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Fix Frozen Apple TV

Fix Frozen Apple TV 4

published by Chand Bellur
March 27, 2016 at 6:25 p.m. PST

Apple TV 4 users are occasionally faced with a frozen, unresponsive device. This article covers how to fix a frozen Apple TV.

Apple TV 4 is a relatively new device with a recently developed operating system, tvOS. This, combined with Apple’s decline in quality, has resulted in a substandard experience for many users.

The new Apple TV is an improvement over my last Apple TV 2, which rebooted itself a few times a night, usually in the middle of a video. I have to admit, both models of Apple TV have proven to be the worst tech products I have ever owned. They’re not the quality one would expect with Apple products. I use my Apple TV every night, and it can often provide hours of trouble-free entertainment. I do experience at least one problem every day, and some nights, it is just a frustrating experience.

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Among its many flaws, the new Apple TV 4 can occasionally freeze, requiring the user to restart the device. Unfortunately, with a frozen Apple TV, users can’t navigate to the Settings screen to restart it. Fortunately, Apple has provided a way to restart Apple TV even if it’s completely frozen.

Force Apple TV 4 to Restart

Using the Siri remote, one can force Apple TV to restart, even when it is frozen. Simply hold down the Menu and Home (TV screen) button for about 6 seconds. The front light on your Apple TV base unit will start flashing rapidly. Release the buttons and your Apple TV will restart. It takes about 30 seconds to restart, however, if you are running tvOS 9.2, you may have to wait longer. The home screen may be frozen after Apple TV is restarted.

Hold Menu and Home Buttons to Restart Apple TV 4

Fix Frozen Home Screen After Restarting

tvOS 9.2 introduced a defect where the home screen is frozen after Apple TV restarts. Fortunately, this is easily fixed. Simply wait about a minute and then click the touchpad on the Siri remote. You should now be able to navigate the home screen and use your Apple TV.

Turn off Automatic Updates for tvOS

tvOS seems to introduce more defects in each release. While Apple fixes some problems, they also seem to create more than are fixed. I also found this to be true of my Apple TV 2. Around 2014, something changed at Apple and their products started to lack quality.

You don’t have to upgrade to the latest version of tvOS the day it comes out. It may be better to stick with the devil you know, and do some research. I actually researched tvOS 9.2 before upgrading, however, no one was writing about the problems. Tech writers were simply regurgitating the keynote. The Apple Support Forum is the best place to research the quality of any Apple release.

tvOS is set to update automatically by default. I recommend turning this off. You can turn off automatic tvOS system updates by going to Settings > System > Software Updates. The Software Updates screen will appear. Simply turn off Automatically Update. You can manually update Apple TV by returning to the Software Updates screen and selecting Update Software. This is also a great way to check if there are any new updates.

Apple's Software Has Become Buggy

Why Does Apple TV Freeze?

Apple has been plagued with defective releases since iOS 8 launched in late 2014. In addition to iOS, it seems that just about every product has suffered from a lapse in quality. Even the Mac has become less reliable, however, I still find it to be the best computer available today. Fortunately, Apple hasn’t been focusing on the Mac. With fewer changes and a solid platform, Mac OS X has managed to stay robust and reliable. This is not the case with other Apple products. They are cramming in too many features and hiring mediocre engineering talent.

Apple TV has, until recently, been considered a hobby for Apple. I was an early adopter of Apple TV, buying the 2nd generation device in 2010. Although it didn’t offer much in the way of built-in content, it was much more stable than it is now. Netflix was flawless and I never had problems with AirPlay. There was a brief lapse in quality around the iOS 5 release. I found that AirPlay was crashing a lot. It seems that iOS was the culprit, and the iOS 6 release fixed these issues.

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Around 2014, my Apple TV started experiencing major problems. It would repeatedly reboot itself, usually in the middle of a video. I researched the problem, and a lot of people were experiencing it. By 2015, it was clear that Apple was not going to fix this issue. They abandoned Apple TV 2, even though no formal “end of life” status was reached. Apple continued to add new channels, such as HBO NOW, but failed to fix this critical bug. It was painfully obvious that they would only work on Apple TV 2 if there was a return on their investment. Adding channels such as HBO NOW and Showtime allowed them to skim some of the subscription fees. If they fixed a critical defect, customers might just hold on to that old Apple TV.

When Apple TV 4 debuted, I was excited. I was well aware that Apple’s new TV appliance was just playing catch up. Unlike most Apple products, it didn’t leapfrog its competitors. In fact, it lacked some obvious features, such as support for 4K video.

The company seemed to take this new Apple TV seriously. It was no longer just a hobby. It even took precedence over the iPad Pro in the keynote. I figured that it was about time to replace my Apple TV 2 with the new model. Overall, I feel it is an improvement, and despite the flaws, it isn’t rebooting itself a few times each night. Unfortunately, it is still not the level of quality one would expect from Apple. It’s more like what you’d get from some no-name, fly by night tech company that is destined to go out of business in a few years.

In the big picture, Apple TV freezes because it is not a quality product. System crashes and freezes are severe bugs and would normally halt the release of any operating system. Apple seems content to release broken operating systems.

A frozen Apple TV 4 can be caused by a failed Siri request. Mine froze when I issued a Siri command and Apple’s servers were too busy to handle it. tvOS doesn’t handle that exception gracefully, and it completely froze my Apple TV 4. I have also had it freeze a few times while using content apps such as Hulu or HBO NOW.

The lack of quality could be due to poor quality assurance testing (QAT). Tech companies have QAT departments. Their job is to hammer away at hardware, software and combined systems, documenting defects. There has been an increased reliance on automated testing, which can be done well, in theory. I have yet to see automated testing produce better quality products. At best, it allows technology companies to hire fewer QA engineers.

It’s also possible that Apple is well aware of these defects. If you look at the release notes of just about any tech product, you will often see a list of known issues. Apple doesn’t seem to publicize known defects, however, I’m certain their defect tracking system is full of them. It all comes down to resources. They only have so many developers working on tvOS and they need to hit the release date. They may be aware that Apple TV freezes, but have decided to release the update and fix it later.

Hiring talent is a huge problem in the Silicon Valley. Graduates from top schools don’t want to work at Apple. The new generation of engineers are far more entrepreneurial. They are also bristled by the formality and stifling engineering process of large corporations. Working at a company like Apple can take all the fun out of writing code. All too often, engineers are in pointless meetings and are being jerked around by constantly changing requirements. Apple does attract some talented people, but they put them to work on their flagship product — the iPhone.

Apple TV, while no longer a hobby, is taken about as seriously as the iPod. I don’t expect to see a dramatic improvement in quality. As a long time Apple customer, I can honestly say, something happened in 2014 and it has changed the course of the company. I have been patiently waiting for their quality to improve, but after the past few months, it seems to be getting even worse. I will still buy Apple products, because in my research, most competing products aren’t much better. But the premium price no longer guarantees quality. This has me purchasing fewer Apple products. I will not replace my aging iPad 2 with a new model. I will buy a new Mac when the time comes. I will probably hold on to my iPhone 6 for two more years. Apple has convinced me that newer isn’t always better. I don’t have confidence in the quality of Apple products. I doubt that their decline in quality will improve anytime soon.

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