Oddly, my ATV3 will not connect via Home Sharing to my iMac - wired or wireless. Yet I have no problem accessing everything else it offers: YouTube, Netflix, iTunes etc.

I suspect the issue involves my router in the living room, but networking is about as clear as mud to my little brain :confused:

Basically, the network starts at my SMC (a router/modem combo). Then I have a single ethernet cable running to the iMac and one running to the the living room where it plugs into a Buffalo (another router, but configured as a bridge). I then used the ports at the back to run to my PS3, ATV and AV Receiver.

This all seems to work as it should, including WiFi... except that Home Sharing will not work - my iMac just can't "see" the ATV.

Any suggestions?

Just to be sure Home Sharing is turned on for both the iMac and the Apple TV?

Does the bridge supply the wifi or does the router/modem? Have you tried via wifi?


Sent from my iPhone

Home Sharing definitely turned on both. In fact, Home Sharing works just fine when you bypass the bridge. I actually used to also have a switch in there too, before the bridge (which split the signal to my PS3, ATV etc, and worked great) until it died. That's when I decided to use the bridge directly, since it was already part of the network.

Both the bridge and the router/modem supply WiFi - at opposite ends of the house - but for some reason, I can't get Home Sharing to work through the bridge (WiFi or ethernet). Home Sharing (again, via WiFi or ethernet) works just fine from the router/modem side of things. My band-aid solution is to take the ethernet cable from the router/modem and plug it directly into the ATV whenever we want to watch streamed movies from the iMac.... *pain*

The problem has to lie within the bridge - but I can't for the life of me figure out how to deal with it. I just can't seem to extend my network AND get Home Sharing to work.

Found this in an Apple Support document:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972

4. Check your network connection

Home Sharing requires a home network with an active Internet connection. All the devices you want to use with Home Sharing need to be connected to your home network.

In addition, verify that:
All your devices are connected to the same router, if you have multiple routers. Using multiple routers may prevent discovery between these devices.

is going back to the a switch like the last one you have an option?

Sent from my iPhone

Thanks... great information! So it's having two routers that's causing the problem. Yes, I can certainly go back to using a switch again - but was hoping not to. One, because I have to go buy one (no big deal really) and two - I actually have a second ATV that can only get it's signal from the second router via WiFi... and thus I've never been able to Home Share with it.

Your issue is you want that Buffalo router as an access point (AP) not a bridge.

Interesting. I hadn't thought of that (man... I'm so network challenged). I'm assuming I can just connect the Buffalo (in bridge mode) directly to my iMac, unplug the ethernet cable going to my router/modem combo, key in the usual address (198.blah blah blah) - and it should get me in?

I'll have to look into how to actually change it once in, but I assume there's a setting somewhere.