Has anyone returned an ATV?

[whooleytoo]

Has anyone returned an ATV because of the 'dropping off the network' problem? If so, has the replacement ATV been any more reliable? Is it better to return to the store (Apple premium reseller, not official Apple Store), or call Apple? It's still covered under warranty.

I've given up on mine. I did a new Restore, and it seemed to be much improved; but no the issue came back yet again after 2 days. Watching a video via Home Sharing, using an iPad as remote. Clicked pause, nothing happened. The ATV just drops off the network (but kept playing the video as it must have been buffered). The only thing to get it back is restart the device, but that only works for a while.

The thing that amazes me - it's dropping off a wired network, not wireless.

 

[chenks]

The thing that amazes me - it's dropping off a wired network, not wireless.

you've either got a faulty ethernet port on the appletv, a faulty ethernet cable, or a faulty port on your router/hub/switch.

 

[whooleytoo]

you've either got a faulty ethernet port on the appletv, a faulty ethernet cable, or a faulty port on your router/hub/switch.

I'm not sure - it's strange then that restarting the device would fix the issue (for a while). I did read on one forum someone suggesting the ATV is prone to overheating, which might make sense.

I did try a different cable with no difference; and had tried Wifi with 2 different routers; and that was even worse.

 

[chenks]

I'm not sure - it's strange then that restarting the device would fix the issue (for a while). I did read on one forum someone suggesting the ATV is prone to overheating, which might make sense.

is it a 1st gen or 2nd gen appletv?
2nd would never get warm enough to overheat. the 1st gen will get hot to the touch but is designed to do that as the external casing is acting as the heatsink.

restarting the device fixing the problem (albeit intermittently) would rule out a faulty cable.

I did try a different cable with no difference; and had tried Wifi with 2 different routers; and that was even worse.

originally you said that WIFI had no problems, now you are saying it does ?

 

[CylonGlitch]

I'm not sure - it's strange then that restarting the device would fix the issue (for a while). I did read on one forum someone suggesting the ATV is prone to overheating, which might make sense.

I did try a different cable with no difference; and had tried Wifi with 2 different routers; and that was even worse.

ATV1 gets HOT. ATV2 not so much so. BUT it is in my entertainment center along with my cable box and that thing gets hot. What I've found is that if the ATV2 gets warmed up, it will start to act very funky. Thus I have had to move it away from my cable box to keep it cool, now it works great.

Just a warning, entertainment centers don't allow for airflow, and thus inside can get quite warm. Make sure that the ATV2 is not affected by this because it will cause lockups and network drops.

 

[whooleytoo]

is it a 1st gen or 2nd gen appletv?
2nd would never get warm enough to overheat. the 1st gen will get hot to the touch but is designed to do that as the external casing is acting as the heatsink.

2nd gen; a few months old. It's in a well ventilated spot too, so it's not as if there's heat from any nearby device causing it either.

originally you said that WIFI had no problems, now you are saying it does ?

I wasn't saying it never had problems with Wifi, but clarifying my current problem isn't with Wifi (which people expect to be a little flaky) but with Ethernet (which most of us expect to be perfectly reliable once initially configured). Sorry if that wasn't clear.

To give the full story - I've tried with 2 different routers, and lots of different configurations (DHCP vs manual, switching Wifi channels so as not to clash with neighbours etc) and none worked reliably. I switched to Ethernet and the problem seemed to go away, but after the iOS 5 upgrades, the problems returned. Tried wiping & restoring the ATV and it briefly fixed the problem, but it's back again.

If I can go one 'session' (an hour or so of listening to music or watching videos) without it dropping, it's an achievement.

 

[chenks]

if it's still under warranty then simply get it swapped out.

 

[whooleytoo]

I took the ATV back to the shop to see what the options were; and rather than a offer a replacement they said they'd take a look.

Of course, it worked perfectly when they turned it on (as I expected); but I doubt they're very likely to sit watching videos for an hour or so for the problem to arise. They're having a technician look at it and will call me back. I can't imagine there's an awful lot he can do with it, other than restore iOS again.

 

[Nychot]

Atv vs. Roku

Deleted

 

[classicaliberal]

never had a problem with mine

 

[whooleytoo]

Deleted

FWIW, I'm tempted by the Roku. If I can't get this problem fixed, I might switch.

However, I'd rather stay with the ATV. Using an iPad as a remote for selecting music/videos, and Airplay are two features that I'd rather not do without.