Apple TV 2 – white light (LED) flashing/blinking fast
Comments(48) Hey, I just brought my Apple TV 2 back from the living dead. After a botched firmware update all it did was flashing the white LED fast (about 3 times a second).
I followed the official reset instructions using the Apple remote but that didn’t help at all. Then I came across a few posts that said that by hooking up Apple TV 2 to a Mac using just a micro USB cable, you could actually restore it in iTunes. Those posts explicitly said that you have to disconnect HDMI and power and just plug in the USB cable.
I dug out a micro USB cable and connected it to my Mac. Shortly after, iTunes showed up with the restore screen for Apple TV 2. So far, so good.
But every time during the early stages of the update process, one of those error messages appeared.
The Apple TV could not be restored. An unknown error ocurred (2006)
The Apple TV could not be restored. An unknown error ocurred (1611)
The Apple TV could not be restored. An unknown error ocurred (1602)
The Apple TV could not be restored. An unknown error ocurred (2009)
It just didn’t work. I was already thinking about returning it back to Apple, when I had an idea. Maybe the power delivered by the Mac’s USB port isn’t enough for whatever goes on during the restore process? So I connected a power cable after (!) Apple TV 2 showed up as being restorable in iTunes and voilà, the restore went through without a hitch!
If your Apple TV 2 is stuck with a fast flashing LED and iTunes fails to restore it using a micro USB cable, just connect the power cable as well and the restore might get through.
Restore mode not showing up in iTunes
If Apple TV 2 doesn’t show up in iTunes after hooking it up to the Mac, you may have to set it to DFU mode first:
- Disconnect the HDMI, power and USB cables
- Wait for 10 seconds
- Reconnect the USB cable
- Immediately hold the menu and play buttons on the remote for 15 seconds
- Apple TV 2 should now start flashing the LED wildly and appear in iTunes with the restore button.
If it still doesn’t show up, maybe there’s something wrong with your cable. I was using a wiggly micro USB plug that needed some weight put on it in order to have a reliable connection.
What if unknown error 1602 persists
If you always receive the 1602 error at the end of the restore process, it could help to restore Apple TV 2 using Xcode’s Organizer instead of iTunes.
I kept getting 1602 after restoring firmware, power cable did not make a difference. I was about to give up when I tried another micro usb cable, and the restore worked without a hitch, not sure why and it does not make sense. I did do a reboot in between so perhaps that’s why.
Anyway sorted now.
I spoke to apple. The rep on the phone admitted that he had received 3 such calls that day and there was definitely a problem with the software update.
He said that since I had fixed my apple Tv myself not much to do…..but had I called with a failed restore through itunes apple would replace the appletv at no charge within the 1 year period(even if I did not have a support plan with them). All that I would have to do was to walk into an apple store with the defective apple tv and they would replace it.
Just sharing this on this board if some one else is also suffering the same issue.
Thank you for the post. I was experiencing the blinking light of death and could not get the Apple TV to show up in iTunes until I plugged in the power cord. Thanks again!
thank you, your article helps me !
Thanks, the USB without the power lead and hitting the DFU set up sorted me not being able to get the TV recognised in iTunes. Now updated thanks.
So I had the same issue as everyone else. After being prompted a bunch of times to make the firmware update I relented and it failed and the micro USB graphic with the iTunes icon would display on my television. I went and got a micro USB cable and tried restoring numerous times both following these recommendations (above) and not. It still failed and resulted in a 1602 error every time so I took the unit back the Apple store near me. Wasn’t able to get a Genius appointment at the time and they wouldn’t flat out exchange the unit so on a hunch when I got home I hooked it back up to the tv. It had been restored and was on the initial set up screen despite the fact that iTunes was saying the restore failed and was throwing the 1602 error. So check to make sure the unit isn’t restored even if you get the 1602 error.
FYI – After repeated 1602 errors, I plugged the Apple TV back into the HDMI cable, it worked fine after going through the set-up menus.
wanted to stop by and say thank you. after jailbreaking my ATV2, and then trying to update in October, the thing totally crashed and there was nothing but the Apple onscreen, I thought I had totally messed it up beyond repaid. However I persevered and read forum after forum. This one was the best (THANK YOU) as it described the combination of everything I needed: Plugging in the power is essential, as is the Menu/Play combination for 15 seconds. But the absolute KEY was jiggling / holding the mini USB in place. It took be about 5 goes, with loads of failed tries and error messages (mostly 1602 or 9) …. and in fact it never actually completed the firmware installation that followed the software installation …. and note I had to hold the mini usb absolutely stock still for about 5 mins while the update happened. Eventually I noticed the white light was steady …. so I plugged it into the TV via HDMI and hey presto, I got the regular setup menu, and was able to get as far as the settings where I went straight to system reset where it reset the whole thing ….. and back to normal.
Phew. It was a palaver but perseverance was the key – thanks to everyone for posting the incredibly useful stuff, I really think it would be in the bin by now otherwise. Thanks. Matt
Just wanted to give a shout out for this post as well… plugging in the power cable after the micro USB cable made the errors go away! I was able to restore my ATV2 without any issues. I did get the 1602 error at the end but that didn’t seem to matter. Thanks!
ive updated apple tv2 to 4.4.4 by using this thread (thx) and fund that I’m missing the netflix menu under internet. this I’ve tried to google – but no answers. anyone here that tried this ? i have an netflix account at it worked fine before updating to 4.4.4.
Restored my Apple TV 2 using this fix. Like Terry above, I too got the 1602 error at the end but that didn’t affect it. Many thanks.
This worked for me. Many thanks. Now to try another attempt at JB’ing the thing.
This hasn’t worked for us at all :(
The apple tv is still showing error 9 each time I plug it into the Imac – with or without the power cable. We hadnt done the latest update yet and it wasnt jailbroken it just suddenly stopped working! We are 3 days out of the 12 month warranty and apple want £25 just to talk to us about it :(
Same here error 9 keeps coming up have tried two USB cords and two computers warranty expired, need help! !
Buy a new one. Box up old atv2 in the new box. Return for full refund. Don’t let crappy software cost you. Let them take the lose. No warranty worries.
Also, I could not restore on an iMac but could on my windows laptop
[...] didn’t realize it was possible to physically connect your AppleTV 2 to your computer. This blog post was my first clue on what had caused my issue, and how to solve it. Unfortunately, it sounded [...]
Hello,
I had to remove all of the Apple software (iTunes, QT, Bonjour…) on my Dell running Windows XP and then restarted. Then I reinstalled iTunes and quicktime from the Apple website.
I could then use the micro usb cable with the Apple TV 2 and the restoreworked fine without the need of the power cable.
I have the same issue with the blinking light, but when plugged into my television, I see the Apple logo, then the device shuts down, then it restarts to apple logo, then shuts down again. I’ve tried plugging it into my computer but it doesn’t appear in iTunes. My iTunes is up to date, and I’ve plugged the Apple TV into power after connecting the USB. Any ideas?
I connected the USB and the power cable, received the 1602 error, but with fixed light! I connected then to my TV and works perfectly! great job! Thank you!
hi
i bought an apple tv 2 (with jailbreak). after a update i see on my telly just apple logo even the itunes on my laptop doesnt recognise the apple tv… could somebody help P L E A S E ………
Oh God, I remember when I first got the 1602 error.
I was soooo scared.
THANK YOU your trick of having micro usb AND the Power cord worked for me ( March 2013) I too had a jailbroken Apple TV2 that went flakey when I upgraded to Frodo XBMC. I wanted to restore it, then reapply, then the restore failed via the ethernet cable, then failed via micro usb, I tried a dozen times on both, always go to the restoring apple tv software then blew with error 14 then error -1. Found your “leave the power cable on” with the micro usb to my computer and it all worked – Hallelujia
[...] fact, it appears this failure is so common, someone has taken the trouble to write a comprehensive recovery howto, which I’m just about to try [...]