after update to version 4.4 optical out not working

Yes same problem here. There are other threads too.

I also have an issue on my Apple TV, but unsure if it is the ports out or the device itself. I have tried resetting it, reboting Airport, nothing works....

I was streaming some Radio music while performing the update and it simply stopped...as I thought it was an odd coincidence, I decided to do an update to the Apple TV. It stated it would be a bit less than 20 min to update. I checked on it in about an hour and the TV no longer displayed the device and the device itself was blinking rapidly.

I also tried to reset it via the remote...holding down the buttons for 6 seconds...I tried 3 or 3 times. The light acted as if it was resetting, but it then reverted back to the rapid blinking.

I need to get this resolved....

same problem, my optical output is also not working. I have connected to the home theater system after update im not able get a output. I have resetted and re downloaded the update it simply doesnt work

Same problem here as well. HDMI to the tv unit works fine. Tried wiping the device with no luck. This really stinks because the only reason we bought the atv was to stream music and we do not have hdmi inputs on the receiver. Would like to know if there is a fix.

Same problems here. I HATE updating this software. If you don't do it you get bugged all the time about updating. If you DO upgrade there are always problems. 😠

I updated all three of my ATV2s yesterday and the two that I run headless (optical only to a DAC, no HDMI) no longer output any audio. All I hear is hiss and quiet pops. This happens on different units hooked up to different systems.

Update killed my Apple TV. Now, I have only rapidly blinking green led light. I tried to reset - did not help! Any idea what to do next?

Same problem. I have 2 Apple TV2's - one to TV and the other to DAC for streaming.

Neither work on the optical audio output since the 4.4 update.

Has anyone made a support call on this? If so, what was the feedback?

C'mon Apple how hard is it to test outputs prior to releasing a new update - after all there's only the HDMI and the Optical Audio ports to check !!!

I don't use my optical port for audio but still curious if you checked the back if there's any red light at all from the optical port?

ya, i checked it, there is red light coming out of the optical output. But its not so strong as it used to before the update

Seems like there's people not getting any sound from HDMI either.

I had some issues upgrading my Apple TV but once I got it into DFU mode it was no problem updating it. Running very smooth now.

I have the same problem. I have an Apple TV2.

I called apple support. They aren't aware of any known issues, but they did recognize that there were some discussions posted on the subject. The tech believed the issue was related to the order in which the audio initializes, based on a thread from one of the discussions out there. At any rate, this is what I did to work around the issue. I can't say with concrete evidence that it works for everyone, but it worked for me.

1. Unplug your Apple TV, Optical Cable and HDMI Cable

2. Plug in your Optical Cable

3. Plug in your Apple TV

4. Let the Apple TV initialize

5. Plug in your HDMI

For the time being this works, though not ideal. I would presume a firmware update is coming .. hope this works for you as well.

Tried it but couldn get it working 😟

petand wrote:

Seems like there's people not getting any sound from HDMI either.

The update killed my optical out, bricking my AppleTV for the way I've been using it the last 8 months or so, which is streaming from my Touch to Apple TV connected to a DAC.

Regarding HDMI, which I'm using as a temporary measure with a receiver (no TV), I often have to go back and forth on the AirPlay icon between my Touch and the Apple TV for the Apple TV to play music. The Touch wakes the Apple TV up every time, and the Touch acts like it's playing music, but it typically won't play through the Apple TV until I use the AirPlay icon to select the Touch and then the Apple TV a second time.

That stinks. The other thing that I did, which I didn't think would have any impact, was make some slight modifications to my audio & video settings on the Apple TV. Under Settings | Audio & Video I toggled the settings for :

Dolby Digital

Audio Output

Audio Language

If Dolby Digital was set to Auto, I set it to On. I set Audio Output to 16-bit and then back to Auto. For Audio Language, I set it to English.

I did these things before I did the steps above. I am far from being an expert where any of my Apple products are involved (I don't know what DMU mode is); I just wanted to throw that out there in the event it might work for someone else. I imagine there are plenty of people having this issue right now and would like to think that Apple will resolve this issue quickly. Given that the tech on the phone was using the discussion boards to help me resolve the issue I'm not sure there is much else they can do to resolve this issue. His only other suggestion was to take it to the nearest Apple store. Thankfully, we have one in town, but many don't.