Apple TV 4K hanging up.

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Level 1

8 points

Apple TV 4K hanging up.

Hi everyone. I am having a very frustrating time with a brand new home heater setup being run out of a new Apple TV 4K. When I watch Netflix movies, every 30 minutes or so the movies hang up and goes into what looks like buffering mode and just hangs there forever.

However if I use the back button on the remote to choose another movie and play it for a couple of seconds, I can then successfully go back to the original movie and it will usually allow me to resume watching for another 30 minutes or so before happening again.

To understand this issue fully please know the following:

1. The Apple TV is hard wired through an ethernet cable to a very fast stable signal giving me a constant 47 megabits per second and I check this at each hangup and it is always strong.

2. My ethernet cable is new and before Netflix hangs my buffering is extremely fast with everything responding effortlessly.

3. It happens over multiple HDMI cables that are directly connected to my TV

4. I returned the new Apple TV after 3 days. I was given a brand new replacement but the exact same problem immediately started happening again.

5. It happens even though I regularly recycle the modem/router and Apple TV.

6. Before my new AV setup I had no problems watching Netflix on older smart TVs or through a 2nd generation Apple TV

So ....... my question to anybody that truly understands the signal paths from the internet, through the Apple TV and then into the TV itself is........

If, when Netflix repeatedly hangs, I am getting the spinning “buffering” animation on my TV, and ....

a) the modem and Apple TV have been recently recycled

b) the hard-wired internet speed reaching the Apple TV is strong

c) this is happening over multiple HDMI cables directly connected to the TV

...... isn’t the ONLY possibility a software or hardware glitch in The Apple TV itself or is there some way the TV itself could be causing this issue?

Given I have now had 2 brand new Apple TV 4Ks produce the same problem I am totally at a loss.

Please help. Thanks for reading.

Posted on Jul 3, 2018 3:02 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Urquhart1244

Level 10

146,388 points

Jul 3, 2018 6:16 PM in response to thinkpic

When I watch Netflix movies, every 30 minutes or so the movies hang up and goes into what looks like buffering mode and just hangs there forever.

I would interpret that as losing the network connection. And I would suspect your network infrastructure as the cause of the issue. Is this behavior limited to Netflix? Intuitively, it should happen on other services as well. Netflix mentions signing out and back in as a troubleshooting step.

The Apple TV is hard wired through an ethernet cable to a very fast stable signal giving me a constant 47 megabits per second and I check this at each hangup and it is always strong.

Is this measured on the Apple TV, with e.g. the Speedtest app? If not, then realize that there could be differences in parts of your network.

Netflix’s top requirement is 25 Mbps per UHD stream, so your 47 should be sufficient.

Try to ensure that no other big network activity is going on at the same time. If other people in your household are also streaming, that might suffocate your network use.

It happens over multiple HDMI cables that are directly connected to my TV

If you get the circular ‘spinner’ on screen, or a buffering bar (even without progress), then that is not HDMI or TV related, as the visual is generated before it gets to HDMI.

… isn’t the ONLY possibility a software or hardware glitch in The Apple TV itself or is there some way the TV itself could be causing this issue?

No, it is your network. The router-modem, or the cabling, or interference on the cabling, the plugs or connectors, or your ISP.

Make sure IP and DNS are set to Auto (Settings﹥Network) on the Apple TV.

Test on another network.

The intermittent nature of the issue suggests interference of some sort. Network cables have different shielding, with the newer standards (Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, Cat7) offering more resilience to interference. Try running the cable freely on the floor (not next to e.g. power cables) to test this kind of interference.

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Answer 2

Urquhart1244

Level 10

146,388 points

Jul 4, 2018 6:35 AM in response to thinkpic

To diagnose this further, I think you would have to start to simplify the setup, by moving the Apple TV and TV closer to the router, network-wise. Not necessarily moving closer physically (although that would work too), but avoiding the switches, and use one direct cable. Then see if the issue occurs again. If it goes away, then that would point to the parts that were avoided in the temporary new setup.

Are those switches managed or unmanaged? I.e. can they be configured with an application or web page?

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Answer 3

Urquhart1244

Level 10

146,388 points

Jul 5, 2018 3:39 PM in response to thinkpic

I think something is broken or poorly connected in the chain (cables, switches, ports), just not sure exactly where, thus which part to replace.

I think managed is worse here, because managing a switch is mostly about restricting access or bandwidth, which wouldn’t solve anything with the current problem. If you had a managed switch, I would advise to turn the management off if possible.

The switches should be able to handle the total home network bandwidth going through it, so 1000 Mbps capability is better than 100 Mbps is better than 10 Mbps, but other than that, any switch that is functional, will do.

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Answer 4

thinkpic Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 4, 2018 12:55 AM in response to Urquhart1244

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply. If it is a network issue I don’t know how to deal with it. Here are the relevant network facts.

Speedtest on my through the Apple app running on Apple TV shows 47 megabits per second.

IP and DNS on Apple TV are both set to auto

I am running cat 5e cable that is well away from electrical cables But the route from the router is a bit complex. Router - Ethernet switch - 30 metres cat5e cable - Ethernet switch - 10 metre cat 5e cable - Apple 4K TV. So it is a convoluted run but within spec and idelivering what looks to me like a stable 47 megabits at the set top box.

If it has something to do with my ISP, which it may well, what should I be looking for given the fact that before I upgraded my system a week ago I was playing the same Netflix vids on a 2nd gen Apple TV using the same ISP and network but without this problem?

I really appreciate your help and knowledge and suspect this is network related but don’t know where to go from here. Hanks once more for time and help.

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Answer 5

thinkpic Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 5, 2018 2:46 PM in response to Urquhart1244

Thanks again for your help. Both switches are cheap and unmanaged. I have now been able to permanently bi-passed the first one but both I can’t do without the second switch which, like the first, is cheap and unmanaged. If I still get hang-ups will a better quality switch help? If so what specs should I be looking for? If you think a managed switch may help, which switch would you recommend and how should I set it up?

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Answer 6

thinkpic Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 5, 2018 3:51 PM in response to Urquhart1244

That’s interesting, when I bi-passed the first switch we lost internet to my office completely and found a broken connector which must have broken when we re-routed the cable. Maybe this was on the way out and causing the problem all along. Fingers crossed.

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