apple tv update failed. iTunes doesn't recognise the TV

I confirm. I have the same issue. I have tried multiple cable, and only one is working. Restoring now...

The troubleshooting page is useless, this issue is due to the cable.

Good luck !

Hey all.

I am having a sinilar issue but while itunes says the appletv is restored, the light is still blinking fast. The apple tv is recognized in itunes but the update isn't sticking. I have followed the suggestions posted here without luck.

Any thoughts?

Press and hold Menu and Down on the remote for more than 5 seconds and your apple tv will restart.

You may also have to restore with multiple attempts. Some reported having to do this.

I had this exact problem after finally getting iTunes to recognize my ATV. Unplug the ATV from its power source and turn the TV off. Then turn the TV back on and plug the ATV back in. It should walk you through the reset at that point.

OK mine restored successfuly on the first attempt. Of course you need to reset everything from scratch.

I also tried connecting to it using Bluetooth for setup, as it indicates on the initial setup screen that you can use iPhone or iPad with iOS7 to set it up "automatically", but my 4S running iOS7 doesn't see the ATV

Same issue here.

After downloading new ATV update, screen showed to connect to Itunes.

Connected with micro-USB, then back to TV when it told me too. Still got blinking light.

Did the restore twice, then restarted via remote (menu/down). Finally got it working.

Very frustrating, but at least it's working.

Not technically related but perhaps I can go next week and exchange mine since I have one of those "flakey wifi" Apple TV 3rd gens.

Some have had units are having issues locating and joining WiFi networks and maintaining a connection.

Apple has determined that a very small number of Apple TV (3rd generation) products might experience one of these Wi-Fi related connectivity issues:

Cannot locate network

Unable to join network

Dropped or intermittent connection.

Apple technicians are authorized to replace affected products for two years from the original date of purchase at no charge to the customer after verifying that the devices are running software version 5.2.1 and that there are no third party interference issues.

The Apple TVs experiencing connectivity problems feature the following serial numbers shown in theoriginal post.

The third generation Apple TV, which features support for 1080p video, was first released in March of last year. It was later tweaked in late January to include a smaller A5 chip.

Update: According to several readers, Apple has acknowledged that it initially erred in referring to the character pairs appearing the third and fourth positions of the serial number. The listed pairs would actually occur in the fourth and fifth positions.

Same for me - error about not eligible for the requested build. I am on a PPC iMac which is limited to iTunes 10.6.3 in case that matters.

Thanks Duckie11 used another cable and ATV was found by iTunes instantly. Restoring now.

If you have an iPhone or iPad running iOS7, you can automagically re-setup your ATV by making sure Bluetooth is turned on, and laying the iPhone or iPad on top of the ATV.

A new micro USB cable did the trick! Thanks to everyone who mentioned it.

Good news 🙂

Resolution confirmed - new Micro USB cable worked. If you have a Kindle, its charging cable works well

Kindle cable!!! Thank you so much. I had looked through all my cables and only found one for recharging, which didn't work. Then I read your message, found my Kindle cable and it worked! AppleTV now restoring...