Sometimes an update can backfire.

According to MacFixIt, a surprisingly high number of users have reported issues with the recently-released Apple TV 2.2 update. Problems have included the unit entering an endless restart loop, as described below:

"Totally hosed my Apple TV. After updating, it went into an endless loop of restarting. Running diagnostics said the software was OK, but I ended up having to factory restore and reinstall the update. Now I just have to resync 50GB of media -- which should take, oh, a week or so."

"I downloaded the update, did the install and it restarted. The startup movie came on, but the Apple logo just keeps flashing on and off. It won't get to the main menu. Unplugged the Apple TV and got the same result."

"The latest update bricked my Apple TV. The Apple logo flickers constantly. Reset does not work and am about to try factory reset. Forums are already starting to fill up with complaints. Thanks Apple!"

Interestingly enough, a post by an Apple representative over on the discussions board offers the following explanation:

"Apple briefly experienced server difficulties resulting in some Apple TV units rebooting continuously. This issue has been resolved and is unrelated to the Apple TV 2.2 software release."

A suggested fix for the issue has been to try rebooting your Apple TV by pressing the "-" and menu buttons simultaneously for several seconds.

Another bug which seems to have emerged from the update is a series of changes to the Apple TV's sleep functionality, which one reader described as such:

"Previously, to put your ATV to sleep, you could press the Play/Pause button on the Remote Control for about 5-7 sec, and do this in any menu, any place. Now (2.2), you can use this command only on the top of menu hierarchy, which makes it an obligation to navigate to this main menu each time you want to put ATV to sleep (tested on 2 ATVs) I dont see any justification to this "feature" ; a bug ? (not a major one, just annoying)"

If any of you have seen these issues on your end or have found fixes or workarounds of your own, please let us know in the comments or forums.