How to Restart, Restore and Fix
a Frozen or Problematic Apple TV
A step-by-step tutorial
Is your Apple TV frozen or unresponsive? Is the battery in your Apple Remote control dead? Is the hard drive completely fried? This tutorial will walk you through a variety of common problems and help you figure out what's wrong with your Apple TV.
Requirements:
- Apple TV (read review)
- Apple Remote
- TV
- Electricity
- Common sense
| NERD
NOTE: The Apple TV was first announced at a special press event in San Francisco, California on September 12, 2006, by CEO Steve Jobs. |
1) Troubleshooting Human Error
Is your Apple TV really frozen, or are you too hungover to realize that your TV isn't turned on or plugged in? Before we begin, let's eliminate some common Homer issues that are easily fixed.
Please make sure...
- Your TV is turned on.
- The power cables for both your Apple TV and TV are securely connected to a working AC wall outlet. You did remember to pay your electric bill this month, right?
- Your TV is switched to the correct input for the Apple TV.
- The audio and video cables that connect your Apple TV to your TV are pushed in all the way.
Also take a moment to familiarize yourself with the buttons and layout of your Apple Remote control. Everything from the buttons to the battery compartment will be referenced in the text below.

2) Troubleshooting your Apple Remote Control
Is your Apple TV displaying animated photos in screensaver mode but not responding to the remote control? If so, the Apple TV isn't frozen. Let's see if the little white Apple Remote control is the problem.
- PAIRED REMOTES
Did you "pair" your remote with your Apple TV? You can program your Apple TV to only accept commands from one remote control. If you have multiple Apple Remotes, you might be using the wrong one. By default, the Apple TV's included remote comes unpaired. But if you are seeing amber or white indicator lights on the front of your Apple TV and your Apple Remote still isn't working, your Apple TV might have been paired with a different remote.
To be safe, let's try to unpair the remote:
- Pick up the remote.
- Point it at the Apple TV.
- Press and hold the Menu and the Previous/Rewind (<<) button for 6 seconds.
- An unlocking image should appear on the screen. Once you see this unlocking image, your Apple TV should work with any Apple Remote control.
DEAD BATTERY?
Are you pressing buttons on the Apple TV remote but nothing is happening on your Apple TV? Is the battery dead? One easy way to tell is by watching the indicator light on your Apple TV. Try pressing buttons on your Apple Remote and watch the front of your Apple TV. You should see either an amber or white light each time you try to use the remote. If you don't see any indicator lights, then the battery might be dead.
Replacing the Apple Remote's battery is very easy. The Apple Remote uses a 3V CR2032 coin battery (see image other there). Use a paperclip to push in the little indent on the bottom of your Apple Remote. A little battery sled will pop out. Put in a new CR2032 battery and close it up. You can find CR2032 batteries at most drug stores, supermarkets and at electronic stores like Radio Shack.

Still having problems? Keep reading....
3) Restart a Frozen Apple TV
If your remote is fine, then the issue must be with your Apple TV. Sometimes the Apple TV will freeze or lock up. This usually happens to my Apple TV when it gets too hot.
Here's how to restart an Apple TV:
- Pick up the remote.
- Point it at the Apple TV
- Press and hold both Menu and down (-) on the Apple Remote for 6 seconds or until the status light blinks amber.
- The Apple TV should Reset itself and show you a screen where you can select one of the following: Restart, Run Diagnostics or Factory Restore. Select Restart.

- The Apple TV will Restart. You should see the Apple logo followed by a select language screen and an Apple TV opening animation.
  
Hopefully your Apple TV is functioning normally now. If not, keep reading...
4) Force Restart an Apple TV
Oh no. The remote works fine but when you press and hold Menu and down (-) on the Apple Remote nothing happens? Don't worry.
Here's how to FORCE RESTART an Apple TV:
- Unplug the Apple TV.
- Wait 10 seconds (Try cursing at your Apple TV if that helps pass the time).
- Plug-in the Apple TV.
- Immediately point the remote at the Apple TV and press and hold both Menu and down (-) on the Apple Remote. Continue to hold the buttons until the Apple TV has restarted itself 2 or 3 times. You will probably see a green flash on your TV screen when the Apple TV restarts.
- You should now see a screen where you can select one of the following: Restart, Run Diagnostics or Factory Restore. Select Run Diagnostics from the Apple TV Recovery menu. If there's something wrong with your Apple TV, the diagnostics will tell you. Hopefully it's nothing serious like hard drive failure.
  
- If the diagnostics say your Apple TV is fine, then select Restart. If your Apple TV fails the diagnostic tests, it probably has a hardware issue. Unfortunately there really isn't anything else you can do. If you recently purchased your Apple TV, then you can take it back to the store and return or exchange it. Also, your Apple TV might still be under warranty. Check your receipt. You might be able to get Apple to repair or replace it.
Hopefully that that fixed your Apple TV. If not, keep reading...
5) Factory Restore an Apple TV
You've unpaired the remote. Force restarted your Apple TV. But after all that, it restarted and locked up again? Your last resort is to Factory Restore the Apple TV. Let's force restart the Apple TV again and select Factory Restore from the Recovery Menu.
How to Factory Restore an Apple TV:
- Unplug the Apple TV.
- Wait 10 seconds.
- Plug-in the Apple TV.
- Immediately point the remote at the Apple TV and press and hold both Menu and down (-) on the Apple Remote. Continue to hold the buttons until the Apple TV restarts.
- You should now see a screen where you can select one of the following: Restart, Run Diagnostics or Factory Restore. Select Factory Restore. WARNING: This will erase your Apple TV. You will have to reenter all settings and resync all content including music, movies, TV show, photos and podcasts.

- After several minutes, your Apple TV will restart and have the 1.0 version of the Apple TV operating system. I have an Apple TV that doesn't like the 2.0 OS so I leave it in 1.0. But you may want to try to update the Apple TV software from the main settings menu. Worst case scenario, you'll just have to Factory Restore it again and leave it in 1.0.

Hopefully that worked. We're almost out of advice ;(
6) Is your Apple TV Overheating?
As you might have realized, the Apple TV is physically hot to the touch. Apple crammed a lot of hardware inside the Apple TV's shell, including a hard drive. As a result, the Apple TV tends to be pretty hot. During the summer, I noticed my Apple TV freezing up on particularly hot days. Most of the time, a simple restart was all my frozen Apple TV needed. Sometimes I had to leave my Apple TV unplugged for a few hours so it could cool down. But either a restart or cool down session usually did the trick.
But one day I had a bunch of friends over and we wanted to watch a movie on the Apple TV. And wouldn't you know it, the damn thing got too hot and froze again. Restarts weren't working and I didn't have hours to wait for it to cool down. So I tossed my Apple TV in the freezer for 10 minutes. After that, I hooked it back up and it worked fine.
WARNING: Before you even entertain the freezer trick, let me just say this: don't do it. I'm just you about something I did to get my Apple TV working again that involved my freezer. If you decide to put your Apple TV in the freezer and it cracks, explodes or gets soaked by an ice cube tray, you can't hold me liable. I'm telling you right now, don't do the freezer trick.
Apple TV + Freezer = Don't do it. |
I hope Apple eventually includes a built-in fan for future generations of the Apple TV. But in the meantime, to help keep my Apple TV out of the freezer, I bought a cheap little fan called the Hawaiian Breeze. I keep the fan on my Apple TV all the time. I also keep my Apple TV on its side now (see image below). When the Apple TV sits flat, it tends to trap heat against the surface it's laying on.
Between the fan and the side mount, I've been able to keep my Apple TV cool enough to prevent it from constantly freezing during the hot summer months.

(Left to Right) Airport Express, Apple TV, Time Capsule, Cable Modem
In summary, here are some things you can do to keep your Apple TV from overheating:
- Keep your Apple TV propped up on its side.
- Buy a small fan to keep your Apple TV cool.
- Put your Apple TV into standby mode when not in use.
7) Questions?
Hopefully your Apple TV is working again. If you run into any issues or have questions, then please drop us a line.
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