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Forum Discussion
Apple TV 4K will not connect to Orbi RBK50 via Ethernet
I have an Orbi mesh system and two Apple TVs (4K and 4HD versions). Both of these Apple TVs will connect to the WiFi with no issues. However, I cannot get either one to connect via ethernet. I have tried multiple cables (CAT5, CAT6) which will work connecting other devices, like my MacBook or whatever, but they refuse to connect to the Apple TVs.
So I have ruled out that it's a ethernet cable issue, and it's not a single Apple TV device issue. So I talked to Apple support, who suggested the only possible reason could be that the Orbi is blocking its ports that the Apple TV needs to connect to; Port 123 mainly, but also 3689 and 5353. I should also point out that when it's plugged into the ethernet port and the WiFi is off on the Apple TV, I only show a WiFi MAC address. I do not show an IP or any other numbers on the Apple TVs Network settings.
I've been looking around the Orbi admin login area, and I can't find anything that looks like it could be blocking those, but I don't know if I'm looking in the right area. Can anyone help me diagnose what's going on here? I was convinced thew first time talking to Apple that the ethernet port on the 4K was just bad, so we set up a service repair on it. But when I plugged in my older 4HD and it had the same issue, I knew it was no longer the port.
5 Replies
vbmike73 wrote:I have an Orbi mesh system and two Apple TVs (4K and 4HD versions). Both of these Apple TVs will connect to the WiFi with no issues. However, I cannot get either one to connect via ethernet. I have tried multiple cables (CAT5, CAT6) which will work connecting other devices, like my MacBook or whatever, but they refuse to connect to the Apple TVs.(Caveat: I have no Apple TV products. I have done a brief search for "setup apple tv" and not found much information.)
There must be a step during the setup where the user selects "WiFi" or "ethernet" for the connection.
At this step, is there an error message?
The issue cannot be Orbi blocking ports. (The WiFi connection works.)
vbmike73 wrote:I should also point out that when it's plugged into the ethernet port and the WiFi is off on the Apple TV, I only show a WiFi MAC address. I do not show an IP or any other numbers on the Apple TVs Network settings.Everything I find on-line claims that the act of plugging in the ethernet cable will cause the AppleTV to switch from WiFi to ethernet.
Perhaps "turning off WiFi" has actually turned off all networking?
For the Apple TV, I simply told it to forget my WiFi network, thereby forcing it to look at ethernet. At that point, it just shows no IP address or anything. And in doing that, it would not "turn off" all network connections.
vbmike73 wrote:For the Apple TV, I simply told it to forget my WiFi network, thereby forcing it to look at ethernet. At that point, it just shows no IP address or anything. And in doing that, it would not "turn off" all network connections.
Technically, "Forget a WiFi network" does not mean to disable WiFi. What happens to my devices when I forget the connection is that it brings up a list of all available WiFi networks, including the one I "forgot".
I would be tempted to reset the Apple TV and then plug in the ethernet cable.
This is the strangest thing. I have 6 Apple TV's. All have worked fine, no issues for a few months. (Wired). All of a sudden, none of them connect wired. They all connect with wifi no issue, but they can't find the router. I've fully reset the Apple TV's..no luck. I've rebooted network, no luck. I guess my only choice is to reset the network. What an odd glitch!! Wondering if you found any other solutions?
- It must be a known issue but they’re not broadcasting it. They had me send in my device and they repaired it free of charge. Something with the Ethernet port itself going bad. After they did that, I’ve had no issues. Beat of luck!
