Apple TV not recognized by iTunes

Another vote for this solution. For me, the Apple TV shows up in Xcode, but only shows up in iTunes by doing the recovery mode trick.

Nice tip. I was able to install the latest tvOS update finally after I unplugged the HDMI cable after entering restore mode for the 35th time. Next time I'll just do the update from settings. 😐

This worked for me. I had already installed beta 1 and was looking to install beta 2, but the built in software update kept failing so I was trying through iTunes and it wouldn't recognize the AppleTV until I put it in the recovery mode.

Which USB port did you plug the ATV into, and what type of Mac was it?

It is an iMac (Late 2012, OSX 10.10.5). I tried all 4 ports. The ATV was the only USB device. It was never recognized in the System Report / USB devices.

The same happened at a MacBook and a Mac mini.

Great it works fine. Thank you!

I also have the exact same issue. I have tried multiple USB C-> A cables, and using multiple Macbook Pros. I always get the ''USB Devices Disabled' Unplug the device using too much power." error pop up. At this point, it has to be faulty hardware, I can't think of anything else to try.

Same issue here--shows up in system info, not visible in XCode or iTunes. Also the system update from the TVOS menu fails too. It downloads it but won't restart. When I manually restart, it won't install the OS.

There is an issue when updating from Beta 1 to Beta 2, where software updates may require the Apple TV to be connected via ethernet, and not Wi-Fi. If you try connecting your Apple TV to the internet using Ethernet, you should be able to do a Software Update from the Settings menu, versus using iTunes and doing a clean reinstall with a tvOS .ipsw downloaded from the developer website.

Did not work either. Since the Apple TV in the development kit has no tvOS at all, we have to install it first.

That worked when nothing else did 🙂

I am on beta El Capitan and the same problem.

I put Apple TV in recovery mode iTunes started to see it but i cannot restore becaue I got message "software not available at this time. check if you have recent version of iTunes".

Whaaaat?

Worked here, after nothing else did. Thanks!

This worked for me. With everything plugged in and powered up:

Hold down the MENU button and the Pause/Play button on the AppleTV remote until the AppleTV front light blinks rapidly. It then appears in iTunes.

OS X El Cap v 10.11.1 Beta (15B30a)

iTunes 12.3.0.44

Xcode Version 7.1 beta (7B60)

tvOS 9.0 (13T5379f)

Thanks so much. This worked for me as well.

I'm still hvaing this problem, tried everything from restoring the ATV, to putting in restore mode, plugging into my mac in every possible configuration and restarting my macbook etc etc. No one has any idea what the problem is, I can only think it's a problem with the cable

>I can only think it's a problem with the cable

Can you describe the cable?

Hey I am having a similar issue and I am about to throw this Apple TV out my window.

- I have the latest Xcode 7.1

- I have a USB-C connected to the Apple TV and a USB cable from the USB-C to my mac.

- I have iTunes 12.3.23

I tried putting my device in DFU mode. Completely useless. NOTHING will work. My machine and does not recognize this Apple TV at all.

If I unplug the apple tv from my computer and simply put an HDMI to my television it works fine.

But I can't get iTunes or Xcode to recognize it at all.

Please help someone...

I'm in the same boat. Plus I also get the “USB Devices Disabled” issue. Any luck?

When you have tried everything and nothing works.

The only cable that worked for me was the "belkin USB-A to USB-C charge Cable (male - male)" sold on the online Apple Store if you are on MacBookPro with USB-A port

The Apple "USB-C to USB-C (male-male)" cable works too if you have a MacBook Air with USB-C port (tried it in an Apple Store with a technician when investigating this problem)

The Apple USB-A to USB-C Adapter (male - female) connected to a USB-A 3.1 cable DOES NOT WORK.

-Otherwise, don't forget to put your Apple TV 4 in recovery mode (pressing pause - menu buttons for 10 sec)