Apple TV (1st generation): Troubleshooting wireless connections

Learn what you can do if you have an issue connecting your Apple TV to a Wi-Fi network.

This article has been archived and is no longer updated by Apple.

Note: This article provides information on troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues on Apple TV (1st generation), which looks like this:

If your Apple TV looks like this:

…then see this article for Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation).

 

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Cannot see your wireless network in the list on Apple TV

  1. The list of available networks that displays in the Configure Wireless screen does not update automatically when new Wi-Fi networks become available Apple TV. To refresh the list:
    1. Press the Menu button.
    2. Navigate to Settings > General > Network > Configure Wireless.
    3. Press Select/Play/Pause to display a refreshed list of available networks.
  2. If your network is hidden, choose Other and enter the network name using the onscreen keyboard and your remote.
  3. Make sure there is nothing resting on top of the Apple TV. This can cause interference with the wireless antennas.
  4. Make sure your Apple TV and computer are within range of your base station.
  5. Make sure there are no potential sources of interference.
  6. If your wireless base station/router uses Media Access Control (MAC) filtering make sure the Apple TV MAC address is added to the MAC filter list on your base station by using the documentation that came with your base station/router. To locate the MAC address of your Apple TV, choose Settings > General > About.

Note: Apple TV cannot connect to networks that use high ASCII or double-byte characters in their password (this includes Japanese, Korean, and Chinese characters).

Apple TV cannot connect to a wireless network with a static IP address

If you use a static IP address to connect to the internet, you will need to configure your network settings before configuring your TCP/IP address.

  1. On Apple TV choose Settings > General > Network > Configure Wireless.
  2. Select the wireless network you would like to join, enter a valid password, then choose Done.
  3. Choose Configure TCP/IP > Manually.
  4. When prompted, enter your IP address, Subnet Mask, Router Address, and your DNS Address, then choose Done.

Apple TV will not accept your wireless password

Make sure your wireless network is not using WPA-Enterprise or WPA2-Enterprise encryption.

Apple TV cannot play iTunes Store content

  1. Make sure your wireless network is not blocking ports 80 and 443.
  2. Make sure you are not going through a web proxy server.

Apple TV cannot be seen in the Devices list but movie trailers can download

  1. If your computer uses a firewall, make sure your firewall is not blocking port 5353.
    Note: For Mac OS X v10.5 and later firewalls, add the application "iTunes" to the "Set access for specific services and applications" list.
  2. Make sure your computer's Bonjour functions are working properly. Can you see other Bonjour functions like Shared music from another computer's iTunes? If you are using Windows, try to re-install iTunes.
  3. Is your computer logged into a VPN connection? VPN connections can interfere with Bonjour.
  4. Make sure your Apple TV and computer with iTunes are operating on the same subnetwork.
  5. If you are using Windows, see if there is a System Service or Startup Item that might be causing a conflict. Click here for assistance with troubleshooting System Services and Startup Items.

Apple TV cannot be seen in the Devices list and movie trailers cannot download

  1. Make sure you have joined your wireless network.
  2. Make sure your wireless network has Internet access.
  3. If you use PPPoE to connect to the Internet, make sure you are not affected by this issue.

Apple TV is seen in the Devices list but cannot sync or stream

Make sure your firewall is not configured to block port 3689.
Note: For Mac OS X v10.5 and later firewalls, add the application "iTunes" to the "Set access for specific services and applications" list.

If the above solutions do not resolve the issue, try restarting your router/base station and Apple TV

  1. Restart your base station or router. Sometimes this is done by turning the router off for a few seconds, and then on again, but check the documentation provided by the manufacturer.
  2. To restart your Apple TV, press and hold Menu and Menu down/scroll (-) for about 6 seconds, and then choose Restart from the menu. 

If the issue continues after restarting, reset your router or base station and Apple TV to factory settings

  1. Reset your base station or router. Use the documentation provided by the manufacturer to reset to factory settings.
  2. To reset your Apple TV perform a factory restore.
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