Apple TV Keeps Turning Off? Follow These 5 Steps

Researched & Written by
Couple stuck with Apple TV+ issue on TV

Does your Apple TV keep turning off by itself?

I know, not being able to use your Apple TV can be really annoying, especially when you’ve paid a hefty sum for it.

Thankfully, in this article, you’ll find different solutions to leave this situation in the past.

If your Apple TV keeps turning off, chances are you have a faulty power cord, outdated software, or your sleep timer needs to be adjusted.

Don’t sweat it. Try the following 5 fixes to stop your Apple TV from turning off:

  1. Check your wall outlet and power cord.
  2. Adjust your Settings.
  3. Restart your TV.
  4. Update your device.
  5. Factory reset your Apple TV.

Read on to fix this issue!

#1 Check Your Wall Outlet and Power Cord

Your Apple TV requires a steady power supply to work as intended. However, if your power outlet or cord is faulty, your TV can turn off, and you may experience other performance issues, such as a black screen.

To check if that’s the case, please unplug your Apple TV from the wall outlet and plug it back into another one.

Check your power outlet

If your Apple TV starts working again without trouble, then your wall outlet was to blame. But, if your TV keeps turning off, make sure that your power cord is properly connected. If it is, then it may be damaged.

If you know someone else that owns the same Apple TV as you, please ask them if you can borrow their power cord.

Sadly, if your TV starts working again with your friend’s cable, then it’s time to replace yours with a new one.

#2 Adjust Your Settings

Your Apple TV offers hundreds of features that you may not know of. One of them is its sleep timer.

This fantastic feature shuts off your TV if you’re not using it. This way, you’ll be able to save energy and stop worrying about turning off your TV if you fall asleep or go out.

However, your sleep timer may be the reason why your Apple TV keeps turning off by itself.

Don’t worry, though. If you’d like to avoid this situation, disable your sleep timer. To do it, you’ll just need to:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select “General”.
  3. Click on Sleep after” and select “Never” or choose a different time.

Once you’ve completed the steps above, try using your Apple TV again to see if the issue was solved. If it persists, don’t worry. Keep reading to learn more about other ways to fix it.

#3 Restart Your TV

If your Apple TV keeps turning off by itself, you might want to keep reading.

Whenever you use your favorite apps, your Apple TV needs to run thousands of processes in the back. Unfortunately, these can easily crash due to bugs.

Thankfully, by restarting your Apple TV, you’ll be able to give it a break and force everything that is running in the back to start up fresh.

Tip: Try restarting your Apple TV at least once a week.

Follow these instructions to restart your device:


Method 1:

  1. Press and hold the Menu (1st generation remote) or back (2nd generation remote) and the Control Center (TV icon) buttons on your remote. If you have an aluminum or white remote, press the Menu and Down buttons.
Restart your Apple TV

Method 2:

  1. Go to the Settings menu.
  2. Select “System”.
  3. Click on “Restart”.

Method 3:

  1. Unplug your Apple TV box and TV from the power source.
  2. Wait at least 10 seconds.
  3. Plug them back in.

#4 Update Your Device

Have you been putting off updating your Apple TV because you’re always in a hurry?

Well, this may be the reason it keeps turning off by itself.

You see, Apple is always trying its best to fulfill its customer requests and release updates that include new security features and bug fixes.

Apple might’ve fixed the issue on its latest version. This is why, by updating your system, you’ll be able to leave this annoying situation in the past.

You can easily update your device. You’ll just need to:

  1. Connect to a strong Wi-Fi signal.
  2. Go to Settings and select “System”.
  3. Click on “Software Updates”.
  4. Select “Update Software”.
  5. If there’s an update, select “Update and Install”.

Please don’t disconnect your Apple TV while it’s updating.

If your Apple TV turns off whenever you’re using a specific app, try updating this as well. Follow these quick steps to do it:

  1. Go to the App Store.
  2. Search for the faulty app.
  3. Click on “Update.”

Once you’ve updated the faulty app, please open it to see if the issue went away. If it persists, try reinstalling the app.

To do it, you’ll just need to:

  1. Highlight the faulty app.
  2. Press and hold the touchpad on your remote until the app jiggles.
  3. Press the play/pause button on your remote.
  4. Select “Delete”.
  5. Go to the App Store.
  6. Search for the faulty app.
  7. Click on “Download” or “Get”.

#5 Factory Reset Your Apple TV

Sometimes, data and cache can build up on your Apple TV. Normally, this shouldn’t be a problem, but if a file becomes corrupted and won’t go away by updating o restarting your device, you’ll need to factory reset it.

This fix will reset your device to the condition it was in when you purchased it, and you’ll be able to get rid of any major errors that are preventing your Apple TV from working as expected.

Before factory resetting your device, please note that this process will delete all your data, including your configuration, installed apps, and accounts.

But, don’t worry. Try making a list of your installed apps and login credentials and keep it somewhere safe. This way, you’ll be able to set up your TV again without further trouble.

Follow these simple instructions to factory reset your Apple TV:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select “System” and click on “Reset”.
  3. Select “Reset” again to confirm the process.

You can also try resetting your Apple TV with your computer, to do it:

  1. Turn on your PC or Mac.
  2. Connect your Apple TV to your computer with the original USB cable.
  3. Open iTunes and click on your Apple TV icon.
  4. Go to “Summary” and select “Apple TV”.
  5. Click on “Restore Apple TV”.

Tip: This fix can also solve disconnecting issues.

Conclusion

Not being able to use your Apple TV because it keeps turning off can be really annoying, especially when you’ve waited all day to get home and watch a movie.

Luckily, now that we’ve covered everything, you’ll be able to forget all about this issue.

As you noticed, you can probably solve the problem on your own without having to contact Apple’s support team. Quick actions like checking your wall outlet and power cord, restarting, updating, or factory resetting your Apple TV should do the trick.

Thank you so much for sticking with me all the way to the end. If you ever have other tech issues, don’t forget to check out our content. You’ll find multiple solutions for everyday problems.

Good luck!