Apple TV 3rd gen activation fail

Hi, Ahwenww

No, I don`t changed cable.

Just I connected usb cable AFTER connecting power plug and boot apple tv. And apple tv starting in normal mode. In this mode 3utools see apple tv and "Batch activation" button is active.

Its solved! I would like to thank everyone who contrbuted to the solution! Thanks Albram for posting the step by step instructiions.

The important step is to ensure that the apple tv LED light STOPS blinking(atv is boot up) before you plug to the computer.

Hope this thread will help others who faced the same issue.

Answer: Apple Configurator 2. To fix failed activation, and therefore restoring AirPlay capability, on a Mac, install Apple Configurator 2 from the app store. Plug in your Apple TV 3rd Gen to power and to a Mac using a micro USB cable from the Apple TV to the Mac. In the configurator, perform an Apple TV OS "Restore" using the "Prepare" gear icon in the top menu bar (it should prompt you that you must do this anyway). Once it has been restored using the configurator, do what the prompts say: "Unplug USB cable and power." Then, "Power it back on" and wait for it to boot. When the status light is solid (booted), plug in the USB cable connected to your Mac again. You will then see a "mirrored" display of a TV and Apple TV icon with the setup screen as if it were plugged into a TV. Click on it, and it will then display the Apple TV home screen and version info, etc. on the right. A menu of 4 items will now be available in the left-hand column of the configurator app. Click on the second item "Apps". You will see a message "Apple TV not activated". Click the button that says "Activate". Bam! Unplug from Mac and power, plug into the TV you would like it on, and carry on with a normal, activated setup!

Same here. AirPlay disappeared after update and it says that activation failed. Have tried reinstalling it numerous of times, with no luck.

Adding my name here to the list so that Apple can get the statistics.

Excellent, the Apple Configurator 2 solution works!

I managed to (re)activate four ATV3s that had been bricked by the 'restore' function in OS build 8.4.4 and TV software 7.8.

Once activated, I tried the 'restore' function again to confirm the Apple bricking mechanism. All four were 'activation failed'.

ATV3 customers are justifiably annoyed that Apple have introduced software that cripples their device when using 'restore'.

What progress is Apple making to correct the software and/or servers that fail to provide activation for restored ATV3s?

I think we should be told.

Resolve is here!!!

Download to Mac app Apple Congigurator 2 from Mac AppStore.

Power on Apple TV 3 get and after it connect to your Mac with micro usb cable.

Attention to select cable. Many micro usb cable can only charge. You need cable that can transfer data too.

If you can't plug cable disconnect Hdmi.

In Apple Configurator select you device in centre of window by double click. After in left column select apps. In this part select activate on centre of window. That all!

Install apple configurator 2 from the App Store on your Mac

connect to Apple TV 3rd generation with a micro usb cable.

Choose Apple TV3

Choose Profile

Choose Activate

This works! I can finally Airplay. Thank you so much! Apple phone support there was no solution. But it looks like the update deactivates these 3rd generation Apple TVs. Hope apple stops bricking perfectly good Apple TVs especially after they just released an update for them.

Like others, I also had this issue. Homesharing was a little sporadic but available. However, I noticed that the 'Computer' Icon was missing in the menu list, mine is usually next to the 'Settings' icon

I connected the ATV3 to itunes, using a Micro USB - remember folks, this needs to be a data cable too.

Restored it - nothing, no change, no airplay

I then saw Apple Configurator 2 was available but my OS is 'not to date' so I couldn't download it.

ALTERNATIVE - I turned to my PC and downloaded the 3uptools software, and connected the ATV3.

Was very straight forward. The USB driver was recognised and the ATV3 appeared on screen. I clicked on activate (you need to be connected to the internet to pull that off) and it suggested it was activated. I closed it down

I then plugged the ATV3 into the power and HDMI for the TV .

AIRPLAY baby, AIRPLAY

Goodluck

Same problem, I can purchase, its is connected with my iTunes and Apple ID, AppleTV+ works just fine, but cannot screen mirror to it and it General > About, Activation is Failed

Tried the method above and viola, works

Had the same problem- Airplay didn't work despite resetting it multiple times. Finally downloaded Apple Configurator 2, connect Apple TV to Macbook via micro USB cable to reactivate Apple TV and airplay works again! Make sure you have a data transfer micro USB cable for Apple Configurator 2 app to recognise it not just a cable for charging. Just follow like others- click Profile and then activate it. Thats it- unplug and try to use Airplay. Hope this helps!

Thanks everyone for your help, and for posting the resolution again. I hadn't realised there were 5 pages on this thread. The only thing I had to do that wasn't specified was to double click on the device in configurator 2. Then the details and the menus popped up and I could activate. This time I was even able to plug in a LAN cable at the select WiFi page and it went to the next screen. I've just checked the network and it's got a valid IP address not gone through the settings yet and need to log in to my iTunes/Cloud account but at least screen mirror is now showing up in my MacBook menu area. Hopefully now I've got it set up properly on ethernet cable it doesn't glitch over the air which is the original problem I was trying to solve. (Audio and video fine on MacBook screen but freeze and jitter on the TV - assumed it was too much WiFi in the same room, now the smart TV, Fetch box an AppleTV are all connected to XT8 mesh router over Ethernet with Wireless backhaul to the main mesh node)

Thanks for the detailed instructions, even though I was using Mac Book to activate my Apple TV 3. The steps from 1-4 are the important steps. Otherwise, we never got to see the Activate option as the Apple TV stays as Recovery state forever (the Led light on Apple TV box never got to solid light).

After the Activation finished the option just disappears, I never got the successful confirmation.

I just unplugged it from my MacBook and tried Air play. It worked.

Thank you very much.

Thanks gagan, when I was searching this was the only option that worked, unfortunately there was no mention any where about the solution you proposed, but, thank you that will help the next set of people who face the same issue. 👍

Thanks a lot for this solution, I have four AppleTV's and they all went down after the last update. Been looking for a solution for one month! Apple support is a joke, they have no useful input whatsoever except for "wait for an update, we are aware of the problem". Luckily there are users like you that know better.

I had this happen to two Apple TV 3rd Generation devices. It seems to be triggered by doing a factory reset. Although, I think one lost its activation after an update.

I used a micro USB cable to connect it to my MacBook. Then, I ran Apple's Configurator 2. The Apple TV shows up under devices with an alert that it is not activated. If you press activate, it takes a few seconds and then it is activated. You can just unplug it. Now it should be usable, again.