Apple TV name followed by random number when using AirPlay

I solved this by going to iCloud.com on my computer, and going to the "Settings" page. Under the "My Devices" heading, you should see your Apple TV listed with the number in parenthesis. Click it, and then choose "Remove Device". Now go to your "Settings" on the Apple TV and rename it to something else (I chose Living Room). Now go to your iCloud Photo's on the Apple TV to make sure that iCloud registers the Apple TV with the new name. You can logout and re-login to iCloud.com and revisit the Settings page to verify that iCloud registered the Apple TV under the new name. Now back on your Apple TV, rename it back to Apple TV.

Presto. I believe that the Apple TV name in parenthesis has something to do with the name it registers in iCloud and removing the device from iCloud before changing the name clears the cache of past devices. This could have been a fluke, although I tried everything else in the world before this fixed the problem for me. Please let me know if this fixes the problem for anyone else as I'm curious to know whether this is the correct solution.

@kmjansenNCSU

My AppleTVs having this silly problem with the random number on the end weren't connected to iCloud. So I can't confirm your solution. In my case it helped to add a "space" on the end of the AppleTVs name.

I solved the issue by deactivating "Back to my mac" in icloud preferences (and renaming the devices one last time). Apparently there is a bug related to this feature...

I had that random number appearing on the name of my apple TV and 2 of my macs, now everything is fine...

Agree with gusjc. Going into the Apple TV's Settings menu then re-selecting the name seems to have cleared it up (i.e. removed the numbering on the same on other Apple devices around the house). Probably a Bonjour thing.

Just fixed this my self. Can confirm:

- Assign static IP (I did it on the router side off MAC address)

- Reboot / reset ATV network connection and confirm assigned address

- Change AirPlay name

and no more number!

Eugh this is annoying. Never had this problem with ATV 2 or 3, but since connecting my 4 it's been constant. I've tried

- static and dynamic IPs both through the device and the DHCP server (Airport Extreme)

- custom device name, including with a space at the end

- various reboots, Airport reboots etc

- wired / wifi (Ethernet always the preferred!)

any suggestions?! This is very frustrating, particularly in an all Apple environment!

Thanks.

tvOS 9.1 bought this issue back for me, I was stuck with this issue on my Apple TV 3 since September 2014, i had it reset, replaced, reconfigured, routers changed, names changed, tried different networks (always wired) and nothing ever fixed it, it just kept on counting. Once i got the Apple TV 4 it was perfect, i couldn't believe "it just worked" again like it should, but now its back. Don't go holding your hopes high thinking it will get fixed, it won't.

This issue comes from the network thinking that there is 2 of the same device name on the network. If you have 2 iMacs with the same name on the network, it will add a (2) to one of them. Difference is, the iMac will tell you it found another device on the network with the same name. The Apple TV does not. As fas as I can figure the name of the device is conflicting with the cached name of the same device. I am still investigating this and have not found an answer, I just know what is causing it.

Hey Guys,

We resolved this at our school a few months ago. Here's what we found through various posts and experimentation:

The problem for us is the way that Bonjour functions, as it is a peer-to-peer dynamically updating database. Example:

- AppleTV1 was originally at 192.168.1.20. Various computers on our network saw that and logged it and associated it with the name and the Bonjour ID number.

- AppleTV1 reboots and DHCP assigns it a different address. ComputerA notices and says "it's on 192.168.1.50", but ComputerB says "no, it's on .1.20". So there's confusion as to whether it is the same device or not, and the system decides to solve it by saying AppleTV1 (1) is at .1.50.

Now imagine this scenario repeating 300 times over as different devices argue over the proper location of AppleTV1, and especially if it gets a 3rd IP, and then a 4th. Since we have so many devices, it's almost impossible to "reset" the bonjour database.

SOLUTION:

Our solution has been:

1) Assign Static IPs to our AppleTVs so that their network address never changes.

2) Immediately after assigning the new IP, change the name of the AppleTV.

example: AppleTV1Rocks, 192.168.1.30

- now the network repopulates that the device with the name "AppleTV1Rocks" now lives at .1.30. Everything on the network will get that information, and that info will never change, resulting in no further confusion between devices.

So far it has worked for us, with 20 Apple TVs on one campus and 30 on another.

Usually after doing this, Macs / phones need to be restarted. Because the mac needs to face the conflict that what it previously associated with a particular Bonjour ID number now has a new name and new IP.

Also for Macs as you are trying to help them "forget" the old settings, it can help to stop and start mDNSResponder, as described here:

http://osxdaily.com/2009/09/15/disable-bonjour-by-turning-off-mdnsresponder/

Hope that helps!

experiencing the same issue.

2 & 5 are channels for the 2.4 GHz band, and 188 is one of the channels available for 5GHz WiFi band.

I'm not sure why that would make any difference.

Maybe.

Not so much that this might be the cause of home sharing issues but rather that it could be a result of the same same issue that causes the homesharing issue.