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Second and Third-Generation Apple TV Models Not Working for Some Users

Go into settings, iTunes Store, Location, and change your location to Namibia. Back out of settings, go back in and change it back to US. It will restore all the apps.

MacRumors said:



Some second and third-generation Apple TV owners have started experiencing a mysterious bug over the last few days, which seems to have essentially disabled the device for a number of users. Affected Apple TV models are only able to display Computers, Music, and Settings, with no other channel options available.

Customers who are seeing the issue have had all of their menu options suddenly disappear, leaving them unable to watch Netflix, Hulu, and other Apple TV channels.

brokenappletv-800x450.jpg

Image via MacRumors reader Gabbisonn​
This seems to be a bug that's been around for awhile, but has become more prevalent over the last day or two. MacRumors has received several complaints via email, and there are threads outlining the problem both on our forums and on Reddit.

Restarting the Apple TV, resetting a router, and resetting the Apple TV don't seem to work. A region change offers a temporary solution, but ultimately, the channels disappear again for many users. Some users have partially fixed the issue by changing DNS settings, but this doesn't work for all users. A MacRumors reader describes the problem:Not all Apple TV users are affected by the issue, but it appears to be fairly widespread. Only the Apple TV 2 and 3 are impacted -- the fourth-generation Apple TV is functioning fine.

Apple's support staff told a Reddit user that a fix was in the works, and to expect a software update in the near future. A MacRumors reader received similar information, with Apple suggesting a fix would be pushed within the next few hours.

Article Link: Second and Third-Generation Apple TV Models Not Working for Some Users
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drewfranklin said:
Go into settings, iTunes Store, Location, and change your location to Namibia. Back out of settings, go back in and change it back to US. It will restore all the apps.
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hm.. so this is what "it just works" has become these days.

to be honest, i really wonder why that is ... after they've started introducing what i call pseudo-features (many borrowed from iOS) the software quality started degrading on OSX, too. - i wish we would have the option to chose between a "vanilla" OSX and then there is the fancy buggy iOS-ish consumer OSX version. just like with Android, you can chose your best fit from both worlds.
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robeddie said:
Bingo. They basically have you roped in once you upgrade. Why not make it easy to downgrade?
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i think it should be prohibited by law to stop vendors from actively hindering users to downgrade. - not being able to officially downgrade software versions disturbed me very much during the time when i was still developing iOS apps... needed to test on different iOS versions, but there is no official way for downgrading except hacking around. - just one of the reasons we've stopped developing for iOS ...
 
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Volkswagen04 said:
Here is what you need to do to fix it.

Go to the Settings > iTunes Store > Location. Change location to a different country and then change right back to "United States." That fixed it for me this morning, however, some apps (HBO and ShowTime) are gone...
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So, it didn't really fix it; just made it less broken.
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drewfranklin said:
Go into settings, iTunes Store, Location, and change your location to Namibia...
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"It just works in Namibia." Apple
 
No problems on my 3rd Gen, until now. Streams in perfect HD (16Mbit/S down 1,xxMbit/S up).
My Samsung BD-Player cost way more but this thing doesn´t stream so smooth.
 
The build quality for Apple is very very very good in comparison to other manufacturers(computers or not), I am surprised some of their stuff still works BUT...

the problem is that they make it obsolete by software. If its no longer usable software, its just as good as unusable hardware. You need both.
 
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WBRacing said:
It'd be interesting to know what's changed that would cause this. I haven't seen any software updates in ages so presume there must be some form of remote service issue rather than local.
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Next Apple TV device I get im going to turn off automatic updates so Apple can't brick my device and force me to buy another one. I hate this.
[doublepost=1478176544][/doublepost]I'd buy a new Apple TV.....if it supported. 4K. How long will we have to wait for Apple to catch up to that?! I'm tired of waiting for Apple to play catch up. I'm finding less and less reasons to stay with Apple.
I use to feel bound to Apple for the thousands I spent on iTunes but with music streaming subs and google pixel phone looking nice it's easier now more than ever to break away from Apple. They really need to step their game up. I already won't ever by another MacBook from them. I use to love Apple and recommend them to everyone and feel like I had the newest features the most reliable devices but the past year I've been feeling frustrated. I'm just not satisfied with their lack of quality in my experience of using their products. From MacOS iOS to watchOS. I think I'm going to leave Apple soon. The shine has wore off and become dull.
 
Mr. Donahue said:
Next Apple TV device I get im going to turn off automatic updates so Apple can't brick my device and force me to buy another one. I hate this.
[doublepost=1478176544][/doublepost]I'd buy a new Apple TV.....if it supported. 4K. How long will we have to wait for Apple to catch up to that?! I'm tired of waiting for Apple to play catch up. I'm finding less and less reasons to stay with Apple.
I use to feel bound to Apple for the thousands I spent on iTunes but with music streaming subs and google pixel phone looking nice it's easier now more than ever to break away from Apple. They really need to step their game up. I already won't ever by another MacBook from them. I use to love Apple and recommend them to everyone and feel like I had the newest features the most reliable devices but the past year I've been feeling frustrated. I'm just not satisfied with their lack of quality in my experience of using their products. From MacOS iOS to watchOS. I think I'm going to leave Apple soon. The shine has wore off and become dull.
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Come on! Ah, I see, you like bugs. Maybe it has to do with the latest attacks. So, that would mean, no software bug or hardware problem.

Their changed something at Apple, ok. But even when Steve had been CEO not everything had been perfect.

Price drop or 4K otherwise no upgrade for me.
 
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Tried the solution to use Hotspot, it works fine, and then reconnect with the existing WiFi network. Problem is still there.
 
bigjeep127 said:
You're right about the second part. I returned my gen 4 after comparing it to my gen 3. The audio quality is complete garbage on the gen 4. It's well documented by many. I won't buy a new AppleTV until Apple fixes this issue.
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Given that the ATV3 & ATV4 output audio via HDMI wouldn't the music remain digital and perfectly preserved? Could you explain a bit about how the audio on the ATV4 is worse than the ATV3? My only complaint about the ATV4 is the lack of optical audio output making it impossible for me to listen to music without my tv on.
 
Either the problem was fixed or our ATV3 was not impacted since my fiancée had no issues watching Netflix last night.
 
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davemchine said:
My only complaint about the ATV4 is the lack of optical audio output making it impossible for me to listen to music without my tv on.
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I have an ATV3 but had the lack of optical out problem on my Amazon Fire TV. Solved it by buying for $26 an AGPtek HDMI Audio extractor on Amazon. Works great.
 
I had a variety of issues with my 4th generation Apple TV which required rebooting almost everyday. I found a "reset" option in the settings menu that seems to have fixed my issues. Maybe a reset is required for these older models as well.
 
Return Zero said:
Very interesting. My 3rd-gen has never given me a single problem, was watching Netflix on it just last night. Nice to know that Apple is working on a solution and not hanging owners of these older products out to dry already.
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It will when 5th gen Apple TV comes out..
 
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kaneda said:
It will when 5th gen Apple TV comes out..
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If the 5th-gen takes as long as the 4th-gen to be released, 3rd-gen devices will be like 10 years old by then. Here's hoping that's not the case, though. I'd love to see a 4K Apple TV next fall perhaps running an A11 processor. By then, 4K content should be more available.
 
This happened to me. I spent all night Tuesday trying the various fixes with some degree of success, though many of the apps were still missing. However yesterday it seemed to be fixed as all of the apps had reappeared, even in the order I had them. I have automatic updates turned on so I'm not sure if an update was pushed through or not but at least for the time being it seems to be resolved.
 
This happened to my unit yesterday. A quick google search last night revealed the 're-select the country' in iTunes suggestion.

I switched it to something else, then switch it back. Voila! That worked for me.
 
I don't use my ATV2 since getting an Amazon Fire TV. It's funny the Fire "just works" the ATV2 [and I own two btw] just never really did. Both ATVs crash consistently.

I always pay the Apple tax but I can't bring myself to do it for the ATV4.
 
I've had this issue for 2 years, so it's not news. I had 2x Apple TV 3rd gen, same problem on both.
 
robeddie said:
I see. So since your handful of Apple products have done alright, no one else's complaints here are valid. I see you're quite a student of science and statisitics there buddy.
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I'm just saying that if they're practicing planned obsolescence, then they're way worse at that than I would have though possible. Making shoddy products that unintentionally tend to crap out after a while is one thing, but that's not the argument I'm seeing. Making quality products that are designed to crap out after a specific period and then having that fail?

How embarrassing.

But hey, maybe you're right. Maybe I'm the only person lucky enough to have bypassed all of Apple's planned expiration dates on two decades worth of Apple products while all of my PCs fell to dust around me. If so, I can live with that. Does that make me a technomancer?
 
busyscott said:
Seriously though, everyone should just get gen 4, it's not even a close comparison.
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Thanks man, but this thread is obviously for people who have and use these generations of ATV. We all understand that there's another, newer, model available.

This is the equivalent of coming to some forum where people are talking about an issue in their five year-old car and saying "hey, just buy a new car, it'll be better".
 
This happened to me... Fixed after I changed my location to UK then back to US in settings. Haven't had an issue since then.
 
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