Q: Apple TV 3rd Gen Freezing/Buffering constantly

Here we go again. I did the update to Apple TV 7.0.3 (6917) and now the internet radio music cuts off after playing a short period of time - like it did a few months ago. And, it buffers and buffers way too often. Months ago, before the last update fiasco, I swore Apple TV was the best thing in TV entertainment. But not now. Really getting tired of this "hit & miss" approach to updates to "my" equipment. I am slowly becoming quite disappointed in Apple solutions. Wonder how long it will take to fix this "ERROR".

Same issue here and the level 6 virtual mall police representative felt that my frustration post was more complaining and felt the need to insult me suggesting this was a simple issue of a localized network problem And that I was not an IT professional... Goes by the screen name VazAndrew... Below is his helpful response prior to getting my post removed through Apple! That's like saying reboot your computer and see if it works And they your not allowed to stress how frustrating a user experience is amongst other users....Totally not helpful and created more aggrevation where my concern was removed and noted it was provided to Apple as suggestion for improvement. I have 3 Apple TVs third generation and happened since upgrading to the 6 software. Problem still not resolved.... Brother in law is Network Engineer has looked and concluded no issues on this end as far as network, bandwidth, or equipment.

Hopefully there is a fix coming soon....

If you were really in IT you would know this is a network issue, which can come at any time without changes done by the user. It is in fact working just fine for the majority. If you wanted to troubleshoot then that is what these user forums are for, Ranting is not permitted.

It's definitely a software issue, my guess is how it wakes up from sleep mode.  If my G3 sleeps, connection speed when I wake it up will be slow and buffery.  A soft reset brings it back up to expected speed.  I have a Harmony Hub and I actually put a ATV reset into the activity start up but I noticed that several third party apps (Netflix, Hulu) will log you out after X number of resets so I stopped to save a bit of time.

My ATV was working fine, then became unusable with slow buffering, halts. Did all the normal stuff: restart, reset etc. Checked LAN, download speed and other devices etc etc etc. After a lot of trouble shooting, I gave up and took the ATV to Apple. They gave me a new one. Problem solved. I am now onto my third ATV and last night it wouldn't reliably play a movie off iTunes. Kept on freezing. Hopeless. Does play Netflix fine. If it is still 'broken' tonight I will take it back to Apple. I believe some ATVs are failing with a fault that Apple probably knows about.

My ATV was working fine, then became unusable with slow buffering, halts. Did all the normal stuff: restart, reset etc. Checked LAN, download speed and other devices etc etc etc. After a lot of trouble shooting, I gave up and took the ATV to Apple. They gave me a new one. Problem solved. I am now onto my third ATV and last night it wouldn't reliably play a movie off iTunes. Kept on freezing. Hopeless. Does play Netflix fine. If it is still 'broken' tonight I will take it back to Apple. I believe some ATVs are failing with a fault that Apple probably knows about.

Same issue here with my ATV3.  I tried replacing it with my ATV2 and absolutely no buffering issues.  I've tried the usual unplugging, resetting router, etc, but the ATV3 continues to be sluggish.  Very frustrating.

Ive been reading this article since 2013... I still have the same problem I had back then. Buffering is killing me. My download speed is 50 Mbps and still it loads little bits and pieces 5 min movie time, 5 min buffering time. Seriously just fix the hardware, software, come up with a new product whatever! Just don't leave us hanging out there.

I Have the same issues.

it is not isolated to the ATV but all devices connected by LAN.

Netflix stops and buffers at 1hr 27m 44s until it times out and I get the inevitable error messages.  Apple sends me to Netflix who sends me to my router manufacturor who in turn sends me to my ISP. 

I am in the UK with an 80/20 FTTC speed. 

I Have a billion 8800AXL router with an apple time capsule set in bridge mode which provides the wifi for devices such as the iPhone, iPad etc.  everything else is set up on a gigabit switch.

All other streaming services are ok, it.s just Netflix!

interestingly, I can cast Netflix to my Chromecast from my phone and the buffering issue rarely occurs.

i Have tried all the above suggestions and am at the point of cancelling Netflix!

RIck.

Agree completely. My Apple TV device was purchased less than a week ago. I'm debating on returning it while I wait 36 hours for my movie rental I purchased to buffer. This of course is after I moved the ATV away from metal, unplugged it for 60 seconds, restarted my router, and held my tongue at a 45 degree angle between my teeth. All I have to say is that I have a Roku in the bedroom that has NEVER FAILED or required 36 hours to download. Good thing that device is just as portable as the ATV and that I saved the receipt.  Looks like I'll be moving it back to the living room. Do you read these posts at all, Apple?!?!

Help - does anyone from Apple look at these posts?  Why does no one from Apple respond to any of these pleas for help from loyal customers?  This issue has been going on since 2013 and now my Apple TV is doing the exact same thing.  Freezing, buffering, cannot watch Netflix or HBO for more than 1 minute.  Completely useless black box on my shelf.  Will not even think about purchasing the new Apple TV they announced this week, what a joke.  One of the most useless and unreliable Apple products out there, if this was happening with the iPhone they would be all over it.....well perhaps not.  I just don't think Apple cares about customers anymore. 

ATV2 works fine.

ATV3 buffers to the point its unusable. So I kept with ATV2, However....

ios9 doesn't like ATV2 (or at least the jail software its running) It sends audio only, no picture.

Swopped it back to the ATV3 - guess what, nothing but buffer. 

I too have been following this thread and dealing with this problem on my ATV3 for over 1 year, however, it's been excessively worse in 2015 with updates (currently on 7.2 firmware, 50 Mbps internet and only 2-3 devices connected at a time).  Last month I got a Roku 3 and the difference is NIGHT and DAY... I've given up on the ATV and it's up for sale on craigslist.  I won't be purchasing another ATV device.  Besides the wifi issues, ATV just doesn't have the channel access the others have.

SOLUTION - buy a Roku or Chromecast or buy an HDMI cord and plug your laptop directly into your TV

I have had an Apple TV model A1469 (3rd generation, Rev A) for about a year now.  It is running Apple TV software v.7.2 (7512) and is connected to the router with an ethernet cable.  I have just run a broadband speed test which is giving a speed of 62.08M.  There are no problems streaming on any other devices connected to the same router.

I have not had a single buffering issue with it, before now.  It is now buffering on a regular basis, so I cannot listen to any of my music anymore.  I have gone to all the Apple support options, but all they seem to say is, effectively, "switch it off and on again" or "it is a local network problem".

Now where did I put those boxes of CDs...?

What router do you use?

My problem was exactly the same as you - it turned out to be my Billion router - for some reason everything else streamed ok etc etc.  I replaced it with a netgear one and all is good.

It is a Virgin Media Superhub (Netgear).  It's the same one I have always used with the Apple TV, so no changes there, unless Virgin have updated the software.