Apple TV (3rd generation) Wi-Fi failure

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Level 1

8 points

Apple TV (3rd generation) Wi-Fi failure

Recently upgraded my router to Wi-Fi 6. My Apple TV 3rd generation will not connect.

Symptom: it recognizes the SSID, and when I select my SSID, Apple TV responds with : "There was a problem connecting to the network."

and "The Wi-Fi password you entered is not correct. Try again. (-100)"

The problem is, there is no opportunity to enter a password, and no apparent means to forget the connection (to re-create it)

I tried Restore, which fails without a network connection.

I tried Reset all Settings: the following screen did not show my SSID (all other devices in close proximity do, so it's not a signal strength problem). I manually entered my SSID, and Apple TV recognized the signal. Unfortunately, I got the same message as above ("There was a problem connecting to the network.").

Suggestions anyone?

Apple TV 3, 8

Posted on Jul 4, 2022 7:09 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

smcshane

Level 1

95 points

Jul 4, 2022 7:19 PM in response to mwacuff

Hi mwacuff,

Apple TV 3rd Gen Supports Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) please ensure your Wi-Fi router supports these standards.

Apple TV (3rd generation) - Technical Specifications (AU)

Cheers,

Sean

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Answer 2

mwacuff Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 6, 2022 8:04 PM in response to Bridgetxloser

I changed the router from "WPA2/WPA3-Personal" to "WPA/WPA2-Personal". Had to fiddle with the Apple TV a bit, but I got it working again.

I'm not 100% convinced that this was the fix though, since "WPA2/WPA3-Personal" should support WPA2 security (as the name implies).

Will need to fiddle some more to discover the real root cause.

But you got me on the right track, so thanks!

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Answer 3

mwacuff Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 7, 2022 6:51 PM in response to mwacuff

Now I'm convinced: I tested my Apple TV with both "WPA2/WPA3-Personal" and "WPA/WPA2-Personal". Without changing any other parameters, the Apple TV definitely does not like "WPA2/WPA3-Personal" security.

It's unclear whether this is a problem with the router (not properly supporting the WPA2 part of the security), or the Apple TV not handling it properly.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

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