2/04/2014

How To Fix An Apple TV That's Unable To Sign In And Can't Connect To The Server At This Time


A Tutorial On How To Fix An Apple TV That's Unable To Sign In And Can't Connect To The Server At This Time By Justin Woodie


If you're an Apple TV owner, chances are you've run into the dreaded occasion of being unable to watch your purchased content. I know you've just spent 8 hours at work, walked up hill back home, did the kids homework, put them to bed and created an appetizing, masterpiece of nachos that may give Everest a run for it's money and all you want to do is dig in to the food and watch The Expendables from your iCloud, but you can't. You can't because Apple has either plotted your demise or you've gotten this error: "Unable To Sign In. Can't Connect To The Server At This Time. Please Try Later." Now before you open up the closest window and heave the Apple TV and remote out of it (tempting, but don't do it), followed by a large helping of nachos (that could get messy), try out this tutorial:

Apple TV Amazon

Remember, you spent 30 minutes creating that nacho mountain and that will not go to waste!

1: You might panic a little because you can't get off the screen of doom, simply hold down the menu button on the remote and it will bring you back to the home screen where your apps are.
2: Scroll over to Settings and select it.
3: Select General.
4: Once in General Settings, scroll all the way to the bottom and select Reset.
5: Select Reset All Settings.
6: Wait, this will take a few minutes to reset your device.
7: Once your Apple TV has completely reset, you'll need to select your language and configure your Wifi connection.
8: Once the device has reset and you've made it back to the home screen, select Settings, iTunes Store and then enter your Apple ID and password.
9: Go back to the home screen, select your movie or TV show and watch it!

You're Done! Congratulations, your nachos and movie are ready to be enjoyed.

41 comments:

  1. Could not sign In. Is the message on the screen no way of getting into the main screen so not able to do a reset. Any suggestions?

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  2. @Marilyn - You could try unplugging the Apple TV to shut it down, waiting a few seconds, then plugging it back in and then the proceeding with the reset steps above. Hopefully turning it off will allow you to get back to the home screen.

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  3. @fitnessnewsla - You're welcome! I'm glad this tutorial was helpful.

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  4. @dhitseighteen18 - You're welcome! I'm glad this tutorial was helpful.

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  5. Changed remote battery and still it didn't work page has frozen

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  6. thanks you've solved my problem happy chappie again

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  7. @Alan Shaw - I would unplug the Apple TV from the outlet, then plug it back in and completely reset the Apple TV. If you've replaced the remote battery, the remote should be fine. Hopefully this helps!

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  8. @colin moy - I'm glad this tutorial was helpful, thanks for stopping by!

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  9. WOW! This actually worked! Thanks so much!

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  10. @AMERICAN BUSYBODY - You're welcome, I'm glad it worked!

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  11. My error says could not sign in amd-action:authenticate:so.
    This is my first use. I did reboot as per above but the error persists.
    Any advice??

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  12. @Courtney Cade - I would unplug the device, plug it back in and completely reset it to the default settings. I Hope this helps!

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  13. Thank you this was a great help! We are back in and watching our movie!!

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  14. @Laura Welsh - You're welcome, I'm glad you were able to watch your movie!

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  15. Tried all these things still don't work

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  16. Tried ever thing I have read But still locked .And have.give in and sending it back

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  17. my apple tv say can not sign in (ok button) but it will not go passed that point. I have unplug it comes back on to movies button then remote is frozen and it goes to can not sign it

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  18. @Jamey K. - You're welcome, I'm glad it worked for you!

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  19. @Redcleoedna - I'm sorry to hear that. Good luck with any future Apple TV purchases if you stick with the product line.

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  20. @Dan's mini office outlets - You can try unplugging the Apple TV for an extended period time (over an hour) and the plugging it back in to see if the device reset. If the remote is frozen, you could try taking the battery out and putting it back in. If the issues persist I would recommend bringing the product back for a new one. I have also noticed, I have had these issues more often since the new OS update on the device. I can only assume that I'll need to upgrade to the newer model.

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  21. @Unknown - I've noticed many of the issues discussed on this page with my personal Apple TV happening more frequently, and certainly more often since the latest OS update. I can only assume that upgrading to the newest model might resolve these headaches.

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  22. Omg. Thank you so much. Nice easy instructions. And it worked!!!

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  23. @gngfjghj - You're welcome, happy to help!

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  24. @Hugh McNeil - You're welcome, I'm glad to hear it worked great!

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  25. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!! I had tried restarting computers, resetting modems and routers, restarting Apple TV, signing out of iCloud and iTunes (on both the PC and Apple TV) and nothing had worked.

    Doing a factory reset on the Apple TV and starting again finally fixed it. Thank you!!!

    Simon

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  26. @Unknown (Simon) - You're welcome!

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  27. @Infinitry Development Group - You're welcome, I'm glad it worked!

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  28. Hi guys, just wanted to say that it finally worked after having turning off the 2-factor authentication for iCloud. You can do this by signing into your iCloud account in the web, turn off 2-factor authentication and then try to sign in again from the apple tv. It worked for me!!

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  29. @armandruiz - Awesome, thanks for the tip!

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  30. I put in my apple Id and password still getting the same message

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  31. @Unknown - If you've tried the steps listed above and you're still getting an error message, the next step would be to contact Apple support directly. Good luck!

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  32. Thank you, Justin Woodie's Blog! Didn't think of doing this... Easy-to-follow instructions. Worked seamlessly :)

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  33. I don't know about calling it Apple, maybe a rebrand to Lemon would be good... What a heap of ...... Tried everything still won't sign in. Amazon here I come..

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  34. Hi all, I have just tried all the recommended trouble shooting hints and tips (thank you all) but to no avail I'm afraid :-( Having done some more searching around it looks like it's another way method that Apply employ to get you to purchase the latest equipment, i.e. if you have ATV version 1 or 2 then you will not be able to use the apple 2-factor authentication on your other devices. You might be lucky if you turn off the authentication as you should be able to reset the ATV via the methods listed above, however, but mine has given up the ghost by the looks of it, even after waiting an hour, having it unplugged, 2-factor being turned off it still won't play. I have made a suggestion to Apple that if they ever decide to rebrand a better name for them might be Lemon... be warned all iPads, Macbooks, macs etc. all have limited time... Amazon here I come, goodbye Apple!

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  35. We are dubbing you Saint Justin Woodie!!!
    Heartfelt thanks. We tried everything else under the sun and were unconnected for two weeks till we landed on your careful step by step advice. Certainly appreciate you taking the time to share your tech wisdom with the rest of us.

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