Q: setting date and time - my apple tv get stuck and says it needs to set the network date and time.  Does anyone know how to do this?

Welcome to the Apple Community.

Assuming this is not the first time you have used your Apple TV

• You might try restarting the Apple TV by removing ALL the cables for 30 seconds.
• Also try restarting the router.
• If the problem persists, try a restore, you may want to try the previous procedures several times before doing this.

If this is a new Apple TV, it may also be that your network router is not allowing access to the timeserver, check that your router allows access over port 123.

Apple's lack of support for UPnP is really annoying.  Manually opening router ports is a pain in the neck, and I wager that most people on this board have no clue how to do that.

I really don't want to deal with opening ports manually; I have no other network streaming products that lack this support.  I have two PS3's, an XBOX, a Google TV, a Sony Blu Ray player, all of which have support for UPnP.  Another instance where Apple's poor networking support impairs the ownership experience.

So, do we junk out our Apple TV's?  My Sony TV is mated to a Sony BluRay player with built in wireless.  It is slow and klunky, but right now, it sees my router and Netflix just fine.  Is Apple support going to fix this and let us know or does it take $$$ and a service call?

SO, I went to my modem website (I recommend you bookmark it), did a factory reset, then did a performance check.  Download power should be +8 to -8, Upload power 37 to 55, and signal/noise ratio over 30 (higher better.)

Then I restored the Apple TV... and off she went.

I have had the cables unplugged so many times, and rebooted everything so many times, that I really don't know what made them happy again.

Guess:  the router restore looks like the big help here.  Try that.  Thanks and good luck!

Hi Guys

I have just had the same problem on ATV3. After some attempts of restarting ATV and network without success, I logged on to my router, deleted the ATV from the DHCP connection list. After that I selected "Restart" from the onscreen menu, and bingo, it was back to normal.

Had similar issues with my ATV2 not being able to set the date and time. I tried resetting, restoring, restarting and all would seem to get stuck at the setting date and time. I finally uplugged it and plugged it straight into my MacBook Pro with the micro usb cable (didn't even need the power cord). Through iTunes I clicked on Restore. iTunes took over and did a complete restore including a firmware update. Then when it finished it said to plug it back into the TV. When I did it asked me to set the language, set the wifi network and password (the usual startup stuff) and voilà! It works again.

Hope this helps.

Unplugging the Router will solve the problem right away. good luck

I was able to get my Apple TV working again by downgrading the firmware following the instructions in this message:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/20008613#20008613

In case that message disappears, here's my translation:

1. Connect your Apple TV to your computer via USB. Don't plug in the power cable.

2. Download the older 5.0.2 firmware from Apple here:

5.0.2 (Apple TV 2): AppleTV2,1_5.0.2_9B830_Restore.ipsw

5.0.2 (Apple TV 3): AppleTV3,1_5.0.2_9B830_Restore.ipsw

3. Open iTunes and select the Apple TV. Hold down the option key and press the restore button at the same time.

4. In the dialog that opens select the firmware that you downloaded.

5. The restore process will take a few minutes. Once it's done plug your Apple TV back into your TV. If the date and time message persists just press the menu button to skip it. This got mine working again.

Have tried every single trick as outlined in all the previous posts, absolutely nothing works, ATV3 simply gets to "Setting Date and Time" and simply refuses to progress past this stage.

Will a new one be any different?

Agree.

5.2.1 version - none of the tricks work.