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Apple TV 4K bluetooth range diminished

Just received and setup my new Apple TV 4K today. I regularly use AirPods to listen to the TV while moving around the family room and kitchen at night. As soon as I paired my AirPods with the Apple TV I immediately noticed a huge difference in the range and clarity of the audio signal. I would estimate it is at least half the range as with my previous Apple TV (4th gen).

Nothing else has changed in my setup. I just swapped out the Apple TV. Anyone else noticing a difference? Based on specs (and the upgrade to Bluetooth 5.0) the range should have improved.

Posted on Sep 22, 2017 9:17 PM

Top-ranking reply

windsorsean

Level 1

18 points

Posted on Sep 26, 2017 7:33 AM

I believe I fixed my issue...

I had my Apple TV mounted just behind my TV so it was out of site. I tried moving it to well below the TV away from any other devices and it made a big difference. So it does seem that the Apple Remote is susceptible to interference from other devices. My TV is an LG 65UH9500 and has WiFi and BT so that could explain the interference.

This could be related to issues with other BT devices as well.

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83 replies

Oct 17, 2017 7:12 AM in response to Apple user since 1988

tvOS 11.1 beta 3 has not resolved the issue fully for me.

The AirPods seem slightly better, but are not as good as my 4th gen AppleTV in the same exact spot.

The issue with the Siri remote is not improved at all.

For those of you stating that it is fixed - just double check to make sure you have your video settings set back to 4K HDR. I thought mine was fixed at first, but then I remembered I had changed the video settings.

Roth91

Level 1

54 points

Oct 17, 2017 7:53 AM in response to Apple user since 1988

I don’t have hdr turned on. I can’t stand the way it looks on my tv. I am using 4K sdr and I am not noting any Bluetooth glitches. I watched tv for two hours last night with my ear pods. Sounded great.

Oct 18, 2017 9:17 AM in response to Apple user since 1988

Resolved (maybe?)... looking for someone else to test and verify on their end.

So the last beta did not resolve my issue and in my discussion with Apple today I'm not sure there was any expectation that it would (but it seems for some people it did). After several more tests today I was asked to verify all of the HDMI cables and the wiring setup. I have a lot of HDMI cables, some big brands and some no-names, but all of them always pass the test for 4K, 3D, etc using my Xbox, TV, and projector.

Anyway, I swapped out the cable on my AppleTV for a branded cable that I knew was high speed and certified. Well that seems to fix it. I tried the new remote, the old remote, my AirPods, and flipped between several different video settings from 4K HDR to 1080p SDR. Everything worked great and the range on my AirPods was similar or better than the 4th gen AppleTV.

I'm still waiting to talk to Apple again later today, but I think this was it for me. Maybe there was a software fix, maybe it was just bad cables, or most likely it was some combination of the two.

It would be awesome if someone still having issues would double check their HDMI cable and ensure that they are using a certified high-speed cable. Would be great to know if this is really an issue or just a weird quirk for me.

Roth91

Level 1

54 points

Oct 18, 2017 12:29 PM in response to Apple user since 1988

I have had the same setup for the past month. Same tv, same cable and same everything. I couldn’t go 5 minutes without hearing artifacts on my ear pods. The Bluetooth audio between the Apple TV and my ear pods was absolutely terrible. This latest beta software update on Monday completely fixed the problem for me. Earpods sound great. And my remote seems responsive. Everything is great for me now.

I will tell you it was the software update that helped you. You may have had another issue with your hdmi cable but this latest beta software release was the key in fixing my problems.

Oct 18, 2017 3:54 PM in response to Roth91

I'm not gonna disagree that a software fix helped this issue, but the team I spoke to was pretty clear that they didn't think this was the whole issue and obviously the HDMI cables made a difference for me. The truth is probably that there were multiple things going wrong, which would explain why not all of us are experiencing exactly the same issues.

My point, for those people having issues in general, is that it does matter for AppleTV that your HDMI cables need to be high-speed and certified to work with 4K HDR. I've had no issues with other 4K devices using these cables, but apparently the AppleTV is sensitive to the cable quality. The sensitivity appears to manifest itself by causing bluetooth interference. I don't know how or why this is the case, but it seems to be the case.

This doesn't mean there isn't a software issue, and for some people the latest beta will resolve all of your issues, that just means that your HDMI cables are probably good to go already.

In my specific case the beta update was better, but not perfect. The cable I was using was just fine for 1080p (and thus no problem for the older AppleTV), but it was not good enough for the 4K AppleTV.

As far as I'm concerned this issue is resolved pending the official release of the fix in the latest tvOS beta.

Oct 18, 2017 5:07 PM in response to Apple user since 1988

The cable being an issue certainly could make sense. I have a UHD Blu-ray player that had been periodically crashing when watching 4K content either on disc or streaming. I had started dealing with Samsung support when I decided to replace the cable with an Amazon Basics one certified for 4K. It completely eliminated the crashing.

That being said I use the same Amazon cable with my Apple TV (a longer version) and had the remote issue. Although I haven't had the issue since I moved the Apple TV to a different location so maybe it would be worse with another cable.

Anyway I look forward to hearing others experiences.

SolarX2

Level 1

13 points

Oct 19, 2017 9:57 AM in response to SolarX2

Hi,

I had a long call with apple and they really tried everything to get ahead of this.

They suspected my HDMI cable to be the problem. I ruled this out, since I bought a very expensive HDMI cable from Oehlbach (HDMI 2.0 a,b / 4K ultra high speed...).

Apple wanted to send me a free Belkin cable, but they couldn't since I live in Europe. So I went to the nearest Apple store and bought the Belkin cable.

What can I say....the problem is gone!

I will now have a chat with Oehlbach about their cable 😉

Apple did a fantastic job as far as I can tell.

Hopefully a future software update will make appleTV 4K more agnostic to different HDMI cables.

Cheers

sicing

Level 1

5 points

Oct 30, 2017 1:28 PM in response to Apple user since 1988

Mine is working perfectly now, after I got the Belkin HDMI cable from Apple. I had Airpods issues and an insanely laggy remote that worked better at 1080p. After plugging in the Belkin cable tonight, everything's running smooth as butter. It's kind of surreal how a cable can do this.

Dec 27, 2017 8:18 AM in response to Mbaghurst

Im only replying so Apple can add another person to the list if they are reading this thread.

Same problem. Remote basically not usable due to lag. Wireless performance over WiFi is also mediocre.

I just bought $85 of new cables to reconnect my appleTV 4k and other devices.

Hope it works.

Dec 30, 2017 7:21 PM in response to Apple user since 1988

I continued to have minor lag issues and finally went and bought the recommended Belkin HDMI cable from an Apple Store. Apple Support also sent me a replacement remote.

The lag seems to be gone but I am having intermittent video issues when I enable Chroma 4:2:2, which is frustrating as my TV supports it. At 4:2:0 there are no issues.

Guy2U

Level 1

4 points

Jan 15, 2018 8:44 AM in response to Apple user since 1988

I can confirm this, not with the AirPods, but with the Schlage Sense Bluetooth door locks.

The Apple TV 4th generation works on the 2 door locks great, purchased Apple TV 4K, only one door lock works now since it's the closest to the 4K unit. I swapped it back to the 4th Generation, now both door locks connect, I need the remote access on the homekit and not the TV video functions...lol Now I have a Apple TV 4K not being productive.

Rysz

Level 8

44,421 points

Sep 25, 2017 10:08 PM in response to zsears

An easy way to provine feedback to Apple...

You won't get a reply, but Apple reads and catalogs all feedback.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

zsears

Level 1

4 points

Sep 23, 2017 1:32 AM in response to Apple user since 1988

I’m using AirPods and they seem to be pretty glitchy sounding on the 4k too. Lots of artifacts. I hope they fix this!

Sep 24, 2017 8:15 AM in response to Roth91

Will go to the Apple Store later this week. Assume they will give me a new box as the first remedy. Will see if that will fix it. Could be a production issue with a some units.

zsears

Level 1

4 points

Sep 24, 2017 8:18 AM in response to Apple user since 1988

I’m betting it’s something that’s affecting all of them that needs to be patched but it will definitely be good to know if you still experience it with a different box. Let us know!

Apple TV 4K bluetooth range diminished