Play/pause button not working Apple Tv 4K

Thanks for that bit of information. The bug has been driving me nuts over the past week or so. I noticed that I had no issues playing out music or TV shows over home share that were encoded in Stereo format. The minute I switched to something encoded in AAC or using the ATV gen 4 to convert the AAC to AC3, the bug came back. It does not appear to affect any of my other streaming apps (Disney+, Netflix, and Prime) or even streaming movies purchased through Apple over the internet. It’s only when I pull something through home share from iTunes on my PC that it acts up. I tried changing the audio output of the ATV gen 4 to Stereo and the same files that were previously giving me fits and locking up, appear to play out fine. Apple needs to vet these software releases better. We, the customers, should not be their beta testers.

Having the same problem with the computer app on Apple Tv 4k. Whats crazy is if I hookup the Apple Tv directly to the Av Receiver and bypass the Tv it works prefect! but I can only play in 1080P (Av Receiver not 4k passthrough) I read on another form that if you change the Apple Tv audio to stereo when its hooked up to the Tv it works, and it does. There is some kind of bug in the audio on tvOs 14.3 the effects the computer app streaming, kind of crazy. I just hope they fix this because I don't want to listen to movies in stereo I want the surround sound. By the way I reinstalled 14.3 twice and no fix and was on the phone with Apple with no help. I lost all confidence in Apple.

I had this issue particularly while playing movies/tv shows off the “computer” app - ie, off iTunes on my iMac.

Here’s the solution that works:

Go to settings. Find Video and Audio.

Click on Audio Settings.

Select STEREO - remove Surround, 5.1, and Auto.

It’s the only thing that works and I have no idea WHY. Hopefully an update will fix this.

OMG! THANK YOU! This has been driving me nuts! Thought I was losing my mind. I have two ATVs, one HD and one 4K. One is in a stereo set up and the other in an Atmos theatre set up. Only the stereo setup was affected. So after hours of troubleshooting, switching out HDMI cables, network cables, wifi settings, reset TV to factory settings, reset ATV, changing resolutions, HDMI settings, etc., I decide to swap the ATVs. I pulled the ATV out of the theatre setup and put a n the stereo room and vice versa and to my utter astonishment, the bloody thing still didn’t work in the stereo room but the one that wasn’t working was now working correctly in the theatre room. Been pulling my hair out until I found this thread. I had isolated it to the ATV once I swapped the ATV rooms, was the only variable at that point but I would never have guessed or thought to change the output to stereo. How incredibly random of a glitch to affect play/pause playback.

Thanks again!

Apple... take note and please address in a software update!

Glad that is worked! I know a lot of people are still discovering this problem so I’m certain they will also stumble across these posts.

I feel your pain. I actually got Apple to replace my unit when even their technician found an issue when playing content. Accidentally updated my unit and bang, the issue occurred again.

I even signed up for Plex and funnelled my content through there for a while. But it was a truly bizarre experience.

Hey Apple! When I called - no one in support had any clue what I was talking about. Gotta speed it up and scan these boards full time!

Does anyone have this issue when connected to a 4K amp/receiver?

My Apple TV is connected to tv, but the issue stops when I connect it to my none 4K amp.

so I can get surround sound but no 4K picture or a 4K picture and no surround sound

HERE’S THE FIX.

Turn off Dolby Atmos.

1. Go to Settings.

2. Go to Video and Audio.

3. Scroll down and select Audio Format.

4. Toggle Change Format to On.

5. For New Format, select Stereo.

6. Done.

You’ll be able to play and pause content from the Computers app without a problem now.

P.S. I found this fix. I’m the same person that posted the fix on another website that I’m probably not allowed to mention. Apple thought it would be helpful to everyone to delete my original comment from here that included more information.

I didn’t speak to anyone from Apple about this. I found the bug. I found a fix for it. I wrote the fix here.

I thought updating my Apple TV would fix the issue. It didn’t.

I thought updating my software to the very latest version (Second letter of Greek alphabet) would fix it. It didn’t.

They removed my original post because it included the second letter of the Greek alphabet.

We can only hope Apple’s Software engineers are aware of the issue now and a proper fix is in the works for a future software update.

Apple TV tvOS 14.4 doesn’t fix the home sharing computer app! Still can’t pause and only getting stereo sound! How hard is it to fix, the Apple TV HD doesn’t have this problem, only 4K version. Apple are you reading these post on your website of customers giving feedback, because only customers are responding to my post not you! I appreciate all the help from the people on the form, thank you.

I have the same problem, my 4K Apple TV is connected to my 4K tv, but when I connect it directly to my non 4K receiver it works fine. This problem has been going on for months and 14.4 still doesn’t fix this. Apple do you read the post on your own website?

No One Had Notified Apple About This Issue Until About 3 Weeks Ago When I Talked With Them In Support. Apple Doesn't Monitor This Community Forum So They Were Unaware. They Know Now That In The Update That There Is An Error In The Dolby Code. Until Now This Is The Only Fix That Solves The Pause/Play Issue.

Patrick stop spamming this thread. I’ve documented the fix here. I’ve also documented it on another website.

The fix allows you to play and pause.

It DOES NOT provide everyone with surround sound which is what we were hoping for with the 14.4 update.

Having the exact same issue on my Apple 4k, it happens often with Discovery+ content, but it also happens randomly in other apps as well, including Apple TV+ shows. I've tried all the possible solutions in this thread, but nothing worked. Has anyone found a viable solution yet? Thanks!

Hello everyone I hope all is well. I wanted to replace my old AV receiver, so I bought a 4K AV receiver and plugged the 4K Apple TV directly into it and all the problems with the pause and audio is gone. I know you shouldn’t have to buy a 4K AV to fix Apple TV issues. The only issue is sometimes when the AV is off and I’m watching the Apple TV through pass through the problem is back, only sometimes it’s crazy. All the Receivers today have night listening so not a big deal. If anyone has questions I will answer the best I can. Stay safe everyone!