Jon Rossen

Q: Apple TV 4 thinks Home Sharing is OFF when it is ON

I used to have 2 Apple TV 3rd gen. units and everything was working fine on my home network.  They connected to my LAN via wifi and everything was operating as expected including Home Sharing.

 

I replaced one of my 3rd gen. Apple TVs with a new Apple TV 4.  It has the same network settings etc. that the old unit it replaced had.  I'm seeing that every time I start it up and want to access my media library it thinks that Home Sharing is not on, but it is ON and iTunes is running.  I then have to go to my computer and turn Home Sharing off then turn it back on.  Sometimes that doesn't work and what does is quitting out of iTunes then restarting.  So, to be honest, I guess I'm not sure if toggling Home Sharing from ON/OFF/ON is what fixes or quitting iTunes then restarting it while Home Sharing is on fixes it.  The bottom line is that this is incorrect behavior and am wondering how to fix it.  I should add that once I take care of this glitch, Home Sharing works fine.

 

I guess I should state that I'm running iTunes on Windows 7.  But most importantly, it doesn't appear that the issue is my router or my OS or computer or general network settings.  My other Apple TV (one of my original Apple TV 3 gen.) is on this same network and functions correctly with regards to Home Sharing.  In other words, at the same time, while my Apple TV 3 can see my media library on my Windows 7 PC, my Apple TV 4 is telling me that Home Sharing is off.  This obviously points to Apple TV 4 as being the culprit since 2 Apple TV 3s have worked fine on this network with this same PC, and one Apple TV 3 continues to do so.

 

The only thing I can think of doing as a last resort is to do a RESET.  Just wondering if anyone has run into this and whether they fixed it.  Thanks very much for any pointers!

Apple TV

Posted on Jun 14, 2016 6:40 PM

Close

Q: Apple TV 4 thinks Home Sharing is OFF when it is ON

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Page 1 Next
  • by Rysz,

    Rysz Rysz Jun 14, 2016 7:30 PM in response to Jon Rossen
    Level 7 (20,475 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 14, 2016 7:30 PM in response to Jon Rossen

    Experiencing the same issue on a Mac. Have to wake up the computer manually and make iTunes the front-most, active app. Posted about it elsewhere here. No resolution.

    ATV 4 doesn't wake up iTunes

     

    Definitely a bug of some kind. Please report to Apple http://www.apple.com/feedback/

  • by Jon Rossen,

    Jon Rossen Jon Rossen Jun 14, 2016 8:34 PM in response to Rysz
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 14, 2016 8:34 PM in response to Rysz

    Thanks for the reply.  In my case, this happens even when the computer hasn't gone in sleep mode.  At least I'm pretty sure of this; I may have to check this and test it just to be certain.

     

    Btw, just to make sure we're on the same page:  Are you experiencing this with an Apple TV 4 specifically?  As I stated in my original post, my Apple TV 3 doesn't have this problem.  The other night I tested the Apple TV 3 with respect to this problem and did it over a long period of time.  I used the Apple TV late at night, then put it to sleep and I myself went to sleep :-), and kept my computer on.  The next morning I did a test--I accessed my media library with no problem.  The Apple TV 3 didn't incorrectly say that Home Sharing was not on.  My Apple TV 4 will falsely say that Home Sharing if off even if I come back to accessing the library after not actively using for only a half hour or so.

  • by Rysz,

    Rysz Rysz Jun 14, 2016 8:37 PM in response to Jon Rossen
    Level 7 (20,475 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 14, 2016 8:37 PM in response to Jon Rossen

    Yes, this issue did not occur on ATV 3. It's new to ATV 4.

  • by Jon Rossen,

    Jon Rossen Jon Rossen Jun 14, 2016 8:43 PM in response to Rysz
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 14, 2016 8:43 PM in response to Rysz

    Ok, got it.  I just realized I could have figured out that you specifically meant ATV 4 by looking at title of the Topic you started; sorry 'bout that.  :-)

     

    Btw, have you tried restoring it just to see if that will do anything?  I know it's sort of silly; doesn't really figure that it should do anything--it's one of those last ditch efforts like throwing something at the wall and seeing what sticks.  Tech support usually loves to tell you try stuff like this as it eats time when they themselves really have no idea what is causing a problem + it gives the illusion that they have the issue 'under control' (as long as they are suggesting stuff to try).

  • by Rysz,

    Rysz Rysz Jun 14, 2016 8:49 PM in response to Jon Rossen
    Level 7 (20,475 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 14, 2016 8:49 PM in response to Jon Rossen

    Neither simple resets, nor a restore (made for a different reason) made any difference.

    I also spent a lot of time checking if my network was the cause, but it wasn't. Wi-Fi and router are working fine.

     

    All we can do is report the issue to Apple http://www.apple.com/feedback/

  • by Jon Rossen,

    Jon Rossen Jon Rossen Jun 14, 2016 8:56 PM in response to Rysz
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 14, 2016 8:56 PM in response to Rysz

    Ok, thanks for the additional info.  I'll report it.

     

    I did talk to Apple Support about this earlier today and they suggested that I return it.  I told them that my gut feeling is that doing that would be futile as it's more than likely not a glitch with my specific Apple TV 4 but is a global problem with all of them.  Thanks for your info, which further underscores that. I was about ready to return it as a last ditch attempt which probably would end up as a big waste of time.

     

    Hopefully they can fix it with a software update.

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Jun 15, 2016 4:02 AM in response to Jon Rossen
    Level 4 (3,584 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 15, 2016 4:02 AM in response to Jon Rossen

    Hello Jon,

    Could you please describe your network configutation? In addition to the router connected to the internet, are there any WiFi access points, repeaters, etc.? What is the make and model of the router? Have you given the ATVs different names?

    Are you able to try ethernet connection for ATV 4?

    These see/can't see problems are related to the Apple Bonjour protocol used to keep track of what resources are available on the network. Somehow, ATV 4 is losing this info when it sleeps. When you restart iTunes, it broadcasts its presence, so ATV then knows it's available.

    Does ATV have the latest software, 9.2.1?

  • by Jon Rossen,

    Jon Rossen Jon Rossen Jun 15, 2016 9:58 AM in response to Diana.McCall
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 15, 2016 9:58 AM in response to Diana.McCall

    Hello Diana,

     

    Thanks so much for your reply; I really appreciate it.  Here's the info that you requested:

     

    Router: Netgear N6400

    Extender: Netgear EX6200  (Note, the issue with Home Sharing was happening before the extender was put in place)

    Apple tvOS: 9.2.1  --I have the latest

     

    I have given the ATVs different names.  It would be unfeasible for me to try an ethernet connection at this time.  I suppose if I had a HUGE spool of cable I could temporarily hook it up but I don't have enough.  Awhile back my idea was to have this particular ATV wired into the network and to do that I'd be running the cable underneath the house, but I abandoned that idea.

     

    My network config is that I have manually assigned static IP addresses to most of the devices on my network including both of my ATVs (also iPads and iPhone, and other stuff).  I do use DHCP but I have limited the pool of available IP addresses and my two primary computers (PC and Mac) get assigned IP addresses by the router's DHCP feature.  My network is working fine; no problems with the IP addresses.  I decided to make the majority of them static just to keep things more stable and predictable.

     

    Thanks for the info about Bonjour as the root cause.  I just did a quick set of tests and yes, it's the ATVs sleep mode that is killing the connection.  Once thing I did just now notice that I was unclear about before is that what I need to do when this happens is to exit out of iTunes then restart the app (all done of course while Home Sharing is on).  Earlier, I thought that keeping iTunes open while toggling Home Sharing  ON/OFF/ON was the thing that was working but I think I was mistaken, at least I'm seeing now that keeping the current iTunes session while toggling Home Sharing doesn't work.  In any event, it probably has something to do with how the Home Sharing status is being broadcast.  As you stated above, it re-broadcasts when iTunes is restarted...so maybe not when you toggle the on/off/on state of Home Sharing in a current session.

     

    If there's any other info you need please don't hesitate to ask.  Thanks again.

     

    -jonR

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Jun 16, 2016 7:11 AM in response to Jon Rossen
    Level 4 (3,584 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 16, 2016 7:11 AM in response to Jon Rossen

    Hello Jon,

    Your WiFi is as good as it can be if you're using tje WPA2 only mode.

    ATV 4 has been reported to have trouble when behind a repeater, but your problem began before it was added, and static IPs may also help.

    As a test, could you try removing ATV 3 from the network (power off) then restart router, ATV4, and iTunes? See if that helps. There's supposed to be a Bonjour Sleep Proxy running somewhere, keeping track of where the services are. Since your router doesn't do it (I believe), ATV 4 should take the job itself.

  • by Jon Rossen,

    Jon Rossen Jon Rossen Jun 16, 2016 10:30 AM in response to Diana.McCall
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 16, 2016 10:30 AM in response to Diana.McCall

    Hi Diana,

     

    1. WPA2 only mode -  I am using that.  I'm a little unclear on what you mean by 'good as can be' when using WPA2 only.  Are you referring to general network performance or specifically to this Bonjour issue we are discussing?  I'm pretty sure it's the latter and not the former but I'm not 100% sure.  I can't figure out why a particular security mode would affect overall network performance.

     

    2. Yes, this problem with ATV 4 occurred even before I put my extender/repeater in service in the network.  Thanks for remembering that!  :-)

     

    3. Removing the ATV 3 from the network:  It already is; this is the default state so there's no need to run a specific test on this.  Let me explain:  I have this remaining ATV 3 on a power strip that typically remains OFF.  I don't use the TV, ATV 3, and Blu-ray player in that room very often so I keep all these devices essentially OFF using this power strip.

     

    Let me know if you think of anything else.  Btw, I should say, on a positive note, that I really like the ATV 4, particularly the new remote.  Also the networking is much more robust since it supports the 802.11 ac standard whereas ATV 3 was 802.11 n.  This isn't mentioned much but I think it is important.  I am taking advantage of that by using a router and extender/repeater both support 802.11 ac.

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Jun 16, 2016 10:42 AM in response to Jon Rossen
    Level 4 (3,584 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 16, 2016 10:42 AM in response to Jon Rossen

    All I meant was that WiFi performance would be good. ATV 4 has been reported to drop the connection when dual mode is enabled.

    A couple of other suggestions I've seen that might make a difference are to disable IPv6 (probably isn't enabled), and to enable RIP in both directions on the LAN, using mode RIP_1. I have done this, and it doesn't seem to hurt, though it may not be significant in a small network.

  • by Jon Rossen,

    Jon Rossen Jon Rossen Jun 16, 2016 1:12 PM in response to Diana.McCall
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 16, 2016 1:12 PM in response to Diana.McCall

    Hi Diana,

     

    Thanks for the additional suggestions.

     

    IPv6 is already disabled, so that won't help.

     

    I just enabled RIP_1 (in both directions), and that didn't help either.  The symptoms still persist.

     

    To change the conversation a bit, doesn't it seem pretty obvious about now that there's more than likely no setting tweak or setup a user can do to fix this?  Is this something that could be easily addressed/fixed in a software update and would you think that perhaps this is already in the works?

     

    -jonR

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Jun 16, 2016 3:07 PM in response to Jon Rossen
    Level 4 (3,584 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 16, 2016 3:07 PM in response to Jon Rossen

    Too bad about RIP. As I feared, it doesn't apply to single-router nets.

    Certainly, we can hope for a fix, but these problems have been around for several months now, so they may not be getting much priority.

  • by Jon Rossen,

    Jon Rossen Jon Rossen Jun 16, 2016 3:14 PM in response to Diana.McCall
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 16, 2016 3:14 PM in response to Diana.McCall

    When I called Apple support I was told I was the first person to report this, at least through a phone call.  That surprised me.  I've also reported via the website. 

     

    In your opinion, would you say that this issue is global and applies to all ATV 4 units or is there a slight possibility it applies to only a few defective units?  If it's the former rather than the latter, it's surprising that they haven't gotten more calls.  As I stated above, I was told mine was the first.

     

    It was suggested that I bring in the ATV 4 to my local Apple retail store and have them look at it and run some diagnostics.  Of course that would entail making a Genius Bar appt. and going through all of that.  I'm not sure what type of diagnostics they would run and whether it would be targeted towards this issue or just some sort of generic series of tests that would more than likely come up with nothing.

Page 1 Next