Level 1

24 points

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

Just bought Apple TV 4K. My TV is a Sony Bravia 4K from 2015. They are connected via a 4K HDMI cable.

Very happy with the Apple Box, but for some reason it keeps cutting out. This happens randomly. The screen will go black for about a second, then carry on as normal. Sometimes it won't happen for a while. Sometimes it will happen every five minutes.

This happens on a couple of apps, like the iPlayer app and the Now TV app.

I've re-started the Apple Box and made sure it is up to date. I've re-started the router.

Any ideas? Please keep in mind that I am not technically minded!

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 14

Posted on May 7, 2021 3:00 PM

Top-ranking reply

rf7627

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Aug 27, 2021 8:26 PM

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:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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36 replies

joeyzr

Level 1

19 points

May 29, 2021 5:01 AM in response to ClarkKent77

Also seeing the same issue. I had the Apple TV model that was newest before this one and swapped it out, using the same HDMI cable and Vizio E65-E1 display. Video cuts out sporadically for 1-2 seconds then resumes. Just tried a restart. Will try more settings.

ClarkKent77 Author

Level 1

24 points

May 29, 2021 10:01 AM in response to joeyzr

I replaced Apple TV 4K (the one with the black remote) with the new Apple TV 4K (the one with the silver remote. The one that's just come out), but the same thing is happening.

So, I've tried different Apple TV boxes. I've tried different HDMI cables. I've tried different HDMI ports. At this point, I'm not sure what to do.

I don't have the same issue when I don't use Apple TV (as in, if I watch Netflix through my TV) so there must be some issue with the combination of my TV and the Apple Box.

I took the previous Apple Box to Apple, and they hooked it up to their TV. It worked fine. Everything points to a comibination of my TV and the new Apple Box. Anyone have any ideas?

Jun 8, 2021 5:26 PM in response to ClarkKent77

I’m having the same problem on both both tvs with both an old ATV box and the newest one… Everything’s updated, signal strength is good, etc… Will be fine for days then problems, then clears up, then problems again…

Jun 12, 2021 10:08 AM in response to daisy_emm

Same exact issue with an Apple TV 4k (new one)

im connected to an onkyo which outputs to my tv.

the only change I made was swapping out an nvidia shield for the Apple TV. Now nothing but random cutouts.

even though the cables are fine with the shield I’ve tested 3 different ones anyways. Both between onkyo and tv and onkyo and appletv.

have disabled match frame and range. Have restarted appletv. Restarted router (even though I’m hardwired).

at first thought it was a kids YouTube thing. Nope. Happens during Netflix as well. (Presumably everything else at this point)

running out of ideas.

Jun 22, 2021 5:30 AM in response to Mattfrozen01

As a follow up…. My friend and his wife came over to watch Loki with us. He asked how I liked the new appletv, I mentioned it has a few issues.

About half way through the show it had cut out about 6 times, I stopped the show and switched over to the Nvidia shield and haven’t hooked up the appletv again since. My friend was shocked that Apple would put something out that had such bad hdmi stability issues.

Hoping for a software update to fix this.

Jun 22, 2021 5:45 AM in response to Mattfrozen01

Yea, ive done everything I can to stop the absurdity. Ive disabled CEC on the appleTV and it still does it. Twice this morning while my kids are watching kids youtube POOF turns tv off then back on. As a last ditch effort im going to spend some more hours of my valuable time resetting/reconfiguring the apple tv but im not holding my breath.

Tried different icloud accounts. Tried disabling airplay. Tried different cables. Tried CEC on or off. Even tried increasing the DHCP lease time in case it was somehow web related. All I havent done was reset the whole thing.

So far all that has worked is using the nvidia shield.

Jun 28, 2021 3:26 PM in response to ClarkKent77

I see several posts is this thread that are the same issue as I’m having: the video for Apple TV cuts out for a few seconds, seemingly at random. For me this has been a recent development. I’ve had this Apple TV, internet connection, modem, router, and Samsung tv for several years. Was thinking about replacing the Apple TV with the latest version, but that doesn’t seem to have helped others. At times this is just unwatchable.

Jun 30, 2021 6:27 PM in response to cchanpsu

Yea I’m beginning to wonder if that’s what I need to do. (Call support and get a replacement).

Ive changed cables about 4 times now, the latest being between the receiver and tv and Apple TV and receiver with new 48gbps cables (even though my tv isn’t even an hdr set)

just finished resetting the Apple TV and setting that all back up.

tried different appleids. Tried disconnecting the harmony remote from it. Tried a different outlet for the appletv and my tv.

still randomly turns my tv off then on.

ive re hooked up the nvidia shield for now juuuuust in case it was actually a tv issue and no problems….

Jul 20, 2021 11:55 AM in response to ClarkKent77

I'm having exactly the same issue. Apple TV 4K 1st Gen. Glad to see I'm not the only one here with this...but a darn shame that no fix from Apple. I would happily use my NVIDIA Shield but it doesn't do Apple Music in Atmos/Lossless

May 28, 2021 4:12 PM in response to Bryan_K1

I’m having the exact same issue. Netflix is also cutting out randomly showing a black screen for a second then returning to normal.

has Apple support resolved the issue?

ClarkKent77 Author

Level 1

24 points

Jun 12, 2021 12:55 PM in response to klepp0906

Do Apple monitor these threads? Seems like a lot of people are having this issue.

Jun 14, 2021 8:35 PM in response to daisy_emm

I have the same issue. Swapped out my AppleTV 4K with a 4K g2. Cuts out a lot less when playing media. May switch back to my Nvidia shield and send back the new appletv.

ClarkKent77 Author

Level 1

24 points

Jun 22, 2021 7:07 AM in response to klepp0906

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know anything about CEC or the nvidia shield. Could some kind soul provide me with a basic explanation that a child could understand?

Morkious

Level 1

8 points

Jul 16, 2021 6:50 PM in response to cchanpsu

XV 3 fixed my problem.

Jul 17, 2021 7:19 AM in response to Morkious

Morkious,

can you elaborate? XV3 as in using a new Acer XV3 screen resolved the video drop out issues? Any thoughts on why?

thanks

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