"Apple TV can't connect to the server at this time..." Going on for days. I've tried resets, changing my password, network diagnosis, etc... Still no luck. Was working perfect prior. Anyone else stuck like I am?

Hi soplax,

I'm sorry you are having issues connecting with your Apple TV. I see you've tried several things.

For this particular error message, "Reset All Settings" usually works, so I would follow these directions first:

See page 31 of the Apple TV User Gide

manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/apple_tv_3rd_gen_setup.pdf

You can reset all of the settings on your Apple TV to factory values.

Important: This requires you to reenter all of your network and account

information.

To reset all settings:

Choose Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings.

If you still have trouble, try resetting your equipment by disconnecting Apple TV,

your TV, your wireless networking equipment or base station, and your router

from the power outlet. Wait 30 seconds, and then reconnect everything.

It also may be helpful to switch between a wired and wireless network:

Apple TV: Switching between wired and wireless networks

1. Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the Apple TV.
2. Navigate to Settings > General > Network.
3. Click Configure Wireless.
4. A list of available wireless networks will appear. Navigate to the network you wish to join and select it. If the network you wish to join is hidden, click Other and enter the network name using the on screen keyboard and the remote.
5. When finished, click Done.
6. If your wireless network requires a password, a keyboard will appear allowing you to enter the password using your remote. When this is completed, click Done. A "Connecting to wireless network" screen appears.
7. When the operation is completed, a "Connection Succeeded" screen appears. Click Done. The screen should display the wireless network information, including network name, IP address, Wi-Fi Address, and signal strength.

To switch back to a wired connection, simply plug in the Ethernet cable. Apple TV will switch to it automatically. Apple TV prioritizes a wired Ethernet connection.

These are the first things to try. For additional Apple TV Support information, please refer to this website:

http://www.apple.com/support/appletv/

I hope this helps ...

- Judy

Same issue here. It's laughable to be told to reset the Settings when the whole ****** thing is frozen.
I don't care much for comments but... what the **** is happening at Apple? My iPhone5 is crap, Airplay is crap, constantly waking my iMac screen for no obvious reason is crap. We're not buying crap here, we're paying top dollar and we expect and deserve THE BEST.

This worked for me without having to reset my Apple TV universe:
Press Menu and Down Arrow keys simultaneously for 6 seconds until the light flashes rapidly.

best of luck

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3180

I am also having the same problem using ATV. However No problems with iPad or computer. Very annoying!

I have had the same problem. This only started occuring in the past couple of weeks. I too have tried all of the above solutions and they are nothing but short fixes, I have to unplug everything and resent everything EVERY time I use my ATV.

Instead of Apple giving all of these 'helpful tips', I suggest they pull it together and get this fixed...

Hi Judy

Any of those steps did not work for me, as well as soplax I started to suffer this problem some days ago after the equipment requested me to update the software, since that only with the cable is working, is not detecting the WIFI network.

Ay additional steps to follow?

Thanks.

Same problem. I've reset, restored,unplugged, signed out - you name it - now I can't even get as far as trying to sign into iTunes store. Love Apple TV when it's working, but since purchasing the ATV in Feb. of this year, I seem to have to at least unplug every time I use it. This time though, I'm stuck & getting cranky!!

Lets be frank: this is an internal server communication issue at Apple that they don't want to fix or acknowledge. This "unable to sign in" or unable to communicate issues are all about purchase validation ONLY. That is where it hangs up. For example, I can see favorites but it won't access my list of purchased items. And yet - the only advice they have is reboot?

The same issue happens when trying to watch Netflix on ATV. It can't connect to the Netflix server but gosh golly gee, I switch to my Roku box and no problem. Unfortunately for Apple, while I'm over there I'm starting to to buy movies and shows from Amazon

Apple doesn't make it's money from the $99 Apple TV sale - it's the iTunes purchases. If we want them to listen we need to interrupt that revenue stream.

I have exactly the same issue - since yesterday. Until yesterday everything was working fine since months.

Yesterday I was listening to one of my purchased albums in iTunes Store on my ATV. Everything worked fine until the last song of the album. This song was suddenly interrupted, followed by the message that ATV can't connect to the iTunes store (No content found).

I also tried a lot of the hints above, including un- and replugging, new start, switching to a preview of a movie inbetween, etc... Sometimes it worked again for 1 or 2 songs but then the same issue occurs again.

Everything else works fine: I can watch movies, I can play music via AirPlay from iTunes running on my notebook > so it's definitely not a general network or wi-fi problem.

And it can't be the solution to replug, restart, connect via cable etc. everytime I want to listen to my purchased music on the iTunes store.

By the way: I thought about purchasing iTunes Match soon... but if this major annoying issue won't be fixed in general by Apple, I won't purchase any music content on iTunes anymore. If Apple is putting everything online or into a cloud, on web servers etc. they have to make sure that the users can access the content.

I am having the same issue, but i noticed it is only happening on my second generation (720p) ATV. The third generation (1080p) is able to connect to iTunes with no problem. I also try to reset, restart and even connect with ethernet wired connection to no avail. I also too was planning to buy the iTunes match program but I don't see a point if the Apple TV does not connect to iTunes like it supposed to. I also checked to see if my AppleTV has the latest update, and it does. This is not a Wi-Fi issue because if it was the Apple TV would not be able to connect to Netflix and play movies. I work in the IT field and after troubleshooting I come to a conclusion that this is not an issue on the consumer end, but on Apple end. Apple please come up with the fix for this issue. It is obviously not a fluke as many people are posting this on the web And countless others who don't post but just reading it because they are having the same issue and hoping Apple have a solution. I sure hope Apple is not doing this as a slick way to get you to upgrade to a new Apple TV because I will not buy another one until this issue is fixed. Huge disappointment.

I am having the SAME issue on BOTH ATVs in my house. It started about three days ago. I've unplugged, re-plugged and restarted my modem and router....NOTHING FIXED IT. My ATV worked perfectly and was fast until this happened. We cant watch a single program on it or rent a movie. C'mon Apple, get this fixed. Send out a software update!!!!

I just bought my apple tv3 yesterday and to day i got the same problem...... Knowing know, that this problem is not new, i'm thinking of returning it. Normaly i think good of Apple, but this stinks!!!

Same issue. I've had 720 ATV for a long time. No problems. Since 2-3 weeks ago, I'm having trouble renting movies and accessing netflix. Only somewhat reliable fix is to unplug it, wait a minute and plug it back in. Even so, I sometimes still have to try a couple of times before I can successfully rent a movie.

Am having the exact same issues. My phone and IPad have zero issues connecting to the iTunes Store, or for that matter, Netflix. My apple tv's were just installed Wednesday, and I really really do hate them. They run slow, boot me off of my account in Netflix, won't access my stuff in ITunes. You know what does work? It pulls up what you can buy from them in an instant, but after you buy it, good luck using it.

Now, My IT guy says that he has seen better performance with them from the AirPort Extreme wifi. Honestly, if I'd have read these forums before I had them installed into my matrix, would have never purchased. So, off to the apple store to get the router. If that does not work, then....I guess I'll just sit here...lol. Oh, and the solution to reboot, unplug, reset...etc, is the same solutions you get from people we all hate the most....Internet providers and Windows IT guys.

We bought final eps of Breaking Bad and we are going crazy. For two weeks now we get "can't connect to the Internet" or else we see five mins of an ep and then the picture freezes and then up comes "cant connect etc." We have rebooted, plugged, unplugged, reset everything there is to reset and still the same problem. Rented a cheap movie yesterday to see what would happen, no problems. But when we tried Breaking Bad again we saw another three minutes of the second ep of final eps and then the big freeze again. At this rate it will take a year to watch the final eps. No more AppleTV for us. Boxed sets in future.