I have a Nakamichi soundbar and my new 2nd gen 4K box would not wake my soundbar and tv as the 1st gen 4K box would. Finally found a thread on here about trying to pair the old remote to the new 2nd gen box device, and sure enough that solved my issue. This is most definitely a programming issue with Apple and the new remote. Here was Nakamichi’s response to me:
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Thank you for reaching out to Nakamichi!
We're working on researching this as we too are experiencing some trouble with the last Apple TV software update. The behavior of the Apple TV is as follows:
1. Powering on the Apple TV with the Siri remote after immediately plugging in results in a 2 second delay from when the device is powered on, to when the soundbar/ TV receive the CEC command to wake up.
2. Allowing the Apple TV to go into deep sleep mode (after around 2 minutes) results in around a minute delay for the CEC signal to reach TV/ soundbar.
3. Allowing the Apple TV more time to wait while in standby can result in one of the following: a) The TV/soundbar takes a particularly long time to wake up the soundbar (over 3 minutes.) b) The TV/soundbar do not wake up with the Apple TV no matter how many commands you send, and the Apple TV does not power down when you press/ hold down the power button.
In the last situation we found that the Apple TV would "freeze." In actuality when you manually select inputs for the Apple TV the remote may be bugged. You cannot control any of the face buttons other than the direction/ touch pad. This prevents the device from sending or receiving CEC commands. When unplugged from the soundbar and plugged directly into the TV, this still occurred. Even when unplugged from HDMI entirely the Apple TV would not shut down with it's own remote.
After some research on our side, along with tips from the MacRumors forum we found out this is likely related to bugs with the Siri remote's command programming. When testing the 2021 Apple TV 4K with the 1st generation remote we found these issues were non-existent. We also found that the TV could still control the Apple TV via CEC (with an LG C9 using the directional pad on the remote) to go to reset the soundbar/ resolve the connection.
We ask anyone who owns the 1st generation remote to pair it with their Apple TV and see for themselves the performance difference. We have done some research with other brand receivers and found mixed results. In some cases (like with a Samsung N850) the Apple TV's would break handshakes with the TV when connected to other devices, so it's likely the Shockwafe soundbar is refusing commands to prevent CEC meltdowns like this. We're still investigating this performance, but since the disruption is only occurring with one device, and only with one remote, we're not certain why/ how the soundbar/ receiver effects this performance.
If you do not have the 1st generation remote there are a few options:
1. When the remote freezes you can still use the Direction/ touch pad. Manually select inputs with your TV's remote. Go to settings and restart your Apple TV, this usually refreshes the connection and allows for proper control.
2. Allow your Apple TV around 5 - 10 Minutes to regain control. After this amount of time the device should allow commands again/ "un-freeze." Once this time passes the Apple TV 4K begins acting as intended.
Since the Apple TV stays in this state when unplugged from HDMI (still will not power down with the power button) this is likely something that will need to be patched by Apple via software. I recall the first version of the remote firmware released before August of this year worked fine, so I do believe this is something Apple will need to patch.
We are working with Apple to find a resolution. For the time being please use either the old remote, IR control or connect your Apple TV into your TV (for ARC passthrough) until Siri remote bugs are patched. If you find that you have CEC issues with any other devices (or your TV) please let me know. We'd be more than happy to look into any services we can provide to improve your experience.
Regards,
Sean
