I am pretty sure this has only started happening recently after a firmware update.
Basically I rent a film from Amazon Prime via my phone and then go to the Prime app on the Apple TV to watch it. The film starts normally and, after roughly a couple of minutes, the screen goes blank and the Apple TV box restarts. I then go back to the film, click the Resume button and the film plays perfectly after that with no interruptions whatsoever.
I have witnessed this behaviour with the last three films I have rented on Prime. The Apple TV box does not do the restarting trick on any of the other apps such as YouTube, Netflix or Apple TV +. It also does not do it if I watch free content on the Amazon Prime App. Basically the box works perfectly with all other apps except the Amazon Prime one and then only has the problem with rented film content. After the restart everything works perfectly again and there are no further interruptions.
I have a very solid broadband connection and am connecting to the Apple TV box via Ethernet cable so it is not a WiFi issue. I have never experienced anything like this before with the Apple box but am pretty sure it only started happening after a recent update in late December or early January.
Any ideas gratefully received.
Hi Robolovsky,
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. It sounds like you're having an issue with your Apple TV and playing purchased content between devices with the Amazon Prime app. We're happy to help.
When you state this occurred after a firmware update, do you mean a tvOS or iOS update? If so, we recommend checking for any app updates on both your Apple TV and iPhone. If needed, the articles below can help:
Purchase and download apps on Apple TV
Update apps or use automatic downloads
We'd also recommend checking to see if the issue occurs when you force close the Amazon app on your iPhone, or Apple TV prior to watching the content on your Apple TV. Those steps can be found below as well:
Close an app on your iPhone or iPod touch
Switch quickly between Apple TV apps
If the issue remains, you may want to reach out to the app developer as it's the only app with the issue. The article here can help you get in touch to report it: How to contact an app developer
Cheers!
Thanks to OrigamiFan1 for that information.
My Apple TV box is 3rd generation which means that it doesn't use tvOS and is incapable of accessing the app store to download new apps. I believe it uses a version of iOS and this was recently updated automatically.
The Amazon Prime app is hardwired in and there is no way of changing it for a later version.
I will try your suggestion of closing the Amazon Prime app on my phone before watching the content via Apple TV as it does seem logical that this could have an effect on the outcome.
I will report back once I have had a chance to test this.