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Apple TV Crashing / Resetting Itself

My Apple TV (2nd Generation) has started to reset itself after a few minutes of either a program or movie. The first crash happens usually after about 15 mins of viewing, but then subsequent ones occur after around 5 mins.

I'm running up to date software version 4.1.1 and my itunes is the current version of 10.1.1 (4)

I've tried resetting all settings but its made no difference. Any ideas on what to try next?

James

MacBookPro 15inch 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Dec 28, 2010 2:46 PM

Reply
94 replies

Sep 10, 2015 3:45 PM in response to Glen Carpenter

Well, a day later and no changes. The ATV crashes constantly, and since it continues to do so on the eve of the new ATV's release, I'm not-so-subtly reminded of the support doled out by Apple, to Apple's own products.


In other words? Sorry, no purchase. I've got as much confidence Apple'd stand behind this new ATV as they did the old. ATV2 has been garnering complaints of instability for over 2 years, now, and have shown no inclination to fix it.

Sep 13, 2015 2:20 PM in response to Jayykayy

ATV 2nd Gen, v6.2.1 owner here...


Mine crashes and restarts repeatedly. Wish there was an easy way to roll back the OS to a legacy version, I'd do it in a heartbeat. What good is it to have more channels if I can't even watch friggin Netflix?


I've had this box for a good 5 years so I can't say I haven't gotten my $99 out of it. But seeing how long this has been an issue I'd think Cupertino would do something about it. Disappointing.

Sep 14, 2015 11:01 AM in response to Jayykayy

So the past few weeks my Apple TV (Gen 2) has had the same issues as most of you: Continually rebooting, errors in streaming, unable to connect or stream netflix, music library etc.


This fix worked for me: Restore your Apple TV by hooking it up to a computer and using iTunes to reload the latest software. I did it today and it has worked like brand new (except for that not having youtube thing that we won't talk about 😐) Be aware that this will revert your settings back to factory so your home screen will have all the apps, you will have to set up your wifi/internet connections and re-log into all your stuff but for me it was worth it to have my apple tv working again.


I am not certain but I believe a lot of issues come with automatic updating and if the updates don't install properly. You can do a factory restore via the apple tv itself from settings but i wanted to ensure that the latest firmware/version downloaded and installed properly (hence the hardwiring to the computer). It seems that I have had issues in the past after an automatic update and I had to do a restore via iTunes previously. Hope that helps some of you/all of you!

Sep 21, 2015 4:02 PM in response to Xrayeric

Tried connecting my ATV directly to my computer as suggested and did the restore. 1 hour later? ATV still crashes/reboots during films.

No dice, no changes, no fix.

Next up?

Probably a Roku . There's simply no way I'm going to reward Apple for their complete and utter disregard of their customer base.

ATV has been wildly unstable for several years. Either the product is defective or the software is buggy. Either way, a company that's valued at $650 billion sure doesn't understand the consumer marketplace.

Not anymore, at least.

Sep 27, 2015 8:34 PM in response to Jayykayy

I have two Apple TV Gen 2 and both are crashing/resetting similarly to what others have posted about here. This has been happening pretty frequently for over a month now, on the order of once per day or every other day. Apart from this, it appears to be working fine. I don't recall this being a recurring issue in the past, and these ATV's are used almost every day.


For example, during Netflix playback, or while starting up some music streaming from Computers... I get the spinning wheel and then it kicks me out to the home screen after about 15 seconds. I have the latest ATV software installed. Behavior is the same with Airport Extreme gen 5 and gen 6. I did a full restore (not from iTunes) on one of the devices with no change in behavior.

Dec 15, 2015 4:06 AM in response to Hols72

Heh. You've just triggered the censors watch list.

I listed everything I did to try and resolve the issue, and once it came to "replacing the Apple TV" with something else, my post was deleted.

All options were explored, every troubleshooting method tested, but because the issue is software and was pointed out as such, you're not allowed to say it.

Dec 18, 2015 10:49 PM in response to Glen Carpenter

I have been using the Apple TV for years. I have 4 of them and had no issue till the last year or so of randomly crashing and waiting for the reboot to start where I left off. I have this problem with all 4 of the Apple TV's. I am highly invested in the Apple product line. I hope that this is not some "glitch" to get the consumer to buy the newest version.

Feb 7, 2016 7:02 AM in response to Jayykayy

I've been having issues for over a year now with Netflix and my ATV. It's completely random, no specific cause and I know it's related to the ATV because I have zero problems with Netflix on my PS3. Both are wired direct to Ethernet, both to the same modem and I've tried resetting and reconnecting in different ways to try to elimate the problem and no go.


I was considering purchasing the newest Apple TV with all the new bells and whistles but Apple seems to have an issue with supporting the people that buy their product. C'mon Apple - stop screwing your customers around.

Feb 25, 2016 10:27 AM in response to Jayykayy

Since the last July/Aug 2015 my Apple TV reset itself when I try to watch HBO NOW, NEFLIX, HULU, ESPN, etc. Now is normal to wait for 1 reset after star watching a program or sometimes even 5 times until you finish to watch the program. I will not going to buy the new APPLE TV to solve this trouble. I want a real solution from Apple to my two black small boxes (Apple TVs). I am considering to switch all my Apple TV devices to RUKU, with no/less restriction policies about what to see, or what applications to install, even watching a media server files from RUKU but that is something impossible from the Apple TV. For more than a year both Apple TV works perfectly but after the last update, and the introduction of the "NEW" Apple TV, my devices are booting and re-booting like to force me to consider the new one. That is no going to happen, if you do not fix the actual problem.


The other lost of faith about the Apple products was my latest 2014 Mini Mac, NO RAM MEMORY UPGRADABLE ON IT, that was a kick in my back, when I was considering to buy more memory for my family computer Mini MAC. Apple people, REALLY?.... I am losing my faith in your products !!!. This is my third Mini MAC and probably my last !!!

Apple TV Crashing / Resetting Itself

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