Internet is out and I have an Apple TV that has not been setup yet. How can I mirror iPhone?

[fathergll]

Scenario:

• XInfinity internet is out and I can't get a tech for a few days
• Router is working, issue is from the outside
• I have a new Apple TV that I never used.
• I have an iPhone 8

Goal:

• Use iPhone 8 for the next few days to mirror to my TV via Apple TV using AT&T cell network for internet access(I don't have a hotspot option for my AT&T plan so I need to mirror this)

Issues so far:

For the life of me I cannot get past the setup phase on the Apple TV. It wants to connect to Apple during setup and I can't bypass this. I simply want to just use the bluetooth to iOS device but I can't get that far. Anyone have ideas on how to get this working?

 

[Audit13]

How about hotspotting the apple tv to your phone?

 

[fathergll]

How about hotspotting the apple tv to your phone?

I’m on AT&T and I would need to upgrade my plan unless I am not understanding your suggestion correctly

 

[Audit13]

In was referring to enabling the hotspot in your phone so the apple tv can connect to the Internet to finish the setup.

I didn't know that at&t doesn't include hotspotting as a cellular feature.

 

[fathergll]

Ok just confirmed I’m outta luck there


“Except for the AT&T Unlimited Plus Enhanced plan, personal hotspot and tethering isn't allowed on AT&T unlimited plans, except for Connected Cars”

 

[Audit13]

Is it possible to take the apple tv to another location where it can access the internet?

 

[Tech198]

Ok just confirmed I’m outta luck there


“Except for the AT&T Unlimited Plus Enhanced plan, personal hotspot and tethering isn't allowed on AT&T unlimited plans, except for Connected Cars”

Don't Apple TV have to communicate with Apple activation servers or something? Perhaps this is the reason? I seem to remember in the past, if it failed it still allowed it... This was on 3rd gen though, so perhaps they changed it now

 

[fathergll]

Is it possible to take the apple tv to another location where it can access the internet?

Not realistically because I would need to output it to a monitor or tv to see what I was doing. I could eventually do it but my internet will be fixed by then.
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Don't Apple TV have to communicate with Apple activation servers or something? Perhaps this is the reason? I seem to remember in the past, if it failed it still allowed it... This was on 3rd gen though, so perhaps they changed it now

Yep that’s the issue. So I finally got the Bluetooth on my iPhone to recognize the AppleTV and I thought I was in luck. My home router is working(just no internet) so I thought I might get it working and then BAM...error message saying “Couldn’t activate Apple TV check your network connection and try again”

So basically if you don’t have an internet connection a new AppleTV is bricked from what I can tell. I’m on the 4th gen model

 

[chabig]

Do you have a Mac? If so, connect the iPhone to the Mac with a Lightning cable. Set up the Mac to share the iPhone's network connection over the ethernet port to the Apple TV (connected via ethernet cable).

 

[fathergll]

Do you have a Mac? If so, connect the iPhone to the Mac with a Lightning cable. Set up the Mac to share the iPhone's network connection over the ethernet port to the Apple TV (connected via ethernet cable).

I do, I have my iMac 5 feet from the Apple TV.

I’m gonna need a little assistance on this.

So I have my ethernet from iMac into my AppleTV.
I have my iPhone plug into my iMac via lighting port

I’m in the sharing folder in System Preferences but I’m not quite sure how to set this up. There’s an option to “share your internet connection from iPhone USB” and then there is a section “to computers using” which I have Ethernet checked.

I then get “activation error; Apple activation server temporarily unavailable “ and it shows an Ethernet address below

 

[chabig]

It sounds like it you did everything right. The activation server out of service is probably temporary.

 

[borgranta]

AT&T carries MIFI hotspot devices so if you added a MIFI to your plan you probably would be able to use the MIFI as a backup INTERNET source. Getting it from an AT&T store would probably be quicker than getting it online. I recommend considering Verizon MIFI since you can pay as little as $15 on prepaid for 500MB data which expires in 7 days or $20 on prepaid for 1GB that expires in 30 days. The cheapest postpaid option is the single device plan for the MIFI that costs $15 for 1GB with overages costing a reasonable $10 per GB. The only downside to the postpaid $15 plan is the activation fee. There is a $5 discount while using auto pay and paperless billing which could offset the cost of the activation fee over time.

 

[mpainesyd]

Do you have a Mac? If so, connect the iPhone to the Mac with a Lightning cable. Set up the Mac to share the iPhone's network connection over the ethernet port to the Apple TV (connected via ethernet cable).

That’s a version of hotspotting (tethering) so probably won’t work with ATT.
It seems that, during set-up, the Apple TV wants to connect to your iCloud account so it can communicate with other devices. I haven’t come across a way to avoid this.

 

[fathergll]

It sounds like it you’d I’d everything right. The activation server out of service is probably temporary.

I think its getting block because I tried it multiple times.

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AT&T carries MIFI hotspot devices so if you added a MIFI to your plan you probably would be able to use the MIFI as a backup INTERNET source. Getting it from an AT&T store would probably be quicker than getting it online. I recommend considering Verizon MIFI since you can pay as little as $15 on prepaid for 500MB data which expires in 7 days or $20 on prepaid for 1GB that expires in 30 days. The cheapest postpaid option is the single device plan for the MIFI that costs $15 for 1GB with overages costing a reasonable $10 per GB. The only downside to the postpaid $15 plan is the activation fee. There is a $5 discount while using auto pay and paperless billing which could offset the cost of the activation fee over time.

Thanks for the info but considering how little I have an issue with internet(first major thing to happen in 6 years at my place) I'd probably skip it but I will look into those options as a future backup plan(it could be useful for serious things like having to log in for work but in a pinch I can walk to a coffee shop many times). Once I get my AppleTV configured I want to see how decent the mirror option is.

 

[borgranta]

I think its getting block because I tried it multiple times.

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Thanks for the info but considering how little I have an issue with internet(first major thing to happen in 6 years at my place) I'd probably skip it but I will look into those options as a future backup plan(it could be useful for serious things like having to log in for work but in a pinch I can walk to a coffee shop many times). Once I get my AppleTV configured I want to see how decent the mirror option is.

The downside to using public wifi is lack of security

 

[Boyd01]

I didn't know that at&t doesn't include hotspotting as a cellular feature.

AT&T doesn't support hotspot/tethering with their legacy unlimited data plan (which is no longer sold and they keep jacking up the price to drive away the few people who still have it). Aside from the price, this is a big reason why I got rid of my unlimited plan three years ago. I saved a bunch of money on my bill and am no longer paying for data that I rarely used. If you get any of the basic plans with a fixed amount of data per month, you will be able to use your phone as a hotspot.

Regarding the OP's problem, unfortunately I can't really help. I have two Apple TV 3's and they are almost like bricks if my internet connection is down. I cannot even access my own library that is stored on a Mini, including all the movies that I have ripped from DVD's. Homesharing of my library still works fine on my Macs and iOS devices with no internet, but not on my Apple TV's. Very annoying, and it sounds like the newer Apple TV's are the same. At least I can AirPlay to the Apple TV with no internet as a work-around.

 

[Audit13]

I'm in Canada where every carrier I had allows tethering/hotspotting with their cellular data plan. I've not had any dealings with AT&T as a cellular carrier.

 

[fathergll]

It sounds like it you did everything right. The activation server out of service is probably temporary.

Update: Xfinity tech showed up and got me back online(as i suspected some jerk tech ended up disconnecting my internet at the pole and never put it back)


With this said i STILL can't get my AppleTV working. No joke I am getting that same error as I had before and i've unplugged this this plenty of times.

 

[priitv8]

With this said i STILL can't get my AppleTV working. No joke I am getting that same error as I had before and i've unplugged this this plenty of times.

I reckon, it needs activation against Apple's server, just like iPhone or iPad. Hence, being online is a prereq: