Apple TV 4K Keeps Cutting Out - How Do I Fix This?

I have been able to solve this problem on my own ATV4K after a lot of troubleshooting. There is a small compromise but it is working for now.

My setup:

Sony 2018 55” 4K TV which supports HDR10 and HLG. ATV4K connected to HDMI3 which supports 4k HDR/HLG and Onkyo receiver connected to HDMI2 which supports ARC and 4K HDR/HLG. ATV connected using HDMI certified ultra high speed 2.1 cable and receiver connected using HDMI 2.0 cable.

My Troubleshooting:

1. I tried switching my ATV4K with another same gen ATV to see if it was my particular ATV which was faulty which was not the case. The other ATV showed the same issues.
2. I used the fastest available HDMI cable to avoid any bandwidth bottlenecks. Used an HDMI certified one as an extra measure. Again, did not change the situation.
3. Tried the two ATVs on a different brand (Samsung) TV while also checking that the wifi range was similar for both TVs. Samsung TV showed no such problems. Then hooked up the ATV to a friend’s Sony TV form 2017 and had similar problems.
4. When hooked up to ATV HD instead of ATV4K, all three TVs worked without any problems. It appeared that the problem was specific to ATV4K and Sony TVs together.
5. Then Tried upgrading to a higher internet speed in case that was a problem, although that was probably not the cause since my current speed supported multiple 4K streams without significant buffering or lag. As expected, did not mitigate the issue.
6. My final attempt was to check if it was a problem with the port itself. I changed ATV4K output to HDMI2 and disconnected the receiver temporarily. Playing videos no longer caused any cut-offs.
7. My receiver doesn’t support or at least, doesn’t detect standard HDMI as an input method, so I later hooked the receiver to the TV using optical cable. Still supports 5.1 audio, although at slightly less audio quality. I ran a video for 7 hours with this setup and noticed no cut-offs whatsoever.

Conclusion:

Current setup is ATV4K connected to ARC HDMI2 port and receiver connected with optical cable. With this small compromise in audio quality, I was able to watch a full episode of Loki in 5.1 surround audio without a single cut-off or dropped signal. Significant upgrade from the previous anxiety causing and brunt-of-all-jokes expensive setup which worked like a $200 Walmart TV.

Next Mission: Get HDR to not look like gray s**t on my HDR10/HLG supported TV.

I agree, Morkious.

I got a replacement unit from Apple and it appeared to work fine for a little while, but then the random cutting returned.

I found that changing the setting for Dolby Vision from always on to only when it's available has helped to reduce the cutting out issue. Resetting the device has also helped.

Neither is 100%, but the issue has been significantly reduced.

I don't think it's my TV — it was running the previous version of Apple TV 4K on the same HDMI port with zero problems.

I'm hoping the next software update quashes these bugs.

I haven't heard back from AppleCare support with my original unit — I'll post what they come back with, if anything.

I also stopped the control of TV and AV Receivers in the ‘settings’ menu and ‘Remotes and Devices’ (you can still adjust the volume in the next setting)

Also changed these settings, as the man says counterintuitive but works.

https://youtu.be/htd_1RSaf3A

I have had this problem since upgrading both 4K tv and to a 4K apple box, I initially assumed it was my broadband but today solved the problem!

it is all about the apple box format setting and the tv screen mode, for me i had the box on 4K Dolby but i had set the tv screen mode to cinema, i did not realise that i could set the screen mode for each different input source so by accident looked at the screen mode while the apple box was on and saw the Dolby setting, this was not available when i set the tv up connected to normal tv. Since then it has performed flawlessly!

As far as I could gather from my troubleshooting, I've narrowed down the problem to three potential causes of this issue.

1. The issue only shows up when I have the video outputting at 4K. When I switch the display to 1080p SDR or HDR, the problem goes away forever. After switching from 1080p to 4K, the problem shows up less frequently in the beginning and then starts occurring more often. However, it also appears that the HDMI cable is not a problem here as I have used everything from the most expensive to the cheapest cable (i fact, every single cable available at my local retailer) and the problem is still there.
2. The problem seems to be specific or at least, highly probable with Sony TVs in particular. I have tried the same apple tv with Samsung TVs without any such problems. on the other hand, another apple tv 4k of the same kind also shows the same problem with my Sony TV. Neither ATV4K shows any problems with the Samsung.
3. From looking at different forums, it appears that the problem is more common in <2019 Sony TVs.

I'm pretty sure that this is at least in part, a Sony problem. However, Apple is equally at fault for charging so much for a product and still not making sure that the device works well on all the widely used 4K devices, especially form one such as Sony.

I posted previously about changing settings on the ATV 4K. Using 4K SDR and ‘matching content’ seemed to work, as well as a software change. There is a YouTube video I posted a link to.

The ATV worked for many weeks without a hitch, but the last TVOS XV b seemed to have done something, I went into the ATV settings and ‘check HDMI’ after the ATV said ‘Your HDMI looks better’ the ATV is working again. I have a Panasonic 4K OLED, so different to the Sony posted problems. I’m not an electronics expert, but I believe the HDMI devices require ‘handshakes’. Maybe the ‘check HDMI’ on the ATV does something?

Hello ClarkKent77,

We see that you're having some trouble with your Apple TV cutting out randomly. We'd be happy to help!

Do you have access to another TV? If so, for testing purposes, could you please connect the Apple TV to that and see if this same thing happens?

If so, could you also try connecting the Apple TV using another HDMI cable if you have one available? Does the same thing happen with that new cable?

Cheers!

I know it’s an annoying answer and defeats the purpose of buying the 4K… but until Apple fixes the glitch the only thing that has worked for me was to put the resolution on 1080p instead of 4K. The first time this started for me was I didn’t have a 4K HDMI cable so check that. But if you do I recommend switching for now because it appears to be an Apple glitch.

Hello!

Based on what you're experiencing, at this point you'll want to reach out to Apple Support directly. They'll be able to look in to this further with you and see what options are available.

You can reach out to them here: Get Support

Take care!

This article from 3 years ago also shows this is not a new problem, but a compatibility one.

https://tidbits.com/2018/03/13/the-apple-tv-4ks-hdr-nightmare/

It seems the settings on both the TV and ATV (and a pass though receiver if that’s what you have) need adjusting.

Spent over an hour on the phone with Apple the other day and they ended up escalating it because none of the troubleshooting did anything…

Their suggestions were:

• connect directly to the modem with Ethernet one tv/tv box and see if the issue goes away - may point to network issue
• sign out of all tv boxes, App Store, iTunes, etc, then sign into just one and see if the issue goes away
• sign out and go back to factory settings on all tv boxes, sign back in and see if the issues go away
• power off all electronics in the house, turn on one tv, see if the issue goes away - may point to interference issues

None of their suggestions addressed why it was happening just to shows on Apple TV channel but not youtube, Netflix, other third party apps…

The only other things that came out that I’ve also experienced in the last month (time period when the channel issue started), is being signed out and asked for sign back in more often… Sometimes more than once a day, when previously I only had to sign in after signing out… I can watch shows on Apple TV from channels I’ve subscribed to through Apple, but the corresponding third party app won’t let me ‘restore purchases’/recognize that I have a subscription, ex Paramount+… No idea if it’s related but on the list of odd things that started this month…

They’re calling me tonight to follow up… Fingers crossed…

CEC is consumer electronics control. It’s a protocol that allows devices to control one another, often to a detriment.

without something like a universal remote it can be helpful but in this case for people with this problem it certainly needs to be disabled as part of the process of elimination.

as for nvidia shield. It’s nvidias set top box. In all honesty it’s superior in just about every way apart from not being tied to apples ecosystem and the interoperability that provides.

you'd like to think so considering they require your icloud/appleid to log in. Theyre as official as it gets. I assume on some level apple employees at least peruse.

Though in all fairness this issue or some variation of it has been going on for literally years. That's because it gets confused with CEC issues and folks not understanding how match framerate/dynamic range work. Also the odd legitimate cable issue makes its way in.

Any people with the capacity to move this up the ladder or provide insight or help assume it stems from the former and they drive on through.

I'm close to swapping back to my nvidia shield. Even with apple tv's shortcomings (mainly bitstream/dts and lack of usb) I purchased this due to wanting to add another device to the apple ecosystem for ease of use/conformity.

So far its been anything but and the pro's are not outweighing the con's largely due to the random disconnecting.

I’ve had the same issue with the second-generation Apple TV 4K — I’ll experience loss of video signal at seemingly random intervals on multiple apps. I had been using the previous generation ATV 4K on the same TV and HDMI port with no issues.

I tried factory resetting my new ATV 4K, and purchased a brand new HDMI 2.1 cable that supports 48 Gbps, 8K@60Hz but still the issue persists.

I called Apple support today and they’re sending me a replacement unit while they diagnose my current one.