Configuring firewalls on a Mac for use with Apple TV
Symptoms
Once you have synced or paired the Apple TV to your Mac to establish a syncing or streaming connection, iTunes may say "The Apple TV [Name] is not responding. Check that any firewall software running on this computer has been set to allow communication on port 3689."
Products Affected
Apple TV, iTunes 8 for Mac
Resolution
This can happen if you have enabled the firewall on your Mac. If you have enabled the firewall, please make the following adjustments:
If you use other firewall or Internet protection software such as Zone Alarm, Norton, or McAfee, check the documentation for that software on how to open TCP connections on port 3689.
If you have Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), refer to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: About the Application Firewall for information on configuring Firewall.
For Mac OS X 10.4 and earlier, use the following steps to configure the firewall:
- Open the Sharing System Preference (choose Apple > System Preferences and then choose View > Sharing).
- Click Firewall.
- In the "Allow" field make sure the "iTunes Music Sharing" check box is checked. This will allow the transfer of content for syncing and or streaming to your Apple TV.
Note: If you use "fast user switching" on a Mac with firewall enabled you'll need to enable additional ports to allow streaming to Apple TV. If you don't, only the first user will be able to stream to Apple TV. For one additional user enable TCP port 49152. For each additional user, open the next incremental port (49153 for three users, 49154 for four users, 49155 for five users, etc.).
Follow these steps to add the necessary ports:
- Choose Apple > System Preferences.
- Choose View > Sharing.
- Click the Firewall tab.
- Click New.
- From the Port Name pop-up menu, choose Other.
- In the TCP Port Number(s) field, type in:
49152, 49153
Note: This example allows for a total of three users. If you need more, enter the additional number(s) as described in the note above. If you need fewer, just enter the first number.
- In the Description field type in: Extra Apple TV Streams
- Click OK.
Additional Information
See "Well known" TCP and UDP ports used by Apple software products for more information.
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