Level 1

47 points

No signal from Apple TV 4k unless I unplug power

If I don't use the Apple TV 4k for a while, when I turn my TV on the TV says there is no signal from the Apple TV. I have to unplug the Apple TV from power and plug it back in, and then everything works fine (including HDR 4k).

I thought it was related to the ATV going to sleep, so I set it to Never sleep, but no change in behavior. The light on the front of the Apple TV flickers when I press buttons on the remote, even though there's no picture. I have tried multiple HDMI cables and HDMI inputs on the TV. The TV is a Samsung that supports HDR and 4k. Did I get a bad ATV?

Posted on Oct 8, 2017 8:31 AM

Top-ranking reply

WiseJD

Level 4

1,954 points

Posted on Oct 16, 2017 6:22 AM

For those of you needing to pull the plug and then plug it back in to have your TV see a signal, note that you can hold both the Menu button and the Home (TV) button on your atv4k Remote for about 6 seconds and it will cause your atv4k to cycle power off and bak on. This will only save you a trip to your physical plug to get the signal.

On the other hand, even though I am convinced that in future Apple will find a software fix for this issue, I actually exchanged my apt4k at the nearest Apple Store because I was within the return period. When I connected the new atv4k to my TV i have seen no sign of the problem.

One has to realize that the Customer has no way to actually totally Restore an atv4k. In other words, you cannot actually reload the Operating System or Clear the atv4k completely and start from scratch. You can only Reset the atv4k which is not the same. Consequently if this issue is truly a software issue where some corruption or other flaw occurred in manufacturing you can't really do anything to resolve or mitigate this. On the other hand if this is a Hardware issue, which it probably is not, you can't do anything about that either. I have no idea if the Apple Store or an Authorized Apple Service Provider has the capability currently to totally Restore the atv4k in the field as yet.

My feeling is that if your connected atv4k is showing a great picture when the signal is viewable on your TV, your HDR appears to be working correctly, and your sound is correct then the wakeup signal issue is probably not your cable or your Settings on either Device (i.e., the atv4k or your tv).

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70 replies

Nov 10, 2017 11:36 AM in response to NosOther

Apple is working on tv os 11.2 and it should be released soon..
If that doesn't fix the problem then i guess there is a hardware issue and i will try to get my apple tv 4k exchanged

WiseJD

Level 4

1,954 points

Oct 8, 2017 4:48 PM in response to sleblanc1976

I have only used mine about four times and two of those times there was no signal being received by my TV. The only thing that worked for me thus far is unplugging the power cord on the Apple TV and plugging it back in. Hope I find a solution.

Dec 15, 2017 10:15 AM in response to gfunkdave

I'm having a similar issue, but mine will flicker between seeing the home screen and no signal. Unplug and plug back in and all is well. I thought it was initially my cheap amazon cable, but I swapped it for the Belkin cable that Apple sells and the problem persists. I'm going to contact Apple support to see if they'll replace it.

Video of the issue in action:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PCMgMaRsiBgWiTYM2

Dec 30, 2017 10:28 AM in response to gfunkdave

I've been having a similar issue since day 1 of having my 4K Apple TV and it's beyond annoying. What I see is the Apple 4K TV not turn on at all sometimes when pressing any buttons on the remote, the power light on the Apple TV does not turn on - I have to unplug and plug the Apple TV back in to get it to work. It always seems to happen after it's been off for a while, almost always on the first startup of the day. I have 2 other 4th gen Apple TVs that have never once had this happen. I'm beginning to think this is purely a hardware problem and am about to take it back. Has anyone filed a ticket with Apple about this or is getting an exchange the only solution?

Dec 31, 2017 12:51 AM in response to Cappachino

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately I've been updated to the latest tvOS since it released and am still seeing the same issue. I wonder sometimes if it's a bluetooth problem with either the apple 4k TV and/or when having other bluetooth devices (like airpods) nearby - but holding down menu + tv buttons works as a workaround so I'm not sure it's a problem with the bluetooth signal. I think the 4k apple TV has bluetooth v 5.x whereas the apple TV 4th gen has bluetooth v 4.x so I do wonder if there is some problem specific to the apple 4k TV ... my 4th gen apple TVs are still working flawlessly and have never had this problem.

NKG

Level 1

25 points

Jan 3, 2018 12:34 PM in response to NosOther

Purchased a 4K Apple TV for use with LG Oled tv.

After half an hour to an hour, randomly loses signal and TV says no input detected. Remote on Apple TV cannotnwake the Apple TV up.

The only way to fix is to unplug Apple TV and restart the device.

What a joke. Happens every day. Returning this garbage

Jan 5, 2018 10:16 AM in response to mckeonj

I have not yet found a solution. I tried messing with some of the Auto Off and Volume settings over the holiday week, but it did not help. Still have to yank the plug every now and again. Interestingly enough I have a Sony XBR 850E. At some point I'll contact Apple Support directly to see what they suggest.

NKG

Level 1

25 points

Jan 5, 2018 10:22 AM in response to jolejniczak

I replaced with a new 4K Apple TV. same issue. no point returning . its a problem with the s/w or h/w side of Apple TV.

of course , Apple would never acknowledge that there is ever a problem with their devices.

NKG

Level 1

25 points

Jan 8, 2018 5:42 PM in response to gfunkdave

Ok problem somewhat resolved.

Setup 1-

Apple TV - > HDMI-> LGOLED -> optical cable-> receiver.

Result -Frequent drop outs in signal and Apple TV goes unresponsive after a few minutes of viewing. LGOLED says, “no input detected “

Setup 2

Apple TV-> HDMI-> McIntosh MX122 -> LGOLED.

Result - no dropouts . No issues

Jan 29, 2018 10:59 AM in response to jolejniczak

Fingers crossed. 😉 Just to clarify.....did you have to unplug the TV or the Apple TV to get it fixed? The ONLY thing that fixes it for me is pulling the plug on the TV itself. Even pulling the ATV power doesn't fix it. It's almost like once it fails.....something sticks and it will keep failing unless I pull the TV power.

Feb 1, 2018 10:44 AM in response to netnothing

netnothing, same with me. I have to unplug the TV. Unplugging the Apple TV does not solve the issue. LG OLED B6 (2016 TV) with Yamaha A760 AVR. I am about ready to switch back to my Roku Ultra as I am tired of having to get off the chair to unplug the TV ever few days.

Feb 5, 2018 4:40 AM in response to txfeinbergs

After having the issue again....I decided this weekend to re-do my setup and get the ATV plugged directly into the TV to simplify things. Sure enough, I turn on the ATV this morning....the screen comes on.....then blanks out for a sec and then back. I try to play anything, all I get is a blank screen or it doesn't play.

Thankfully now it looks like an ATV reboot solves the issue....so that's a little better than pulling the TV power.

WTH with this thing?!?

Feb 11, 2018 9:09 PM in response to Griswald34

I have not had this problem happen for over a month. It didn't seem to coincide with an update as it stopped happening about a week before there was a new tvOS update, but maybe it's possible that was a coincidence. I went from running into this daily to not seeing it for over a month and still going. In my case at least, I feel comfortable saying it's resolved.

Feb 12, 2018 5:28 AM in response to netnothing

Unfortunately my issues have returned. I am no having both the issue where the input flashes as I originally posted and the issue when turning it on there is no signal at all. I've been avoiding the call/chat to Apple, but will finally bite the bullet today and see what they say/do. Will keep you posted. Have a non-4K ATV in another room that is still rock solid. May be the solution here.

Feb 15, 2018 6:13 PM in response to jolejniczak

My issues remain since my last post, so I started digging into it a bit more and found this on the Sony Forum:

1. Hit the "Home" button on the Sony TV remote. You'll see a bunch of icons popup

2. Arrow down to the bottom toSettings(it looks like a gear icon on the x900e)

3. Once in settings, go intoExternal Inputs

4. Scroll down and go into HDMI signal Format(Enhance 4K HDMI signal Format)

5. Once there you'll see the magic setting we need, which is theEnhanced Format(Displays High-Quality HDMI signals on HDMI inputs 2 & 3...), so select it and navigate back out using the back button

Going to give this a shot as the problem seems more prevalent if I have the ATV in 4K HDR mode.

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No signal from Apple TV 4k unless I unplug power