Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Truly lock down ATV

zaphon

zaphon

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 9, 2003
270
130
So this last week has been a nightmare for me, and I've been searching for an answer and not really found one. So here is where I am. I purchased an Apple TV (4th Gen) a few months ago, and everything has been fine. I live in a large multi-tenant facility (on the fifth floor), where I have the joy of being able to see over 200 wifi networks alone from my unit (yeah, good luck finding a working channel, I've literally moved everything to ethernet I could, any chance the new 4k Apple TV finally has a gigabit ethernet port???).

However, the last few weeks has been crazy. My Apple TV is plugged into via HDMI a Samsung 4k TV. When I click the button on my remote, the Apple TV comes on and it will also turn on my TV. That's awesome, however that's where the problem comes in.

Repeatedly over the past few weeks, I keep getting the pop-up on the TV with the code for someone who is attempting to connect to my Apple TV. They're not on my Wireless (I have the logs, I'd know if someone got on who isn't supposed to be), so it's working over bluetooth or something (not sure how AirPlay works without WiFi). Which while it's annoying while I'm watching a show, the real annoyance is the people who are doing it in the middle of the night. The TV is located in my living room, so in the middle of the night, it will wake up, the TV will turn on, and the code will pop up. Then 15-30 minutes later, the Apple TV shuts off, and my TV switches back to OTA and wakes me up with a TV show or static now blaring out the speakers.

I've tried multiple ways to lock this down, but I can't seem to find one that will allow it ONLY over WiFi, and keep those pesky jerks from waking me up in the middle of the night.

Thanks in advance!!
 
Unplug everything when you go to bed? You can't stop ******s trying to hack your system while its on, so this is the only fool-proof way. Alternatively, trust Apple's security and just unplug your TV so that it doesn't wake you when someone tries to hack your ATV.
 
rayward said:
Unplug everything when you go to bed? You can't stop ******s trying to hack your system while its on, so this is the only fool-proof way. Alternatively, trust Apple's security and just unplug your TV so that it doesn't wake you when someone tries to hack your ATV.
Click to expand...

How about a way to disable peer-to-peer airplay? The older Apple TV's you could disable Bluetooth which would disable this as a side-effect. But the 4th gen it's no longer an option (because of the remote). I'm not going to unplug devices, etc. every night before I go to bed. That's just stupid.
 
niteflyr said:
Rename your Apple TV to something very unique. They may not even realize they are trying to connect to your ATV.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how much more unique I can make it, it's got my full name in it. No one is accidentally confusing it for theirs.
 
Why doesn't your Apple TV turn off the TV instead of switching back to the tuner. Mine turns the TV off when the Apple TV goes to sleep. That would at least save you the sound blaring in the night. And why can't you leave the speakers turned down?

Turn your Apple TVs off and see if you can find an Apple TV that you can Bluetooth to , it's probably that person and tell them what's happening. If it's not a prank, it will be someone technically unsophisticated.
 
Last edited:
davidoloan said:
Why doesn't your Apple TV turn off the TV instead of switching back to the tuner. Mine turns the TV off when the Apple TV goes to sleep. That would at least save you the sound blaring in the night. And why can't you turn the speakers down all the way.
Click to expand...

I wish mine turned it off, instead it disconnects and the TV switches back to the OTA input selection. As for the speakers, again I would have to program myself to remember to mute/turn down the volume before I go to sleep each night, and also get 3 other members in the house to do so. Not likely going to happen.
 
Yes, the Apple TV 4K has Gbit Ethernet.

I see a couple of solutions to your problem.
1. Turn off airplay altogether. This will completely prevent random connection attempts.
2. Make sure only people on your wifi network can attempt a connection. If you haven't already done it open settings > airplay and select "airplay." Choose "anyone on the Same Network" and make sure require security code is set to at least "first time only."

If they are Bluetooth connection attempts I don't think there's much to be done as there does not seem to be a way to turn off Bluetooth.
 
mallbritton said:
Yes, the Apple TV 4K has Gbit Ethernet.

I see a couple of solutions to your problem.
1. Turn off airplay altogether. This will completely prevent random connection attempts.
2. Make sure only people on your wifi network can attempt a connection. If you haven't already done it open settings > airplay and select "airplay." Choose "anyone on the Same Network" and make sure require security code is set to at least "first time only."

If they are Bluetooth connection attempts I don't think there's much to be done as there does not seem to be a way to turn off Bluetooth.
Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunately they are peer to peer airplay connections, as these people are not breaching my network. That's why I was asking if it was possible to just disable that feature all together, as I unfortunately do need airplay.
 
There was an airplay that was updated on the latest tvOS. Make sure to upgrade to that first.
 
It sounds like the real issue is the TV turning on in the middle of the night. You probably have HDMI-CEC enabled on your Samsung. Look for an Anynet+ setting. You might try disabling that.
 
Caromsoft said:
It sounds like the real issue is the TV turning on in the middle of the night. You probably have HDMI-CEC enabled on your Samsung. Look for an Anynet+ setting. You might try disabling that.
Click to expand...

Yeah and the occasional interruption while I'm watching something on it is minor but still annoying. I got some ideas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back