AppleTV keeps losing connection with iTunes; only solution is to reset it

HiTechKoke wrote:
I have a frequent lost connection issue just a few minutes into a sync but very consistent between my MacBookPro and ATV. Instead of re-booting ATV I just go to the settings on ATV and then the Computer and Connect to iTunes and then at least on iTunes it comes back to recognize an ATV in the devices. If you go through those steps without rebooting the ATV do you see it listed in iTunes again? I am doing my connections via wireless on both devices, MacBook Pro and ATV.

Your issue kind of seems the same but a much longer period before it resets.

Do you mean the settings where you set it up as a new library? If I do that, it does work, but I still have to sync everything again. With most of the testing I've done, I have factory restored, just in case that's playing a part, but setting it up as a new library does seem to work as well. The problem for me isn't that, it's the syncing - it takes a few hours for all the stuff I have, even over ethernet.

HiTechKoke wrote:
Yes... the new library section is what I am referring to... and then it tries to sync for 5 minutes and then stops and loses its iTunes connection it appears.

I'm a bit confused though you said..

"The problem for me isn't that, it's the syncing - it takes a few hours for all the stuff I have, even over ethernet."

In reading your original post you said you lost connection to iTunes... was this during the sync or well after it was done? Mine seems to be during the sync. We appear to be the same in that the only way to re-connect is via the new library or rebooting things. Things that make you go Hmmm. 🙂

Message was edited by: HiTechKoke

Sorry, I didn't express that well. The main problem is of course that connection is somehow lost in such a way that iTunes doesn't find the AppleTV as a device. What I meant about the main problem being the syncing was that the aggravation factory of a factory restore versus setting it up as a new library is pretty much the same, since both involve syncing everything again.

expatsavant wrote:
I have had the exact same problem for the past few months but on a Windows system. I tried everything as well but have still had no success. When the problem first occurred I could get it to sync by resetting everything but even that doesn't work. Connecting directly by ethernet doesn't work but I can share my iTunes library between computers so it is not a network problem. Have you found any solutions yet? This is VERY frustrating.

It is very frustrating and I have not found a solution either. I also have no problem sharing my iTunes library between computers, and I connected everything by ethernet but it didn't fix it. This seems to have been a longstanding problem - I have seen posts about it going back for a couple of years. I think it's something buggy about iTunes. I have also found a lot of posts with people having issues connecting iPads where iTunes recognizes the iPad on the initial sync, but then it doesn't appear in devices after that. I don't know if that's related, but it seems like a similar problem. I am still working on it. I will post back here if I find any answers.

capaho wrote:
Try turning off IPv6 in the network settings in OS X for the network interface your Mac is using for its connection and see if it makes a difference. That's probably about the only thing left to try.

Funny, I think we're on same wavelength. I read that on another forum yesterday. Last night I turned off IPv6, factory reset, and synced all over again from scratch. We'll see how that goes. I will report back on what happens.

Well, I turned off IPv6. I also inactivated AirPort on my iMac (keeping just ethernet active) per a suggestion from another board, and all was well for about three days, but again iTunes won't detect the AppleTV. I am out of ideas.

Another update - I called Apple again to see if they had any other ideas. They suggested reinstalling OS X, which I did. This time syncing lasted for only a couple of hours, and now I'm back to iTunes not being able to detect the AppleTV.

capaho wrote:

They suggested reinstalling OS X, which I did.

An unfortunate waste of time.

No more so than the other 57 worthless things I've tried so far. If I'd known how easy it would be, I might have just tried that instead of reinstalling iTunes. I did not, however, try completely erasing and reinstalling the operating system. That would have been far more painful and I'm not inclined to try it without very good reason to think it would work.

Are your computer and your ATV connected to the same router?

Yes. An AirPort Extreme.

capaho wrote:
Have you tried syncing it with a different computer?

I haven't yet. That was the next thing on my list, though I'm not excited about it. The other computer will have to be connected by WiFi, not ethernet. It doesn't have as big of a hard drive and isn't the computer I want to use for my media. And finally, it seems to be unable to detect the AppleTV also when this happens. I have checked the iTunes/Preferences on that computer several times, and it doesn't show up there either.