Hi:
Just installed a cool brand new Apple TV4. Netflix works great when we click on the app. "Watch ESPN", however, just hangs on clicking on the app -it never opens. Nothing happens. Is this an Xfinity issue?
Any advice as to what I am doing wrong would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)
Woah, i'm going to have to look into this when I get home. I don't believe we use OpenDNS, though.
My "ESPN" app on my Apple TV 4K (5th gen) won't even load; tries to but sends me back to the ATV menu screen almost immediately . When I click it, it starts to open but sends me right back to the Apple TV Menu. I also have comcast xfinity. I actually was able to get into the app like twice, right after re-installing so I saw where it automatically picked up my ISP which is not comcast. One time I even got it to go so far as to let me sign in with my xfinity information, but again, it still crashed afterwards. And after it crashes, it won't open again. I have to delete, reinstall and try it again, sometimes it lets me in for a little bit, most of the time it doesn't even open. Therefore I don't think it's an issue with the tv provider, and that it's just a bug in the application. I'll try looking at my DNS settings when I get home.
I am having the same issue. I click on the app it starts to load then returns me right back to the home screen. I deleted that app and even reset the apple TV completely. This on the newest 4k box and the one that came before it. One my original apple tv it works. Looking for help also.
Kind of glad you are seeing the same issue, so atleast it's not isolated to my specific setup.
I tried everything: different ISP, different TV Provider, location services off/on, various combinations of restart, reset, reinstall of ESPN app, etc. nothing has worked.
I'm set that it's a direct bug/issue with the ESPN App. Unfortunately ESPN Customer Care really is terrible. They are the epitome of read canned responses from out of date troubleshooting documentation. They Do not even have an ATV 4K to test with. Kept calling the app WatchESPN, but it is just ESPN on the 4K, tvOS 11.
Didn't get anywhere with them. Currently have an open tech ticket that supposedly went to a higher tier support.. just hoping for an app update at this point to fix things
Delete and reinstall the app.
It'll need your cable account credentials, but it should open to let you enter them.
Check Xfinity forums for similar problems.
Thanks for advice. I did this, but when I click open after the reinstall I just get the spinning gear forever again. Will take your advice and go to Xfinity forums and see what they say.
One further thought. Have you updated ATV to the latest tvOS version 9.2? It has some pretty substantial changes, and your app probably only works with the latest OS.
Great thought. Thank you. Tried this, but unfortunately this didn't work.
Had another angle today after visiting the local Apple store. No proof obviously, but a guy there suggested that Xfinity may be sabotaging the app. He suggested that I try using the Apple TV with my iPhone in hot spot mode, getting internet access from AT&T and the iPhone. Lo and behold, this worked- "Watch ESPN" started working immediately! Given that all my other Apple TV apps work with Xfinity, and that ESPN only works when I connect via AT&T, it makes me think that the Watch ESPN issue is indeed with Xfinity. Unfortunately, after wasting an hour earlier today unsuccessfully trying to reach Xfinity/Comcast, I have no idea what to do next. Maybe just wait for Google fiber???
You might check that the DNS in the ATV network settings for your normal network is set to Automatic. It sounds like the app cannot connect to the server.
Do other TV related apps, like say NBC, work? Or are all the TV apps blocked?
Great advice; thank you!
I installed NBC and CBS and they worked just fine right away. I then installed PBS and I had to activate it, but the process was seamless and it worked perfectly as well after activation. From reading some of the posts, it sounds like I would have to activate "Watch ESPN", but again the screen just "hangs" when I open it so there is no oppourtunity to activate it. I wonder what is going on?
So sorry, I'm a computer ignoramus, so don't know what "DNS in the ATV network settings for your normal network is set to Automatic" means, but since NBC, CBS, and PBS work, does this mean that the problem is not with this setting?
Much appreciated.
As I said, it sounds like the WatchESPN app cannot access the ESPN server. On the Apple TV, open Settings->Network. The numbers shown for Router and DNS for the connection you're using (WiFi or ethernet) should be the same. If it is not, click on the network, open its settings and change the DNS setting to automatic.
Since your Apple TV can connect over your hotspot, your software is obviously OK, so it must be a problem with your internet connection. Does your network include anything more than a single modem/router?
Thanks for detailed reply. The numbers for Router and DNS are indeed the same.
I think we have just a single modem/router.
But your very appreciated trouble shooting sparked a thought- we use OpenDNS. I just discovered that if OpenDNS Web Content filtering is set to "High" the "Watch ESPN" app doesn't work, but if it is set to "Moderate" it does work! Our whitelist already has espn.go.com and es.pn listed. Given that everything is connecting via the AppleTV in the background we don't see any "blocked" messages that tell us what url is blocked (the way one does when accessing a blocked website from a Mac or iPad), so just submitted a trouble ticket to OpenDNS to figure out what domain to whitelist to allow us to go back to "High" but still use "Watch ESPN" on our AppleTV. Will post back once I get that info for others.
Again, thank you very, very much! I never would have figured this out without your help.
If you get anymore info please post and I will do the same.
I have the same issue, the ESPN app never opens on my ATV4K. Reinstalling the app, restarting the atv, hasn't fixed anything. Has anyone found a fix?
Watch ESPN Won't Open
