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rembrantoes
Level 1 (4 points)
Apple TV

Q: Remote loses connection repeatedly

Remote repeatedly goes off line then back on throughout programs.  We have charged it so we can check that off the probable cause list.  It's become a source of irritation when you are immersed in a movie and that appears on screen.  Any fixes Or suggestions?

AppleTV 2, iOS 9.2.1

Posted on Jul 4, 2016 12:05 PM

by Diana.McCall,Solvedanswer
Diana.McCall Diana.McCall
Level 4 (2,815 points)
Apple TV
A:

Just to be sure, you're not using any other Bluetooth devices in the vicinity? There might be speakers, a subwoofer for a soundbar, or a phone earpiece. They would certainly collide with the remote from time to time.

Posted on Jul 5, 2016 10:51 AM

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rembrantoes

Q: Remote loses connection repeatedly

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Jul 4, 2016 12:32 PM in response to rembrantoes
    Level 4 (2,815 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 4, 2016 12:32 PM in response to rembrantoes

    I assume you're referring to the Siri remote for Apple TV version 4. If so, I believe that it turns off the Bluetooth radio when sleeping. When you wake it up, probably by moving it (remember, it has a motion sensor), it reconnects and ATV reports "Remote connected". If that message is your problem, you might have made it clearer in your title and description. Since you're immersed in the movie, I assume you're not using the remote to control the system. If you leave it alone, it should sleep happily. If you're using it to adjust volume, maybe you could use another remote for that.

    By the way, your profile (sig) says Apple TV 2, iOS 9.2.1, which doesn't make sense. You should correct it, maybe to Apple TV 4, tvOS 9.2.1.

  • by Winston Churchill,Helpful

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Jul 4, 2016 4:12 PM in response to rembrantoes
    Level 10 (103,341 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 4, 2016 4:12 PM in response to rembrantoes

    You may well be suffering interference, do you have any portable house phones, baby monitors or other electrical items that may emit signals that might interfere with wifi.

  • by rembrantoes,

    rembrantoes rembrantoes Jul 4, 2016 4:24 PM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 4, 2016 4:24 PM in response to Winston Churchill

    No other interference from wireless home phone, no baby monitor.  Will keep that in mind though.  Thanks

  • by rembrantoes,

    rembrantoes rembrantoes Jul 4, 2016 4:33 PM in response to Diana.McCall
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 4, 2016 4:33 PM in response to Diana.McCall

    Apple offers drop down choices so our 4th generation wasn't an option, an Apple glitch.  Will continue to wait for the correct answer since we we already use a different remote for volume.

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Jul 4, 2016 4:43 PM in response to rembrantoes
    Level 4 (2,815 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 4, 2016 4:43 PM in response to rembrantoes

    So, you're not disturbing the remote at all when it reconnects to ATV? That's odd, since it doesn't normally do that.

    All we can do here is make suggestions from the limited data you supplied. There may not be a "correct" answer, but I hope you can resolve it.

  • by Winston Churchill,Helpful

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Jul 4, 2016 4:54 PM in response to rembrantoes
    Level 10 (103,341 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 4, 2016 4:54 PM in response to rembrantoes

    It's either defective or it's being interfered with. Are you able to test it in another location.

  • by rembrantoes,

    rembrantoes rembrantoes Jul 4, 2016 4:55 PM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 4, 2016 4:55 PM in response to Winston Churchill

    That will be our next step.  Thanks

  • by Diana.McCall,Solvedanswer

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Jul 5, 2016 10:51 AM in response to rembrantoes
    Level 4 (2,815 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 5, 2016 10:51 AM in response to rembrantoes

    Just to be sure, you're not using any other Bluetooth devices in the vicinity? There might be speakers, a subwoofer for a soundbar, or a phone earpiece. They would certainly collide with the remote from time to time.

  • by rembrantoes,

    rembrantoes rembrantoes Jul 5, 2016 7:13 PM in response to Diana.McCall
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 5, 2016 7:13 PM in response to Diana.McCall

    I didn't consider the Onkyo sound speaker is Bluetooth!  Duh.  So now that you've hit on the culprit of our problem, now what do you suggest? 

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Jul 6, 2016 3:44 AM in response to rembrantoes
    Level 4 (2,815 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 6, 2016 3:44 AM in response to rembrantoes

    That's tough. Bluetooth frequency hops around the 2.4 GHz band, no fixed channels like WiFi, so devices are bound to step on each other once in a while. It's generally not a problem, since they're made to recover gracefully. The awkwardness is just the pop-up message which seems to be part of the ATV Bluetooth implementation. It's certainly worth a suggestion to Apple https://www.apple.com/feedback/appletv.html. They could suppress these messages while the video player is running.

  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Jul 6, 2016 5:16 AM in response to rembrantoes
    Level 10 (103,341 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 6, 2016 5:16 AM in response to rembrantoes

    rembrantoes wrote:

     

    I didn't consider the Onkyo sound speaker is Bluetooth!  Duh.  So now that you've hit on the culprit of our problem, now what do you suggest?

    I wouldn't assume this is the culprit, it may be but it also may not be, test with it turned off for a while.

     

    If the sound bar has a means of a wired connection I'd use that regardless of whether it's causing interference or not.