Q: Apple TV 4th gen randomly drops internet connection

Do you have the latest tvOS 9.2?

Does ATV drop the internet connection, or does it drop the WiFi connection? When you enter Network settings after it has dropped, what do you see?

You should check for interference at the ATV location, see Potential sources of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth interference - Apple Support. A nearby network may become active once in a while and jam yours. ATV 4 has been reported to be a little sensitive to interference and weak signals. You could try switching to a 5 GHz network, since there's usually less interference in that band.

Do you need to restart ATV to fix it, or just the router?

I have the same issue. I have a Time Capsule 3gb connected via ethernet to the ATV4. However, it started at once a week and now its at least once a day, when all the apps disconnect to the internet, the NAS attached does not log in anymore. I went to the apple store, they gave me a brand new ATV4, but the issues persist. if I restart the Time Capsule, it comes back instantaneously.

Hello Bytecollektr,

Your problem sounds different, so I suggest that you post it as a separate question. And try to describe exactly what happens, and what you are able to diagnose by looking at ATV settings, etc.

What do you see when you look at the ATV network settings when it says it cannot connect? I expect it will list other networks, bu not yours. That will indicate that your network became unreachable, probably due to interference.

Have you checked for interference? Look out especially for cordless phones. You can get WiFi "stumbler" programs for computers and some phones that show the signal level of competing networks. I think the function is built in to OS X. You may find that you're sharing a channel with several others. And one of the interferers may only become active once in a while, killing your ATV. I'm in a suburban neighborhood with relatively large lots and I can see 14 networks!

Next time it happens, please try only restarting the ATV and see if that makes it work. I expect that it will.

There are WiFi frequency bands at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The 5 band is less crowded. It is used by 802.11ac and can be used by 802.11n. See if your router settings allow this.

You should try updating to the brand new today tvOS 9.2.1, in case it includes a fix. Can always hope. Please report if that helps, since the world is waiting to know...

So, your ATV can see the network SSID, but the router will not accept the password. Is that correct?

Interference is still a possibility, and you should check for other strong WiFi networks nearby.

What WiFi security mode are you using? (Router WiFi settings.)

Next  time it fails, before restarting, go into the router settings and see if access restriction has been enabled in the transient. The router may have decided that ATV is unwanted, and restarting the router may reset that.

You might take a look at this Re: New Apple TV update loses wifi connection, just like the last major update! Doesn't Apple check this out before putting it out

You could also try disabling ipv6, if it's enabled on the router.

If any of these work, please report results, so others will know.

5 GHz is often less susceptible to interference than the 2.4 GHz band, however it has a lesser range and is more easily blocked by walls and the like.

Interference can be caused by other networks in the neighbourhood or from household electrical items.

You can download and install iStumbler (NetStumbler for windows users) to help you see which channels are used by neighbouring networks so that you can avoid them, but iStumbler will not see household items.

Refer to your router manual for instructions on changing your wifi channel or adjusting your multicast rate.

There are other types of problems that can affect networks, but this is by far the most common, hence worth mentioning first. Networks that have inherent issues can be seen to work differently with different versions of the same software. You might also try moving the Apple TV away from other electrical equipment.

The following article(s) may help you.

Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections

Recommended Wi-Fi settings

Sources of Interference

Wifi Diagnostic Software (for Mac users)

You may also find some help on this page, where I’ve collected some of the more unusual solutions to network issues.

Hello Daniel,

It sounds like your new router has some configuration issues.

You should use only WPA2-AES encryption, no TKIP, for best performance. This is in the router WiFi settings for the network. 

Some routers behave differently when WMM (QoS settings) is enabled or disabled. On my Netgear, when I disable it, the speed drops fro 350 Mbs to 54 Mbs, presumably switching from 802.11ac to 802.11n. Others report better performance with WMM off. You should try changing it and see if it helps.

Have you reviewed possible router settings issues: MTU, fragmentation threshold, RTS threshold? You can find discussion of these on the web, particularly in your router's support groups.