Help | Apple TV won't recognize HomeSharing and AirPlay doesn't apear

Prhing · May 17, 2012

Hey, I bought an Apple TV and I just can't set it up. My Mac,iPad2 and Apple TV are all on the same network. HomeSharing is turned on both on my Mac and PC's but Apple TV won't see it. It's on version 5.0 and the iPad on version 5.0.1 but no AirPlay button, no idea why.
When I turn on HomeSharing a tab appears on the left but than disappears after about a second, but once I go to 'Advanced' it says there that HomeSharing is on.
Can it be that AirPlay icons won't show on iPad because it's on 5.0.1 and not 5.1/5.1.1?

pendlewitch · May 18, 2012

Hi,
Minimum software requirements are iTunes 10.5 or later and an Apple ID for Home Sharing and streaming from a Mac so I would check that first.

What happens when you choose 'My Computers' on the ATV home screen ?

mrplow · May 18, 2012

Firstly AirPlay and HomeSharing are two separate and distinct features.

That both these are failing to perform suggests a network problem rather than a device issue.

The Airplay icon will only appear as an option on your iPad if an AirPlay compatible device is detect on the network. The version of iOS (though I'd always suggest being on the latest version) does support AirPlay.

Check you have the latest version of iTunes as Pendlewitch suggests.

Now, if the AppleTV is the latest addition then lets start there. How is it connected to your network? Wired or wireless? Direct to the router? Can you briefly list your network kit? (router, modem, bridges, hubs etc).

Prhing · May 18, 2012

My iTunes is up to date on all computers.
Both the ATV,iPad and Mac are connected to a wireless network. They are all conected to my router.
All of them has the same Apple ID and about a minute ago I updated my ATV to 5.0.1.
Moreover, even though my ATV is connected to WiFi the only two icons are Settings and Computers, no YouTube or anything else, why is that?
When I turn HomeSharing on my computer a tab labeled Home Sharing appears on the left below iTunes Store but than it disappears right away both of windows 7 and Mac, why? Could it be the issue?

mrplow · May 18, 2012

You'll only see those two entries on the ATV because it's not making a full connection to the Internet.

Can you go into settings and post back check your Network settings?

I'd suggest you're getting blocked by a firewall rule on your router, or an ip clash or a hardware fault on the ATV. Are you able to connect the ATV to the router temporarily by Ethernet cable?

pendlewitch · May 18, 2012

I would suggest resetting the ATV and re-entering your account and network information as per the manual.
Failing that I would do a Restore on it.

Prhing · May 18, 2012

mrplow said:
You'll only see those two entries on the ATV because it's not making a full connection to the Internet.

Can you go into settings and post back check your Network settings?

I'd suggest you're getting blocked by a firewall rule on your router, or an ip clash or a hardware fault on the ATV. Are you able to connect the ATV to the router temporarily by Ethernet cable?

How come it's not making a full connection to the Internet? Btw, I just opened TCP 6398 / UDP 5353 ports on my router.
Network settings are as followed:
name ; MARK
Ip address: DHCP 10.0.0.1
subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0
router address: 10.0.0.138
Dns address: 10.0.0.138
WiFi address: 70:73:cb:ce

5:05
Signal strength : 3/5

How about that HomeSharing tab disappearing on all computers?

And yes I am able to connect through a cable.

I don't think restore would do any help, I just got it and updated it to 5.0.1 with no problems at all.

mrplow · May 18, 2012

Sorry, what I meant is does the ATV does the ATV work as normal/behave differently when cabled vs wireless?

It's rather odd (though it should still work) for your router not to have the first address in the range. That's certainly not out-of-the-box config. So I'd suspect some router tweaks at fault here.

If you check your other network devices do they all have unique IP addresses?

Homesharing options disappearing, the ATV behavior etc all point toward router issues. I.E. traffic not getting to and from where it needs to.

Do you have a separate modem & router? If so connect the modem directly to the AppleTV with ethernet cable and turn the router off. Power cycle the appletv then see if Internet - youtube - trailers etc appear

Prhing · May 18, 2012

mrplow said:
Sorry, what I meant is does the ATV does the ATV work as normal/behave differently when cabled vs wireless?

It's rather odd (though it should still work) for your router not to have the first address in the range. That's certainly not out-of-the-box config. So I'd suspect some router tweaks at fault here.

If you check your other network devices do they all have unique IP addresses?

Homesharing options disappearing, the ATV behavior etc all point toward router issues. I.E. traffic not getting to and from where it needs to.

Do you have a separate modem & router? If so connect the modem directly to the AppleTV with ethernet cable and turn the router off. Power cycle the appletv then see if Internet - youtube - trailers etc appear

No I only have a router, with no modem.
I connected the ATV through a cable to the router but it still won't work.
No youtube, nothing.
I didn't understand what you meant by: It's rather odd (though it should still work) for your router not to have the first address in the range. That's certainly not out-of-the-box config. So I'd suspect some router tweaks at fault here.

And what is a unique IP?

pendlewitch · May 18, 2012

Prhing said:
No I only have a router, with no modem.
I connected the ATV through a cable to the router but it still won't work.
No youtube, nothing.
I didn't understand what you meant by: It's rather odd (though it should still work) for your router not to have the first address in the range. That's certainly not out-of-the-box config. So I'd suspect some router tweaks at fault here.

And what is a unique IP?

If you have no modem then how are you connected to the internet ?

mrplow · May 18, 2012

I'm guessing you have ADSL broadband rather than cable, either way you seem to have a combined modem/router.

A pre-configured (from an ISP) or shop bought router normally defaults to setting itself as the first IP address in the range. Typically 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 not always but often. Sometimes, though rarely these days 10.0.0.1. But I've never seen a router have an address part way up a range like yours ( I.e. 10.0.0.38).

This makes me think the router has been specifically configured this way by someone for a specific purpose.

This could mean specific firewall rules, MAC address filtering etc. all of which, being a custom configuration make it tricky to diagnose the fault.

By unique IP I mean every device on a network most have a unique address. Your ATV from your info above has 10.0.0.1 this means no other device can have this address on your network or they'll clash and things will stop communicating correctly.
Normally the router acts as a DHCP server and hands out unique addresses but if one of your devices has a static IP ie it always wants a specific address this may clash with the ones handed out by the router.
E.g. If your iMac insists on 10.0.0.1 then it will clash with your ATV.

My gut instinct at this stage is to reset your router to factory settings. That will clear any unusual config. But just remember if you do you'll need to know your broadband login details to reconfigure your connection. Often these are built into the router if it's supplied by your ISP.

Perhaps if you could give your make and model of router, ISP and country I could give you more specific details.

Hope some of that makes sense

Prhing · May 18, 2012

mrplow said:
I'm guessing you have ADSL broadband rather than cable, either way you seem to have a combined modem/router.

A pre-configured (from an ISP) or shop bought router normally defaults to setting itself as the first IP address in the range. Typically 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 not always but often. Sometimes, though rarely these days 10.0.0.1. But I've never seen a router have an address part way up a range like yours ( I.e. 10.0.0.38).

This makes me think the router has been specifically configured this way by someone for a specific purpose.

This could mean specific firewall rules, MAC address filtering etc. all of which, being a custom configuration make it tricky to diagnose the fault.

By unique IP I mean every device on a network most have a unique address. Your ATV from your info above has 10.0.0.1 this means no other device can have this address on your network or they'll clash and things will stop communicating correctly.
Normally the router acts as a DHCP server and hands out unique addresses but if one of your devices has a static IP ie it always wants a specific address this may clash with the ones handed out by the router.
E.g. If your iMac insists on 10.0.0.1 then it will clash with your ATV.

My gut instinct at this stage is to reset your router to factory settings. That will clear any unusual config. But just remember if you do you'll need to know your broadband login details to reconfigure your connection. Often these are built into the router if it's supplied by your ISP.

Perhaps if you could give your make and model of router, ISP and country I could give you more specific details.

Hope some of that makes sense

Ok I see, there's a small hole on my router labeled Restore To Factory Settings.
I'll try this when I have time, probably next week.
For now, here is my router info:
I live in Israel.
NetGear DGN2200v2 ADSL+
what is ISP? If you mean internet provider than it would be Bezeq, an israeli company..

BTW: we recently changed our router and the previous had the same IP - 10.0.0.138, I many routers around here has that one.

pendlewitch · May 18, 2012

Prhing said:
Ok I see, there's a small hole on my router labeled Restore To Factory Settings.
I'll try this when I have time, probably next week.
For now, here is my router info:
I live in Israel.
NetGear DGN2200v2 ADSL+
what is ISP? If you mean internet provider than it would be Bezeq, an israeli company..

BTW: we recently changed our router and the previous had the same IP - 10.0.0.138, I many routers around here has that one.

We'll see you next week then

Jro · May 20, 2012

I'm 99 percent sure that mrplow's idea about resetting the modem will correct the issue.
I've had this happen a few times and needless to say resetting the modem fixed the issue each time.

pendlewitch · May 20, 2012

Jro said:
I'm 99 percent sure that mrplow's idea about resetting the modem will correct the issue.
I've had this happen a few times and needless to say resetting the modem fixed the issue each time.

Hi Jro,

mrplow suggest 'restore' rather than 'reset' but the OP so far appears not to have either reset the ATV or restored it, nor reset the modem/router or restored that. The resets are simple, quick fixes particularly pulling the AC plug from the modem/router but for the avoidance of doubt I would restore them both.

OP also states that this is a recent router change, is it pre-owned or new out of the box from Bezeq?

There are some resources on the net that point to difficulties with this router having branded firmware from Bezeq. Upgrading the firmware of DGN2200v2. - NETGEAR Forums

Constant resets of modem/routers would lean me towards an upgrade with dual-band under consideration particularly if you have multiple devices within a competitive locality sucking the life out of the 2.4Ghz band.

Prhing · May 20, 2012

pendlewitch said:
Hi Jro,

mrplow suggest 'restore' rather than 'reset' but the OP so far appears not to have either reset the ATV or restored it, nor reset the modem/router or restored that. The resets are simple, quick fixes particularly pulling the AC plug from the modem/router but for the avoidance of doubt I would restore them both.

OP also states that this is a recent router change, is it pre-owned or new out of the box from Bezeq?

There are some resources on the net that point to difficulties with this router having branded firmware from Bezeq. Upgrading the firmware of DGN2200v2. - NETGEAR Forums

Constant resets of modem/routers would lean me towards an upgrade with dual-band under consideration particularly if you have multiple devices within a competitive locality sucking the life out of the 2.4Ghz band.

It is completely new.
By restoring to factory settings I would restore it to the save point where Bezeq probably installed their software right?
I also didn't quite understand what did you mean in the last sentence?

mrplow · May 20, 2012

Prhing said:
It is completely new.
By restoring to factory settings I would restore it to the save point where Bezeq probably installed their software right?

I think you're confusing the ATV and the router. All symptoms to date point to the router as the point of failure. It 'could' be an ATV hardware failure but I doubt it. As the ATV is new and has had the latest version of ios installed we can rule out restoring and resetting the ATV any more.

Still the most likely scenario is router config. Once the OP gets back following the router reset we'll have a much clearer picture

pendlewitch · May 20, 2012

Prhing said:
It is completely new.
By restoring to factory settings I would restore it to the save point where Bezeq probably installed their software right?
I also didn't quite understand what did you mean in the last sentence?

Hi,
My post was addressed to Jro particularly with regards to frequently resetting modem/routers. This is not the same as a restore.

Restoring equipment is a valid reference point to work from and with the ATV it is done hard-wired via iTunes. The software update has been done wirelessly I assume, and I thought that you had problems with your wireless connection?

I'm not really fussed how you go about it bit but unplugging your modem/router, leaving it for a couple of minutes whilst the capacitors drain off and then plugging it back in again would be a start and indeed a reset.

Jro · May 20, 2012

pendlewitch said:
Hi Jro,

mrplow suggest 'restore' rather than 'reset' but the OP so far appears not to have either reset the ATV or restored it, nor reset the modem/router or restored that. The resets are simple, quick fixes particularly pulling the AC plug from the modem/router but for the avoidance of doubt I would restore them both.

OP also states that this is a recent router change, is it pre-owned or new out of the box from Bezeq?

There are some resources on the net that point to difficulties with this router having branded firmware from Bezeq. Upgrading the firmware of DGN2200v2. - NETGEAR Forums

Constant resets of modem/routers would lean me towards an upgrade with dual-band under consideration particularly if you have multiple devices within a competitive locality sucking the life out of the 2.4Ghz band.

I just reread what with MrPlow wrote and you're correct that he means to restore the modem.
I'm not trying to say that what he suggested above shouldn't be undertaken,
I'm merely saying that resetting the modem should be attempted before going through with restores and factory resets of both the ATV and modem because it could possibly fix the issue and has for myself in the past.
Either way you're correct again in saying that the OP hasn't undertaken either as far as I can see.
If an issue is persistant then most defiantly I would agree with restoring the modem and or ATV I just believe highly in going through simple troubleshooting before going to the next level.

Jro

pendlewitch · May 21, 2012

Jro said:
I just reread what with MrPlow wrote and you're correct that he means to restore the modem.
I'm not trying to say that what he suggested above shouldn't be undertaken,
I'm merely saying that resetting the modem should be attempted before going through with restores and factory resets of both the ATV and modem because it could possibly fix the issue and has for myself in the past.
Either way you're correct again in saying that the OP hasn't undertaken either as far as I can see.
If an issue is persistant then most defiantly I would agree with restoring the modem and or ATV I just believe highly in going through simple troubleshooting before going to the next level.

Jro

Absolutely Jro, there are resets available for both pieces of equipment which would be the first place to start before doing a restore on either. I know you're not trying to gainsay the advice :Cool:

We're now into Day 5...and maybe we've got paralysis by analysis ?