Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference to kick off June 10 at 10 a.m. PDT with Keynote address

The Keynote will be available to stream on apple.com, the Apple Developer app, the Apple TV app, and the Apple YouTube channel. On-demand playback will be available after the conclusion of the stream.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

"Netflix is currently unavailable. Please try again later."

Netflix is a blessing on the AppleTV. I've been enjoying it for the greater part of a week. Suddenly, while watching an Instant Streaming title... the quality lowered considerably. I paused the title, exited to the menu, and tried to launch the title once again (after checking my internet connection!) It did not try to load, it merely displayed the error: "Netflix is currently unavailable. Please try again later."

I exited out to the menu again, and noticed that the Movie Poster images while I had Netflix selected were not "Suggestions For You" but rather "New Arrivals." It had never shown the "New Arrivals" before.

I unplugged the power cable and gave it upwards to 5 minutes. I plugged the cable back in and tried once more. The Movie Poster images were back to being based off of "Suggestions For You," so I had high hopes. Nope, once I tried to select a title... the same error greeted me.

I have gone to the website on my 13" Macbook, and I have streamed Netflix over my PS3 console to confirm this is indeed an AppleTV-problem. Netflix is not currently unavailable.

I have unplugged the device once again and will leave it sit for an hour or more.

I am incredibly dissatisfied with this predicament, especially considering I will now waste a majority of my day-off trying to fix this error to simply enjoy a few films on the one day I can.

Thanks.

AppleTV 2, iOS 4.3.2, NOT Jailbroken.

Posted on Apr 21, 2011 12:22 PM

225 replies

Dec 4, 2011 8:41 AM in response to William Dalzell

@William Dalzell Download 4.4.2 from here: http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=970

@Meryl K You need to hold the option key when clicking on the "Restore" betton in iTunes. That will bring up a Finder window where you can navigate to the downloaded 4.4.2 file.

Dec 4, 2011 10:32 AM in response to jasonfromoceanside

I was trying it restore directly through the ATV, don't have a mini USB input on mine to try it with iTunes.

Philly30

Level 1

5 points

Dec 4, 2011 3:02 PM in response to joshuafromcalgary

Ridiculous how long it is taking to fix this

Dec 4, 2011 4:04 PM in response to Philly30

Yes, I've been spending the time Googling alternatives to both Netflix and Apple TV. Of the two Apple seems the most at fault in my mind as there is a long history of Apple TV failures to operate properly while Netflix continued to work on other devices. This is puzzeling when you can stream NF on your Mac but not on your Apple TV; shouldn't they be sharing the same basic technology?

Netflix comes in for its share of the blame too though as their service has been down about as much time as it has been up over the last week.

You can check them out on http://downrightnow.com/netflix. This service reports findings from a number of different sources and isn't always 100% accurate as it can show NF as being down when it is only down to users of particular hardware as those users will all be reporting it down; as is happening now with Apple TV. Still, it is a good indicator of when NF is having streaming problems.

Dec 4, 2011 5:02 PM in response to Joe Ligotti

Add

Murder she wrote

Rockford Files

Dec 5, 2011 9:36 AM in response to jasonfromoceanside

I can confirm that restoring to 4.4.2 (using the instructions in this thread) is the only thing that works. The latest Apple TV update appears to have "broken" Netflix.

lmil10

Level 1

0 points

Dec 5, 2011 12:33 PM in response to joshuafromcalgary

I am having problems restoring to 4.4.2.

I am using iTunes on PC. When I plug ATV into PC, I can restore to factory settings, but I have no option to select version of software.

I have also tried to restore through the ATV menu. Regardless of the method used, when I look in the General section of the ATV, it says the software version is 4.4.3.

Can anyone tell me how to restore to 4.4.2 on a PC?

Thanks in advance!

Dec 5, 2011 12:36 PM in response to lmil10

You'll have to download the 4.4.2 software from the link I posted a couple days ago, then hold down your 'Shift' key when you click 'Restore' to select the 4.4.2 software package.

RicD

Level 2

235 points

Dec 5, 2011 1:56 PM in response to William Bridgeforth

I'll jump in with another "me too" post. I restored 4.4.2 and now 'Frasier' and 'thirtysomething' are playing fine on Netflix. This is definitely an Apple firmware issue.

Belhaven

Level 1

0 points

Dec 5, 2011 2:46 PM in response to joshuaerda

I tried to restore via Apple TV and I still have version 4.4.3

I have never connected AppleTV to my computer and tried to download something onto it from my computer.

Would someone be so kind as to give step by step instructions on how to do this?

Dec 5, 2011 4:44 PM in response to joshuafromcalgary

Just piling on the reports, because life without Backyardigans is hard.

don612

Level 1

8 points

Dec 5, 2011 5:01 PM in response to kbray0009

Yes, you are so right! There are 4 seasons of Backyardigans, 61 episodes, my 3 year old is half way through her 2nd viewing of the entire series. iPad to the resuce!!!! I have 2 Apple TVs and just don't think i am going to mess with moving back to 4.4.2. Will try and get by until Apple fixes which I think might be soon.

Dec 5, 2011 5:03 PM in response to joshuafromcalgary

Yeah so basically here's the scoop...

I cannot speak for ATV1 users. I own an Apple TV 2.

I was FINE, then one day CERTAIN TITLES wouldn't play.

I tried the DNS change... NO DICE

I tried the menu to netflix immediately trick... NO DICE

I tried the power off trick... NO DICE

I tried signing out of netflix, putting in false credentials, getting a login error, then signing back in... NO DICE

I tried restoring to factory settings... NO DICE

I looked at my firmware, it was 4.4.3, I had just taken the update when the problem started. NEVER HAD AN ISSUE before that.

THANK YOU to "jasonfromoceanside" for the 4.4.2 link.

I downgraded to that. WORKS FINE AGAIN.

And now I have a question:

As a windows user and new to apple, I have always believed "auto updates" are for fools.

This is an object lesson to those who would doubt this practice.

Anyhow... CAN I PREVENT AUTO UPDATES and just leave this thing at 4.4.2 for the rest of my life?

Dec 5, 2011 7:16 PM in response to joshuafromcalgary

Confirmed. Downgraded my ATV2 from 4.4.3 back to 4.4.2 which is the software it originally came with - Netflix (Law & Order specifically) works again! I highly suggest following joshuaerda's advice and restoring back to 4.4.2 until Apple can figure out a fix for 4.4.3. Thanks for the help, everyone!

Dec 5, 2011 8:14 PM in response to joshuafromcalgary

Major kudos to joshuaerda - I would never have found the old versions nor guess I was supposed to click OPTION to pick a different version. I can now watch Frasier and STTNG again!

(P.S. this is pretty lame, Apple! How hard is it to get a list of NF servers?!? It's probably just some address + subnet. Also, what a vague error message! Why not say "trying to access invalid server IP". Look at all the frustration.)

"Netflix is currently unavailable. Please try again later."