Your Apple TV won’t connect to Wi-Fi and you don’t know why. Maybe your tablet connects, maybe your friend’s phone connects, or maybe no devices will connect at all. Maybe your Apple TV connects to every Wi-Fi network except for one, or maybe it doesn’t connect to any networks at all.
There are a lot of maybes when it comes to diagnosing and solving Apple TV Wi-Fi problems, but I’ll help you get to the bottom of it. In this article, I’ll explain why your Apple TV won’t connect to Wi-Fi and show you how to fix the problem, whether it’s with your Apple TV or your wireless router.
Here are the most common signs of Apple TV Wi-Fi connection problems:
- Downloads do not start.
- Contents do not play.
- Unable to join a Wi-Fi network.
- Various error messages are displayed, for example:
- An error occurred loading this content
- "There is a problem loading this content"
Are you having these problems as well? In this article, I’ll explain how you can troubleshoot and fix your Apple TV Wi-Fi connection problems for good!
How to know whether your Apple TV is connected to Wi-Fi or not
On most devices like iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Android phone, you can see if your device is connected to Wi-Fi by simply looking at the top status bar. However, this isn’t as simple with Apple TV.
Therefore to see whether your Apple TV is connected to Wi-Fi or not, you have to go to Settings > Network, and if you see a name in the Wi-Fi field or next to Network Name, that’s the network your Apple TV is connected to. You can also see the Signal Strength on that screen, with five dots signifying the strongest signal.
If your Apple TV is not connected to Wi-Fi, fails to connect, or doesn’t work, here are all the solutions to fix such issues.
Please note that there are currently seven different Apple TV models. These are:
- Apple TV 4K (3rd Generation, released in 2022).
- Apple TV 4K (2nd generation, released in 2021).
- Apple TV 4K (1st generation, released in 2017).
- Apple TV HD (released in 2015).
- Apple TV (3rd generation, released in 2012).
- Apple TV (2nd generation, released in 2010).
- Apple TV (1st generation, released in 2007).
The fixes explained in this article apply to all Apple TV models, including the latest Apple TV 4K that won’t connect to internet.
How to fix Apple TV Wi-Fi connection issues
After trying each step below, test your TV again to see if you can connect to internet.
1. Verify that the Wi-Fi connection is the one you want
Apple TV sometimes skip from your expected Wi-Fi connection to a different network. If there are other "open" networks available that don’t actually provide an internet connection, that could be the source of your problem right there.
Make sure that the correct wireless network name is selected from the list (Settings > Network).
2. Make sure that you enter the correct password
Wi-Fi passwords are case sensitive, which means that capital letters are taken into account when deciding if the password is correct. It’s possible a typo is the reason why your Apple TV won’t connect to Wi-Fi.
3. Restart your Apple TV
One quick step when your Apple TV is not connecting to Wi-Fi is quickly turning it off and back on. Think of it like turning your phone off and back on — it gives your Apple TV a fresh start and second chance to make a clean connection to Wi-Fi.
There are multiple ways to . restart an Apple TV:
- On your Apple TV, go to Settings > System > Restart.
- Using your Apple TV remote, press and hold the Menu button and Home until you see the Apple TV status light flashes.
- Or you can simply disconnect your Apple TV from the power outlet, then wait 10 seconds and then reconnect. hopefully, your Apple TV will auto-connect to Wi-Fi.
4. Restart your Wi-Fi router
If your Apple TV is not connecting to Wi-Fi, one of the troubleshooting steps you should try without fail is restarting your router. To do this, follow the steps below:
- Unplug your router from the power source.
- Wait 30 seconds.
- Plug the router back in.
Once you have restarted your Wi-Fi router, Apple TV should connect to it.
5. Make sure that your Apple TV is not too far away from your router
Typical Wi-Fi routers have a range of about 150 feet or 45 meters on the 2.4 GHz frequency band. But this is weakened significantly because of walls and obstructions.
Here are a few possible solutions to address this:
- Move your router as close as possible to your Apple TV.
- If relocating your router isn’t possible, try moving your Apple TV and see if it helps.
6. Switch to the 2.4 GHz band, which offers a better range
Chances are your Wi-Fi router supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The [5 GHz band offers faster speeds, but the distance its signal can travel is far lower than the 2.4 GHz band.
Therefore, if your Apple TV can’t connect to the 5 GHz band, follow these steps to connect to the 2.4 GHz band or an another network:
- Go to Apple TV Settings app > Network > Wi-Fi.
- Wait on this screen until you see the Wi-Fi name you want to connect to. It will appear under the Choose a Networkheading. If that Wi-Fi doesn’t show here even after waiting for a few seconds, go back and forth from this screen and retry until you see it. You can also quit the Settings app and navigate to this screen again.
- Once you see the Wi-Fi name, select it and enter its password if asked.
7. Disconnect a few devices from the Wi-Fi network
Home Wi-Fi routers can easily handle dozens of devices. But still, if your Apple TV can’t connect to your home Wi-Fi or doesn’t show up under Choose a Network, go ahead and disconnect a few devices like phones and computers from that Wi-Fi network.
Now head over to Apple TV Wi-Fi settings and try connecting to the Wi-Fi. Once you’re successful, you can reconnect other devices to the same Wi-Fi network.
8. Turn off your VPN
Unlike iPhone, iPad, and Mac, Apple TV does not support VPN unless you jailbreak it. When you search for VPN on the App Store, all you will see are a few speed test apps.
However, you can use VPN on your Apple TV by configuring VPN settings on your Wi-Fi router. If you have done that, consider turning it off. After this, Wi-Fi should connect and work on your Apple TV.
9. Make sure that your Apple TV’s date and time settings are correct
Many devices have networking issues if their date and time are set incorrectly. Here’s how to fix this:
- Go to Settings > General > Date and Time.
- If you see anything incorrect, correct it.
10. Forget and rejoin the Wi-Fi
If your Apple TV is connected to Wi-Fi but it has no Internet access, you can forget and rejoin the network to refresh the connection:
- Open Apple TV Settings and go to Network > Wi-Fi.
- Select the Wi-Fi network your Apple TV is presently connected to. It will appear above the Choose a Network heading.
- Select Forget Network.
- Now, restart your Apple TV.
- Finally, go to its Settings > Network > Wi-Fi, choose the network, and enter its password.
11. Reset and set up your Apple TV
If you have tried everything but your Apple TV is still not connecting to internet, then you may want to restore your Apple TV to its factory settings. This will erase everything. Here is how:
- On your device, go to Settings > System > Reset.
- Select Reset or Reset and Update and choose Reset again.
- Once your Apple TV is reset, set it up again.
12. Use Ethernet for the fastest speeds
You can use an Ethernet connection if, despite all the solutions, your Apple TV fails to connect to Wi-Fi or work on it. Note: All Apple TVs have an Ethernet port, except the Wi-Fi-only model of Apple TV 4K (3rd generation).
13. Contact Apple Support
At last, if nothing helps, contact Apple Support and make an appointment with your nearest Apple Service Center for an inspection of your streaming box.
Wrapping It Up
By this point, your Apple TV is connected to Wi-Fi or you’re well on your way to a fix. I’d like to hear about your experiences solving the problem in the comments section below. If you do, let us know exactly why your Apple TV wouldn’t connect to Wi-Fi and the model number of your wireless router. Your experience can help other readers with the same problem.