New Apple TV loses connection to iTunes 10.0.1

I have 2 Apple tv's (gen 2 and 3).

One time machine as a firewall in my home office and airport extreme in the living room as an wireless extender.

ATV3 is connected to airport extreme with cat6 cable and the other one in my bedroom via wi-fi.

Problems started after latest iTunes or ATV updates.

I use eyetv and Elgato netstream DTT to record tv programs and export them to iTunes on my iMac (Lion 10.7.4).

And I watch them on my 2 ATV's and iPad2.

All my fixed network devices had fixed ip addresses.

This is the latest fix I tried:

I had put in 2 fixed dns server addresses to my iMac and other devices.

(one for the time machine 10.10.1.1 and one from my ISP).

I just have a habit of doing it like that.

I removed the "backup" dns address from my iMac and now at least it has worked for 3 hours (I let the ATV go to sleep on purpose).

But this is a real problem even with all apple devices and all latest updates.

Cannot tell if it started with ATV update or iTunes update.

DNS, ipv6 something like that seems to be the problem.

Firewall, energy saving settings etc had no effect on my problem.

Well at long last my system seems to have succumbed to the same problem - either after the latest AppleTV updates or I think the update to iTunes 10.6.3.

Without fail the AppleTV2 loses connection to iTunes when I change to a different AV input and back again or turn the TV off.

Usually only restarting iTunes helps.

I saw this not infrequently with AppleTV1's and iTunes, but rarely if at all with AppleTV2/3 until I did the 10.6.3 update on Snow Leopard.

AC

Hmm...

Seems like I got it working (12 hours without problems).

I changed my airport extreme that works as an extender to fixed ip address, it used to use dhcp.

(it used to have just automatic settings "extend the time machine wi-fi", now it has a fixed ip from my range).

(Before 10.6.3 it worked perfectly with the setup I had previously.)

Worth a shot if someone has the same problem.

Wow, I think you guys nailed it.

Did it (changed my extenders to fixed ip) and it's been working flawlessly ever since (12 hours and counting).

Yup. Now works after changing IP on airport extreme to fixed.

(18 hours)

7.6.1 update for time machine and airport extreme is jan 2012 so I guess the cause still is iTunes or ATV.

But that was the fix for me at least (all apple gear).

Okay, I hear what you are saying, but I don't have an Airport Extreme, so what do I do? I have a Linksys router instead, and would to get this ATV3 working without losing the music! Can anyone advise me?

I've tried static IPs and I can attest that this does NOT fix the problem.

I have just finished reading this entire thread trying to find some solutiions that might work in resolving the issue I am having with my Apple TV.

I am going to summarize what I have gathered from reading these ten pages of posts.

Issues covered in this Thread:

There are two main issues discussed in this thread. Both are related to the Apple TV's ability to connect to or maintain a connection with a computer using Apple's Home Sharing service.

Issue 1 (issue I experience): Apple TV connects to to Home Sharing just fine and works fine while Apple TV is being used, but after the Apple TV has been idle for some time, it loses the connection with iTunes so next time you attempt to connect to your iTunes library on your Apple TV, it tries but never actually connects.

Issue 2: Apple TV connects to iTunes via Home Sharing but while using the Apple TV (watching a movie or listening to music) the Apple TV looses the connection in the middle of use.

Work-arounds discussed:

Several work-arounds that temporarily resolve these issues have been mentioned. Here are the most common:

• -Turn Home Sharing off and back on from your computer or the Apple TV (this restores the connection for me)
• -Restart the Apple TV or Itunes
• -Connect to iTunes from a different device (iPad, another computer, etc.)
• -Restart Network Router

The work-around that works without fail for me is to disable and re-enable Homesharing from iTunes on my Mac Mini. A pain, but it resolves the problem for a while.

Fixes that have worked for some others:

Several people have reported fixes that have worked for them. I will summarize them here.

• -I should start by pointing you to this Apple Home Sharing Troubleshooting page: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972 This covers all basic things to doublecheck...same apple ID on all devices, etc. --If you have found this thread, you are smart enough to have things set up correctly. However, it does suggest adjusting firewall and network settings which have solved the problem for some (I will include those fixes below since they are actually helpful)
• -Set AppleTV to never go to sleep. This can be done from the settings. For those experiencing issue #1 mentioned above (losing connection when AppleTV is inactive).
• -Open ports in firewall settings for both computer and routers. Home Sharing uses TCP port 3689 and UDP port 5353 to communicate with shared iTunes libraries. Make sure they are open. A lot of people think this can't be the issue because they think the Apple TV wouldn't ever connect if it were a firewall issue. This is not necessarily the case, so don't overlook this suggestion.
• -Set the IP address on routers extending the network. If you are using an Airport express or Airport extreme to extend a network created by a time capsule or other router, setting the IP addresses to fixed instead of auto-assigned via DHCP has worked for some.
• -Make sure your Bojnour service is up to date on your computer. Here is more info on Bonjour Wake on demand

How to make this thread more useful to others and Apple:

To make this thread more useful to other users and to those who may be trying to fix this issue, I suggest each poster specify which of the above two issues is affecting you And whether any of the suggested fixes helps. A basic explanaition of your network setup would also be helpful. For example, If I were creating a new post I would say:

Apple TV loses Home sharing connection when it is inactive. My network is set up as follows: Cable Modem wired to 1st Gen Time Capsule wired to 3rd gen Time capsule wired to mac mini and wirelessly connected to Apple TV. Also have an Airport Express extending network.

I have set the Apple TV to never sleep, and have set my 3rd gen time capsule and airport extreme to fixed IP addresses. It is early to say for sure if these have solved the problem since I just made the changes last night, but so far so good.

Hope this helps others.

Good one! Thanks for doing this.

I've done most of the fixes, including the fixed IDs and such, and so far, so good. It's been working fine the last few times.

I must say that this is all a bit techie for a product intended for the masses and thus should "just work" (TM). It doesn't "just work"(TM) without a lot of fiddling, a lot of which is way being the experience of the average consumer. I understand why there is a need for a customized setting for every home, but that should be honestly conveyed to the buyer/user and there needs to be some way to walk people through this.

Scan the Support Community sites. Apple TV losing connection is prevalent. The many postings point out the problem occurs with Apple TV1,2and 3; with different brands of router including Airport Extreme; from current and past versions of iTunes; after varying periods of working well.....minutes, hours, days; losing connection with Home Sharing and loosing Airplay; whether the router and Apple TV are in same room or separated by distance; after trying innumerable posted 'fixes'; after exchanging for a new Apple TV.

Readers, please don't post a fix until you check it works for atleast a week.

If you are using wireless make sure you have dedicated wireless channels and don't have automatic set. If you have an airport extreme use 9 and 161.

Scan the Support Community sites and you will find: Apple TV losing connection is prevalent. The many postings point out the problem occurs with:-

1 Apple TV1,2and 3;

2 with different brands of router including Airport Extreme;

3 with current and past versions of iTunes;

4 after varying periods of working well.....minutes, hours, days;

5 losing connection with Home Sharing and losing Airplay;

6 whether the router and Apple TV are in same room or separated by distance;

7 after trying innumerable posted 'fixes';

8 after exchanging for a new Apple TV;

9 with all the recent operating systems -Mountain Lion, Lion, Snow Leopard, Leopard and Lion.

10 when it loses wifi, the ATV will work immediately if you plug in the ethernet cable.

Steve Jobs called the ATV a hobby, but Apple products are supposed to be better than this.

I suspect frustrated readers just give up trying, rather than find a fix, which is why I invite readers to please don't post a fix until you check it works for at least a week.

This really got annoying.

This didn't happen before and going through iTunes updates, Lion to Mountain Lion Updates and Apple TV updates, it still happens.

I thought time would fix it but either it's not affecting people or people just live with it?

Today I'm looking for another solution as it's been 'months' and it's just not worth the hassle. It's the best option for me but I'll see if the Roku is an interim fit...

Hi It happened to me a I disabled the screen saver on my imac

Hello,

I have come across a fix for this issue that has been working for me now for three days. I'm using iTunes in Windows 7. I have spent hours on this issue trying to figure out what the problem is. I have tried using wired and WiFi connections, resetting my router, changing firewall settings, disabling sleep on my computer (windows 7 machine), disabling sleep on my Apple TV 3, reinstalling iTunes and nothing seemed to work.

I narrowed the problem down to iTunes. The only way my homesharing would work is if I closed and re-opened iTunes or signed out of HomeSharing and signed back in. This tells me that either iTunes or Bonjour are at fault.

I did two things and this seems to have fixed the issue:

1.) Turn off TCP/IP V6 in network card settings (this suggested by another user in one of the threads). You can do this by going into your network adapter settings, clicking on properties, and unchecking TCP/IP V6.

2.) The other thing I did was go into Add/Remove Programs and clicked on Bonjour and chose the repair option. Once that was finished I restarted my computer opened iTunes and it has been working since (three days now!)

Now... because I did both of these fixes at the same time... I'm not sure which one fixed the issue but I'm not going to change anything or touch anything because it is finally working for me. As the old saying goes... if it ain't broke don't fix it!

I'm really dissapointed that Apple has not fixed this issue because there is a lot of complaints about it and it's been going on for a long time. When I called Apple's tech support they really did not do much to help and told me this was not a common issue or something they were familiar with. No solution was offered.

This solution may not work for everyone but it worked for me and I wanted to share this because I know how annoying it is. I hope it works for you... good luck!