Apple TV gen 4 internet connection problems

Question

Level 1

8 points

Apple TV gen 4 internet connection problems

My Apple TV does not receive internet when connected to my wifi network. When connected with an ethernet cable, it seems the connection is unstable. Right out of the box and after restoring it, has to be plugged in with an ethernet cable in order to set up. Once set up it takes about 20 minutes to to get any internet momentum, but seems to loose the connection shortly after. I've rebooted the router, restarted the Apple TV, reset it, restored it, and even brought it to the service store. The tech at the store said he was able to get on the internet and watch a movie and a YouTube video, saying there isn't anything wrong with it. When I brought it back home, the problem hasn't changed. All my other devices connect just fine to my wifi including older Apple TV's. I swapped around the Apple TV's to see if I can replicate the gen 4 problem on the older models, but the older models works just fine under the same circumstances. They even seem to run faster than the gen 4. Could it be a problem between my router and new Apple TV that doesn't exsist with the older models? How do I fix this?

Posted on Apr 13, 2017 11:23 PM

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Answer 1

Jamiejade3 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 14, 2017 9:53 PM in response to Alley_Cat

I've tried a few combinations: ATV gen 2 connected to wifi- works great. Plugged in the ethernet cable disabling wifi- works great. Swapped the gen 2 with the gen 4 without ethernet cable and connected to wifi. Connects to wifi and receives ip address, but when I go to the app store nothing loads. When I check my network settings I no longer have an ip address but still connected to my wifi router with a strong signal. Plug in the ethernet cable disabling the wifi, I get a stable ip address (doesn't disappear), but all the itunes apps (app store, movies, tv, music) take about 20 minutes to register that it has internet access. When it seems I'm connected I get a lot of blank/white tiles instead of pictures or movie covers. Opening apps like YouTube and Hulu I get an endless spinning circle with a blank screen. After a couple of restarts, about 20 minutes of letting it sit, and loads of patients, I can eventually watch a movie or get into Hulu and get a show going.

Thinking there must be some sort of interference with my entertainment center causing the connection issue (like the metal on the dvd player and other devices), I swapped the gen 4 with a different gen 2 at a different TV in another area of the house with a simpler wooden TV stand. The results were the same. Connects to wifi with a strong signal, but doesn't keep the ip address long enough to use it.

I spent three hours swapping ATVs around last night and could not get the gen 4 to actually streem anything or run downloaded apps. I ran network tests on the gen 2's and they were successful. I rebooted twice this evening and was able to get Hulu playing, but not everything is loading in the itunes apps. I haven't tried taking it to someone elses house yet. I might try that this weekend, and it may work fine like it did at the service office. I don't know to what extent the service office tested it other than getting a movie and a YouTube video to play. Could there be something I need to do to my wifi router to let the two speak to each other better? Or could it be a faulty network card?

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Answer 2

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,560 points

Apr 14, 2017 1:11 AM in response to Jamiejade3

It certainly sounds like a network issue, however despite the store saying it's fine have you confirmed that yourself at another location in the house or maybe at a friend's house? Without doing so I wouldn't necessarily discount an ATV 4 hardware fault. If using ethernet have you checked the cable's ok by trying another?

Note ethernet plugged in disables wi-fi but you probably know that from the older units.

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Answer 3

Jamiejade3 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 14, 2017 10:01 PM in response to Jamiejade3

Update, as soon as I hit post and the Hulu episode ended I lost connection to the internet.

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