The most common Apple TV problems and how to fix them

2 months ago

Is your Apple TV giving you nan spinning instrumentality of punishment alternatively of your favourite shows? Don't fto frustrating glitches ruin your nighttime pinch 1 of nan best streaming devices available. Whether your Wi-Fi is acting up, your distant has gone rogue, aliases your image and sound are retired of sync, we've sewage nan solutions you need. Our broad troubleshooting guideline covers each nan astir communal Apple TV problems pinch easy-to-follow tips and tricks.

Learn really to reset your device, troubleshoot connectivity issues, optimize your audio settings, and more. We'll get you backmost to enjoying seamless streaming successful minutes.

Apple TV 4K System paper connected a TV screen.

How to reset an Apple TV

Before we dive into circumstantial issues Apple TVs tin have, let’s talk astir updating and resetting your Apple TV. As agelong arsenic it turns connected astatine all, updating and resetting should beryllium your go-to action for addressing immoderate problem. We counsel you to commencement pinch a basal update, and if thing other is working, see moving connected to a reset.

Step 1: For an update alone, sojourn Settings, spell to System, and prime Software updates. In this section, you’ll find an action to Update software. You tin besides take to Automatically update if you’d for illustration Apple TV to return attraction of this process itself. Now reboot your exemplary and effort again.

Step 2: For a basal restart, you tin property down connected nan Menu + Home buttons connected your Siri distant and clasp them. This will origin nan parameter ray to blink, and your Apple TV will past restart.

An Apple Siri distant successful a manus pinch nan Home and Back buttons highlighted.

Step 3: If this doesn’t hole your problem, you tin effort resetting your Apple TV, but this will return it backmost to mill settings and erase each information you added, including your relationship info and immoderate configuration changes you made, truthful you should only do this if there’s a superior problem that isn’t responding to different methods. When ready, spell to System > Reset > Reset and update.

The caller Apple TV 4K, 3rd-generation, pinch nan Siri remote.

Fix Apple TV connectivity problems

Is your Apple TV not turning connected astatine all? Are you getting thing but a blank screen? Here are a fewer things to try.

Step 1: Unplug your HDMI cablegram from some nan TV and Apple TV, and plug it backmost in. If this doesn’t work, effort utilizing a caller HDMI cable if possible.

Step 2: Check your TV paper settings, and make judge your input is nan aforesaid arsenic your Apple TV relationship (i.e. HDMI 1, HDMI 2, etc.).

Step 3: Disconnect some your Apple TV and your TV from power, hold 15 seconds, past plug them backmost successful again and commencement them up.

Step 4: If you are utilizing a receiver aliases different go-between device, effort plugging your Apple TV straight into your TV. If this works, nan problem is your different instrumentality — effort switching nan HDMI ports you are utilizing to spot if this helps.

The Apple TVos 16.5 mentu surface showing nan Network menu.

Fix Apple TV Wi-Fi problems

If your Apple TV can’t link to your Wi-Fi, you aren’t going to get a batch of usage retired of it. There are respective steps you tin return to thief hole communal Wi-Fi issues.

Step 1: First, make judge your Wi-Fi is functioning. Head to Settings > Network to cheque retired your existent web profile. If you don’t spot immoderate web information, nan Apple TV can’t find your Wi-Fi astatine all. That’s a motion you request to reset your router and effort again.

Step 2: If your Wi-Fi is coming but still not connecting, effort turning disconnected your Apple TV, unplugging it, and hold 15 seconds. Plug it backmost in, and restart to spot if you tin link to your network.

Step 3: If Wi-Fi keeps dropping aft moving for a small while, you whitethorn beryllium having problem pinch interference. If possible, effort moving your Apple TV person to your router, and region barriers for illustration shelves aliases cases that whitethorn beryllium successful nan way. You whitethorn want to consider a Wi-Fi extender if there’s important distance.

Step 4: Most modern routers (even ones provided by an ISP) are tin of dual-band connectivity, which intends you’ll beryllium capable to nexus your devices to either a 2.4GHz aliases 5GHz web band. While not each web-connected components support 5GHz bands, nan Apple TV does.

That being said, if you announcement your Apple TV is moving slower than normal, there’s a bully chance you whitethorn person excessively galore devices connected to either your 2.4GHZ aliases 5GHz band.

Head into your Apple TV’s web settings to alteration nan Wi-Fi web you’re connected to, and spot if hopping connected a caller set improves your net performance.

The Video and audio paper of nan Apple TV 4K.

Fix Apple TV video problems

The bully news is that astir video problems tin beryllium fixed by making judge your Apple TV powerfulness and Wi-Fi are moving properly. But these steps tin thief pinch different video issues immoderate users whitethorn tally into. The Apple TV will automatically group nan video format to nan champion awesome imaginable for your TV, but if you want to cheque and adjust, here's how.

Step 1: If nan solution isn’t matched to your TV, you tin sojourn Settings > Video and Audio > Format. The champion action for your TV is usually correct astatine nan apical of nan list, and you tin manually group it if you like, aliases alteration it.

Step 2: If you are getting stuttering aliases freezing video, adjacent nan app and restart it again, past resume playback to spot if this helps. Sometimes this tin bespeak a bandwidth issue, which tin only beryllium addressed by taking immoderate of your different devices offline.

Step 3: If nan image doesn’t fresh your TV screen, it’s astir apt not an rumor pinch nan Apple TV. Instead, you’ll request to set nan facet ratio of your TV, which you tin typically find successful your TV settings.

The Oudio Output paper for nan Apple TV 4K 2022 pinch TVos 6.5.

Fix Apple TV audio problems

Is your Apple TV moving but not producing sound? These steps should clear that up.

Step 1: First, effort nan restart method listed above.

Step 2: Check your HDMI cablegram connections. Unplug nan HDMI cablegram astatine some ends, and plug it backmost successful firmly.

Step 3: Head to Apple Settings, take Video and audio, past take Audio output. This should beryllium group to immoderate cablegram you are using, typically HDMI aliases HDMI eARC. You tin besides set your audio output present if you want to usage wireless speakers, for example.

The PSB SubSeries PB8 successful a surviving room and a situation sound system.

Fix Apple TV situation sound problems

Depending connected nan type of TV, soundbar, aliases AV receiver your Apple TV is connected to, you whitethorn acquisition immoderate issues erstwhile it comes clip to watercourse definite movies and TV shows successful situation sound. Here’s really to troubleshoot.

Step 1: Do support successful mind that no Apple TV models support immoderate DTS situation sound formats. This intends your situation playback will beryllium constricted to Dolby 5.1, Dolby 7.1, and Dolby Atmos (where applicable).

Step 2: If only definite speakers (or nary speaker) are producing immoderate sound, you’ll want to make judge that each instrumentality successful your Apple TV’s relationship concatenation (soundbar, AV receiver, TV) supports nan situation format you’re attempting to perceive to.

All it takes is 1 instrumentality not supporting a situation codec to sabotage due playback.

Step 3: If you’re stuck successful a business wherever either your TV, soundbar, aliases AV receiver doesn’t support a definite audio format, you tin ever restrict your Apple TV to stereo playback only. To do so, caput into your Apple TV’s Video and audio settings.

Then, prime Audio format > Change format > Stereo.

The Siri Remote successful someone's hand.

Fix Apple TV distant problems

The Apple TV remote, particularly nan latest Siri version, tin beryllium very smart — but whitethorn besides tally into immoderate issues. If your distant isn’t responding, here’s what to try.

Note: We besides person a afloat explainer connected how to brace nan Apple TV remote that you tin cheque out.

Step 1: Check your artillery life. Go into Settings > Remotes and devices and caput down to Remote. Here, you tin look astatine nan icon to spot really overmuch powerfulness is near aliases get an nonstop percentage. If artillery life is very debased (or nan distant doesn’t moreover respond capable for you to usage nan menu), past plug it successful utilizing nan cablegram that came pinch nan remote, and fto it recharge.

Step 2: If you’re having problem utilizing nan cursor connected nan surface pinch nan Siri Remote, caput to Remotes and devices. Here you tin find an action called Touch aboveground tracking, which you tin raise aliases little based connected really you for illustration to navigate.

AirPlay 2 being utilized connected a Vizio TV from an iPhone.

Fix Apple TV AirPlay problems

If you're a regular personification of Apple's surface mirroring aliases connectivity complete AirPlay and it's not working, present are immoderate things you tin try.

Step 1: First, make judge your iOS instrumentality and your Apple TV are utilizing nan latest package — see supra for really to cheque and update.

Step 2: Perform a reset connected your iOS instrumentality and/or nan Apple TV.

Step 3: Make judge your Apple device, specified arsenic an iPhone, iPad, aliases Mac computer, are connected to nan aforesaid Wi-Fi network. If they are, and it's still not working, effort turning Wi-Fi connected your iOS instrumentality disconnected and connected from Control Center aliases done your iOS device's Settings > General > Wi-Fi.

See supra for really to cheque your web connected your Apple TV arsenic well.

Step 4: Reset your iOS device's Bluetooth relationship by turning it disconnected and connected done Control Center by swiping down from nan top-right of your iPhone screen, aliases going to Settings > General > Bluetooth.

Can my Apple TV tally retired of retention space?

Yes it can. The guidelines exemplary Apple TV 4K has up to 64GB of soul retention for each your apps, games, photos, videos, etc., but those precious bytes tin spell quickly.

If your Apple TV runs retired of retention space, you’ll request to delete 1 aliases respective unused apps successful bid to reconstruct retention space. Fortunately, nan process is reasonably straightforward, and we person an full guide to thief you.

How do I cognize if my Apple TV is astatine nan extremity of its life?

Most user tech items aren’t built to past forever, and while galore O.G. Apple TV models are still kicking, you whitethorn tally into a business wherever nan only solution is to ditch your existent Apple TV and bargain a caller one.

Symptoms of a dormant aliases dying Apple TV tin see a nonaccomplishment to powerfulness on, intermittent powerfulness loss, changeless crashing and freezing, arsenic good arsenic mediocre web connectivity.