It seems like anytime I try to use home sharing on my 4th gen apple tv, when I click on the computers app, it doesn't show my computers. Just gives me the message to turn on home sharing on my computers. If I then go into the settings on the apple tv and turn off home sharing, it says it is on. If I then turn it off an on again, it works for a while, then stops working again. Is anybody else seeing this issue?
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Keep having to turn off and on home sharing to get it to work
- Thread starter nottooshabby
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This may or may not be the cause, but worth looking into.
Check the computer where your iTunes library is located. If the computer goes to sleep after a set time, the ATV will think Home Sharing is off if the computer won't wake up. On the Mac, there's a system setting under Energy Saver called Wake for Network Access which often solves this. If you have a Windows machine, there's probably an equivalent setting.
A way to test this is manually wake up your computer (move the mouse around) then try the ATV to access the computer.
Also check that the wifi signal strength to the ATV is good and stable.
Check the computer where your iTunes library is located. If the computer goes to sleep after a set time, the ATV will think Home Sharing is off if the computer won't wake up. On the Mac, there's a system setting under Energy Saver called Wake for Network Access which often solves this. If you have a Windows machine, there's probably an equivalent setting.
A way to test this is manually wake up your computer (move the mouse around) then try the ATV to access the computer.
Also check that the wifi signal strength to the ATV is good and stable.
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Alternatively just use Plex. I have been using Homesharing for years, and dealt with the same issues, and finally when Sierra came out and Homesharing was locked out due to some weird AppleID bug that effected many users and left me no choice but to search for an alternative. Plex is great, better and easier syncing between devices, more automatic metadata, on the fly transcoding, surround sound just works, essentially format and codec neutral, etc. and it is darn good looking too. I just pointed it to my iTunes library and was up and running with it in like a half hour.
Happens to be ever once and awhile. No real pattern as to when and why it happens. My computer is always on and never set to sleep or anything. Reboot does the trick to fix it as well. At this point it does not happen to me often enough to be a real pain so hoping a future software update fixes it.
I had the same issue. Very frustrating.
It was operating wirelessly, but I was able to rejig a few connections so that it could be wired. Problem went away after that.
It was operating wirelessly, but I was able to rejig a few connections so that it could be wired. Problem went away after that.
Update: The problem didn't go away. ATV4 still loses the HomeSharing link despite being connected to the host Mac entirely by ethernet and within an Apple ecosystem. I have 3 ATV3s for which this is not a problem. Software is completely up to date on all components.
This is beyond frustrating. The ATV4 is supposed to be the center of my home theater universe; instead it's getting very close to being relegated to the least-used guest bedroom so that a competent ATV3 can do the job without me having to visit my Mac to close/open iTunes (the only way this fixes itself) every time I want to watch some stored media.
What a joke.
Did you ever find a solution for this issue? It is still happening, even with the latest software updates.
Despite keeping up with all updates (ATV, Mac, AEBS) it's happening now more than ever.
I don't see how a bug like this can continue for so long. Does nobody at Apple use the functionality, or is there something messed up with our apple tv's. I have even completely reset mine. didn't help.
For my mid-2010 MBP, setting it to wake for network access doesn't solve this issue, iTunes has to be open and the computer must not be allowed to sleep.
I read that a full factory reset of the ATV would fix the problem, but that's the hard place to go along with the drop connection rock. I didn't want to have to sit there and re-download all my apps and then re-authorise each of them (I'm an Xfinity customer so no global login for me). Sorry to hear it didn't work but that at least saves me from wasting my time.
It's ridiculous that this continues through multiple updates of each software package.
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I might give it a go. A new iTunes came out today too, so there's always the vain hope that there's a fix built into that too.
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My iMac doesn't sleep and my ATV doesn't sleep. They are connected via ethernet on a network driven by an AEBS. I don't know how much more easy I could make this for Apple, yet it still doesn't work.