to restart them before I try to use them. 'Most' of the people I know are having some kind of issue, usually the 'caching' issue, but also a few having to 'restart' them. Usually by yanking the power cord...

The frustration level is rather high with the people I know. One threw the two he bought out after they started really (trying) to use them, and it was past the return period. I told him I'd have taken them and coughed up a little bit of cash too.

I have a Mac Pro running all the latest updates, and it and the :apple:TV's are on a gigabit network through a 'business grade' switch with no routers or other equipment between them.

It just seems like they just lose track of each other. Not that I'd want them to be all chatty, but damn, my printers work better than the :apple:TV boxes. at least I never seem to 'lose' them on the network.

Since I have so many movies ripped to the Pro, I'm kinda stuck using the :apple:TV's. When they work, it's good. When they don't, people here get pissy...

Funny, I was showing them to a friend once, and I restarted it. Then tried connecting to the Pro. Couldn't. Restarted again. Friend says, 'Yeah, I heard the suck.' and walked away to socialize while I tried to get the movie working. I asked him later why he wanted to see them, and he said that he just wanted to see if they worked better now, which he said apparently wasn't the case. I'm getting tired of defending them...

Is it really that damn hard to just make them WORK?

In the words of Steve Jobs: THEN WHY DON'T THEY DO IT!

Bluetooth is off, wifi is off, all information is current and provided via DHCP. They do work with DHCP, right? I'd think so. The Pro is, of course, static.

EDIT: One thing that I had thought of is that I seem to be guaranteed an :apple:TV restart whenever I restarted the Mac Pro. I haven't been able to sense a link between restarting iTunes though. But still, you would think that they would be able to sense each other, and connect to each other if they are on the network, wouldn't you.
Click to expand...

EPIC POST THAT SAYS IT ALL FOR ME!!!
It's exactly the frustration I could not put into words due to my patience being spent on the subject. Where can I post this directly to Apple EVERYDAY 365 until they acknowledge the laundry list of ATV issues and customer outcry to fix the damn thing once and for all?!!
 
JMEANS said:
EPIC POST THAT SAYS IT ALL FOR ME!!!
It's exactly the frustration I could not put into words due to my patience being spent on the subject. Where can I post this directly to Apple EVERYDAY 365 until they acknowledge the laundry list of ATV issues and customer outcry to fix the damn thing once and for all?!!
Click to expand...

As of Wednesday, I no longer own an AppleTV 2, as it went into a constant reboot state, and I put it out of its misery.

With it 'dead', I proceeded to strip it, and can say that if this is a 'hobby' for Apple, they have invested a lot of time and effort on it. Or at least the hardware part of it.

AND one odd bit, there is a micro antenna jack on the mainboard, and an LED light. Odd that neither one appear to have any purpose as in the former, nothing is attached to it, and the latter, you can't see it through the case.

I did pickup an AppleTV 3 to replace it, and it had a heck of a time activating, and just setting the date/time. FINALLY, after what seemed like hours, it was on, and I did a software update on it, got it to log into my iCloud account, and it seems to work fine. So far...

There is an email address I've heard of for sending Apple complaints, or 'suggestions'. Ahh, it seems to be a web front end. But it might be a start...

Good luck. I don't think they really give a warm bucket of spit about the issues, otherwise they would have fixed them by now I'd imagine.

Perhaps sometime next week I will try to see what the devices are doing with Wireshark and find out if it is really just fumbling around in the dark when it can't find my 'server'. I don't know that it would show much though as I suspect a lot of it is proprietary stuff.
 
I still have issues, no matter what update is installed. Example: I use it on a Wednesday night to watch a movie in my iTunes library... the ATV3 turns on, and I see the main screen, so I navigate to my "computer", which is a Late 2012 Mac Mini with 16GB RAM Core i7. So I get the error that I need to enable Home Sharing, so I unplug the ATV for a minute or so, then plug it back in. The ATV boots, and I am able to get into my movie and it works.

Fast-forward 2 days later, no changes on the Mini, no changes on the ATV, no power outages, nothing... wife goes to watch a movie, the Home Sharing message appears again, unplug/plug in, it works.

This happens EVERY ***** TIME!!!!

And I'm not even going to start about having to re-enter cable company passwords for EVERY APP AFTER AN ATV UPDATE!!!

By the way, I'm on a Gigabit WIRED network, used numerous combinations of new switches and cables as well...
 
Kenjancef said:
I still have issues, no matter what update is installed. Example: I use it on a Wednesday night to watch a movie in my iTunes library... the ATV3 turns on, and I see the main screen, so I navigate to my "computer", which is a Late 2012 Mac Mini with 16GB RAM Core i7. So I get the error that I need to enable Home Sharing, so I unplug the ATV for a minute or so, then plug it back in. The ATV boots, and I am able to get into my movie and it works.

Fast-forward 2 days later, no changes on the Mini, no changes on the ATV, no power outages, nothing... wife goes to watch a movie, the Home Sharing message appears again, unplug/plug in, it works.

This happens EVERY ***** TIME!!!!

And I'm not even going to start about having to re-enter cable company passwords for EVERY APP AFTER AN ATV UPDATE!!!

By the way, I'm on a Gigabit WIRED network, used numerous combinations of new switches and cables as well...
Click to expand...

Frustration received loud and clear. I think the one thing that is for sure is the members in here have tried every combination of fixes and things that could be contributing to the issue. Now Apple needs to step up and perform. It's really annoying that this is still a side project for them, and there's no real support structure. I have a feeling they've been flooded with complaints, but I'd guess many of the headcount from the Apple TV team have been moved over to the Watch. Funny part is if they designed a good product, they could sell more TV devices and content than watches. It's estimated that 7.6 million consumers in America have "cut the cord" in the last two years. What do you think they're using? Not Apple TV... mostly Roku and ChromeTV, and Fire TV... which Apple was to market before both, but unlike those, Apple didn't setup strong marketing partnerships with content providers, and didn't make it easy for people to replace their cable box like those companies did. That's where Apple falls short. They are missing a huge opportunity.
 
I've bought 3 Apple TV's over the years but was forced to buy a Roku stick last month. No longer use the ATV.

If Apple could just fix it so I could use my iTunes library I'd give it another chance.
 
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